Product Description

Fifty-four portraits of women that are striking, beautiful, and real. The bodies in this book have been shaped by the full sweep of the feminine experience.

They belong to 54 women from all over the country, ages 19 to 95, of all sizes and shapes, ethnicities, and life experiences, who were willing to expose their naked physical forms in This Is Who I Am. They are ordinary women only in the sense that none is a professional model. They are in all other ways extraordinary—courageous, curious, thoughtful, speaking unflinchingly about their bodies, then allowing themselves to be photographed to inspire other women to make peace with their physical selves, "to glorify the real beauty of all women."

Certainly, the feminine nude form is not new to artists and photographers. But the portraits in This Is Who I Am, taken by award-winning photographer Rosanne Olson, with a steady, unjudgmental eye, speak loudly to the American obsession of feminine perfection—slim hips and full breasts, high cheekbones and tiny waists, taut skin and eternal youth—and even more loudly to the way real women, with real bodies and real lives, look.

By turns tender, personal, and moving, this tribute to contemporary womanhood is the perfect gift for mothers to give to daughters, daughters to cousins, cousins to friends.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #113615 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 116 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781579653637
• BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
• Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Review
"This is an absolutely wonderful book. Every woman needs to see it! It has made me feel inspired, exhilarated, normal and beautiful!" - Kate Winslet"

Review
"This is an absolutely wonderful book. Every woman needs to see it! It has made me feel inspired, exhilarated, normal and beautiful!"
—Kate Winslet

From the Inside Flap
The bodies in this book have been shaped by the full sweep of the feminine experience. They belong to doctors, lawyers, artists, mothers, professors, performance artists—women from all over the country, ages nineteen to ninety-five, of all ethnicities and life experiences. These are ordinary women only in the sense that none is a professional model. They are in all other ways extraordinary—courageous, curious, thoughtful, speaking unflinchingly about their bodies, then allowing themselves to be photographed to inspire other women to make peace with their physical selves.

Certainly, the feminine nude form is not new to artists and photographers. But the portraits in This Is Who I Am, taken by award-winning photographer Rosanne Olson with a steady, non-judgemental eye speak loudly to the American obsession of feminine perfection—slim hips and full breasts, high cheekbones and tiny waists, taut skin and eternal youth—and even more loudly to the way real women, with real bodies and real lives, look. Each of the striking and classically photographed potraits in this book stands on its own. Looked at together they form a tribute to contemporary womanhood that is by turns tender, personal, and moving. This Is Who I Am goes to the heart of these women's lives. It will touch any mother, wife, or daughter, and any husband, son, or father, too.

Customer Reviews

Simply amazing
I just received the book today, and I must say that I'm truly amazed. Some of the images were featured in LensWork magazine, but the cumulative effect of the stories and images is incredible. The portraits are very consistent in terms of lighting and background. However, variety comes in the range of ages and body types that are featured and in the way the women relate to their bodies.

A masterpiece of beauty and art!
I first heard Ms. Olson's audio interview, and saw a snippet of her work on LensWork. I was quite impressed. I purchased her book and have gone through it three times now with utter amazement at the words by the women and the beautiful and pure images that she has captured. I have since purchased her book for two of my sisters and two of my dearest friends. I know that they will enjoy this masterpiece of hers as much as I have. I am in the health care industry and photography is a passion of mine. Ms. Olson strikes the chord on both of these notes. The strength of the women in these photos shine through every frame as does their words of courage and encouragement. Every one of them, to include Ms. Olson, I commend because you have provoked thought, and maybe more importantly questions, we should ponder with others. I will definitely continue to share this gift that they have given us with family and friends.

Real women, real beauty
That model on the cover, Dana, could you ever believe that she has doubts about her loveliness? Her brief blurb about herself sounds far less than certain about the incredible beauty of a perfectly ordinary woman like her. That is a crime and a tragedy, one that this collection confronts directly.

The models range from 19 to 95, with every decade between represented. Constance, age 80, peers back at the viewer with an elfin smile. Kia, at 37, stares off with a gaze that seems far older than her face and figure. Moods of the other models range in every direction. Emily, an archetype of blonde slederness, battles betrayal by her body as genetic lung disease takes its toll on her. Mothers and mothers-to-be bring children to the images they use to define themselves. Beautiful women from East Asian families talk about how they were too tall, or curvy, or tawny, or strong to be worth a second look back home - what a difference a continent makes!

Beauty does not mean being pretty, although the two do appear together some times. Instead, it's about the varied and complicated lives people live, and about the figures and features from every corner of the human planet. It's about all of people's ages too. I wish all women happy loves in their lives, however long they live. For that to happen, the woman and the one who loves her must love her look at every age, and after every demand on her body. This book is really about loving all those looks.

-- wiredweird