The Little Chapel of Esoteric Cosmetology

The Little Chapel of Esoteric Cosmetology is a recently released volume of photographs of the working girls of downtown Las Vegas. The project was the result of four years of work by a humanitarian art group. The project has been written AbOUT in the Las Vegas Sun entitled, 'Glamour Girls of the Street' and in Racket Magazine's December issue entitled, 'Still Life.' Jonnie Andersen conceived and directed this project with the help of Marissa DiNicola, Kristin Mason, and a band of bartenders, streetwalkers, customers, and cosmetologists. The book earned its title when each realized that the path to enlightenment surely rests in dressing up and styling the women who potentially show the world a new way to think and perceive the world. Esoteric cosmology has to do with self-knowledge, the occult, religion, philosophy, cosmogony, and eschatology (where are we going and where have we been and why). Using cosmetology and the camera to meet those who customarily would be difficult to meet and befriend, they helped the women see a new reflection of themselves and the women gave them new perspective. It's a do-gooder project of sorts, and worth looking up.