Since beginning his work in 1993, Kirkwood has made more than 600 nude body casts and worked with 546 people. Kirkwood said he hopes the work breaks the barriers of sexism, ageism and race discrimination.

“We learned to see (human bodies) that way,” Kirkwood said. “We can learn to see them in other ways.”

The exhibition, which started Monday and ends today, is sponsored by University
Activities Board, the student group Respecting and Understanding Body Image, or RUBI, the Olin Health Center, MSU Counseling Center and the MSU Women’s Resource Center. Kirkwood will discuss his art at 7 p.m. today at the Union.

Ronda Bokram, a registered dietician from Olin Health Center, said she wanted to bring the exhibit to MSU to give students the opportunity to experience something new.

“It’s a different way of getting people to think of body image,” Bokram said.

As Kirkwood has traveled to more than 100 schools around the country, he said he placed an emphasis on seeing people for who they are and not relying on their appearance.

“We need to be careful about how we define people,” Kirkwood said.

When people first see the exhibit, Kirkwood said they normally associate the bodies with sexuality.

“People tie in beauty with sexuality, when they are really two different things,” Kirkwood said. “Beauty isn’t a contest. You can see it in every form.”

A 2008 census by the National College Health Assessment said 46 percent of MSU students were trying to lose weight, even though they were not overweight, Bokram said. By having this exhibit, Bokram said she hopes it promotes a better body image within the student body.

“It’s always good to try new, innovative ways to do that,” Bokram said.

Ashley Bleibtrey, a health education staff member at Olin Health Center, said the exhibit provides a visual reinforcement to not form an opinion based on appearance.

“I think we’ve come along way to not judge people on the outside,” Bleibtrey said.

As jazz studies senior David McWilliams walked into the Union on Monday, he said he did a double take as the exhibit caught his eye.

“It’s interesting to see an accurate representation of the human body,”
McWilliams said. “It’s refreshingly honest because some of those people wouldn’t be considered to be on the centerfold of a magazine.”

As students walk away from the exhibit, Kirkwood said he hopes they leave with a different way of seeing themselves.

“We need to change the way we look at things or think about things,” Kirkwood said. “We need to see the way reality is.”