The woman is in her 60’s and still nobody does it better. The one and only Grace Jones has aged like only the most high quality wine. Today, let’s look back to one of the images that made her an icon. The album cover for Island Life.
Grace is GORGEOUS. Sinewy. Sleek. Her skin is enviably smooth and stunningly beautiful. This shot is all about her beautiful ebony skin, taut muscle, and artistic sensuality.
This is one of the most emulated images of Grace Jones, one of the most iconic. But how did she do it?
It turns out…she didn’t. This was a clever bit of pre-Photoshop trickery.
Via My Blog Can Beat Up Your Blog:
“The picture was taken by a photographer named Jean Paul Goude who saw an intriguing subject in the model/ actress/ singer. He notes about that picture that “…unless you are extraordinarily supple, you cannot do this arabesque. The main point is that Grace couldn’t do it, and that’s the basis of my entire work: creating a credible illusion.”
Goude photographed Jones in a variety of positions using boxes to hold up parts of her body and then combined the images in a montage that eventually became the amazing image that you see above.”
Here’s the step by step mock up on how this photographic magic came to be.
Amazing, right?
Jean Paul Goude is no mere photographer, he is a French graphic designer and photographer who worked closely with Grace, loved Grace, and fathered a child with her as well – their son Paulo Goude is a musician in his own right.
Grace Jones is a beauty icon for many reasons – she is one of my major beauty influences, in fact. And this iconic image cements exactly why. She’s always been a genius collaborator, an innovator, a woman unafraid to share her body, her soul, her beauty, her talent and her unique, quirky personality with the world.
Viva Grace, and thank you Jean Paul Goude for this genius moment of black beauty history.
For more, read:
Grace Jones, the Definition of Fierce.
Grace Jones, Still the Baddest
10 Things You Never Knew About Grace Jones
My Blog Can Beat Up Your Blog, the original post on the topic
Grace Jones album cover was a pre-photoshop fake.
And there you have it!
What’s your favorite Grace Jones black beauty moment in history?
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