From the editors introduction:

"This foreword is about the body as a direct means of expression. Not as an illustration in photography, painting or as a drawing, but as an independent work of art.

Because it has to be seen as art when people shape their own bodies through sport and nutrition, like sculptors used to do with blocks of marble: body shapers are artists, works of art, restorers and museums all in one. They created a work of art, their own body, according to specific ideals of beauty.

The essence of body shaping is to see your own body as a canvas, to let it express and symbolize your power. Therefore, the discipline should clearly be assigned to art history.

The aestheticization of one's own body becomes the top priority. The artist goes to the studio to work on the artwork. With the aim of creating a sculpture out of yourself. What is irritating is the fact that the artist and the work of art are, so to speak, identical. An artist cannot be more directly connected to his or her work.

Against this background, body shaping can be described as image carving in the literal sense. This is less about traditional sport and more about the proud desire to become master of your own body image. It's not surprising that the art of body shaping is most widespread in affluent societies - those who spend their time fleeing from the saber-tooth tiger or want to reinvent fire, rarely think of going to the gym. ..."