The sculptor's human model

Author: Claudio Alexandri Photography
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-06-01
Features: The Sculptor's Model is an imported art book on model photography, authorized for exclusive publication by Jilin Fine Arts Publishing House under the license of Stemmle Publishers GmbH. Like other books, it has many unique features, each worth praising and studying. To be honest, each feature of the book deserves its own review article. We were fortunate to be the first to appreciate this exquisite album, and as professionals in art publishing, we found the layout design particularly interesting and captivating. The plates in the book are exquisite, and the layout design is even more refined, presenting a meticulously designed model that is a "model" in itself. The book features 48 female models in total, and the 8 plates of the first two models are particularly captivating. If the first model appearing in the book is a psychological guide, then the 14th model is an aesthetic leader in humanistic terms. The former sets a good tone, while the latter is even better than a tour guide. When we turn to page 12 of this square portrait album, just as we flip the page, we suddenly see the first model with her hands covering her face. Actually, what we wanted to see was her face, but she covered it tightly, perhaps intentionally hiding it out of shyness. Interestingly, she stands to the right, positioned on the left side of the front page of the plate, with a vast whole page and half-page space in front of her. This is a space for imagination, for the first model to occupy, and for readers to envision. However, what we face is emptiness, or perhaps darkness? What is worth cherishing is that the photographer captured the complete psychological transformation of a model in front of the camera: starting with shyness, unprepared for nude photography, her thoughtful face covered. The book explains that they were all "doing this for the first time," "untrained amateur models," "none of them demanded payment, and none prohibited the book's publication; they stood, sat, or lay down as they wished." How did they face the challenges of society, overcome their initial, and confidently confront the light to discover and reveal their inner beauty? The plates in the book make it clear. Turning to page 16, we see this model after a while—seconds, minutes—her body turned, her hands crossed from a vertical to a cross position, but now she smiled, unable to hold back her lips, revealing white, dense, healthy, and orderly teeth, and about to let her hands down. By page 114, indeed, she had calmed down, composed, her right hand confidently supporting her chin, while her left hand calmly pressed against her waist, completing the entire psychological adaptation process without a doubt. She finally showed us her "true face." She is dignified and gentle, which can be seen from her gradually thinning and changing eyebrows, while her big eyes reflect her healthy psychological makeup. What is captivating is her slightly closed "one" shaped lips, symbolizing determination and a rich inner world. She is one of the two models with metal ornaments on her navels in the book. The other model adorned with gold and silver is almost fully armed—even when nude—earrings dangling from her ears, a necklace around her neck with a badge related to her faith, like the sun god, tied to the belt, rings on her fingers, and bracelets on her wrists with special symbolic decorations. What makes her unique is the circular metal ring piercing her navel. She appears five times in the book (P25, P50, P75, P121, P141), let's review her charm each time. From the page order, it's not hard to see that she is the thread running through the entire book, guiding the viewer, and also the last model to bring the book to a close. She appears almost every 25 pages, and her entrance is striking: she pinches her nipples with her thumbs and index fingers, twisting them, her focused eyes as if waiting for the photographer's instructions. In human body model photography works both domestically and internationally, her "cross" pose and the action of opening her other fingers are rarely seen. When she appears for the second time, her head and hair are tilted to one side, almost at a 90-degree angle, her arms hidden behind her back, looking at the world from a slightly oblique angle. This twisting of her upper body, with symmetrical upper and lower arms and left-right symmetry of her breasts, creates a balanced, stable, lively beauty and dynamic charm. When she faces us for the third time, she has calmed down, her dense, scattered hair near the areola highlighting her dignified facial features, and she presents her firm breasts in a more natural and beautiful way. Between her soft and dense hair, a curved rope draws our attention to a sacred metal ornament. The 12 pointed ornaments swirling around the circular head like flames are close to us, giving us a strong humanistic atmosphere. She fully embodies the beauty of dignity and grace in women. Her fourth appearance is more about showing her reflection on everything before her than her humanistic decorative beauty. We see that, apart from her thumbs, her hands are crossed and pressed against her face. The ring on her left hand, the two rings on her right index finger, the woven ring on her right wrist, the half-covered chest ornament hidden behind her arms, and the navel ring in the shape of an "X" between her breasts and arms create a scene that is not completely nude. Her attention is drawn to the many ornaments on her body, yet she curiously observes the extraordinary effect of this attention, almost gasping for breath, she has to tightly cover her mouth and hold her breath—she is almost stunned by the viewer! As the final model in the book, she strikes a graceful pose, as if saying goodbye to the readers, reluctantly. From her twisted and contorted toes, her left hand that seems to grasp and release, her right arm covering her head and bending backward, and her slightly turning hip, various body language signals indicate that she is displaying the full charm of a female human body model in her slender and graceful figure: lightness, elegance, and tranquility. Through such meticulous arrangement and organization, the layout designer of The Sculptor's Model leads us to a beautiful realm with just the first and second appearances of these two models, allowing us to enjoy the most real and intimate human body beauty in the world. No wonder the photographer thanks the layout designers, Alois Bartolome and Diana Vaughan, at the end of the book: "I should thank the layout designers." As readers who have been fortunate enough to appreciate the book, we should sincerely thank the photographers and publishers. The captivating and guiding layout design art organizes what seems like a simple hundred plates into an orderly artistic combination, a prominent feature of the book. It provides and accumulates valuable experience for layout design in human body photography books. Here is a question: how should layout design be approached for visual books like human body models, which primarily rely on plates? Besides the approach of this book, are there more artistic and reader-friendly layout forms? We believe that if the editors are willing to design meticulously, treating design as an engineering project, they will certainly find a unique and charming form for the book, even one that moves readers. In other words, when photographers and publishers provide readers with beautiful artworks, they may and should achieve a harmonious aesthetic value that combines form and spirit.