Belles Lettres: The Naked Alphabet (1971) A Blend of Typography and Art

In the ever-evolving landscape of visual communication, few projects have captured the playful spirit of rebellion quite like Belles Lettres: The Naked Alphabet (1971). Emerging from a collaboration between some of the Netherlands’ most daring creatives – Ed van der Elsken, Anna Beeke, Pieter Brattinga, Anthony Beeke, and Geert Kooiman – this human alphabet offered a radical reimagining of type design, using the human body itself as the medium.

Published as a special feature in Avant Garde magazine, issue No.14, Belles Lettres stands today as a fascinating intersection between graphic design, photography, protest art, and typography. It remains a compelling reminder of the creative ferment of the early 1970s, a time when traditional notions of art and communication were being thoroughly rethought.

The Origins of Belles Lettres

The idea behind Belles Lettres did not emerge from a vacuum. In fact, it was an extension and evolution of a provocative earlier project: Anthony Beeke’s Naked Ladies Alphabet from 1968. Beeke’s original alphabet was designed as a visual protest against what he saw as the “dehumanising” and “indecipherable” mechanistic alphabets that had come to dominate modern graphic design. Where many typefaces were becoming increasingly abstract and impersonal, Beeke offered something vibrantly human and unabashedly corporeal.

Three years later, Belles Lettres took this concept even further. Instead of merely forming the letters, the human models now embodied a full font system based on Baskerville Old Face, a classic serif typeface designed by John Baskerville in the 18th century. Baskerville’s refined, highly readable type provided an ideal contrast to the wildness of using naked bodies as the “ink.”

Who Created Belles Lettres?

The project was a true collaboration among key figures in Dutch art and design:

• Ed van der Elsken: A renowned street photographer celebrated for his candid, emotionally charged images.

• Anna Beeke: A documentary photographer whose work often explored the human condition.

• Pieter Brattinga: An influential graphic designer and director of Steendrukkerij de Jong, a leading Dutch printing house.

• Anthony Beeke: The conceptual force behind the original Naked Ladies Alphabet and a radical voice in experimental typography.

• Geert Kooiman: Another Dutch designer with a keen interest in visual communication and experimental forms.

Together, they created a full A-to-Z alphabet using live nude models, carefully posed to mimic the curves, serifs, and elegant structure of the Baskerville Old Face typeface. The result was not only playful but surprisingly faithful to the original letterforms, showing both the versatility of the human body and the artistry of the team.

Avant Garde Magazine: The Perfect Home

The perfect platform for Belles Lettres came in the form of Avant Garde magazine. Edited by Ralph Ginzburg and art directed by Herb Lubalin, Avant Garde was published in New York from January 1968 until July 1971. Its mission was clear: to be “a thoughtful, joyous magazine on art and politics.” It mixed fearless political commentary with cutting-edge visual design, and it often pushed against the boundaries of what was considered acceptable in mainstream publishing.

Lubalin’s direction gave the magazine a visually innovative edge, with bold layouts and experimental typography that perfectly complemented features like Belles Lettres. The inclusion of a human-formed alphabet was wholly in keeping with the magazine’s commitment to challenging conventions – both societal and aesthetic.

The Making of the Naked Alphabet

Creating Belles Lettres was no simple task. It required a careful balance between artistic vision and technical execution. Each letter had to be recognisable, yet still clearly formed by human figures rather than becoming abstracted into mere shapes.

The models were posed with meticulous attention to detail, using flexed arms, legs, torsos, and carefully arranged groupings to mimic the forms of traditional letters. Lighting, camera angles, and the precise positioning of limbs were all critical in achieving the clarity necessary for each letter to be readable at first glance.

Interestingly, the team opted not to sexualise the models overtly. While the nudity was integral to the project’s message, the focus remained squarely on the artistic act of type creation. This approach helped shift the emphasis away from voyeurism and towards a broader commentary on the human body as a vehicle for communication.

Why Belles Lettres Still Matters

In today’s digital era, where fonts are generated and altered at the click of a button, Belles Lettres serves as a reminder of the physicality that once underpinned even the most conceptual design work. The project champions the human touch – quite literally – in an age increasingly dominated by automation and algorithmic creation.

Moreover, Belles Lettres holds a significant place in the history of protest art. It exemplifies how even something as seemingly neutral as typography can become a site for political and cultural critique. By using nude bodies to create elegant, highly structured letters, the artists were attempting to challenge ideas about decency, formality, and the human role in communication systems.

Belles Lettres: The Naked Alphabet remains a landmark in the history of graphic design and art photography. It captures a moment when creativity, rebellion, and craftsmanship collided to produce something genuinely new. Through their collaboration, Ed van der Elsken, Anna Beeke, Pieter Brattinga, Anthony Beeke, and Geert Kooiman demonstrated that even something as familiar as the alphabet could be reimagined in ways that were playful, provocative, and profoundly human.

Though Avant Garde magazine ceased publication in 1971, its daring spirit lives on in projects like Belles Lettres – reminding us that art and communication are at their best when they dare to break the rules.

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