We haven’t had any proper eye candy here for a while so let’s correct that with some Brazilian beauty in the shape of model Arthur Sales, from a shoot for Butch Swim. Photo by Cristiano Madureira. Via VGL where you can see a lot more pics.

One of a series of stunning ads by Y&R of Chicago for the River North Chicago Dance Company which give the old “body as machine” a contemporary and rather erotic twist. (I would have credited the photographer but the ad agency site is the usual Flash interface which refuses to work in any of my browsers.) The picture below is an older version of the meme by Fritz Kahn from 1926.

Via Homotography.

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Tiger Lily
• Chris Nash
• Peter Reed and Salomé After Dark
• Felix D’Eon
• Dancers by John Andresen
• Youssef Nabil
• Images of Nijinsky
• The art of Hubert Stowitts, 1892–1953

A brace of elegant fencers posing for an Elle Italia spread by photographer Ruven Afanador whose Torero series was highlighted here in April. Afanador’s recent work is worth a look for the set showing a model posing in an antiquated schoolroom among bones and stuffed animals. Via Homotography.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The men with swords archive

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Torero

Photography by Steven Klein, styling by Nicola Formichetti.

Not a Tom Waits album, Bondage Machine is the title of a feature in Vogue Hommes Japan which plays with bondage and fetish imagery to striking effect. What’s not to love about a huge skeletal necklace and leather underwear? Fetish gear is the aesthetic dimension of erotica and it’s always nice to see new manifestations of the form even when, as in this case, it’s largely about fashion designers flirting with the edge of acceptability.

Via the essential Homotography.

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Bad Boy

L’Androgyne by Alexandre Séon (1890).

Related to yesterday’s post, I’ve been re-reading various books this week for details of the most curious character associated with the French Symbolist movement, novelist and occultist Joséphin Péladan (1859–1918), also known as Sâr Peladan, a Babylonian title he bestowed upon himself as more befitting his adopted role as Rosicrucian mystic. Péladan’s writings and occult art theories spurred many of the painters who banded together as part of his Salon de la Rose+Croix, a kind of anti-salon intended to stand in opposition to what the Sâr saw as the drab realism of the Impressionists and the staid historicism of academic painters. One gets the impression reading about Péladan that he was probably a rather preposterous figure—his obsession with androgyny caused him to change his forename from Joseph to Joséphin yet he kept his length of bristling beard. But, like Oscar Wilde in London, his presence in the pool of fin de siècle art creates considerable ripples. Alexandre Séon, whose frontispiece above was created for Péladan’s semi-autobiographical essay, L’Androgyne, was particularly devoted to him, as was Carlos Schwabe. Séon’s picture depicts “the androgyne Samas, stupefied by the sexual enigma”, a character with whom Péladan fully identified as he describes his youth and its apparent state of androgynous grace.

One doesn’t need a Rosicrucian salon today for examples of creative androgyny, of course, all you have to do is go to Flickr where you’ll find creatures such as the boy above from Roman Mitchenko’s photostream. The photos there are at the fashion end of the spectrum; for more of an amateur or semi-professional perspective there are groups like the Androgyny pool, and the Mommy, I want to be androgynous! pool, the latter featuring many striking boyish girls and girlish boys.

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Arthur Tress’s Hermaphrodite
• Carlos Schwabe’s Fleurs du Mal
• Czanara’s Hermaphrodite Angel

I’ll be Your Mirror (2005).

Not quite finished with the Moon since it’s visible in the background of Juliet Jacobson’s beautiful drawing, together with some other items of recurrent {feuilleton} concern: masturbating males, peacock feathers and human skulls. Pam at Phantasmaphile has a larger copy of this work while Ms Jacobson’s site has a number of equally luscious pencil drawings.

Another fine reader recommendation (thanks Thom!). No provenance for this so as usual if anyone knows the source, please leave a comment.

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Winged things
• Dimitris Yeros

Moss Roberts photographed by James Bidgood.

I missed this back in January, a great version of the Flandrin pose by James Bidgood, the justly-celebrated beefcake photographer and director of that micro-budget masterwork of gay erotica, Pink Narcissus (1971). The photo was part of a feature commissioned by Out.com which asked notable photographers to present a contemporary take on the Physique Pictorial style. Bidgood’s pictures strike me as the best of the bunch but then I’m biased, having recently bought Taschen’s republication of their splendid book of Bidgood photos from the 1960s. Luscious and kitsch, and—if you’re a fan of Bobby Kendall—highly recommended.

Via VMP.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The recurrent pose archive

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Let’s get physical: Bruce of Los Angeles and Tom of Finland
• The Male Gaze
• James Bidgood

Foiled again… Model Mathias Lauridsen photographed by Kacper Kasprzyk. Thanks to Thom for the tip!

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The men with swords archive

Brett Reeves photographed by Peter Tamlin.

Yeah, I like the fetish look but all too often it’s been spoiled by ridiculous Tom of Finland-style moustaches. Brett Reeves, on the other hand….damn. Love the black nail polish and the tats; some of the clothes are pretty good too. This was from I Want to Do Bad Things to You, a great de-saturated photo spread by Peter Tamlin at Fantasticsmag. “Off-the-charts-sexy” says VGL which provided the tip. Can’t disagree with that.

Previously on { feuilleton }
• The art of Ralf Paschke
• Let’s get physical: Bruce of Los Angeles and Tom of Finland

Feathers maketh the man, extra points if they’re peacock feathers. I’ve been unable to find a photographer or model credit for this picture, unfortunately (if anyone knows, please leave a comment), but it comes from He Said, He Said via Fabulon. The winged boy below is creditable, however, being one Lyle Lodwick photographed by Tyler Riggs for Contributing Editor.

“For A Definition Of The Nude”.

After yesterday’s post I can’t resist repeating something seen at Fabulon, Thombeau and I both being cock fans (so to speak). Dimitris Yeros is a Greek artist and photographer whose site features a series of studies of male and female nudes juxtaposed with a variety of animals. This isn’t the only peacock photo, there’s also a female portrait and, in one of the other sections, that recurrent object of obsession, a naked man with a sword. As well as photography, Yeros presents examples of his very distinctive paintings.

While we’re on the subject of masculine eye candy, I’ve been enjoying some of the discoveries at Homotography (”Photography with homosexual tendencies”) not least their recent interview with Exterface, French masters of luscious homoerotica.

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Exterface

I’ve had some longer posts planned for a while but the current workload is claiming too much of my attention, hence the increase in picture posts such as this one of model Theo Hall photographed by David Macgillivray. Beautiful Theo was discovered via the essential VGL where many more delightful specimens of male pulchritude may be found.

You don’t have to agree with bullfighting to appreciate Torero, Ruven Afanador’s photo series which brings to the surface the usually latent but always present homoerotics of the sport. These were part of a book collection in 2001 which seems now to be out of print.

With Torero, Ruven Afanador lays open a world of poignant beauty and sensuality – not the atmosphere of the bullfight, but the intimate world of proud young matadors in all their manly valor, and youthful dreams intact. This exquisitely produced volume of Afanador’s black-and-white portraits, taken over a period of two years comprise the most substantial collection of torero images ever published. In Mexico, Peru, Spain and his native Columbia, Afanador opens the door to the famously closed society of bullfighters, offering his elegant, private view of the boys and young men raised in a centuries-old Latin tradition, capturing their balletic beauty, and their distinctly, undeniably erotic aura. Through these iconic portraits, Afanador also gorgeously documents the sumptuous and richly-crafted couture-like costumes and the timeless symbols of the torero culture.

How else to name this obsession? (Which, it should be noted, is more a mild preoccupation than a full-on fetish.) Xiphoid isn’t a word one hears very often:

\Xiph”oid\ (?; 277), a. [Gr. ? sword-shaped; xi`fos a sword + ? form, shape: cf. F. xiphoide.] (Anat.)
(a) Like a sword; ensiform.
(b) Of or pertaining to the xiphoid process; xiphoidian.

Ensiform is less of a challenge but doesn’t lend itself to a suffix while foinery is a term which only refers to combat with foils. Xiphophilia will have to suffice.

The Aragorn type at the top of the post is a Polish model, Jared Koronkiewicz, and his uncredited photo is via Queerty. The identity of the pouting sword boy is a mystery but this picture and another look like scans from a fashion mag. Thanks to Callum for the tip. Finally, the umbrella swords are a design concept from Materious. While these might be useful for keeping commuters at bay, in the current climate of security theatre they’d probably only lead to your arrest or worse. But they look good. Via Core77.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The men with swords archive

A stunning photo set of model Luciano Gossmann by Brazilian photographer Didio.

Via VGL.

Haven’t had one of these for a while. Artist and photographer Diego Lago has this version of the Flandrin pose on his Flickr pages. He also seems to have used it as a model for this painting.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The recurrent pose archive

Don’t try this at home… Model Clark photographed by Neil Bradley as part of a deviantART set.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The men with swords archive

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Secret Lives of the Samurai

Three Spheres II (1946) by MC Escher.

Celebrating the third { feuilleton } anniversary and post number 1,438. It’s become customary now to list the most popular posts of the past year so here we go again:

• The Underwater Sculpture Gallery. This has been surprisingly popular for several months now, despite pictures of the artworks in question having been featured on very popular sites such as Boing Boing. Typing “underwater” into Google’s image search provides the answer, revealing that one of the pictures from the post is on the first results page.

• The gay artists archive. This section has also leapt in popularity after the page was linked recently on StumbleUpon. It’s not a definitive archive by any means, plenty of other sites are attempting that already. These archive pages are only a convenience so that people following some of the lengthier visual categories can see at a glance what else is there. At its best this section may introduce people to more recent work which the historical sites omit.

• Barney Bubbles: artist and designer. No surprise that this is still popular two years on.

• Bare blade. Part of the new semi-serious Men with swords obsession. I think people like this guy’s bum more than anything. Can you blame them?

• Two guys kissing. Yes, Googlers, when you search for “Two guys kissing” you get this wonderfully sexy photo by Jack Slomovits. He’s great, buy his book.

Thanks for reading!

John x

I missed posting something about Strapped: The Art of the Decorated Jockstrap while the exhibition was running last month at the London College of Communications but better late than never with this. Designer Colin Corbett’s playful additions to the humble jockstrap hit so many spots of obsession it’s like he read my mind: black clothes, swords, peacocks, jockstraps… You can see more of them here and he talks about some of the designs here.

Dennis Covey, meanwhile, turns jockstraps into art by making unique torso casts of their wearers. He also has a fine collection of other homoerotic work, most of which is for sale.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The gay artists archive

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Game boy

An ad campaign which can’t possibly be ignored given the present train of obsessions. Andrés Ramírez photographs a collection of tight packages for underwear manufacturer, Macho. I’m not sure what a group of Roman gladiators would be doing sparring in what appears to be a Bollywood boudoir like the one in Moulin Rouge! but, ya know…underwear and swords… Consistency is the hobgoblin of fevered imaginations.

Via Queerty.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The men with swords archive

Model Michael Whittaker photographed by James Demitri for Culture Magazine.

Via Beautiful.

Or should that be hussy? What’s the male equivalent of a hussy anyway? I think we should be told, etc. The beefcake model is George O’Mara and the 19th century military gear makes a change from the usual Greek or Roman props.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The men with swords archive

Ryan 3.

A lubricated example of the Flandrin pose by Flickr user Trey Paul.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The recurrent pose archive

Parsifal by deviantArt user Divadlo. From the Mutual Friendly Opera Project, a series illustrating various operas.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The men with swords archive

Previously on { feuilleton }
• The faces of Parsifal
• Willy Pogàny’s Parsifal

Tad Bennett (1970s).

Pictures by Mel Roberts (1923–2007), compulsive photographer of Californian men.

Johan Larsen (1967).

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Mikel Marton
• Exterface
• California boys by Mel Roberts

These latest examples of the postural idée fixe come via The Other Andrew (again…thanks, Andrew), courtesy of his eye for the vintage male. The first one isn’t quite the Flandrin pose (although that rule has been broken here before) while the second is even more vague but the Jack Baker ad was something that turned up while searching the newly unveiled LIFE magazine photo archive with the keywords “homosexuality 1970s”. In case you’re wondering, the picture is captioned “Campaign poster for admitted homosexual, Jack Baker, running for President of University of Minnesota Student Association”.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The recurrent pose archive

Another vintage find courtesy of The Other Andrew. (Thanks, Andrew!) The tag on this photo revealed the model to be one Steve Wengryn and since I’m not an expert on these beefcake types this was news to me. A swift search also revealed that Steve was a popular model in the 1950s and posed for Bruce of LA, among others, a photographer whose work was mentioned here recently. And sure enough, this isn’t the only picture of Steve with a sword, there’s also this photo of him posing with an épée.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The men with swords archive

Edgar Hayes (Beach) (1957).

Bruce of Los Angeles is a new exhibition of beefcake photos from the Fifties and Sixties at Wessel + O’Connor, NYC, which opens today and runs until December 20, 2008. Bruce’s name is a very familiar one to aficionados of physique photography and I imagine some of these prints will be pretty familiar too. There’s a couple of guys with swords among the selection but as a break from that particular obsession I picked out cutie Edgar Hayes instead.

Born Bruce Bellas in 1909, he was a chemistry professor from Nebraska who would wind up in Los Angeles as the top “Beefcake” photographer of the 1950’s.

He started out there in the 1940’s, shooting bodybuilding contests and met many of his models while working for Joe Weider’s muscle magazine empire, which chronicled the physical culture movement sweeping across America following WWII. Bellas photographed some of the most important figures of this era; bodybuilders Steve Reeves, Ed Fury, and George Eiferman, as well as models such as Joe Dallesandro, Mark Nixon, and Brian Idol.

Physique Pictorial cover by Tom of Finland (1961).

Meanwhile, and a bit closer to home for me, the Contemporary Urban Centre in Liverpool has been running an exhibition of drawings by Tom of Finland, another very familiar name in the world of gay art and erotica. Twenty-five works are on display there until November 30th.

• From Finland with lust | Mark Simpson looks at the artist’s legacy

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The gay artists archive

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Philip Core and George Quaintance

Even though I never really noticed before it’s become fairly obvious that adding a sword to a beefcake photo was a way of lending some spurious historicity to an otherwise overt piece of male nudity, the cheap version of having models pose among Greek or Roman ruins. Not that I’m complaining, of course. This example comes from Bob Anthony’s New York studio of the 1960s. Thanks to Aristan for the tip!

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The men with swords archive