The mere mention of Sadao Hasegawa or Tsai Ming-Liang causes barely a ripple, yet a glimpse of Breion Diamond's pubic hair sees page loads go through the roof, and the comment box fill up. Who said art and fags go hand-in-hand?
Still, we must plough on, mustn't we?
To that end, I'm going to introduce you to some exceptional, beautiful art, of the sort we can all appreciate.
To my shame, I'd never heard of Paul Cadmus before visiting Catamite's Art Collection. But what a discovery! Steven Jenkins writes for the Queer Arts Resource, "His first major work... was the infamous "The Fleet's In!," [below] which answers the musical question: what can you do with a drunken sailor? In this extraordinary canvas, a gaggle of randy sailors on leave strike deals with hookers, ogle t and a, and get a little too friendly with each other, all while wearing (or planning to strip out of) unusually tight trousers."
A humanitarian, Cadmus once said, "Will it be said that I am anti-Semitic, anti-black, anti-white, anti-hard hat, anti-all, anti-people? I am not. I am anti a society that makes people this way, that makes humanoids of humans, an environment that causes this... I am for human beings as individuals."
Cadmus died in 1999, days off his 95th birthday.
After the jump, much more of his work...
I did a huge study on Cadmus in college. A very interesting man, and a great artist.
ReplyDeleteFrom the little I read he certainly sounded interesting. I was impressed that the "gay-panic" his Fleet painting inspired provoked only glee in him. lol
ReplyDeleteIt's sad that so few of us know so little about our cultural history, though.
As long as you give the kids what they want!!!! I love these....My!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the images here so I would definitely look for more...
ReplyDeleteAnd mentioning "Breion Diamond's pubic hair" again doesn't harm the stats for this post, either, eh? Ha Ha..
ReplyDeleteQuite coincidentally, I have a copy of the DVD for "Le Fate Ignoranti" right here on my desk, so I got a little spooky chill there when you referenced it (that was a reference, right?)
I have you on RSS, so I come back for WHATEVER you post. And it's always worth reading.
Cadmus.. it's been years since I saw these and I'm glad to be reacquainted. Some of them come off as a gay Beryl Cook (the guy on the jetty anticipates Jack Vettriano), but some are more thought-provoking. Interesting.
The thought never crossed my mind, Greg!
ReplyDeleteActually, when I started reading your comment, I thought it was a rant about me exploiting black men, following yesterday's episode (if you don't know what I'm talking about, check out the comments of this post at Rod 2.0: http://rodonline.typepad.com/rodonline/2010/01/watch-chris-matthews-on-obama-i-forgot-he-was-black.html ).
It WAS a reference to that sexy Italian flick! I must watch it again...
I've just read your exchange with Dalton on Rod2.0 and that's rich material for a blog entry. If it wasn't so annoying I'd be amused by his blacker-than-thou attitude in which he automatically assumes that you're ineligible to comment and then goes on to make what are arguably racist comments (inaccurately) against you. Honestly, when I read something like that I am thankful that I am fairly articulate, because otherwise strangulation of the other guy looks to be a far more satisfying response. It quite puts me off my English tea and crumpets.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to be no longer "anonymous" - thank you for your kind response to my comment on your 'Blacksonboys' post a while back.