THREE HUNDRED AND TWELVE

This was the 312the participant. The cast was taken in 2000. He is a 37 year old engineering professor at a university. There were no exhibits as he commissioned this piece for his own collection.

Participant's Statement

It's been several months since I had my body cast and I'm still evaluating the effect it has had. I volunteered to be cast for primarily selfish reasons. I enjoy new experiences and I wanted to see what my body would look like cast. I liked the idea of hanging a cast of myself in my house and having people walk in, look at it and talk about it. I deliberately tried to work out a little more the week before and ate less to try to look as "good" as possible. I am far from a gym rat but I try to stay in shape and I have always, always, wanted to lose 5 pounds, no matter what I look like. But I also really enjoy eating. I've pretty much always been on a very quickly oscillating roller coaster with eating and dieting: eat and drink a lot one weekend, then be "good" during the week (most often that meant skipping breakfast, trying to eat very little on certain days, etc.).
The casting experience itself was great. I am very comfortable with the human body, I love massage, I've been poked and prodded plenty of times by doctors, and Larry and I had a great conversation before beginning the casting process. I was delighted by Larry's attitude about the body, his no-nonsense personality, and his intense caring for other people. He's an incredibly honest person, something I strive very hard to be as well. He made it clear that I was part of the art. It felt really good. I felt honored to be part of a work of art.
The casting process was very interesting. When we finished and it was strong enough, we layed it on the ground and I really liked the mummy-looking torso that lay there. I had begun the process thinking I would take the raw cast home, but after talking to Larry about what it really meant, and seeing it, I wanted it to be finished and more permanent.
That night, after my casting, I took my two oldest children (10 year old girl and 12 year old boy) to see the exhibit and attend the presentation on body image. Larry made point after point that I was so proud to have my children hear.
There were three things from his presentation that made a lasting impression on me: he talked about how the advertising industry spends billions of dollars to make us hate our bodies. It reminded me of a shampoo commercial I saw years ago that showed someone in an elevator that was absolutely horrified that he had a few flakes of dandruff on his shoulder - clearly showing that anyone who has dandruff is disgusting! The commercial then went on to say that 99% of people have dandruff. Wait a minute! If everyone has dry skin that flakes off their scalp, why is it so disgusting! I realized it's because the shampoos companies tell us it's disgusting! And Larry's talk made me realize it's the same thing with almost every aspect of our appearance. And those painfully thin models that are so disturbing - damn the fashion industry.
A second thing I will never ever forget is Larry turning to a casting of a large woman who had had a mastectomy and cupping the round stomach in his hands, rubbing it, and talking about art and form and beauty, saying, "Look at this form! This is art. This is beautiful. All our bodies are art and we are all beautiful". And he was right.
The final message was his talking about how so much effort is put into "celebrating our differences". But that we should also celebrate our sameness. Look at all these gorgeous casting, look at how we are all beautiful. How we all have the same flesh, bone, fat, muscle, skin sensation. Wake up people...It's not us and you, It's just us.
I've never liked my stomach. I always thought it was too big, that my body was more thick than it should be to be really attractive. Ever since I saw Larry rub that casting, I've been appreciating my form more and more. I've been enjoying food more, I've added about 2 pounds, but I've been eating and working out because I want to, because I'm hungry, because it feels good. I don't worry about whether I should eat something or not before I go ahead and eat it. And it seems that I have fewer meals where I'm groaning and have to open up my belt, wishing that I hadn't eaten so much. I really do think it's because I have relaxed and stopped sweating those "5 pounds". Look at my stomach...It's a good stomach.