The Naked Man Project

One man's exploration in finding himself and his search for light, beauty, desire and art.

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Light, Beauty, Desire, and the Art of the Naked Man

My love and passion has always been the theater. I worked as a lighting designer and professional stage manager for years until I tired of constantly living out of my suitcase. I moved back to my home in the mountains of Western Montana, bought my first camera, took up photography, and began taking pictures.

Classic Narcissus looking into the waterI recently turned my creative eye to the nude male form and began a personal exploration of what it stirred within myself as an aging gay man and the impact it’s had on my life.  The Naked Man Project was a twelve-month endeavor to expose that raw, sensual, and often sexual side of naked men.  Not just a study on homoerotic art, it involves beautiful men of all kinds, often featuring straight men exposed as reflections of themselves in artistic nudes.  Though the writing becames a meditation on sexuality and desire and how it’s revealed in art, the images strive to defy the boundaries of erotic photography and reveal what we face at the core of ourselves, when we are naked, exposed, alone, and at our most vulnerable.  The two became a personal history of my life; my dreams and aspirations, friendships, inspiration, a delving into my own sexuality that is a journey of discovery and illumination as a artist. It is an in-depth look into the heart and soul of my artistic expression, drawing from my background in theater lighting design and a life-long fascination with art.  My images are inspired by the classic works of Caravaggio, Mapplethorpe, and Fred Holland Day.

Now with a new year, and the original project completed, it still continues to grow.  It now evolves to include many other artists who are also exploring the same issues but working in different mediums, writers, painters, graphic artists. To become a common place. a sort of collective of artists from around the world searching for meaning and existance of unlocking the powerful mystery surrounding the classic male nude figure in art.  To become an expression and  reflection of ourselves, our time, and the modern culture in which we live.

Recent Blog

Creation within a Fragile Existence

Someone sent me a text late the other night saying they had read one of my blog posts and wanted to tell me how much they liked what I was doing.  Somehow the project seems in the distant past, almost forgotten.  I realize how much I miss it.  How is it that something that seems so vital in our lives seems to slip so far away? 

Past Blogs

Reconnecting to the Inner Passion

I have reached a quandary in the direction I need to go?  The website seems to have grown, although it has become a lot of work, but the focus of the work seems more based in the business of maintenance and refining the underlying structure.  What I really miss and love is the daily blog and connecting my thoughts, concepts, and ideas into the project. 

The Use of Light or Lack There Of

I have been doing an in depth research project on the painter known as Caravaggio lately.  Trying to research his life and who the mysterious man might have been.  He was not overly popular that the time he was painting and many of his images were rejected because he chose to use prostitutes and common people as the models for his religious works of saints.

Recently Added Galleries

On Becoming a Women Series

This was the first series I ever worked on when I was in photography school.  The assignment was to create a photo documentary that could be told in a series of images.  The instructor had told us earlier on to shoot what we know.

 

Cowboys & the West Galllery

An American icon, the cowboy represents masculinity in its most primal form.  Rugged, tough, and athletic, the cowboy is closely connected to nature and a symbol of the land.  Strong enough to rope a steer or ride a bull, yet sensitive enough to gentle a wild stallion, the American cowboy is the epitome of versatile masculinity.

 

March  2011 Blog Gallery

I have managed to finally work through the month of March from last years blog project creating a gallery with links to all the blogs for that month.

 

Recently Added Articles

Does Showing a Man's Penis Make an Image Pornographic

He had a classic form and moved and stood in such a way that I knew would be reminiscent of a Greek sculpture.  I worked very hard to create a lighting design that would make him look fantastic.

Featured Artist Galleries

MY LIFE - Short Story and Art by John Douglas

Featured guest artist  - This is a modern gay fable that I read a year or so ago and it cracks me up everytime I read it so I knew I had to add to his collection.  Note: contains adult themes and content, but will totally make you laugh. 

 

Jim Ferringer - Classic American Artist

Featured Guest Artist: I am fascinated and in love with light. It’s what draws me to the art of photography and what I strive to capture in my imagery. To me the art of manipulated photographs is the ability to see and paint with light and combined images. Through the manipulation of images and the overlaying of textures, most of my work ends up looking like paintings.