The Nude Male

David Leddick
Universe Publishing

In his forward to this gorgeous collection of male nudes, Leddick says that male nudity in art has now moved from idealization and objectification to actual portraiture. "It is only now," he writes, "that men stand and face the camera naked as though to say 'This is me.'" That's an oversimplified notion belied by the impressively broad range of work Leddick has assembled here, which shows both that humanistic and idiosyncratic male nudes go back at least as far as Duane Michaels and Vivienne Maricevic, and that neither glossy black and white erotica nor full-tilt pornography are going away any time soon. Some of the most striking images do indeed convey a sense of honesty and authenticity, like Reed Massengill's portrait of a sleepy-looking guy laughing in bed, or Tom Bianchi's photo of two guys getting it on. Much of the most interesting work is concerned with going beyond both the body as a body, and the body as a person. Karin Rosenthal and Thomas Ruff treat the male form as landscapes, for instance, while Clifton Albergotti and Cornelius Washington position their subjects as integral parts of the landscape. Others create mysterious and quirky tableaux; Pierre et Gilles are represented, along with the rich canvases of Ross Watson and the dramatically staged photography of Darren Lee Miller. Sketches, collage, and new digital media are also represented, making for a deliciously eclectic collection that proves that whatever the state of the art of male nudity may be, it's not standing still.