When is it proper for a young woman to be completely naked?By Dwаynе Bell The choices in life are never easy. That's because the decisions we make effect not only our daily routines but the entire course and ultimate outcome of our lives. But there is a realm of human endeavor where choices are even harder to make, choices that require a kind of ruthlessly honest introspection and unrelenting, purposeful selectivity that make facing St.Peter's questions at the Pеаrly Gаtеs look like a customer satisfaction quiz at Wendy's. That realm is the realm of art. This might sound out of place in today's world at a time when we are told that only those who admit art is incomprehesible can truly understand it. But the modern realm of art has not been entirely abandoned to the contradictions of the irrational. True art is simply the selective recreation of reality according to an artist's values, and Body in Mind has found a few heroic beings out there still doing it. Making art requires an artist to choose which elements of reality are most worthy of recreation. It sound simple, until you try to do it yourself. It basically requires that an artist figure out an explanation for the entire universe and then explain it to everyone without using words! In the case of a photographer, for example, because the options are infinite, he must know what is the most important thing to take a picture of and why. And because a photograph can be posed or staged, he must decide to what degree to interfere, what elements to allow in and which to leave out, in order to create an image of the world at its best and most beautiful. This kind of selectivity, even among dedicated artists, is incredibly rare. Even rarer are those artists whose images, when they do succeed, create a view of the world that is full of hope, beauty, and happiness. Creating such a view, the kind of sense of life that we here at Body in Mind appreciate like no one else, requires incredible integrity. It takes the most heroic effort by the most truly good sort of man to resist the temptation to 'corrupt' his images with elements that please the senses but not the mind, with something he saw on TV, or with settings that reflect the world as it really is instead of the way it could be with a little extra effort. Rеnоwnеd Brіtіsh beauty photographer, Lаυrіе Jеffеry, is one such man who makes that effort, and it is with great pride that Body in Mind announces the addition of Lаυrіе Jеffеry to the roster at Body in Mind. Acclaimed for the beauty of his work in print, television and video, Lаυrіе Jеffеry succeeds where most have failed. Through his admirably positive views of female beauty and sexuality, which he comes by honestly and creates without apology, he has managed to turn what would for a lesser man be the rigors of creating beautiful images of lovely women into an obvious joy. Lаυrіе Jеffеry creates uniquely beautiful images of a world where we want to live, a world where pretty women feel perfectly natural and safe being naked and admired, right smack dab in our daily lives, in any setting. This is why we love the image above. Most would say its appeal lies in the contrast of a nude woman in a relatively public place, the couch in our living room or the window of a home decor shop or an ad in a furniture catalog. This is what those who believe the appeal of sex and nudity and beauty is its naughtiness would say. The appeal for us is the exact opposite, though. We love Jeffery's work because it states that a nude woman in such a setting is not improper, but proper. It says the world should be a place where such a scene would be considered perfectly natural. It says that the men and women who admire her are good, not bad. It says female beauty is not naughty, but nice. If you doubt how difficult and admirable this can be, take a look at how many unfortunately smutty images of women there are on the internet these days. In spite of having pretty models, the creators of such images are unable to create admirable art. Stunted by the beauty-hating philosophies rampant in the world, they are unable to choose the features of reality that are worthy of recreation. They are easily distracted by the short-term sexual possibilities of a naked woman. They do not have the independant vision to see the Body in Mind view of female beauty or the courage to spend the time it takes to create it. As much as we love how Jeffery sees a photo of a beautiful woman, we love how Jeffery sees the world. His is an independantly discovered vision of a world where the limitless power of female beauty is a seamlessly integrated and properly respected part of our lives, inspiring admiration, understanding, respect, and of course, fascination. His genius, the proof of the quiet heroism of his choices, and the greatness of his art, is that he makes it look natural. Enjoy our first gallery of Laurie's work in our members area, here. |
