Mens Sana In Corpore Sano
Warning: Not Safe For Work due to tasteful nude photos.
Yeah, that’s right Sister Angelica THAT’S LATIN!
And you said I’d never amount to anything besides a second-rate, do-nothing, waste-of-humanity. I proved you wrong on at least one of those counts so take your orthopedic shoes and ill-fitting habit and shove it.
Now before you go and get your plaid skirts and kneesocks in a wad over what promises to be another gut-wrenching Catholic school playground flashback , let me assure you I have an actual point and I’m quickly making my way to it.
Recently I’ve been on a photo book review tear for another site I work for, and while I love all kinds of reading and viewing materials, photo books hold a special place in my heart.
I can just hear you right now: “Oh bless her simple heart, she likes books with lots of pictures and pretty things to hold her attention!” And yes, that would be a big part of it, but I happen to have been a photography MINOR in college.
It started out as a major but ended in tragedy when I received a strongly-worded letter from my parents about how four years and thousands of dollars better end in a day job that would suck all joy out of my life.
Thanks mom and dad.
But I digress.
Today, I’m here to talk about yet another photo book that I came across that peaked my interest for several reasons.
One, it’s an honest, moving and quite beautiful look at real bodies shot by a lensman who seemingly loves his subjects.
Two, the man behind the camera is fucking Spock.
That’s right people, everyone’s favorite Vulcan is the camera genius behind The Full Body Project: Photographs By Leonard Nimoy.
The book is a provocative jab at the media ideal and all that they are selling you to get you where they want you, which is a mean little place where everyone’s clearly been reaching for the lowest hanging fruit instead of stretching up to the land of hard-gleaming glutes and oiled-up pecs!
Anyway, this collection of 50 photographs had a startling effect on me as soon as I was ten pages into it. As someone who is always looking at pictures of herself after the fact and critiquing every flaw, the models here represent all body types, yet seem so at ease in their own skin. It’s an acceptance I wish I could find for myself at times.
The female body is a miraculous and wonderful thing capable of giving life, pleasure, freedom of movement and a soft place to sit or rest your weary head. Nimoy’s book helped me remember that while I gazed at the images that graced it pages.
Go pick yourself up a copy and see what all the fuss is about.
Woo Hoo! May the Frickin’ Force be with YOU!!! Thanks for sharing this, I will spread the word! Great post!!!! Now do I have t go to babel fish to find out what the Latin words mean? (Says she who went to a public school…and did not study the TRUE language of the Gods and Civilization!!) Please tell! Warmly, Dr. Deah
Ooooooooooooooooh, Deah, you just committed a major sci fi no-no. “May the Force be with you” is Star Wars. Spock is Star Trek. I fear for your life once the nerds get a hold of this slip up. You may need to go into the Witness Protection Program.
Peace,
Shannon
OMG, I know that…I really do…last time I EVER respond to a blog without having had my cawfee, first thing in the morning, and just bubbling over with excitement….
Can I change it to LIVE LONG AND PROSPER???!!! Please save me Shannon!!!!
Dr. Deah,
It is too late. Nobody can save you from the nerds now. If I were you, I would stock up on supplies, then bolt the door and hope for the best. You may want to brush up on some Dr. Who references, which may help alleviate the rage they’re feeling. Maybe then you can say, “I was just kidding” and they’ll let it go. Good luck!
Peace,
Shannon
*temporarily revokes Deah’s nerd-privileges*
Wow, I just saw that this book came out in 2007! How did I miss this one! Double thanks for sharing!!!
First of all, I misread your post. I thought you said that the person behind the camera was fucking Spock, not that he fucking was Spock. HUGE difference.
And come one, with a photography minor you can write your own ticket on Wall Street. Your parents totally thwarted your future of being independently wealthy. What were they thinking?
This is an incredible book. They should distribute these books for free throughout the land as an antidote to our thin-obsessed culture. What an amazing message they would send to the world!
Peace,
Shannon
I remember when this book first came out and the total uproar over it. Some people, who were fans of Star Trek and Spock, were just outraged that he would photograph fat women and have the nerve to publish those photos. Others were amazed and awed by it and thought it was a wonderful book. I remember thinking at the time that I wished I could afford a copy of it (I still wish I could afford a copy of it). This is one of those coffee table books that would definitely start conversations (and probably start fights….lol).
I have this book as well and I think it’s brilliant. Unfortunately I’ve heard the typical bs about Leonard Nimoy being a wierdo fetishist for admiring fat women.