Customer Reviews

Jack Fritscher's American Men: More Photos from the Bear Cult

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Edward Lucie-Smith's intro is a lucid explanation of the frank way Fritscher photographs the masculine animus. He is Jungian and not P.C., so in his work testosterone is as honorable as estrogen in the human world he shoots. The men in these photos exude natural humanity which Fritscher dramatizes as a photographer and characterizes as a writer who is a photographer naming his frames as if they are illustrations of short stories in magazines. I've seen his work on the covers of many magazines and centerfolds in color, so this black-and-white volume collects his work but without the fey artiness of most "gay" photography where svelte models lean into shadows holding hula hoops. These pictures are actually meditations on the state of being male as one century dissolved into the next. Interestingly, his photographs continue in his books of fiction and in a book of fiction called "Tales from the Bear Cult" which circles around to one of the first books of bear photos called "The Bear Cult" also introduced by British art critic Edward Lucie-Smith. Fritscher was the sometime lover of Mapplethorpe and he is as personal as Mapplethorpe was formal, and both are worth staring at.

Comparing photo books is like comparing apples and oranges. I quite like Jack Fritscher's American Men as much as I like Chris Nelson's Bear Cult. Both are excellent photographers with two different points of views regarding bears. Nelson is formal. Fritscher is informal. Formal is good on Tuesday night for J/O. Informal is good for Wed night for J/O. Nelson shot Fritscher for his book, but Fritscher has no shot of Nelson in his. Maybe Nelso is more shy or maybe he's not a bear. Both books are also equalized by having introductions written by the same art critic, and by the fact that the same publisher published them both. Smart move, because Nelson and Fritscher give diversity to bears that could be triangulated nicely by the same art critic and publisher putting out a book of photographs by Lynn Ludwig who also shoots a lot of bears. Bears are rich photo territory. Nelson is great. Fritscher is great. Both photographers deserve to be side by side on my book shelf.

This British-issued title, available in a fairly pricey export edition, is primarily a compilation of nicely printed photos from Jack Fritscher's portfolio, in part the result of his video sessions with partner Mark Hemry (Palm Drive Video). Fritscher is a bodybuilding fan from way back, and knew a lot of real professionals in the 70s BB subculture. Some of the photos are simply renderings of men in contests or constest poses. However, the majority of the photos are explicitly sexual and fetishistic. Most are posed in ways that Fritscher directed, framed and then captured on film. One photo, "Slap Contest" (1995), depicts two men just after one (wearing a Gold's gym shirt) has slapped the water out of another man's mouth. It's extremely hot, even though there's no nudity per se. Fritscher was the first champion of "homomasculinity," named the phenomenon in fact, and these photos will show you why. They have more to show us about masculinity in a postmodern age than any number of explode-on-cue Hollywood adventure films. The book is worth having if your tastes run along these lines

Black-and-white photos make this British coffee-table book of U.S.guys romantic, especially because by contrast so many of these photos have been printed in color in magazine covers and inside magazines like "Bear." Especially too because internet photos are almost all in color which makes the non-color here on a book page work by contrast, knowing that so many of these photos of ordinary bears and men and leather guys were taken during the filming of videos. The all-american cover is a flag-waver of patriotism, or at least American identity. Twice I've lost copies, one to a friend who had to borrow it, and another time I gave it as a birthday present. Donnie Russo and Chris Duffy head the pack. Viva los bears!

Professor Fritscher's camera captures the essence of masculine manhood in all its glory, clothed or nude, in American Men. The men are not your typical buff gymboys. They are men's men: bearded, hairy, muscled and proud of their manhood. Even the clothed models exude an air of masculinity most "pretty boys" lack. Proud and powerful man-mountains like Chris Duffy and Mike Jacobs are at their manly best, thanks to Prof. Fritscher's talented and observant eye. A must for all who admire the beauty of men.

These photographs taken during the last part of the 20th century work on many levels. The photos are erotic in content and in style, which means the pictures are sexy and shot in a sexy way. The photos are intellectually disturbing because each one makes the viewer think. That makes the photos subversive because while the viewer thinks they are merely erotic, they are thought-provoking, and even have a political edge. The photos are beautiful and unusual and are the kind of art that hides itself--which is the best kind of art. The photos get under the skin of men in an age when most media are focused on women. They are as steadfastly about gender as photos of women are about gender. In fact, these rather amazing photos taken before George W. Bush became the war president reflect the brute strength of America as perceived in the world today. In many ways, these photos are a cautionary warning about the basic American character. The fact that this book was published by a British publisher makes the vision and message of these photos about a secret side of the American character all the more revealing. It seems the photographer had a journalistic agenda to speak a truth while keeping the message about American harshness palpitating under the photos' raw beauty.

These aren't masculine men.

They are merely cardboard cutouts.

Like the Village People, these images represent men not as secure confident masculinity rather they need some idealistic fetishistic prop - muscles, hirsuteness, cowboy clothes, policeman's uniform, etc - to help pull off the trick.

The amateurish, grainy photos, and inferior reproductions of Jack Fritscher's tedious paean to his notion of hyper masculinity leaves the reader wanting less not more. Even for a sometime-fan of Mr. Fritscher like myself ("Some Dance to Remember" was a darn good read, though it suffered from a lack of competent editing), these fetishistic images are a major disappointment. There are much better books out there. Save your money for them.