Imagine a photographer who is after the normal and ordinary beauty. Very unsusual, you might think, when we hardly see ‘real people’ in photoshoots these days. The American photographer Matt Blum decided to go against the trend and photograph real women, naked, for The Nu Project, in which he and his wife Katy travel all over the world to find volunteers interested in proving that the ideal beauty is over. Having first visited Brazil in 2010, Matt and Katy will return to Brazil in November to find more models in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Recife.. Matt tells Petit Comité a little bit of his sessions as well as the peculiarities of the brazilian women.
How does it feel to be photographing natural beauty in a world that values the perfect and unachievable beauty? More than anything I believe that my work helps to show that beauty is actually achievable as long as someone is willing to change their definition a bit from what the TV tells us. Some of the most compelling photographs in the project (in my opinion) came from sessions with models who don’t have the “ideal” body type. Confidence is beauty.
Do you feel you’re helping women to accept themselves in any way? I’m assisting them but really they are the ones who are making each other accept themselves. I’m not present in my best work, it’s just the subject. I will spend a lifetime trying to get out of the way and make beautiful photographs.
With this project, do you think women around the world will be more confident about their bodies? Yes 🙂 I’ve photographed some traditionally beautiful women as well as women with unique body types and features. Hardly anyone is secure about their body, even the most beautiful women in the world. This project will hopefully help women feel like they are not the only ones that feel that way or look like that.
What is the aim of the project? I read you just wanted to photograph normal people in a beautiful way. Don’t you think, though, that the Nu Project gives women one of the few chances to be themselves? You’ve actually identified the aim of the project in your question: giving women a chance to be themselves. When other women see the project I believe they identify with that aspect of it more than the actual photography. They see themselves in the faces and bodies of the women. They see themselves in their living rooms, in their kitchen, happy and confident, and they look great.
How was your experience shooting women in Brazil? Do they differ from the other North American or South American women? Women in Brazil are amazing. I was so taken back by the amount of trust and openness that I experienced from them – especially given that I’m a foreigner. They’re different than women in North America, but then again everyone’s different. That’s what makes the project interesting.
Brazilian bodies are famous worldwide. We somehow consider ourselves very confident about our bodies, I think. At the same time, though, I do feel we are very overwhelmed by the perfect beauty we are supposed to achieve. Do you think the Brazilians you met are particularly proud and relaxed about the way they look? I agree 100%. I perceive an interesting duality in Brazil in that people are very confident in their beauty, and yet few people look like the people for whom Brazil is famous. My guess would be, though, that if you asked Gisele if she was 100% confident with her body even she would find some faults. That’s the trap of “perfect beauty”; it doesn’t exist.
You have been in Brazil before, right? When was it? We were in Brazil in February of 2010 for 2 weeks.
You and your wife will come to Brazil in November. How many women you intend to shoot, from which cities, and how many have subscribed by now? Currently we’re planning on shooting as many women as we can fit in the schedule. It’s difficult to know the exact number of women we’ll be able to photograph given all of the plane travel required to get to different cities. Currently we’re 100% sure we’ll be in SP, Rio, and Recife. We’re looking at traveling to 1 additional city but we still haven’t figured out which.
Can we expect a Nu Project book or an exhibition in the future? We would love to see it in galleries around here! I hope so! We’re working on a book as we speak but we’re also trying to figure out how to get it printed and published in Brazil because the shipping would be really expensive. We’re also working on a press release which we’ll send out to galleries to see if they’re interested in featuring our work. If you know anyone, send them our way!
Petit Comité 