Kim Kardashian naked for W magazine -- but is it art?

Kim Kardashian is baring all again, this time for W magazine's annual art issue. The reality TV star gets cheeky on the cover as her skin plays peekaboo with pasted-over typography.

The concept cover was executed by artist Barbara Kruger, illustrated over a photo by celeb snapper Mark Seliger. 

Curvy Kim tells the mag she used to think: "I have to be this or that or skinny, and now, because of the show, everyone is embracing just me, which has given me such a confidence. Now, I'm like, 'Why did I ever give that feeling the time of day?'"

Yes, we can see the embracing all over. Additional photos in the issue have Kardashian dipped in silver paint, as inspired by Jeff Koons' Silver Bunny, and in an homage to artists Gilbert & George's Singing Sculpture.

The collaborations are reminiscent of Vanity Fair's 2006 coverage of Robert Wilson's video portraits, starring Brad Pitt, Salma Hayek, Sean Penn and Winona Ryder.

-- Matt Donnelly
Twitter.com/MattDonnelly

Photo: Kim Kardashian on the cover of W magazine's art issue. Credit: Mark Seliger

See many more celeb cover stars in the Ministry's magazine department.

Related dispatch presented by the Ministry of Gossip:

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Comments

[Sandra]

No, it is not art - just more self-promotion since this is all she has to offer in life. Why is this news or some huge revelation? She constantly poses in the buff, tweets pics her own cleavage, etc. I'm sure that when additional photos come out over the internet (like the recent Playboy incident), she'll feign outrage and blame her mother. The typography says it all.

[cdz from the ministry]

Christie D'Zurilla here from MOG with a reminder that, in general, we don't publish comments that include links.

//cdz

[Krystal]

This Comment goes to SANDRA:
STOP BEING A H-A-T-E-R! AND IF U DONT LIKE KIM KARDASHIAN SO MUCH WHY ARE YOU EVEN WASTING YOUR OWN TIME COMMENTING ABOUT HER. GET A LIFE. THIS IS ART AND IF YOU CANT SEE THAT YOU MUST NEED GLASSES. OUR BODIES OUR GODS CREATIONS AND IF PEOPLE WE'RNT SO NEGATIVE THEY WOULD KNOW HOW TO APPRECIATE IT IN A RESECTFULL WAY.
YOU GO KIM AND DONT STOP BEING YOU!

[shiv]

who cares what she does. Everybody should stop hating. If the girl want to be naked, so be it.

[All Hallows Eve@]

Of course it's art - the human body is beautiful.

And if she want's to show it off - who cares, really? To each is own.

How uptight must one be to let this bother them?
Or jealous, envious or insecure?
Get over it.

[dean]

great body pic, terrible fsce shot. does not even look like kim so much

[Irena]

Why?

[sara]

because we have rights to add our comments and she's atramp i used to like her but now i don't she was bitching about the sextape and the playboy pictures that came out and now she is doing nude mag again she needs to stop or she is going to lose her fans and i noticed that her eyes or pull back so that tells you she had plastic surgery and shes studip for doing botox i think its her mo telling her to do this nude so she can get 10% of it.

[Ginger Gross]

IF YOU PEOPLE THINK THIS IS ART....THIS IS NO PICASSO BY A LONG STRETCH.

[cdz from the ministry]

Christie D'Zurilla here from MOG with a few reminders -- first, in general we don't publish comments that have links. Second, calling people names or accusing them of illegal activity in multiple comments makes me cranky and I usually reflexively hit the "delete" button. Third, if you're going to hurl the word "crotch" as an epithet, please know that the word has a "t" in it.

Thanks for reading and commenting!

//cdz

[Captain Kundalini]

Who gives a rats ass? She's hot as a pepper!

[Nikki]

They airbrushed her hips too much. They look too narrow.

[K]

I don't think there's any question that Kim Kardashian is one hot mama, but if this cover photo is considered "art", then the modern perception of art has been at least a little corrupted.

I have not seen the inside spread, so I can't comment on that.

But one thing's certain: Kim IS all about herself, and proud of it. She is one of the industry's top self-promoters, right up there with Lady Gag and Heidi Montag. The old studio publicity depts from Hollywood's glory days would be green with envy with what these broads do now. Nothing is considered too outrageous, not even a fake "divorce"!

[mikettt]

All these jealous and uptight women. Insulting her because you wish you looked that good and nobody wants to see you nude. Beautiful women with a beautiful body. Flaunt it if you got it.

[Alyssa]

You can make any little thing into Art.