Customer Reviews

Hair: Hairy Men in Gay Art

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Of the many successful books Bruno Gmünder Verlag GmbH has produced HAIR is likely one of the most original. In this appreciation for hirsute men the introductions by Ron J. Suresha and Jim Kempster set the tone by summoning the past century's view of the 'presentable male', traversing the days when natural appearance was in order and progressing through the stage when gleaming shiny bodied weight lifters graced the magazines, to the latter part of the century when shaving the hair of models took center spot, to today, when there is a combination of camps of those who appreciate the hairy chest and arms of some of the popular actors and those who prefer the near marble state of the models who shave every hair every place.

What makes this book a pleasure to read and observe is the mixture of photography with illustration and with frank cartoons, such as those made famous by Tom of Finland. Among the many fine photographers represented here by their more unshaven models are Dylan Rosser, Tom Bianchi, Joe Oppedisano, Felix Drobek, Jim Kempster himself, and Jeff Palmer as the better known ones, given space along side the very creative photographers Burt Sun, Isauro Cairo, Joan Crisol, Bubba Clicks, and Vincent Keith - to mention only a few. In the field of raunch art, beside that of Tom of Finland, are both back and white and full color images by 'The Hun', Sepp of Vienna, Charlie Hunter, Harvey Redding, Rafael Lopez, Xavier Gicquel, and Fred Bisonnes. Artists, in film and in drawing, are from around the world and represent some of the most entertaining statements on the subject that have been collected.

There is humor in abundance here, as well as a lot of eroticism, mixed with some very beautiful photographic images of models who shun the razor. It makes a big impact and will definitely be a collector's item for Bears and those who love them. A fascinating and edgy book, beautifully designed and produced. Grady Harp, June 10

I've got to say that this collection of beautiful photographs is a great find! I am 95% satisfied with the images herein. When I received the book it was not in mint condition. The top corners were bent and the bottom was dented. However, I am still happy to have this book.

Incredibly well-produced (it's from Bruno Gmunder after all) and chock-full of sexy images of manly, masculine, virile and - yes - hairy men, Hair: Hairy Men in Gay Art might yet be a bit disappointing to some readers. More of a catalog highlighting the publisher's stable of male nude photographic talent, the lack of continuity and "bits-and-pieces" aspect can be a bit frustrating. Granted, it's got something to offer everyone (so long as you're not looking for twinks), and with fair warning that it's an anthology, readers shouldn't be surprised. Even so, it feels like a bit of a tease.

Each photographer is given a few pages; offering the reader barely a taste of their talent. In fact, unless you're simply trying to make up your mind about which Gmunder volumes you should pick up or who to follow in this genre of photography, paging through Hair is kind of like stopping by a friend's house when he's cooking your favorite meal - but knowing that you can't stay for dinner. The images are excellent, the men are hot, and the production value is top-notch. And yet it leaves you wanting more.

Perhaps that's the idea. The ultimate tease, it leaves you eager and wanting for more.

Which isn't always a bad thing.

FANTASTIC COFFEE-TABLE BOOK. THERE ARE 253 PHOTOGRAPHS AND SKETCHES OF MALES WITH BODY HAIR. ALBERT VICTOR - p. 192; PHOTOGRAPHED BY BUBBA CLICKS - IS MY FAVORITE. [BUBBA CLICKS PROVIDES THE ONLY PHOTOGRAPH OF A NEGRO MALE IN THIS BOOK]. I PURCHASED THIS BOOK FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHS AND SKETCHES. THIS BOOK INCLUDES COMMENTARY BY THE CAUCASIAN PHOTOGRAPHER, JIM KEMPSTER. FIRST, I WILL SAY KEMPSTER'S PHOTOGRAPH OF AN UNNAMED MODEL (pp. 226-27) IS MY SECOND-MOST FAVORITE IN THIS BOOK. HIS COMMENTARY FOR THIS BOOK HIGHLIGHTS THE RACIAL DIVIDE AMONG MALE HOMOSEXUALS. BEGINNING WITH THE 1980s, ACCORDING TO KEMPSTER, MALE BODY HAIR BECAME UNPOPULAR DUE TO "...Reagan/Thatcher conservatism, the fitness trend that brought Soloflex into the home...and most of all AIDS." [p.10]. I STRONGLY DISAGREE. SINCE NEGROES HAVE SPARSE BODY HAIR, WE ADMIRE THOSE WHO HAVE IT. MALES WITH HAIRY CHESTS ON 1980s-TV SHOWS LIKE "Dynasty" AND "One Life to Live" WERE HIGHLY POPULAR WITH NEGROES [FEMALES AND MALE HOMOSEXUALS]. INDEED, ALLEN PAYNE'S
POPULARITY "SKYROCKETED" AFTER DISPLAYING HIS HAIRY CHEST IN "Jason's Lyric" (1994). THE FACT THERE IS ONLY ONE PHOTOGRAPH OF A NEGRO MALE IN THIS BOOK IS PROOF OF KEMPSTER BEING "OUT-OF-TOUCH" WITH MALE HOMOSEXUALS OF COLOR. COMMENTARY FOR THIS BOOK SHOULD HAVE BEEN LEFT TO RON J. SURESHA (AUTHOR-"Bears on Bears...") ALONE, WHO STATES, "To love hair is human; to fur-give is divine." [p. 6].

This is exactly what someone familiar with Bruno Gmunder books would expect. A nicely produced, slick book full of great photographs printed on heavy, quality paper and bound with a heavy, durable cover.

Many of the subjects are hot - ALL of them are hairy - but even though I love hairy men, I did not find it erotic. For those of you who love BEARS, this will be a great find, as nearly every photo and drawing in it is of a chunky, often chubby bear, some of whom are attractive even for those of us who don't care much for bears.

I could say more, but I wanted this review to be short and to the point. If you love naked bears you'll like this book. If you're looking for hot, muscular, well-endowed HAIRY studs, you should not spend your money on this otherwise nicely conceived book. They should have titled it, simply, "Bears".

Some of the images in here are excellent, some are only OK, but overall it's a disappointment because it's not curated, it's just a couple of pics from a lot of different people - many of them already available online - and there was no work done to add anything like some history or a timeline or criticism or anything. It just seems amateurish.