A few days ago, an intense Benno Thoma postcard from Max Vasilatos (in an envelope), with the note: “This could probably go in the regular mail, but I’m taking no chances.” The issue is whether the image counts as X-rated or not; Max and I fairly often puzzle over the categorization of images, sometimes for the purpose of mailing and sometimes for the purpose of posting in certain places on the net (like this blog). The line isn’t clear.
First, the case at hand. Then, some general discussion.
While gathering examples of Michael Reh’s male photography, I came across several sites that referred to genital nudity as present or absent in various photographer’s work (so far as I can tell, there’s none in Reh’s, though he cuts the line very close). In genital nudity, the Adj genital is nonpredicating (His nudity was genital is anomalous): genital nudity isn’t nudity that has the property of being genital, but instead it’s nudity of the genitals, that is, exposure of the genitals. The Adj genital is interpreted via the N genitals — interpretation by evoking a noun is one mark of the type of nonpredicating adjectives known as pseudo-adjectives. (Resistance to modification by degree elements — note the oddity of very genital nudity — is another.)
Putting this aside, there’s the question of how to refer to the images that are banned in certain contexts (U.S. postcards, WordPress postings, etc.). Here’s I’ll restrict myself to the male body in these contexts.
On AZBlogX: a piece on male photographer Michael Reh (not actually X-rated) and another set of cattions (male art + a cat + a caption), this time based on the male photography of Reh and of Kristen Bjorn (totally X-rated) and on the homoerotic (but not actually X-rated) drawings of Kino Sekigushi.
As in the two earlier collections, the cattions are variously poetic, funny, slyly queer, and vulgar, often several at once.
On AZBlogX, amended images from male photographers, amended by having captions added and B. Kliban cat stickers as well — hence the portmanteau name cattion (cat + caption), pronounced /kǽtʃǝn/, for the form. Two sets so far: 12 photos from Michael Taubenheim (some of them dick shots), 15 from Benno Thoma (none actually X-rated, but none with much of a linguistic point).
From recent images sent on by Chris Ambidge, five that could have gone on AZBlogX (though they are not visually X-rated) but would also fit here.
(A little bit of language stuff, but mostly about male photography and homoeroticsm.)
As Mr. April was replaced by Mr. May in my Boy Next Door calendar (photography by David Arnot), I reflected once again on the inappropriateness of the label boy for the men in this line of calendars. And then, looking for net images of the calendar, I stumbled on the underwear model Philip Fusco, who like Daniel Garofali in an earlier posting, specializes in what I’ve called cock tease shots.
(About male photography rather than language.)
The hook is the David Vance photo of two men kissing that I linked to in my “Men kissing” posting. Which reminded me that I hadn’t posted on Vance, a Miami photographer who’s a romantic (in several senses) and a fantasist. (His blog here.)
(About sexuality rather than language.)
I’ve often reflected on the line — not at all clear — between gay porn photography and male art photography. The easy delineation has to do with intent: gay porn is intended to get guys off, male photography is aesthetic appreciation of the male body. But of course motives are mixed: porn can be artfully done, male photography can be arousing. There’s no one reading of an image.
A case in point: the main image in this TitanMen ad for a post-St. Patrick’s Day sale, viewable on AZBlogX here. Carefully composed — certainly not great art, but well crafted — with a dose of humor in the green shamrock on the model’s ass. What makes it porn is in part the context, plus the presentation of the model as a hole to be fucked. (But there’s male photography not much different from this: Steven Vaschon’s two Rear View books, for example,)
Over on AZBlogX, a piece on porn photographer Kristen Bjorn, with a special appreciation of his 1989 flick Carnaval in Rio. You have been warned.
On AZBlogX, a longish piece on the master of erotic physique photography, Jim French / Rip Colt, with plenty of illustrations. And with more reflections on the line between art and porn. But note the X warning.
