Male Nudes: the Real vs/ the Ideal

According to the art history of western civilization, the ideal male form is a medium-built, shaven- bodied, fig leaf-wearing weight-lifter. With few exceptions he does not have body hair or body fat, the two features common to most men. Sadly, the exceptions are most often comical images of drunken satyrs such as Bacchus/Dionysus. The real male viewer is thus made to feel ashamed of his natural state when he only finds images of his body-type depicting foolish half-animals.

Conversely, the ideal male form is a self-contradicting amalgam of male power lust, Christian prudery, and highbrow culture's fear of virility. Per the painted evidence, his primary interests appear to be killing his fellow man, sexual conquests, and martyrdom. The poses he strikes
seldom suggest that he has the capacity for acquiescence, gentleness, or relaxation. Despite the fact that the real male spends approximately one-third of his life asleep, the ideal man almost never sleeps. In fact, when he is found lying down he is probably a victim of murder.

With these paintings I am attempting to represent men and masculinity as naturally as possible. As an academic studio oil painter, I feel it necessary to paint these men in the representational/realist mode because that is where the most contentious images were created historically.

The feminist perspective has shown us how damaging the patriarchal painters have been to women. It is my intention to show how damaging they have been to men. It is also my goal to parody idealism with realism.

It is my intention to create situational dramas which can be interpreted as either sexually charged or completely innocent, dependent upon the viewer's inclinations. This deliberately ambiguous approach to subject matter is taken to avoid easy interpretations. It is also an attempt to avoid brazen didacticism. The possibilities for enlightenment, I have found, are better increased through setting up a dialogue rather than by preaching a monologue.