Pages in this Feature: Real Bodies and Naked Truths The Photographer, Frank Cordelle, Speaks Excerpts of Two Women's Stories Cover © 2007 by Frank Cordelle

I mages can be powerful. They can evoke a range of emotions and perceptions. Take the picture of a woman showing one plump, healthy breast along with a tattoo of a tree trailing and climbing where her other breast used to be before she had a mastectomy to preserve her life. It seems symbolic of the seeds of life. Head cocked, chin raised just so, she seems regal and proud of her battle scars. Emotions may range from understanding her liberation to being shocked by the stark, raw and realness of the image. Some of us may find the image spiritually beautiful, while some may feel uncomfortable because of the subject and the fact that Jacquelyn, 38, is naked and not your average model.

The image is one of the many women photographed by Frank Cordelle over the past 25 years that accumulated in The Century Project- a national exhibition and now, a book Bodies and Souls: The Century Project, featuring women from birth to 94, revealing their naked truth. We see bodies of all shapes, color, sizes; bodies that are scarred, bruised, budding, exploited, smooth, aged, proud. Some of the women are wearing smiles and celebrating themselves, some are loudly challenging our views, some appear vulnerable, while others are innocent in age. Whatever their expressions or their body type, we get every woman in all her uniqueness, vulnerability, strength and spirit.

Jacquelyn, 38 © 2007 by Frank Cordelle

The Century Project exhibition has drawn praise, far and wide, for what some call a ground breaking collection of photographs depicting women at their realest - a brave step away from the plastic perceptions of women that is part of our culture. And yet, it wasn't easy for Cordelle to find a publisher for the book. Publishers, including women who Cordelle mentions were emotional about the photographs, passed because their hands were tied by what our culture deems acceptable. They could not risk adverse reactions because of nudity and subject matter.

As the project documents women chronologically, some involve young girls, as well as adolescent girls on their way to womanhood (with the blessing of their parents, and in some cases the mother was also photographed), while some photographs are of women with double mastectomies, women with disabilities and women long past their prime. Most of the women have a story to tell and some stories are shocking and emotional.

And while most publishers saw the beauty of these women, no one had the courage to put these women out there as a celebration of life and what is real. That is until Cordelle met Paul Rapoport, a Canadian University Professor and a publisher (Heureka Productions) of books dealing with naturism and nudity. But how ironic it is that it took two men to get this book published; two men who were passionate about presenting women as they are without the salacious, exploitive or sexual nature that exists today.

Rapoport, who has intensely strong feelings and hope for the book, says, “I published this book partly because the people who declined to were laboring under misinformation, misunderstandings, or groundless fears about photographs, nudity, women, girls, or all of those.” While some may let the nudity get in their way of their appreciation of this slice of life, others will look upon this project as exactly what's needed to break through the cultural issues of shame and body related issues and celebrate a woman's body as it is.

But why would a man, of all people, be interested in photographing women as they really are without the slight of hand that passes for real these days? And the better question, why would women want to bare the souls and tell their stories, some of which can at times be sad? Why would they open themselves up to judgement by a critical public who often wants beauty to be just the way it is in the media: glossy and unreal?

For Cordelle, a photographer for over 40 years, the answer is part creative satisfaction as it allowed him to make the most important artistic contribution so far in his impressive career (his clients include Newsweek and Life), and he says that it has been the biggest influence on the man he is today. But more importantly, he wanted to make a socio-political statement that included his 87-year-old mother, whom he photographed shortly before she died. Cordelle wants his photographs to dispel the "warped view" of nudity and challenge the current standards by which women's bodies are judged. And his message is straight-forward and powerful.

Calista, 30 © 2007 by Frank Cordelle

"One of the several goals of The Century Project is to provide a realistic view of all women, not the BS which is typically presented by the media.,” Cordelle says. “One should recognize as well that TCP is NOT solely about women who have a difficult story to tell, but about everywoman, happy/sad, old/young, etc.”

As for why the women wanted to reveal themselves. The simple answer: because it's liberating to let go of the issues and fears that bind, and for some, it was simply a question of why not. Many of the women come from backgrounds mired in abuse, rape and incest, some deal with cultural constraints and expectations of beauty, and others are trying to heal from what sickness has done to their bodies.

Rapoport says that you cannot overcome the nudity taboo-shame and disgrace by keeping bodies covered, or show the various aspects of puberty, ageing, illness or abuse by just talking about them. Images are needed as well as stories for acceptance and recognition to take place.

"To reclaim the body requires the body, many bodies, to challenge the traditional, narrow, oppressive view (of nudity, women, and their connection) in its unwarranted supremacy."

And women like Calista, 30, reclaim their bodies by coming out of the shadows of their pasts and sharing their stories.

"I have been raped twice in my life by strangers. I didn’t fight back. I chose to live; it was only my body. They pulled hair out of my head, grabbed my skin. I did not fight back. I am still alive. I am Calista. I know who I am. I know who I am."

Sylviaette, 46 © 2007 by Frank Cordelle

And it's only in peeling away our layers and revealing our true selves that some of us may find ourselves or even realize that we have any power. To present yourself naked to the world is to raise up your arms as if to say, “Tada…here I am in all my imperfect glory - take me as I am or leave me. I am as I am. This body is mine." And that is the beauty of Cordelle's pictures; they are as they are. Bare. Stark. Honest. Telling and full of everything all at once.

"Today I am wearing long and flowing purple without my false front and feeling stunning,” says 38-year-old cancer survivor and warrior Jacquelyn. "…My fake boob, my rubber tit, my concession to society's denial that women lose breasts everyday."

These photographs are of women as we rarely get to see them - real - and besides their nakedness - we see their strength and acceptance of themselves, and in some cases, the beginning of their healing and taking back the power over their bodies and spirit.

"Things are not always perfect but I have a sense of pride now. I know that ultimately I am all right no matter what, and even though my childhood was wrong, it was mine and I am thankful for who I am," Calista says. "I do not have time to wallow around in self-pity and blame. I am not a victim or a survivor. Done is done."

Many of the women, by telling their stories and making no apologies, purge their souls and begin healing from the residue of abuse and self-criticism. Instead of recoiling in shame from a negative past or feeling less than human because sickness has their altered their bodies, they're standing proud. In their release, we sense that wanton feeling of the freedom to be themselves as they've found a deeper truth.

“In 'going public' with their bodies and lives, many women in the book felt significant relief, even a step towards healing, because certain matters were no longer locked inside them and they could declare who they were," says Rapoport.

But Bodies and Souls isn’t only about women overcoming adversities. For the majority of women, it seems to be a celebration of who they are. No body issues, just here I am. While some show their vulnerability as they look into the camera almost begging not to be judged, others like Sylviaette, 46, who seems comfortable in her skin, says, "Why not? My mother always said I have a mind of my own."

Although women of all races struggle with body issues, Sylviaette's attitude seems to correlate with the higher acceptance of their bodies by African American women. In the book, Cordelle points out that while Christina and Sylviaette have the same body type, Sylviaette seeems to have embraced her body while Christina is still struggling to accept the woman in the mirror.

"..It is certainly true that one doesn't see the extremes that one often does with others, i.e. anorexia, bulimia, cutting, etc. Anorexic black women are hard to find..." Cordelle says.

Isabela, 79 © 2007 by Frank Cordelle

Throughout the book, we see examples of today's culture, where women are caught up in the body image struggle and suffer from anorexia, bulimia and body alterations. But there is also a sense of hope as it appears the older they are, the more comfortable the women are with their bodies. The older women appear natural and graceful and at peace with themselves. From them you get a sense of being over all the struggles with perfection, or like 94 year-old Mary quips, "I posed so some old lady will not fear age, and some old men would know old women are not so strange...my husband would have said ‘Some picture kid!’”

Bodies and Souls is vast and beautifully empowering in its subject and scope in that it challenges the culture and what we deem to be normal or acceptable. But the book is more than liberation for the women inside, it is identification for the rest of us wrestling with our own personal issues and tearing down our own walls. And nudity seems to put us all on one level. It gives us an even playing field and reveals our humanity as we see our differences, as well as our likeness, and it helps us to realize that we're not alone in our struggles. Bodies and Souls is a coming out celebration for all those who've always felt the need to hide in shame because of their perceived flaws or those of us who aren’t afraid to be ourselves. If anything, it contributes a lasting legacy as to the beauty, resiliency and power of women.

"Everywhere women may realize from this project and book that they are acceptable as human beings and as females, but without external pressure to conform," Rapoport says hopefully. "The sheer diversity in the book ought to be convincing proof of that..."

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