The human anatomy is a subject which fascinates me to no end. One of my most highly prized possessions is my beautifully illustrated atlas. I remember when I first bought it, having relatively little knowledge of the inner workings of the human body and how they might look, that I would open one of the two heavy tomes at random and just take in all the shapes. The craggy fissures of the skull, the light fluidity of the clavicle… to me it all still seems amazingly intricate, like a lovingly adorned work of art.
Of course, artists have always been moved by the human body. Usually they have been more inspired by the outside of it, the hillocks and valleys the skin forms; stretched tight or loosely draped over the secrets within the body.
Sometimes, however, the brilliant amongst us been enthused by bone, muscle and organ. It’s these works of art that I really feel a connection with that’s more than skin deep. It’s engrossing subject matter not only because it is both ephemeral ( people so quickly die – the body so rapidly withers) and permanent (haven’t all humans been the same inside? – and won’t all humans to come be?), but because the sheer beauty of all our insides is obvious.
One kind of artist that’s really studied and dealt with the guts and gore of Homo Sapiens is, not surpisingly (not to me at least) the fashion designer. In a funny way, one could posit that what our clothes are to our skin, our skin is to our insides. Always original, humorous and playful, the fashionista’s take on anatomy proves that a preoccupation with the fact that a person is just a skin-bag full of bones and guts needn’t be macabre. The focus is never on death, but on child-like curiosity to find out, especially that which is taboo. And if that’s not the point of art, what is?
Leonidas is a guest blogger for SLT. If you want to know what he thinks about stuff, visit his own semi-derelict blog at http://fucksanta.blogspot.com
Of course, artists have always been moved by the human body. Usually they have been more inspired by the outside of it, the hillocks and valleys the skin forms; stretched tight or loosely draped over the secrets within the body.
Sometimes, however, the brilliant amongst us been enthused by bone, muscle and organ. It’s these works of art that I really feel a connection with that’s more than skin deep. It’s engrossing subject matter not only because it is both ephemeral ( people so quickly die – the body so rapidly withers) and permanent (haven’t all humans been the same inside? – and won’t all humans to come be?), but because the sheer beauty of all our insides is obvious.
One kind of artist that’s really studied and dealt with the guts and gore of Homo Sapiens is, not surpisingly (not to me at least) the fashion designer. In a funny way, one could posit that what our clothes are to our skin, our skin is to our insides. Always original, humorous and playful, the fashionista’s take on anatomy proves that a preoccupation with the fact that a person is just a skin-bag full of bones and guts needn’t be macabre. The focus is never on death, but on child-like curiosity to find out, especially that which is taboo. And if that’s not the point of art, what is?
Leonidas is a guest blogger for SLT. If you want to know what he thinks about stuff, visit his own semi-derelict blog at http://fucksanta.blogspot.com
