On Body and Soul: Contemporary Armor to Amulets

I love it not only because my friend's work is on the cover, and her fantastic works of art are in the book, as well, but the whole book is filled with stunning metal works. From chastity belts to metal knuckles and talons, it is filled with very creative and imaginative choices, wonderful and sensuous to look at! I am so inspired, it makes me want to take workshops in metal. A very exciting and beautiful book. Bravo to Suzanne Ramljak, who obviously has exquisite taste! And congratulations to the talented artists who made it into this book, no small feat!

This is an incredibly powerful interesting book. I have been longing for a book on this topic for years. Putting the work into a deep historical perspective imbues these objects more richly with power. The quality of the photograph are fantastic and professional. They make the work come alive. I can't wait to delve deeper into this book and use it as a component of a larger research project. I highly recommend this to art/jewelry historians and the laymen who just loves well made beautiful objects.

A feast for the eyes, On Body and Soul: Contemporary Armor to Amulets is beautiful and thought provoking. Author Suzanne Ramljak has managed to create a record of early 21st century response to imbalance in our world's social order. This book isn't just photographs of incredible works by some of today's best artists and artisans, but a fascinating study of individual perceptions of culturally defensive protective ornament. Every artist, academic library, and public library should own a copy.

This is a great exploration into the possibilities of body adornment. I bought this book because of its beautiful photographs and the inspirational artists inside. It is not an instructional book by any means but is a beautiful source of inspiration.

Good resource

I love out of ordinary jewelry but, for me, the pieces in this book are too much out of ordinary, some pieces are disagreeable.

a little on the rad side for my taste, but the skill level is stellar

This fascinating book addresses the most basic human impulse: to protect and defend the self against threats and fears, real and imagined. The armor and amulets of the subtitle refer to objects, both beautiful and terrifying, made by contemporary jewelry artisans, whose work is rarely seen by the general public, and who are responding to the Age of Terror, an age in which we now all live. There’s a necklace made of handgun triggers, a cuff made of porcupine quills, and no less than five different designs for contemporary chastity belts that can be read as a response to the widespread tyranny of rape in the world. In the section on body armor, the offerings range from conceptual helmets to politicized fashion items, e.g. a jacket made of U.S. military dog tags. A chapter devoted to “aggressive wearables” features several sets of surreal brass knuckles—fashioned variously from crystals, wedding rings, and casts of human teeth—along with predator rings brandishing animal claws, blades and daggers. This is a provocative book that gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “statement jewelry,” here the statement being one of concern rather than opulence, one of activism rather than complacency.

The book has got much more "Contemporary Armor" examples than Amulets. Not all the works are intriguing and the explanation aren't always convincing.