viz.

Giovanni Bortolani, from the Fake Too Fake series

Using some seriously inventive (and at times disturbing) photoshop, Italian artist Giovanni Bortolani has created a series of photos about the composition of the human form.  While the image above suggests a relationship between the body and the organic by superimposing a leaf skeleton on a man's back, most of Bortolani's photos in the series explore bodies in terms of that which is "fake" or constructed.  The images in Fake Too Fake are jarring, but they ask us to consider what we're doing to our bodies in this age of plastic surgery and diet pills.  NSFW (and somewhat gruesome) material after the jump.

Image Credit: Rachel Stephens Photography, by way of the Nashville Examiner

At the same time that several European governments are considering trying to force advertisers and brands to include disclaimers on photoshopped promotional images for the purposes of bolstering viewers' (and particularly young girls') self esteem, American photographer Rachel Stephens has promoted the use of photoshop to her clients on the premise that image manipulation can function as a source of empowerment. Anna North's November 8th Jezebel entry "Photoshop Treatment Not Just for Models Anymore" includes an unsolicited email from Stephens forwarded by a reader of the site in which Stephens writes that "every woman deserves to see herself retouched."

Image Credit: Ralph Lauren, by way of Photoshopdisasters

As a followup to my post last week on the British government's plan to meet with health officials, fashion executives, and advertisers in October 2010 to discuss the legal status of the un-indicated use of photoshopping in advertisements, I would like to re-showcase a blog entry by Tim Turner from October 2009 when British and French politicians began discussing possible photoshop disclaimer requirements.

The above ad, in which the circumference of Filippa Hamilton's waist appears to be less than that of her head, is a prime example of photoshop abuses in fashion photography and the rationale for next month's meetings. View Tim's "Photoshop Disasters" entry reposted after the break, or link to the original post and the comments, which include a video interview with Ms. Hamilton.