Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Tom Cowans by Kris







These photos are courtesy of Timarxus and his blog "Black Muscle: 1940-1980" -- a really fantastic collection of black musclemen. Check him out -- unlike myself, he posts very regularly!! ;-)

Friday, November 18, 2011

beach buddies


Pictures featuring tall and short men together are a favorite of mine -- don't ask me why!

Don Fuller and Kip Behar



Following on from a post this past June -- two more shots in the series...

30s wrestler Joe Savoldi

Thursday, November 17, 2011

The Ballad of Little Jo

While trawling through the thousands of "vintage" photos on eBay tonight, trying to track down something interesting to share with you all, I was listening to a k.d. lang album to help ground me and keep me sane.

Something in her mood made me think of one of my favorite films, "The Ballad of Little Jo." Starring Suzy Amis and Ian McKellan, the film tells the story of a woman cast out of her upper-class family for having a child out of wedlock and how she ended up living her life as a man in the Old West.



The haunting soundtrack is by David Mansfield -- really, it is simply beautiful. Here is a wonderful sampling --



The heartbreaking End Title song, "Ballad for Little Jo," sung by Kate and Anna McGarrigle, can be heard by clicking here. It is one of my all-time favorite songs, and chokes me up every time I hear it.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Gary Seegar


This is almost definitely by Mel Roberts, but at first I thought it was by Champion. Whoever took it, good work!

A happening from July, 1927

John Derek in "The Leather Saint" [1956]


Woof!

William MacLane catalog Q





One of the long-stated reasons for producing physique photographs was to provide an aid for artists wishing to have model resources for their art. The then-famous (and now nearly-forgotten) William MacLane took this source to heart as witnessed by three of his paintings offered in Catalog Q. The figure on the left in #99-Leisure is a classic pose by Glenn Bishop, the prone figure in #100-Sun Worship is Ed Fury by Bruce of LA and the inspiration for #102-The Studio is a photo of Matt Carroll by John Palatinus.

Enlisted Men's Swimming Pool, Fort McClellan, Anniston Alabama


circa 1945

Peter Seultz by Jock of South Africa

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Meet John Palatinus this Saturday, November 5!






This Saturday night, November 5, from 6 to 9 PM, please join me at the opening night party for John Palatinus' exhibition of his historic 1950's physique work in his home town of Palm Springs!

This exhibit has toured Paris, Antwerp and Berlin this year, and I'm very glad to see it end the year back in the States. We had a special preview night this past Tuesday that was a great success -- the official opening, coming in the midst of Palm Springs Pride, should be even better.

John is receiving a Spirit of Stonewall Lifetime Achievement Award from the organizers of Palm Springs Pride and will be in this year's parade -- along with Gilbert Harris, the creator of the Rainbow Flag!

John has become a dear friend in the last few years and I am very proud of the exhibit he and I have created of his "lost work." Believe me, you haven't experienced the wonder of physique photography until you've seen it in a gallery setting -- full of people, both gay and straight, gazing in wonder at what was once considered "obscene art" -- no one has left a "Palatinus Opening Night" not feeling a huge sense of euphoria!!!

A wonderful article by Will Dean about John and his art appeared in last Sunday's "Desert Sun."

Please come and meet the irrepressible John Palatinus this Saturday night!

Savage Gallery & Boutique
870 Research Drive, Suite 1
Palm Springs, California 93362

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAe2ltjwV8A
http://youtu.be/P-8VHRv3RtE

and a flashback to our amazing Paris Opening this past January --
http://youtu.be/K9vL6Pdjgbc

Thursday, October 13, 2011

John Palatinus in Berlin -- 2 days left!!!


Hello there, visitors in Europe!

Here's your last chance to check out the John Palatinus Exhibit -- only two days left to view it at the Cafe des Artistes in Berlin!



There will be a "Finissage" on Friday night, the 14th, hosted by Project Manager Bernd, at which he will be premiering "Palatinus Project - der Film" at 9:00 PM. I'll be seeing Bernd in a few weeks, and I sure hope he'll have a copy of this film for me (hint, hint if you're reading this, buddy!) but it should be a great look at the fun and excitement John tends to create wherever he goes. If it gets an online home, I'll be sure to get it here pronto!

The final day to see the show will be on Saturday, the 15th. Do try to stop by, have some lunch on the sidewalk or a drink in the bar -- the place has wonderful food, healthy-sized drinks and a great staff. Bruno runs a wonderful establishment and made us all feel like we'd been friends for years.







The "European Tour" will be on hiatus for a bit -- but don't fear, I'm sure we'll be back sometime in 2012 -- is London calling? The next stop is going to be in John's home base -- Palm Springs, California -- opening November 5 and running through November 15th at the Savage Gallery. But more on that later...!

Thank you for a wonderful time, Berlin! I hope to come back again soon!

Tore Lind by Champion

Yowza!

Jac Jackson


This is most likely by the 60s Swedish studio FotoGrafo, but I can't be 100% sure.

John Tristram by AMG



Johnny is always superb!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Don't miss John Palatinus in Berlin!

John Palatinus is coming to Berlin on September 7!

Hey guys, long time no see...

It's been a long summer -- very hot, lots of weird hours at work, and when I've not been feeling too beat, I've been working on restoring more of John's photos. And faster than I would have expected, the next exhibit is upon us!

If you are anywhere near Berlin the evening of September 7, I hope you will stop by the Cafe Des Artistes at Fuggerstr. 35, 10777 Berlin and meet John and view the 42 prints we have brought back to life. Only a year and a half ago we premiered John's work at Rick Castro's Antebellum with 18 prints... we've come so far!

One of the neat things about the timing of this event is that we are part of the lead-up to Folsom Europe weekend! Leather and fetish abound -- sure to be quite a sight and experience! I've never experienced the original San Francisco Folsom, so I am looking forward to this very much. Who knew I'd have to travel halfway 'round the world to be surrounded by my gorgeous leather and rubber brothers--?

On the afternoon of the 8th John and I are going to the Schwules [Gay] Museum to donate one of his original 8x10's and a suite of 8 of his new prints for their permanent collection. That evening will be a "Dinner With John" at Restaurant Antiqua,
Eisenacher Str. 59 – 10823 Berlin.

A couple more parties will be held on Saturday, the 10th --
• INSTIGATOR MAGAZINE, USA presents:
Fetish-Reception on FOLSOM-EUROPE
4pm at CAFÉ DES ARTISTES – free entry
Special:
www.noodles.de features John Palatinus-Shooting by www.geyrimages.com
Art director LIVE – JOHN PALATINUS



• SATURDAY 10th Sept. 2011 GOYA: PROPAGANDA PARTY - start: 11.59pm
BEEFCAKE PARTY – VIP-LOUNGE with John & friends

All thanks must go to Bernd, John's friend and European Projekt Manager, for putting all these (and probably more!) events together. He and his posse have made this a truly exciting and memorable year for John. He is tireless -- after all these events, he's still going to be out all night! LOL!

It's 10:30PM now and I have to get up at 3:00AM to get to the airport for my trip to Europe. Willem and I are flying out to Amsterdam for a few days before we take the train to Berlin and meet up with John and Bernd. My second time to Europe in a year -- who'da thunk it?

I will say good night now -- I hope I get to meet some of my readers at the opening night reception -- just ask around, I'll be there all night!

Don't forget to check out Bernd's website for John at john-palatinus.com

I'll be back in a couple of weeks with some event pics to share! Meanwhile, let me say goodnight with the lastest print in the exhibit...

Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy 4th of July!


To all my visitors from the United States -- I hope you had as wonderful a 4th as I did. Yes, I had to work my awful job from 9 to 6, but the party my friends held afterward was stellar - a great way to end any day, no matter what the occasion!

Happy Days to all my visitors -- Thank you! -- you make it all wonderful!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

unknown by Les Demi-Dieux

Bob Spahn by Quaintance


George Quaintance was a very popular artist of the 50s, whose life ended too soon. The photographs published under his name (and often used as reference for his paintings) have been attributed to Victor Garcia.