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Mixed Media
This series originated an idea around a self-portrait where the artist attempted to x-ray his own body in possibly a safe way. The radiologist, worried about excess radiation, advised Leibow to work from other source materials, then provided him with dozens of older films in hopes that the artist would not harm himself. Leibow began slicing the x-rays, inserting gels employing an alternative version of Matisse’s figure style, such as his “reclining nudes series,” repurposed by shearing and illuminating the figure. Leibow pondered that if the model existed in real life, if her body, x-rayed, might reveal something new. Yet only in the idea, the impressions— is Matisse’s goal parallel to what Leibow also figured out by updating this attempt.