The modern, muscular female physique is the focus of this collection of fine art photos. In the Taschen Modern Amazons By Bill Dobbins, The author presents figure studies of women bodybuilders and fitness competitors - the first women in history to develop their muscles for primarily aesthetic purposes. In his colour and b/w pictures, he explores the form and details of these physiques almost as if they were alien landscapes. The photographer has often likened what he does to the work of Ansel Adams - but focused on the aesthetically developed female physique instead of Yosemite and the deserts and mountains of the American Southwest. The text accompanying the photos addresses the meaning and impact of these aesthetically developed women on modern culture. Dobbins explores their significance as the first women in history to look like this (they establish a new cultural paradigm) and considers the meaning that this kind of body has for our society, our knowledge of the physiological possibilities of the female body, the aging process, our sense of the erotic and our expectations as to what is 'feminine' and appropriate to our traditional sense of female gender identity.
There has been a revolution in fashion, style and the human body. Muscle has suddenly become chic. This began with men, and now includes women. The trend was first noticeable in the movies. Nobody was ever as lean, muscular and "ripped" as martial arts legend Bruce Lee. Sylvester Stallone trained with a champion bodybuilder to create the sculpted physique we saw in Rocky II. Arnold Schwarzenegger, by far the greatest bodybuilder of his day, appeared on screen in Conan the Barbarian, and raised the bar even further. Nowadays, no self-respecting action film hero could expect to make much of an impact without a hard body and a great set of abs. People watch Jean-Claude Van Damme for his physique, not his acting. Today, a male fashion model can't succeed without the defined pecs and abs of an aspiring bodybuilder.
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