Curve: The Female Nude Now disrobes the female form once again to survey her most current representations. Whatever the medium - painting, sculpture, video, performance, or installation - the images in this book illustrate how contemporary explorations of the subject continue to yield an unprecedented and often unexpected range of ideals, metaphors, and personalities. While some artists continue to pay homage to the beauty of the female form, others have more complex agendas, straddling unsettling lines between shallowness and depth, or exploring and commenting on personal and political freedom. The waifish young women of one artist's oeuvre contrast sharply with the plump, luscious figures that inhabit another's. Even inspiration knows no boundaries; as modern works reference Old Master paintings and males and females alike draw on the kinky world of contemporary pornographic magazines. Featuring approximately 275 fresh and provocative images from over 90 of today's most prominent and often controversial artists, Curve: The Female Nude Now reveals the power and permanence of this seductive subject matter.