“Head to Toe:” The Nude in Graphic Design

By Steven Heller and Mirko Ilic | Rizzoli New York, $50

This is a sublime look at the multifaceted ways nudity finds its way into graphic design by addressing how such images appeal to our primal human nature. The collaboration between award-winning art director Marko Illic and renowned design critic Steven Heller offers results in enticing visuals built around human bodies and discussed with enlightening cultural and historical savvy. The subjects are by turns amusing, politically charged, sexual and emotional. There’s the strategic use of fruits and vegetables to cover nether regions, athletes bearing all to display their sports-sculpted physiques, solemn posters spreading awareness of the HIV/AIDS crisis — all suggesting that the ways in which the human body can be used as a means to convey a message may well be limitless. From classics like the Rolling Stone issue featuring a nude John Lennon and clothed Yoko Ono to more recent ad campaigns that dare to bare, nudity is portrayed as a staple in the fabric of human expression. Head to Toe: The Nude in Graphic Design includes over 600 images of the body, all showcased in a comprehensive and enlightening array of designs that will certainly appeal to anyone who prefers their coffee table books with a little more beneath the covers.