“23” Celebrates Everybody With Nudes of Every Body

No Greater Art Than the Nude Body

There's art you get and there's art you don't get. While we can go back and forth on what, where, when, how, and why we get some art and not others, one thing we can agree on is that the nude body is one of the greatest works of art ever. And when it's portrayed by a great artist like photographer Maggie West, the nude form can look quite awesome. In her upcoming book "23," she photographs diverse subjects to celebrate all of the various nude forms.

While I do believe the pictures speak for themselves, I wanted to share some of what Maggie West said, in an interview with Paper magazine, about her goals with these pictures and why she decided to tackle more than just one body type:

"I have always admired the timeless quality of nude photographs. While fashion photos and portraiture can often be identified in a place or time, there is something beautifully indefinite about a nude portrait in a studio setting.I wanted to do a nude book that explored gender and sexuality in less binary way. While looking at a lot of existing nude books, I felt that the men and women in the books were being depicted in very stereotypical ways; very feminine women, extremely masculine men. I wanted a diverse set of voices and opinions to introduce such a diverse set of portraits."

And what a diverse group she found, including trans musician Ryan Cassata and trans adult film star James Darling. I do kind of hope there is also a gallery showing to go along with the release of the book. I think I'm not alone in saying I'd love to see this pictures larger than life hanging on a wall. "23" will hit bookstores and online on April 26th.

Via Paper Magazine