Magazines | CJMS Communications

‘Cosmopolitan’ Magazine Brings Sexy Back

Cosmopolitan recreates the covers of cheesy romance novels with real people

Cosmopolitan: Of course, everyone knows of the cheesy romance novel – the novelettish and sentimental literature made to tickle the senses, covers emblazoned with virile young men and young ladies in search of fierce love that are clearly marketed to woman with ‘healthy and active’ imaginations. Well, world renown and bestselling women’s magazine, Cosmopolitan, has recreated these covers using real, everyday people in an clever and amusing series that will definitely make you see their funny side. The ‘romance novel’ or ‘romantic novel’ is a literary genre. Novels of this type of genre fiction place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. Some scholars see precursors to the romance novel in literary fiction of the 18th and 19th centuries, including Samuel Richardson’s sentimental novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740) and the novels of Jane Austen. British company Mills and Boon began releasing escapist fiction for women in the 1930s. Their books were sold in North America by Harlequin Enterprises Ltd, which began direct marketing to readers and allowing mass-market merchandisers to carry the books. In North America, romance novels are the most popular literary genre, comprising almost 55% of all paperback books sold in 2004. The genre is also popular in Europe and Australia, and romance novels appear in 90 languages. Most of the books, however, are written by authors from English-speaking countries, leading to what is deemed an Anglo-Saxon perspective in the fiction. Despite the popularity and widespread sales of romance novels, the genre has attracted significant derision, skepticism and criticism. Erotica is a term used to describe scenes in the novel that are risqué but not pornographic and ‘Romance erotica’ seems to be on the rise as more women explore this new sub-genre – You only have to look at the popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey...enough said. Enjoy!

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Cheuk Lun Lo & his Shampooed Heads of Hair Photos

Cheuk Lun Lo transforms hair & shampooed heads into abstract photographs

The unique creations of photographer Cheuk Lun Lo, who transforms hair and shampooed heads into abstract photographs in a series imagined for Chinese beauty and fashion publication NUMERO, are somewhat gross yet engaging all at the same time. Lo is a professional photographer who established his STUFF STUDIO in 2009. STUFF is a fast growing photographic studio working primarily with world leading luxury brands, magazines and advertising agencies. Under his art direction, the studio continues to create mesmerising shots of fashion related products which are used for numerous key visual and magazine features. They believe every creative opportunity is unique and enjoy collaborating with like-minded partners to create interesting and thought-provoking shots that capture the soul of each product – giving each image a sense of personality and a memorable story. It is almost impossible, at first glance, to know the source of the swirling spherical masses pictured in the following series – are they photographs of liquid, bizarre floating orbs, or something else unidentifiable? Perspective and light offer a strange and surreal take on an ordinary human characteristic – hair. Cheuk Lun Lo shoots the heads from above, allowing for an alternative view of an otherwise standard, hair-washing routine which suddenly begins to transform into something more fascinating. Shampoo saturates the locks in a foamy white lather, letting it be easily moulded and manipulated into a varied array of shapes, sizes and compositions. Photographed on a pitch black background, the series – realised as a beauty editorial for Numero magazine in China – sees Cheuk Lun Lo’s “hair-scapes” seemingly hover in mid-air, providing an abstract yet beautiful look at the human body and all its artistic possibilities.

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