The beautiful pregnant Erin O'Connor photographed by Nick Knight
I love the fact Erin wanted to be photographed at such an important moment in the life of a woman, a defining one (because of the way motherhood is perceived and constructed), and one which marks a major transition. Many women, famous and non-famous, fall pregnant or willingly embark on a pregnancy, it is a fact of life, and they usually, particularly if they are famous, keep a low profile during their pregnancy, very often feeling ugly and 'huge'. But Erin has had the guts to celebrate the beauty of a pregnant woman's naked body and this is to be applauded. The perception of pregnancy is often that of an 'illness'. The body of a pregnant woman is not seen as beautiful, even though there is now a 'tradition' of photographing pregnant women, ever since the famous shot of a seven months pregnant Demi Moore by Annie Liebowitz, published by Vanity Fair in 1991. Erin's photos by Nick Knight are part of this new tradition and they are most remarkable. Erin's statuesque beauty is fully brought to the fore and her bump, so perfectly round, is most beautiful. Equally interesting is the interview that Erin gave as a complement to the photos and what she says about her pregnant body. I will not quote from it, it has to be read in full.
A pregnant body is an expression of female sexuality, a real celebration of it. Pregnancy is, after all, an outcome of sexual activity. So I would fully celebrate the sheer sensuality and intrinsic sexiness of a pregnant body, rather than framing it as asexual, implicitly invoking imagery of Mary, to obliterate any sexual connotation. The images shot by Knight are actually very sensual and Erin brings that sensuality out in a most uncanny way.
These pictures should be seen by as many women as possible. I do hope that Erin will continue to celebrate the female body going through motherhood by having pictures of her as a nursing mother, publicly acknowledging that stage in motherhood which is often completely bypassed, with famous beautiful women being photographed days after giving birth sporting a very trim figure, their pregnancy becoming immediately a thing of the past, something which must not leave any trace whatsoever on their bodies and possibly on their psyche - a real contradiction in terms . Catherine Zeta Jones was one of the very few celebrities to take a stance against this very Hollywood trend, way back, after the birth of her first son, remarking that new mothers need time to be with their babies, breastfeeding them, to adjust to the new circumstances and taking as much time as needed to regain their pre-birth weight, without rushing to be seen as they were 'before being pregnant', because that is an illusion. Pregnancy (as is motherhood) is a biological process and a culturally constructed one. I feel that Erin by virtue of her supermodel status can do much to shift perceptions of body and beauty and teach women who are having babies to enjoy their transition, without feeling guilty about the changes in their body and without ever feeling ugly.
I received this comment from Christina who recently wrote a blogpost for All Walks http://www.allwalks.org/2014/02/pregnant-with-meanings-and-fashionable-questions/ on being pregnant and visibility. She had some technical problems so she asked to write her comment here for her. Here it is:
ReplyDeleteWow! I have the feeling that these photographs deserve a distinguished place in the Pantheon of cultural representation. What a classical sense of proportion in the posture and in the arrangement of the female body in space. Erin reminds me of a pregnant Caryatid and her bodily performance reveals a dignity and a human imperfect perfection that is reminiscent of classical architecture. I emphasise perfect imperfection, as with her expert technique of standing and the curvature of her spine she reminded me of the Doric columns of the Parthenon. The Parthenon had not even one single straight line in its design but was composed of curved lines of columns that gave the impression of straight line when seen from a perspective. I admire Erin because as a an experienced professional she knows exactly how best to create these perspectives of perfect lines through the curve of her body. She exudes as much dignity, nobility and human intelligence and knowledge of space and geometry as the Parthenon. Hail to a modern icon of classical perfection that is human and authored assertively by a female agency rather than manipulated by a manufactured gaze. We need our modern goddesses and here is one; all fleshy and proudly round. Erin, as a mother and as a body, I salute you in recognition of a shared beautiful perfection and in celebration of what the eye can see when the body knows how to use senses to express something beyond any body. A masterful artistic body pregnant and in love! You inspire me!