Thursday, June 07, 2007

Vintage Beefcake

Lately, pictures of pretty boys are a dime a dozen.

Don't get me wrong - I am all for photographing virile male specimens. Sometimes these modern photographs make the guys just seem a little too polished and merits little artistic appreciation. Their physiques seem to lack the burly quality and virility of the masculine ideal.

Maybe I am a little old fashioned but few images beat the raw and unpolished quality of Beefcake shots from days gone by.

Many of the models were as rough in reality as they looked, and attributed their physiques to hard work as boxers, athletes or construction workers. Most of them are excellent inspiration for art - great composition, good contrast and classical or provocative themes.

Sure times and the concept of masculinity change, but please bring back the rugged men!


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

the "vintage backside", as you so delicately put it, belongs to the beautiful UK model/actor John Hamill. I fell in love with him when I was a 14 year old and he was a regular on the gloriously tacky UK soap "Crossroads". He also played "Cowboy", Harold's Birthday Present, in the British cast of "Boys in the Band" at Wyndham's Theatre, London, and had the distinction of appearing opposite Joan Crawford in her last rather dreadul movie "Trog".