Bodies: Boris Vallejo : His Photographic Art

Originally Vallejo used a professional photographer, but he became interested in photographer and began to do his own work. He brings to his black and white photographic images the same intensity that he uses in his illustration. No doubt due in part to his interest in body building Vallejo's perception of beauty is a bit different from the photographic norm.

Vallejo's women are not the slim ephemeral beauties that inhabit the fantasies of your average, slightly flabby, American male. These women are people to contend with, who hand swords and armor with the same facility we do Palm Pilots. Using these strong thewed yet remarkably sensual women (and men too) Vallejo creates images of refined quality with a startling sense of natural form and flow. They lack the excessive strain that sometimes appears in photos of body builders.

Vallejo uses medium format cameras to create images of extreme detail, and is unafraid to include the scars and bumps along with the lush sensuality of skin and hair. As such there is a dimensional effect which can be hypnotic. Some might quibble over whether this is fine art photography, but these are striking, unforgettable images.


Robust, Beautiful Unadorned Bodies Form the Base of Fantasy!   March 29, 2001
Donald Mitchell (Boston)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

This book contains many nude photographs done in ways that would cause the book to receive an R rating if it were a motion picture.

Boris Vallejo is well known for his fantasy illustrations of strong men and women. To create those illustrations, he often creates photographs of his models rather than having them pose for extended periods of time. This book contains many images that he has used for that purpose. For long-time Vallejo fans, part of the interest in this book will be seeing the models he was using. This allows you to see more clearly what Vallejo adds through selecting the models, posing them, and employing his illustration style.

Since these images were created as intermediary subjects, they do not have the usual focus on composition, lighting, or personality. As such, these vibrant people often come across like partially decayed statues done in marble by a long-deceased Roman or Greek sculptor.

The most interesting part of the photographs themselves is that they reveal aspects of the human form that you have probably not seen before. Most of the models are female bodybuilders (including Mr. Vallejo's wife and sister). Most of us have an image of what bodybuilders look like in a competition. These photographs are less extreme, taken when a model is usually not "pumped up" to competition shape and with less extreme poses. Because there is little use of filters (and no retouching that I noticed), these people reveal their warts and scars as well as their muscles. I found the contrasts to be fascinating. Rather than making the images less attractive, the contrast for me made the most beautiful sections of the model's body even more idealized. In many cases, it's a jaw line, or a neck, or part of the curve of the shoulder that draws your attention. But by being in very good shape, there's a lot of muscle that creates slightly exaggerated curves in many places against taut skin that makes for very appealing shapes.

In some situations, the models pose with all kinds of fantasy gear, including weapons. This actually enhances the contrasts in favor of seeing the person has more powerful -- to hold such a dangerous weapon while unclothed requires great self-confidence.

I also came away from this book having a greater appreciation for Mr. Vallejo's illustrations. They are much closer to real life than I would have ever imagined. I had always found them to seem exaggerated, and thus unfairly dismissed them as overdone. But his illustrations are not much more than an idealization of the real thing, as portrayed here.

I would normally tell you what my favorite images are from the book. Since there were no names, titles, dates, or page numbers, it is hard to reference them. From a photography perspective, the image of the pregnant woman was clearly one of the best. I found that his female photographs were more appealing than his male ones, probably because the models were less distorted by muscles. The women seemed healthy and vibrant, rather than muscle-dominated. But that's probably just a matter of personal taste.

After you finish this book, perhaps you should think about how you can use photography to help you accomplish important tasks in your life. Where would it help to have real-life models? Where can a photograph record reality better than any other method, including your memory? If you move 20 years into the future, what would you miss if you had not photographed it?

Be open to appreciating people and beauty in new ways!


A wonderful product with a warts-and-all approach   October 27, 1999
Blue! (Kent, OH USA)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

Quite frankly, there isn't much for me to say; the reader from Milwaukee, August, 1998 pretty much covered it all, and I agree with everything that reviewer said. This was not something that was developed specifically as a photography project; it evolved naturally from Boris' work as an illustrator. In his earlier works, such as "The Fantastic Art of Boris Vallejo" and "Mirage," reference is made to his use of photo-referents as tools for his paintings. While his interest in photography stems from that, his primary concern with it is firmly rooted in the utilitarian sense of the photo as an intermediary tool in the creation of something else. That shows in this. In "Bodies" we find some prints which were always intended as showcase photos, some which were merely used to get the creative juices flowing, and some which were intended as intermediary tools, but which also happened to be of showcase quality.

Because Boris' photographic mentality is focused not so much on the end product, but on the process, we see a very organic, natural, frank, honest, and unpretentious presentation. Oh, it's not without flaws, but neither is the essence of humanity. I was so impressed with the package that I refused to buy the copy of the book I found in the store, which had been slightly manhandled (no doubt by giggling adolescents incapable of looking beyond the nude to the art within). I made them special order a copy so that I might have one that was pristine.

There was one other fun thing not touched on by any of the previous reviewers. As a longtime Boris fan, owner of all his previous books ("The Fantastic Art of Boris Vallejo," "Mirage," "Enchantment," and "Ladies") as well as numerous book covers and fantasy art calendars, I found it entertaining to play "Spot the Model." Though the majority of the photos were of the photographer's wife, bodybuilder and fantasy artist Julie Bell, certain faces and figures were instantly recognizable for having turned up as a god in a calendar, a noble savage on a book cover, a Greek femme fatale bringing to life a story by the artist's sister, Doris.

Jaded longtime photography pointy-heads may not learn anything new from this book, but there is something within that can make this book as enjoyable to them as to any longtime fan of the great illustrator. Boris simply has a deep and abiding love for the human form, and this collection is a celebration of that emotion and devotion. A celebration definitely worth attending.