All this nakedness!

So I showed my flatmate Gabi my previous post of the kissing album covers that I posted not too long ago. For Gabi, the Washed out album cover reminded her a lot of the iconic photograph taken of Kate Moss and Johnny Depp when they were dating. This is undoubtably an extremely loving and sexual, but in no way a dirty photo. It's beautiful.

It also reminded me of Manet's painting of a prostitute-Olympia painted in 1863. This subject and style of painting was radical for it's time. Confrontational and shocking in subject, it caused uproar, and was condemned as vulgar and immoral. Through this painting Manet not only questioned painting subject; only goddesses were painted naked during this time, not 'imperfect' women, but he also confronts societies attitude towards prostitution, it was rife but never talked about. He highlights this taboo using stark lighting, Olympia's confrontational stare and and her 'imperfect' naked form.

What a long way we've come...