Kobi Israel Views [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Kobi Israel (Author)

Book Description

Series: Hot Shots | Publication Date: April 2003

Fascinated by the subject matter of "men", Kobi Israel describes the gay lifestyle in Israel through a photobook of natural, erotic portraits of young, well-built Israelis. Soldiers are an essential element of Israeli life, and Israel depicts them, not to provoke nor to glorify war, but to celebrate the cohabitation of these men. In addition to the documentary pictures of soldiers, there are erotic pictures of imposing colourfulness and intimacy.

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Publisher Distribution Company; illustrated edition edition (April 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3861872854
• ISBN-13: 978-3861872856
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 8.1 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,566,406 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Touching View of Young Israeli Troops from Both Public and Private Sides, July 1, 2005

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kobi Israel Views (Paperback)

This short portfolio by Israeli artist Kobi Israel is more a document about repression within the military setting than it is a survey of fine photography. The images, while always interesting and touching and revealing of inner conflicts, aren't up to the finely honed artistic status of his other works. But the fact that the message is so powerful forgives any artistic looseness: the photographs are more like snapshots and in the long run that contributes to the power of his story.

As Israel so well explains his stance, "The thin line between homo-social and homo-erotic in army life can be so confusing and torturous for a gay soldier. Soldiers hug and kiss each other, say 'I love you brother' to each other, sleep together - sometimes lean on each others' chests, sometimes share a tiny mattress, have communal showers where they play 'boy games' like throwing water and soap on each other, sometimes share a hot shower,...". "In 1988 when I was 18, I joined the army. In a series of photos in this book I have tried to recreate the feeling of loneliness that I suddenly felt, torn by confusing emotions of 'brotherly' love and sexual attraction to my fellow soldiers, by fear mixed with beauty and fantasy. Soldiers look manly, confident and beautiful. So are the soldiers in my photos. But look at their eyes ... they reveal the real feelings. A body full of beauty, masculinity and youth, when erupting with sexuality, can be misleading - the eyes tell the full story - there is a deep loneliness, a hidden forbidden passion, fear and confusion in these eyes."

In this time of war throughout the globe it is well to read and look at Israel's view of camaraderie in the military. Understanding the soldiers' needs and fears and the way those feelings are acted out is a quiet revelation. Kobi Israel is an artist with a heart. Recommended. Grady Harp, July 05

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars adolescence explored, January 6, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Kobi Israel Views (Paperback)

VIEWS is a totally mouth-watering glimpse of Kobi's work -- more of which is on his website www.kobi-israel.com. He does a lot of travel, landscape and gay lifestyle stuff that's also really cool.

The book completely connected with me because like Kobi's experiences in the Israeli army, this reminds me of my adolescence ' from team sports to the college dorm -- when I didn't know what was up but was sure that my feelings toward other guys were a lot more than just friendly. Some of the images are pretty physical ' but really the book captures that confusion over intimacy with guys that were suppose to be just friends. This is a beautiful, sultry and pretty intriguing look inside Kobi's world.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Adventure..., August 24, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Kobi Israel Views (Paperback)

"A young Israeli photographer is fascinated by the topic 'Men'. Kobi Israel takes natural, very erotic photos of young, well-built Israelis. Awarded many a title and been seen at several exhibitions, his first illustrated book has now been published by Bruno Gm?nder. In his pic-tures he describes the [alternative] lifestyle in Israel in impressive shots. Soldiers as an essential element of Israeli life also play an important role for Kobi Israel. His photos are not intended to provoke. He does not want to glorify war, but the cohabitation of these men. Apart from the partly documentary pictures of soldiers, there are erotic pictures of imposing colourfulness and unusual intimacy. Simply a must for the lovers of modern photography of men. "