The Full Body Project

I can’t believe I’m writing a blog entry extolling the artistic talents of Leonard Nimoy. Who’d have thunk it. But, talent is talent, and intriguing and thought-provoking content is intriguing and thought provoking content. If sales or the lack of ability to track down a copy of his latest book of photography is any indicator, I’m not the only one who finds his latest project entitled The Full Body Project something worth contemplating.

Nimoy has no doubt got a good eye. His Shekhina Project which challenged the use of traditional Jewish garb and the feminine presence of God was striking to say the least. None of these women are conventionally beautiful, but all are utterly striking-but their presence as subjects seems to shout out to the universal form of woman-rather than of the specific subject photographed. His work is about light and angles, of lines and shade. This photograph of a woman crucified is hard to look at-be it male or female, this drawn, taught, exposed body is the essence of vulnerability and it is hard to look at and realize that this is human-this is woman and man.

In his new collection he has once again stretched the envelope of our everyday comfort zones not by striking out at religion, but at our perceptions of the shape of women in our modern society. I’m Rubenesque myself, so I can talk about this-the way you can talk about the African American or Jewish experience only if you are one. So, if you don’t like what I have to say, eat a biscuit, shop in the “Women’s” size section (yeah-I mean over size 16 folks) and then give me a call.

Okay, honest-at first these were not easy to look at. We as a society are so programmed whether we can even admit it or not, to expect a female body to look a certain way. Breasts should be pert, tummies pleasantly flat or mildly rounded, not drooping, thighs smooth and arms certainly not waggly. But, let’s be realistic-go home, get naked and look in the mirror. Think about taking out your camera and having somebody take your snapshot while totally nude. Do you think you’d see on the print what you see in your mind? Probably not.

On second glance when you get past the “oh please don’t let me look like that” (knowing you probably do more than you think) you can look at the work from an artistic perspective. And then look again, and then again. Keep looking. The lines and composition are lovely. Yes, he didn’t do it first. Most of these are classic poses by geniuses like Matisse, Marcel Duchamp and Helmut Newton. But, what a great choice he made by recreating “Dance” How beautiful. Truly-look at that and tell me that is not a beautiful photograph.

There’s a lot of controversy about these pictures. Some are saying Nimoy is glorifying the “fat activist” that’s working to make people accept what they don’t choose to accept-that America is full of fat people. Others say that if he wasn’t who he was that these images would never have seen the light of day with the popular masses (they’re probably right). Above all, I simply ask you to look at these pictures and tell me that they aren’t real. Real representations of the human form in the 21st century.

That is art.
That is creativity.
That is brave.

Mr. Nimoy-you are no longer Spock to me. You are an artist.