i watched this fabulous documentary on HBO the other night. naked world: by spencer tunick. this man takes nude photos, and he traveled across the world and took nude photos from people in every continent, including antartica. at first, i was thinking this guy is a pervert, and i wasn't expecting much. but to my surprise, i was moved to tears by this film. i was so amazed about my feelings. and that's lovely...to be surprised by your own self.
see, he takes photos of hundreds and sometimes thousands of people at a time...a landscape of human bodies all laying down in a uniform shape. sometimes he asks everyone to curl into a ball, but mostly people are laying on their backs or sides. no one is allowed to smile or laugh...no expression. he has people laying outside next to the ocean, on a mountain, in the desert, on a plain, etc. etc. the bodies become part of the landscape...part of the earth. you don't see one person. who is fat or thin. who has a nice body or a bad one. you don't see breasts or penis'. only a sea of flesh-colored humanity.
seeing people up close...you see details...hair, jewelry, size, gender, scars, imperfections, race, etc. but when you look at a landscape photo...you only see human. you see yourself. you see the vulnerability of the human body next to the power of the land, sea, or mountain. you see how small, but how significant we are. it's beautiful. it choked me up and made me look at myself and all of mankind as precious in His sight. it also made me see that my imperfect body is a work of art. the crags and crevices are like the landscape that we find so beautiful in nature..the scars are simply natural erosion or evidence of life. there is nothing to be ashamed about. we can do some landscaping, but it will never be flawless...and i figure...that's how we are *supposed* to be. there is nothing devoid, flawless, and computer-generated about our human bodies. they are a living being that goes and lives and gets the bumps, bruises, and cuts that life offers. to be perfect...to have a perfect body...is to not be human. and that is a relief to not have to worry about.