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I've been reorganizing my files from my archive (organized by theme/concept) and I've been trying to come up with a system to group images of nude men. This is for my Nocebo de Macho exhibition - a survey of imaging/imaginings of masculinity.
I've been reorganizing my files from my archive (organized by theme/concept) and I've been trying to come up with a system to group images of nude men. This is for my Nocebo de Macho exhibition - a survey of imaging/imaginings of masculinity.
Here are some tropes I noticed :
The first trope is the Contrapposto or the "counterpoise" It is usually a default pose for subjects for paintings or sculptures that hark back to classical works of sculpture and painting (Greco-Roman, Renaissance)
The first trope is the Contrapposto or the "counterpoise" It is usually a default pose for subjects for paintings or sculptures that hark back to classical works of sculpture and painting (Greco-Roman, Renaissance)
the other one is the Tableau style of posing. It usually has a narrative (and is oftentimes based on a popular literary work or artistic trope) props are utilized and the subjects seem to be "in motion" but also not.
Swords seem to be a popular prop - both as a compositional tool (can function as leading lines) as well as a way to have the subject(s) do something. In the work that I'm developing, I take these weapons as extensions of masculinity - since they are used in conquest/battle.
Partnered Posing is also an area of interest for me. I try to see how the subjects interact, how they are posed and the amount (or the lack) of awareness of the camera. With hundreds of images in my hard drives, it's becomes an exercise to spot tension apart from comfort.
Playfights are a popular trope as well. You can really start to notice how they viewed the "feminine" body vs the "masculine" back then. Masculine subjects were almost always seen as "in motion" and in this case, even asserting themselves through a sport.
Wrestling/grappling has got 2 be one of the oldest tropes in photographing the male body. This combat sport has been around for more than 15,000 years and exists in varied forms in different cultures. I guess one can argue this is one of the more universal "tropes" of masculinity
Sailor imagery is also a popular trope. Images from the late 30s - 60s predominantly feature this character. I cannot make a concrete root of the sailor's popularity as a "sex symbol" but I guess you can attribute some of it to WWII happening around the first half of the 40s.
