For Jess Beckett

"Adversity opens the door for human potential."

Hey Jess, here's a freaking sweet link for a video I found while searching for body mod info (it's great how all of our projects keep proving how related they are, huh?).

http://blog.petergmalion.com/2010/02/aimee-mullins-athlete-model-actor/

You'll have to scroll down a bit; it's the first video, after the first two photos.

It's about Aimee Mullins, a woman whose legs were amputated when she was still an infant. She has defied all odds (they said she would never walk, now she's a runner!), and now she is working on redefining body image and what it means to be "disabled."

She even collaborated with Alexander McQueen on designer prosthetic legs!!

Some of my favorite lines are:

"Pamela Anderson has more prosthetic in her than I do, and no one calls her disabled."

"People said to me, 'Aimee, you're very attractive; you don't look disabled.' "

"We have to stop compartmentalizing form, function, and aesthetic."

"Poetry is what elevates a banal and neglected object into the realm of art. It can transform the thing that might have made people fearful into something that invites them to look, and look a little longer, and maybe even understand." (THIS one's my favorite!!!!)

"It is no longer a conversation about overcoming deficiency, it's a conversation about augmentation. It's a conversation about potential."

"A prosthetic limb doesn't represent the need to replace loss anymore. It can stand as a symbol that the wearer has the power to create whatever it is that they want to create in that space."

"We can become the architects of our own identities!" (second favorite!!)

This video inspired my project, as well, and has given me a new way to look at body modification.

ENJOY!