Customer Reviews:
Not great if you want to learn the basics.......2007-06-19
This book is not an in-depth guide to a narrow subject. I purchased this book hoping that it would be more instructional in the technique of painting the human figure but it contains mostly complete works. It is not a step-by-step guide but a thorough presentation of concepts and how they relate to the final artwork, which again, if you're a beginner, it doesn't help.
Thorough Overview.......2002-07-14
This book is more than just basic instruction, but it starts with the basics and progresses though the essentials to advanced figure drawing and painting concepts. It is not a step-by-step guide but a thorough presentation of these concepts and how they relate to the final artwork. I have read numerous other books and taken a number of life drawing and painting classes so I was especially impressed to learn several techniques/concepts which were new to me. In addition, several artists are featured which helps avoid techniques unique to a particular artist. I highly recommend the book for any artist seeking a comprehensive overview of figure drawing and painting.
Visually Perfect.......2002-07-06
This is my favorite book on painting the figure. The book demonstrates that there are many approaches to the figure and each technique is demonstrated by a different artist. The book is very well illustrated with color photo's of the examples in process, the artist working on them and there models. Truth is I admire some of the artist in the book and enjoy the beautiful photo's of there work. For the student and the master of art the book offers many angles and approaches in every medium. The books introduction was written philosophically and historically offering an overview of changes in attitude and approaches artist have tackled the figure with. In the end it's a very sincere, informative, and visually dynamic book. A must have for any artist or teachers library.
Painting People.......2002-01-28
This is a great overview for anybody who wants to paint the human figure. It covers the tradition of the nude, the basics of proportions and anatomy, a variety of media, clothed and nude, various types of poses and models. Just about everything.
Step by step guides from pose to painting are frequent - we see inside an artist's studio, palette, thought processes and techniques. As a beginner in life drawing, I found this book my number one resource whenever I wanted to practice and follow up what I had learnt in class.
Not an in-depth guide to a narrow subject, this book's breadth is its strong point. An ideal starting place, but without stopping too soon and leaving the user or reader wanting more. A perfect mix of overview and detail, in my opinion.
Highly recommended.
Absolutely Excellent!.......2000-06-28
Great examples of drawing and painting from the subject! Excellent photography! Highly recommended for anyone interest in figure drawing and / or painting.
Average customer rating:
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Stripped: The Illustrated Male
Manufacturer: Bruno Gmünder
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Instructional & How-To
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General
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Photo Essays
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Cartooning
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General
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Gay Art: A Historic Collection
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ASIN: 3861878712 |
Book Description
Stripped down and playing.
This stately collection gathers the highlights of gay comic art, painting and drawing. Whether comic strip or pin-up, with text or completely without words, in colour or in black-and-white - this book presents an exciting cross-section of this young and dynamic branch of gay art. Many big names, as well as yet unknown talent show off their expertise on 352 pages filled to bursting - at "nice price"! This collection sets a new standard for comic art - erotic, sexy and playful.
Customer Reviews:
Male Erotica!.......2007-06-05
This is an outstanding collection of erotica. Illustrations and drawings are really high quality and very erotic. Trust me, folks, these are not "cartoons" - but very stimulating and suggestive drawings of stylized "men" (no, these guys don't really exist....). Most people think that "explicit" equals "erotic". Wrong. Erotic is evoked through the imagination, and these artists have LOTS of imagination!
Average customer rating:
- fantastic!
- "I was amazed"
- Hardcore Graphic pics!
- Artistic and Erotically Excellent
- Shows the aesthetic dimension of rope bondage
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Male Bondage: Art Deserves a Witness
Manufacturer: Bruno Gmunder Verlag Gmbh
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Erotic Photography
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Real Men
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Private Parts
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ASIN: 3861879905 |
Customer Reviews:
fantastic!.......2007-09-17
i loved this book. the guys are hot, the ropework is great, the photography is great. if you enjoy men and rope bondage, this is a must have.
"I was amazed".......2007-06-21
I enjoy the coffee table type of book mainly due to their large size and clarity of images. I have a collection of books dealing with Male Photography. This book is not the usual type of book that I would think of buying. But, I decided to take a look at it, you never know in life if you don't take a moment to look at something different. Well, much to my surprise I was really blown away by both the photography and models, an exquisite blend of eroticism and beauty. I think I have been converted and from now on will look for more of Van Darkholmes books. Kudos to him!
Hardcore Graphic pics!.......2007-03-19
Just an absolutley stunning book, photos are high quality, men are also..
A nice variety of different men and every one is easy on the eyes.
Sexy, stylish and worth every penny.
Artistic and Erotically Excellent .......2007-02-05
This book has terrific images about two pleasures, the first one submission, the other one eroticism taken to higher levels. The imaginery in this book is special, for those who want fulfill the senses with a specific kind of art. All the photographs were precisely shot and beautiful.
Shows the aesthetic dimension of rope bondage.......2007-01-31
This book got me hooked as soon as I browsed through it at Bruno Gmünder's shop in Cologne, Germany. It is the book that got me started with rope bondage myself. I never thought of it before because I am not interested in the dominance/submissive part of rope bondage, but indeed in the beautiful patterns and textures it creates on a male body. This book demonstrates that aspect of rope bondage to the fullest, including the erotic dimension.
The other reviews say enough about the book itself, I just wanted to comment on the impact it had on me, as I'm sure it will have on you.
Note that this is not a manual on rope bondage techniques, other books cover that sufficiently.
Average customer rating:
- Visions: Contempoary Male Photography
- If this is Contemporary Male Photography...
- A Bold and Beautiful Collection
- Pretty sweet
- The Bruno Gmunder Vision
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Visions: Contemporary Male Photography
Manufacturer: Bruno Gmunder Verlag Gmbh
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Erotic Photography
| Photography
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| Subjects
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General
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Portraits
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ASIN: 3861878704 |
Book Description
This is a men's world - today's view!
Bruno Gmünder is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, a cause for celebration - our present to you is this gorgeous collection filled with highlights of contemporary men's photography. We've brought together over 50 photographers presenting their best works. From tough to tender, elegant to raw, in colour and black-and-white - with a wide variety of men sure to tickle your fancy. This magnificent work is an absolute must for everybody's coffee table!
Customer Reviews:
Visions: Contempoary Male Photography.......2007-05-08
The book has some great photographs all with a good quality for both the execution and the print. Still not up to the 5 stars of any of Paul Freemans books. Bondi Work, Bondi Classic etc but still very enjoyable and well worth the money.
If this is Contemporary Male Photography..........2007-05-03
...we're in trouble! The selection of artists covers the highly salable 20% art/80% pornography ratio. It also illuminates just how derivative contemporary male photography is. Buy a book of Mapplethorpe, Pierre et Gilles, Mark Morrisroe and get the real deal. Or make a donation to an art school. On the upside, the book is well produced and shows artists from a range of countries.
A Bold and Beautiful Collection.......2007-03-21
Bruno Gmünder Verlag Gmbh is a highly regarded publisher of photographic essays, taking more risks than most other production facilities in this country. This very impressive book surveys contemporary photographers whose works emphasize the male nude and contains sixty seven artists from the well known to the emerging and the result is a hefty volume of both black and white and full color images that offers as wide a spectrum of 'visions' as any book to date.
After a Foreword by the always readable and well-informed David Leddick, the book unfolds in sections based solely on the individual photographers fortunate enough to be included in this panorama. The pleasure of this particular book on the male nude is the variety: images range from the hilarious costumed fantasies, to the brutally erotic, to the quietly sensual, to the 'model look', to the beefcake stance. Included in the collection are the very well known photographers Tom Bianchi, Kristen Bjorn, Ed Freeman, Steven Underhill and Kingdom 19 and the works selected form their large repertoires are fine choices indeed.
But it is the pleasure of meeting new ideas from lesser-known photographers that is encouraging: David Vance, Joe Ziolkowski, Roger Nguyen, Troy Phillips are but a few. The artists are from around the world and for those of us familiar with the works of such photographers as Adam Raphael, Norm Yip, Eric Olson, and John Sonsini among others seem like a much-missed exclusion. But not every artist can be included in a volume even of this scope, and the book stands as a first class collection of the many ways the male nude can be celebrated. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, March 07
Pretty sweet.......2007-03-17
The images are pretty sweet. My first male photography book. My friends and I enjoyed checkin' it out. It has quite a few different styles and techniques which my friends and I really liked. Since I'm into photography as well, it gave me some ideas of new ways to shoot.
The Bruno Gmunder Vision.......2007-01-23
In his preface to this quite amazing book Claus Kiessling says that this is the first anthology "coming from the house of Bruno Gmunder, a unique project uniting a variety of styles." David Leddick, well-known and respected for his several collections of male nude photography, also has written a short preface. There are well over 300 photographs included here by sixty-seven artists (in alphabetical order) from around the world-- Germany, the U. S., Canada, Spain, Russia, France, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Lebanon and Thailand. Some of the photographers are well-known, having published books or been anthologized before-- Tom Bianchi, Kristen Bjorn, Seva Galkin (in a recent edition of "Blue" magazine), Christopher Makos, Joe Oppedisano, Jeff Palmer, Howard Roffman, James Spada, Steven Underwood, David Vance, Carlos Quiroz, Kingdome 19-- and probably others of whom I'm not familiar. The pages are not numbered and the artists are listed by residence, e-mail address and sometimes their date of birth. A few of the photographs are named in the photo index included at the end of the collection. What the editors have done admirably here is to let the photographs speak for themselves; and they do, loud and clear.
There is an embarrassment of riches here and certainly something for everyone regardless of your interest or fetish. The photographs are in color, in black and white, in focus, out of focus, sharp and grainy. Some of the men are shot in classic poses, other have props running the gamut from masks to ropes, leather, lingerie and designer underwear of course. There are skinheads, an amputee, and men of different races.
Some of my favorite photographs in no particular order are Kristen Bjorn's shot of two nude men standing overlooking Rio de Janiero (I believe), Christopher Makos' six beautiful head shots, Monopoly's erotic "Colt rehearsal," Bruce LaBruce's humorous set-- particularly "Black Sheep," Aaron Cobbett's stylized sailor shot, Jay Diers' "Ty 1" for the beautiful side lighting, Matthias Herrmann for the guts to do those outrageous self-portraits, Matthias Kort for the wonderfully lit "Uwe," Joan Crisol's work, Mark Lynch's "Paul-The Old Warehouse, 1999" for obvious reasons, and the first photograph by Kelly Mink for its great composition. Finally the four photos of Carlos Quiroz-- is he influenced by Edward Weston?-- "Nude LVI," "Nude LXXXI," "Nude LXXXVI" and "Horse" are original beyond description. At first, I was totally convinced I was seeing a rose in the second photograph!
Someone will have to work long and hard to publish a collection of male nude photography better than this beautifully reproduced and printed book.
Book Description
A remarkable sequel to the Lambda award-winning Naked Men: Pioneering Male Nudes 1900-1950, Naked Men, Too, exposes the breakthrough nude male photography and art that changed the perception of male beauty. Focusing on the work of influential photographers such as George Platt Lynes, Robert Mapplethorpe, Harriet Leibowitz, and Bruce Weber, author David Leddick chronicles the visual revolution that paralleled social and sexual liberation since the late 1950's. With brief biographies of the models, including early renegades like Yves St. Laurent, Joe Dallesandro, Rupert Everett and more-this provocative book features reproductions of the original photos alongside portraits of the models today. This dynamic history of male nudity in art and advertising is for all audiences, gay and straight.
Customer Reviews:
The Naked Male Is Liberated!.......2004-06-12
David Leddick continues in this second volume of naked men what he began in NAKED MEN, PIONEERING MALE NUDES, 1935-1955, bringing us up to 2000, the year this volume was published. The genie is out of the bottle as famous and unknown men pose before many different photographers. In addition to George Platt Lynes, there are photographs here by George Dureau, Ken Duncan, Francesco Scavullo, Tom Bianchi, Robert Mapplethorpe, Greg Gorman, Harriet Liebowitz, Jim French, Pierre & Gilles, to name a few. Additionally there are drawings and/or paintings by Paul Cadmus, Michael Leonard, Don Bachardy and George Dureau. Among the famous and sometimes infamous men who bared all are Yves Saint Laurent, Rupert Everett, David Kopay, the exhibitionist Peter Berlin who apparently only photographs himself, Charlton Heston--hello!--Burt Lancaster from THE SWIMMER-- remember that 1968 movie made from a John Cheever short story?-- Peter Hinwood, whose name probably means nothing to you until you find out that he was the god Rocky Horror in ROCKY HORROR SHOW-- and Joe Dallesandro, one of Andy Warhol's superstars, who has not aged particularly well, photographed here by Scavullo. Finally we are graced by at least three porn stars: Ryan Idol; Cal Culver a/k/a Casey Donovan, who died of AIDS in 1987; and the notorious Jeff Stryker, (pp. 86-87) whose photo here is a hoot. He is demurely posed, stretched out on a flower-patterned couch with his back to the camera in the tradition of a 19th Century painting of a nude woman. (Seeing that hilarious photograph alone is worth the price of the book.)
Choosing favorite photographs is challenging. I particularly like Harriet Liebowitz's work (pp. 92-93) for her exquisite composition. Both photographs by Pierre & Gilles as always are creative and look like no other artist's work: Midnight Cowboy (pp. 98-99) and Casanova on pages 128-29. The photo of Larry Schleinz by Barry McKinley (p. 9) might have been the sexiest shot in the book had it had not been for the Romain Johnson photo by George Platt Lynes (pp. 24-25) done in 1953. It's easy to see why Leddick chose the photo of Anthony La Fauci by Dianora Niccolina (pp. 76-77) for the cover. Finally I nominate three contemporary photographs of men who have aged beautifully for the "Joy Of Aging" award: John Eddy (p. 82), Scott Wilson, (39) and Mike Helie on page 59.
Collecting these photographs and meeting the models must have been a labor of love. A great concept for a book, Mr. Leddick.
great history.......2004-03-18
this book provides an excellent history to the photography of nude men. Beautiful photographs and beautiful men. This collection has helped me out quite a few times.
A continuation of Naked Men.......2002-06-04
As good as its predecessor; highly recommended.
Photos.......2001-05-04
The photography in this book is top notch. I am especially fond of the man on the cover, Anthony LaFauci. He is the empitome of the ultimate male nude!!!
Better as a continuing journal than a photography book.......2000-11-28
Following "Naked Men" with "Naked Men Too" adds to the resource literature on the development of gender perception during the past century. This is an informative book (yes, there is actually material to READ as well as to see) and to this reviewer the words are better than the varying degrees of quailty in the photography and art. This book may initally appeal to the voyeur but the accompanying text is concise and very helpful in exploring the ever present question of "why is frontal male nudity such a problem for contemporary viewers?". Recommended.
Book Description
As images of men's bodies have proliferated in pop culture and advertising during the past decade, many artists and photographers have taken up the male nude as a primary subject. Recent work has sparked controversy as well as praise for its shocking frankness, and the line between art and pornography has become increasingly difficult to define. New digital technologies have brought about new ways of representing the body, and we are now faced with a multiplicity of eroticisms, previously unexplored channels of desire, and more inclusive and varied body ideals.
Male Nudes Now offers an essential guide through this new territory with more than 240 fresh and provocative images. Featuring contemporary work, mostly unpublished, this important sourcebook showcases a dynamic mix of visionaries, from established masters to breakthrough newcomers.
Feature Artists Include
Lyle Ashton Harris
Marc Baptiste
Clive Barker
Cecily Brown
Chuck Close
John Dugdale
Todd Eberle
Eric Fischl
Nan Goldin
Greg Gorman
David Hockney
Patrick McMullan
Duane Michals
Pierre et Gilles
Jack Pierson
Rankin
Terry Richardson
Michael Roberts
Stewart Shining
Wolfgang Tillmans
George Tooker
Ellen von Unwerth
Customer Reviews:
A Definitive Collection of the Best Contemporary Work.......2006-01-04
"As old taboos have lifted in the past fifteen years, an increasing number of pioneering photographers and artists have taken up the male nude form as a primary subject. Though there have numerous monographs, there has been no comprehensive look at the new work in this field--until now. Male Nude Now presents for the first time a definitive collection of the best contemporary work on the male figure. No other book has approached the scope and heft of this volume, which boasts more than two hundred images from the most promising artists today. ¶ Culled from Galleries and museums around the world, the stellar contributor list includes new and established names including: Duane Michals, John Dugdale, Clive Barker, Chuck Close, Pierre et Gilles, Tom Bianchi, Francesco Scavullo, Jeff Burton, Greg Gorman, Christopher Makos and Reed Massengill. A powerfully erotic and intelligent package for admirers of the male physique--and aren`t we all?"--© zebraz
Good book.......2005-04-16
This is a great book for when (if you're a male) want to see some nude men.
This Book Is Addictive!.......2003-09-23
Mr. Leddick has outdone himself on this one. With over 100 artists represented, this is one of the most inclusive collections of male nudes I have seen. There are photographers, painters and sculptors represented. The only requirement seems to be that the artist be living. Several of those represented are well-known, Greg Gorman, George Dureau, Michael Leonard, Tom Bianchi, Christopher Makos, Arthur Tress, Nan Goldein, John Dugdale, Chuck Close, David Hockney and Don Barchardy, to name a few. But most of the artists are unknown-- at least to me. There is literally every kind of nude male you can imagine here and some you probably didn't. Mr. Leddick arranges the art in what seems a rather arbitrary grouping to me: experimentalists, neoclassicists, eroticists, fantasists, sensualists, realists and romanticists. He could just as easily have grouped the artists alphabetically, for my money.
There are a couple of dozen previously unknown artists I was crazy about. I particularly liked Steve Underhill, Jack Balas and Terry Gaskins. (There is a brief paragraph about each artist with a small photo included with each work of art; then there are addresses for the artists printed as well.)I would love to have seen all the people who got culled, or at least those who deserve honorable mention.
My only complaint about this beautiful book is that it is printed in a paperback edition only. You certainly want this one to last.
Sampling -- It's a Fleeting Bite of a lot of Photographers.......2002-12-03
I'm sure that the artist photographers are masters in their field. However, the sampling introduced in this book barely made my mouth water (with the odd exception), let alone drool.
If you're serious about photography, and less about the depiction of male beauty, this book is for you.
Buy two copies.......2002-06-26
Gay men might be well advised to buy two copies of this book because the first one's pages are likely to be stuck together in no time (you know what I mean). Page after page of gorgeous male bodies!!! Beautiful!!! Women ought to appreciate this too.
Book Description
The nude self-portrait is perhaps the most intimate form of photography. It delves deep into taboo territory and strips away the traditional barriers between artist and viewer. Witnessing such a private act, we may feel the queasy embarrassment of a voyeur, but we are always compelled to look further. The images cut to the core of issues of identity, sexuality, and ego–
and as they reveal an essential truth about their creators they also tell us something about ourselves.
Self-Exposure features more than 100 works from both established masters and up-and-coming photographers–many never before published. This groundbreaking collection traces the development of the male self-portrait from its earliest beginnings with such greats as Hippolyte Bayard, Herbert Tobias, and André Kertész, to the contemporary efforts of such artists as John Dugdale, Anthony Goicolea, and Yasumasa Morimura. Each artist takes a uniquely individual approach ranging from the shockingly perverse and aggressively erotic to the elusively self-conscious and sublimely beautiful. Complete with brief biographies of each artist, Self-Exposure is a powerful survey of this most seductive subject.
Customer Reviews:
Variety and depth.......2007-08-03
At least ninety artists work is shown in a beautifully printed and well presented book. Everything is done well, the forward and introduction, the references to artists web presence, the variety of the selections; personal, obscure, in-your-face, from subtle to campy obvious, many different personalities take the art of the nude in photography another step forward.
Recommended.
Massengill Pulls a Very Naked Rabbitt out of the Hat.......2007-01-04
There are many many "art" books depicting the male nude. VERY FEW of them have any art. Most of them are glamour shots of young buff men posed on a couch or by a pool or on the beach or wherever and the main thing you can say for them is that they are in focus. This book is about serious photographic artists turning their cameras on themselves and going for ART - not just pretty. There's plenty of pretty, but that's not the point, the point is that you can have pretty and art at the same time - and sometimes you have art and not pretty - and art is more important. If you'd like an art book of naked men to add to your pretty books of naked men, get this book. You will not regret it.
A Very Mixed Bag.......2006-04-01
The title says it all. Reed Massengill has put together a collection of male photographers doing nude-- for the most part-- self-portraits, a very creative idea for a book. In his "Introduction" to this volume he says: "The common thread that binds together these images is not simply that they are self-portraits by men; each of these artists shows us what is beautiful and different about their work and about themselves through these images." Certainly each photograph here is different; unfortunately, they are by no means all beautiful, although many of them are. In alphabetical order-- the way the photographers are presented-- Plate 4, John Arsenault; Plate 16, Armando Branco; all the pictures by John Dugdale; the two photographs by Mark Jenkins (beautifully lit and printed); Plate 91, Douglas Prince; and the two photographs by Brian To would meet the severest critic's requirements for beautiful. Then there are the erotic, the pornographic (by Jesse Helms' standards), the very creative, the cutesy, the dull and the just plain ugly. An inordinate number of photographers chose to present themselves as just body parts, reinforcing the cliche that if you have it, flaunt it. Several of the artists are into crossdressing and fetishes. And David Hockney forgot to remove his clothes.
The Pierre et Gilles and Jan Saudek self-portraits are as creative as we expect from these fine artists. A very young Robert Mapplethorpe, believe it or not, radiates innocence. Tom Bianchi's portraits are exactly what we would expect from him. There is obviously not a shy bone in his body. Both Arthur Tress and Duane Michals are to be commended for removing their clothes although they do not have beautiful bodies. There is an honesty and vulnerability in the Tress self-portrait that is very moving. Finally, Andy Warhol proves that anyone can take a bad photograph of himself.
Mr. Massengill also says in his introduction that he had to exclude a lot of "beautiful" work. Perhaps he will publish SELF-EXPOSURE TWO in the not too distant future.
More than just the usual.......2006-03-15
This book delivers. Any individual interested in the above average, will find in this book a treasure of photos. The pictures are in most cases, experimenting with the self. In this book it is easy to share emotions with the photographers- as most of us have been there. Some pictures are raw, others subtle, but the quality never sucks! This is a book that you would like to share and most people just won't let it go!
This is a very erratic book. A few GREAT images. Many not........2006-02-24
This book is extremely erratic in quality. It has some images that are truly fine art. But, buyer beware! Read that title and be warned that it IS "SELF-EXPOSURE". It has about five images that are truly artistic and fantastic photos, but the range goes downhill from there to include anything and everything an exhibitionist might want to show you and much more that you might involuntarily say: "Oh, YUCK!" at. Maybe it is just my taste but why would anyone want to view self-exposed pics of a saggy, older, overweight person sitting in a chair with his legs open? (and, this is a saggy older person speaking) Then, there is the couple with man holding gun in woman's mouth.
I had high hopes for this book and was greatly let down. I'm an artist who has always loved to draw and sculpt the human form (I hate painting clothing on it as the skin is so beautiful). It is just that this book has so few images that have any redeeming qualities that might inspire, satisfy, glorify the human body, or to educate someone. There are quite a few pictures that I would not want found in my home however and I found quite objectionable.
And, since bad publicity is good sales also, I have probably just sold a few more books for the author. More power to him. But, I do think you should be aware before you buy.
Customer Reviews:
Beefcake At Its Best.......2007-09-16
Outstanding large format, this book provides an excellent look back into vintage athletic model photography. Each photo is professionally reproducted with amazing clarity. Page after page of photographs, with their lighting,shadows and props is a magniicent tribute to the artistry that is Bob Mizer. If a memorable pictorial loaded with pictures and not overburdened with text is what you seek - this is the book for you. I highly recommend this publication to any dedicated collector of classic athletic models. Of particular interest is the section dedicated to the 50's and early-mid 60. A must see.
Book Description
Often criticized during his lifetime for his insistence on studying and painting the male nude, accomplished draftsman, anatomist, and artist Thomas Eakins (1844-1916) is now acclaimed as one of America's greatest realist painters. Eakins believed in a classical approach to art, and made no compromises with the mores of his time. His insistence on having female students draw from live male nude models caused him to be dismissed from one important teaching post and created a storm of controversy which substantially hurt his career. Only at the end of his life was his work fully recognized as equal to that of some of the great European old masters. Taken from collections across the globe, this book features a stunning collection of drawings, paintings, and photographs of Eakins's male nudes, which showcase the artist's immense and still influential skill in rendering the male form. A major Eakins retrospective will be at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in the spring of 2002.
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful but pointless.......2003-01-13
This is a beautifully produced little volume of Eakins's photographs and paintings of nude males (the phrase "absolute male" is a journalistic euphemism for male art class models stripped of their posing straps). The text is thin and doesn't really say anthing new. The paintings are also likely to be familiar to anyone who has studied Eakins and have been frequently reproduced in more comprehensive catalogs. Even the photographs, called "Naked Series" because they show a single nude model from multiple angles, have been reproduced previously. Dating from the 1880s these may interest the student of early photography. While author John Esten seems to consider these to be works of art in their own right, they clearly served primarily as reference material for Eakins. This is most obvious in the swimming pictures and in one painting called "The Wrestlers" which--muscle for muscle, sinew for sinew--is based on a photograph he took of fellow art students in Paris in 1899 (pages 68 and 69).
The book includes a 2-page chronology of Eakins's life and a bibliography. The latter is a very short list; it only cites 19 works, two of which are books of poetry (Whitman's "Leaves of Grass" makes sense, but I fail to see the relevance of "The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake".) Very relevant but not cited is Helen Cooper's excellent 1996 book "Thomas Eakins: The Rowing Pictures" (ISBN 0-300-06939-1). If your primary interest is a book of beautifully reproduced images, these shortcomings will not bother you.
The Credibility of Observation Unveiled.......2002-09-24
THOMAS EAKINS: THE ABSOLUTE MALE is a beautifully assembled volume of the photographs and paintings of America's premiere artist. The concept behind this very fine volume is to emphasize the importance of the strong-willed pioneer of figurative art in a time when the country was in the throws of Victorianism in art (have things changed in over a century?). In his short but fine essay John Esten simply outlines the chronology of Eakins career and then lets the works speak for themselves. Eakins trained both in America and in Paris, in the latter with the artist Gerome who insisted on classical perfection in his depictions of the human figure. This attitude rankled Eakins who believed that anything less than the observed representation of the body made it ugly. "I see no impropriety in looking at the most beautiful of Nature's works, the naked figure." And with that he absorbed all the good in the classes in Paris (which included the first use of photography in providing reference for drawing and painting) and returned to America where he resumed his sportsman activities, all the while using his observing eye to reclaim the beauty of the human form in action. His photographs are now considered some of the finest wroks of their kind. He worked with the famous Muybridge, adopting his technique of serial photography to study the nude male form. When he returned to teaching at the Philadelphia Academy he insisted on allowing fully nude models to pose for the students. His defiance of the mores of the day in requiring that the women students be given equality in this aspect of his Life Studies courses resulted in his dismissal as a teacher, but added to his importance as a mentor.
This excellent book includes Eakins many photographs of the nude male, posed and at play and sport. Where applicable the photograph used as a reference is displayed adjacent to the subsequent canvas. Here is the most singularly bold and creative presentation to the age-old, cloaked secret that artists should not use photographs as reference if they say they 'draw only from the figure'. If ever there existed an homage to the marriage of the photograph with painting it is here. This is a very fine book, worth placing in all libraries both private and public.
Do Not Buy This Book.......2002-08-15
Unless you have more money than you know what to do with or you must have every book on Eakins do not waste you time on this book. It is supposed to be a survey of Eakins drawing, painting and photography of the male nude. There are three so called drawings, two white forms that are supposed to be knees, a scribbled thumbnail sketch for a painting that is not reproduced and one small drawing of a figure. There are only a few paintings, most of which we have seen reproduced better elsewhere. Most of the blurry photographs are not even identifies as by Eakins; in fact some include him in them so could not have been taken by him (although they may have been set up by him?).
What a wasted opportunity to do a comprehensive survey of a great artist's work; an opportunity to compare the three media and how he used the photos and drawings to develop the major works. Even a good survey of the drawings and paintings would have been more interesting and useful.
Customer Reviews:
My girlfriend said she loved it...............2000-07-21
I gave this to my girlfriend as a gag gift for her birthday and she said that she loved it..........I really wouldn't know....but anyway.......anyone who buys it, enjoy it like she did......
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