Visions of Shaman Totam Hawk by Allison and John Overton

Redbubble have published a new edition from their series of books showcasing works by artists represented on their website, this one themed Nude, and as you can imagine there are many beautiful, artistic pictures of naked bodies in the book.

What I like about Nude in particular is that while it serves its purpose to highlight the impressive quality of art to be found among Redbubble members, many of whom who do not work professionally as artists, Nude could I think also make a very useful tool with which to launch a debate about ‘pornography vs art’.

In a society where adolescents have been exposed to more sexual images then any generation before, parents and teachers wanting to discuss sexual imagery with their dependents, may find this collection sufficiently non-threatening to analyse when asking questions such as ‘when do you think sexual images stop being safe for public broadcast and start being considered (by some) to be abusive’, and ‘how can an artistic approach to documentation of the naked form help frame sexuality as an aesthetically beautiful experience’.

When asked what age group he would find the content suitable for, Martin Hosking, co-founder of RedBubble, replied that he would be happy with his 15-year-old daughter looking at the book, and whilst I don’t have children, I think I would have found the creativity and latent sexiness an intriguing combination from the age of 13. “We limited ourselves to those images we considered to be safe for SBS, so around an M (Mature) rating of 15+”.

Nude doesn’t focus on sexualised imagery alone, however it’s only natural to appreciate the naked human form.

Redbubble is a website that allows people to showcase artistic images and text. Viewers can also purchase high quality prints of the artworks showcased on the site. Nude is the fifth in their series of coffee table art books.

Publisher: Redbubble Pty Ltd
ISBN: 978-0-9805691-3-1
77 page paperback.
68 colour images and 9 written pieces.

http://www.redbubble.com/people/redbubble/journal/3648074-happy-and-nude