The purpose of this project is to examine and challenge modern western aesthetics of female beauty and body size.

I began by gathering images of women. Some are current celebrities who are frequently praised for 'breaking the mold' of the idealized, thin female body. I also included women known for being icons of an era when a more voluptuous form was desirable for women. Finally, I included images from paintings by artists known for depicting curvacious women.

I used Adobe Photoshop to transform the women from 'curvy' to 'thin'. In some cases, the difference is hardly noticeable, in other pictures, the transformation is striking. The degree of change in each picture was determined by the limitations of the image. Some angles were easier to manipulate and some backgrounds made it difficult to drastically reduce the figure's size.

The process was largely trial and error. I have some experience in editing images in Photoshop, but I am by no means an expert. In some instances, and shown in the example below, I copied and pasted the external edges of the body.

In a few images, I was able to change the body size using only the liquefy tool.

After shrinking the body, the images were usually quite obviously manipulated. To make the morphed images more realistic, I used the clone stamp and healing brush to recreate the texture and patterns that were distorted by morphing. The image below shows one image before and after the sharp edges and mismatched textures were blended.

My intent in creating these images is to make the viewer think about modern aesthetic ideals. Some viewers might think that the model looked better before being morphed, others may think the morphed figure is more attractive. Some people may not be able to discern a difference at all. Whatever they think, I hope that viewing the images side by side will make people reconsider the presumed essentiality of female body as an object to be judged for its beauty.

This project also plays with the cultural fascination with the female body and weight. Seeing curvy icons made into the thin ideal satisfies an intense curiosity that people are uncomfortable acknowledging. I hope these images will elicit questions in viewers. Why is it satisfying to see these pictures? Why is it disturbing? What does your reaction to these images reveal about your relationship with the female body?