Ghost of a flea: Vanity bare

? Hot Chip: Over And Over | Main | Graven images ?

February 08, 2006

Vanity bare

Citing art historian Kenneth Clark, Jonathan Jones claims Keira Knightley and Scarlett Johansson are not naked, but nude, on the cover of the new Vanity Fair. There is a critical difference, apparently.

I wondered, coming across this recently, what on earth he meant. Then I looked at Annie Leibowitz's cover photograph for the annual special edition of Vanity Fair that portrays the people who matter in Hollywood. On the cover the former Gucci designer and guest artistic director of the issue Tom Ford nibbles at an ear. But don't be fooled into thinking this is a carnal image.

Carnality, it seems to me, is in the eye of the beholder. While Tom Ford was almost certainly unruffled even amidst the ear-nibbling, I expect nude vistas of Knightley and Johansson more than meet the definition of carnality for many others. No conclusive word on why Rachel McAdams decided to quit the scene. I gather Ford had already appeared nude in W mag so a second such appearance might have seemed excessively self-congratulatory.

MSNBC thoughtfully hosts the full picture in higher definition. Now check out the Vanity Fair "B-Roll" video; you can thank me later.

Posted by Ghost of a flea at February 8, 2006 07:54 AM

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.ghostofaflea.com/cgi-bin/mt/trackback-engine.cgi/5561

Comments

Not that I clicked the link on Tom Ford, but I assume it would reinforce the very loud DING my gaydar gave out upon seeing him.

Why, oh why can't anyone do pictures of gentleman who actually like female earlobes nibbling on them? Do you know how hard it is for a hetero female to find good erotica? (Sigh...)

Posted by: Kathy K at February 8, 2006 08:38 PM