Vintage illustrations from The Human Body: What It Is and How It Works. 1959

Wataru Yoshida’s Composition of Animals is a series of posters for an imaginary exhibit. Too bad it isn’t real because it looks like a terrific exhibit.

Yoshida on his project:

A series of this Photographs, to show a pure fascination for the mysterious and delicate qualities of the Mammals Anatomy. The motive for the series of Photographs, “Composition of Mammals”, is to show the complex and interesting structure of the Mammals body. I came up with an idea of mock exhibition, “The Composition of Mammals”, which studies the anatomy of mammals with displays of taxidermy and skulls. 

From the series Growth, Destruction and Rebirth by Caitlin Bates

Bates on her work:

My current bodies of work are reflections of interpersonal conflicts, ideals, and childish mentalities. They’re about viewing a world without blood and gore, leaving the meatiness of how our bodies work, function, feel, touch and see still vivdly intact. Mentally and emotionally speaking, I haven’t grown up. Through my work I’m trying to work out the balance of these irrational thoughts and behaviors into the harsh reality of life.

This photo project by Lauren Marek begs the question: Are we more than the sum of our parts? Marek has assembled nine macro shots of individual body parts and assembled them into unique portraits of the people they belong to.

Every year men’s skin and hair product maker Aesop chooses a new theme for their holiday gift kits. This year the theme is Daring Cases in Favour of Science:

This year our sought-after gift kits have been created around the theme of science. This is a topic about which Aesop is passionate and which has daily significance for our company. Since our inception, we have worked with talented scientists from many disciplines, and listened with respect as our understanding of their expertise grew.

Every product that Aesop offers has benefited from the discoveries of agronomists, botanists, chemical scientists and biophysicists. Each of our 2011–2012 science-themed kits is dedicated to a particular theory that captivates our imagination and has laid the foundations for countless achievements that have followed. From the Theory of Special Relativity to the Laws of Motion, we pay homage to the men and many unacknowledged women who have applied themselves to disciplined inquiry.

Best of all, the sturdy zipped cases can be reused well after all the products inside have been used up. This begs the question: Would it be wrong to give this to my husband as a gift and then steal the bag later? Just asking.

These strangely compelling/disturbing images are the creations of Lucy & Bart, a collaboration between Lucy McRae and Bart Hess.

About their work:

An instinctual stalking of fashion, architecture, performance and the body. They share a fascination with genetic manipulation and beauty expression. Unconsciously their work touches upon these themes, however it is not their intention to communicate this. They work in a primitive and limitless way creating future human shapes, blindly discovering low – tech prosthetic ways for human enhancement.

It’s not often that the American Medical Association and art galleries tackle the same topic, but that’s exactly what’s happening now with the current exhibition at the Annenberg Space for Photography called “Beauty CULTure”. 

About the exhibit:

The exhibition illustrates the power of the still image in shaping cultural ideals and expectations of feminine beauty – and photography’s undeniable influence on conceptions of the Self.

The exhibit features 170 photographs in the print gallery, hundreds of digital images in vivid detail on high-resolution screens in the Digital Gallery, a short documentary film featuring interviews with well-known photographers, models, historians and beauty experts “who guide visitors on a fascinating photographic exploration of the culture – and cult – of beauty”. The exhibit runs through November 27.