Customer Reviews

Rhapsody in Black: Sierra Domino Studio

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Not only did I savour every page of exquisite detail and photography but I had to do the entire book on one sitting. Not pornographic as Mr Hard and Mr Big, these photographs are artistic and thought of. Good settings and erotic poses of black men. Not all are well endowed either but have deliciously luscious bodies. Makes me so proud of the Black race!

Craig Calvin Anderson is a respected photographer who for years ran the Sierra Domino Studio in San Francisco. This excellent monograph finds Anderson focusing on the Black Male Nude in a book that could be subtitled 'Androphilia - The romantic and/or sexual attraction to adult black males.' In this collection the artist has selected all types of physiques and in curating this exhibition he has obviously avoided stereotypical concepts. The emphasis is on the sculpted male body and the models all happen to be black men.

The images in both black and white/sepia toned, and full color vary from interaction with nature in outdoor panoramas as well as static studio posed shots. The lighting effects he achieves is partly due to the light absorptive quality of his models, making each photograph pulsatingly sensuous. It is of importance to not that Crag Calvin Anderson was the first professional photographer to publish books that relied solely on the black model. This dates his work back to the 1970s when such artistic efforts found a lack of acceptance, a stance that thankfully has passed: consider the output of Robert Mapplethorpe and Lyle Ashton Harris, for example).

This is a book that will appeal to those who appreciate photography of the male nude as well as those who track the development of the emergence of black men in the fields of the arts of all forms. Grady Harp, August 11

RHAPSODY IN BLACK is one of my favorite homoerotic books on photography, and I highly recommend Craig Calvin Anderson's rich diverse pictures presented within this must have volume. This large hardcover is 95 pages of repeated delight if you like interesting unique vintage visuals of men of African descent. For starters the photos were taken in the 70's in b&w as well as color. Some were done in a studio and while others outdoors; we get the urban San Francisco Bay area, as well as some natural areas surrounding that area for location work. Stylistically things run the gamut here, as we have shots that seem definitely posed to ones that come off highly artistic, to scenes that appear to be windows into playful realms of casual, joyful frollicing fun! Now as for the gentleman - yes they have rather toned inshape bodies, and many of them don't mind letting you peak at their "lucky charms", but please keep in mind that this book never delves into something lewd or too disgusting. Upfront, fun, and adult in a loving free 70's gay sort of way, and that's about it. I also do have to mention that the men in this collection are quite handsome in a wonderous way, a way that I wish I saw more today. The beauty reflected here is more raw and organic; these guys aren't overly groomed or processed like too many men we see these days. Most of the men here don't look like fashion models, but there does reside a virility and unique maleness that I continuelly return to in this book ; faces of sublime beauty and handsomeness loved and birthed by the Love of All That Is - A RHAPSODY IN BLACK that is really like a glorious shadowed Xanadu forever captured from a not so distant past that longs to be rebirthed to the present spirits of love and joy who which to live vicariously through them - ENJOY EVERYONE !!!!!

OF ALL THE MALE-NUDE-PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKS I OWN, THIS ONE IS MY FAVORITE - BY MEANS OF SHEER QUANTITY. OF THE NINETY-FIVE PAGES OF NEGRO-MALE NUDES, I LIKE EIGHTY-THREE OF THEM; THUS - AS THE PURCHASER - IT IS QUITE SATISFYING TO OWN A PRODUCT WHICH IS THOROUGH IN ITS APPEAL. "Rhapsody in Black" IS A COLLECTION OF NEGRO-MALE NUDES PHOTOGRAPHED BY CRAIG CALVIN ANDERSEN (FOUNDER, "Sierra Domino Studio"). INSPIRATION FOR THIS BOOK'S TITLE COMES FROM THE MUSICAL PRODUCTION, "Rhapsody in Black: A Symphony of Blue Notes and Black Rhythm" - WHICH WAS PRESENTED IN 1931 AT THE METROPOLITAN THEATER IN NEW YORK CITY. [A RE-PRINT OF THAT EVENING'S PROGRAMME IS SHOWN ON p. 96]. THE MALE WEARING SUNGLASSES [pp. 28-29]IS MY FAVORITE PHOTOGRAPH. "RUNNIN' A CLOSE SECOND" IS THE MALE "POURING A BEER" [p. 81]. OTHER STANDOUTS ARE THE HAIRY MALE [p. 45], MALE AT LAKE-/OCEAN FRONT [p. 36] AND THE MALE ON p. 92. BY FAR, THE PHOTOGRAPH ON p. 64 HAS RECEIVED THE MOST EXPOSURE; DURING THE EARLY EIGHTIES, IT APPEARED IN MANY EROTIC PUBLICATIONS. SOME OF THE MODELS HAVE FACIAL HAIR; MOST ARE UNCUT. IN THE INTRODUCTION - WRITTEN BY WILLIAM S. DOAN - A HISTORY OF "Sierra Domino Studio," FEDERAL JUDICIARY INITIATIVES ON CENSORSHIP AND SOCIO-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE NEGRO-MALE-HOMOSEXUAL COMMUNITY OF SAN FRANCISCO(1970s-EARLY 1980s) ARE PRESENTED. [CONTAINS BLACK&WHITE AND COLOR PHOTOGRAPHS ON HEAVY-STOCK PAPER. THIS IS A LARGE BOOK; THEREFORE, THE BINDING IS FRAGILE. WITH GREAT CARE, PHOTOGRAPHS CAN BE REMOVED AND FRAMED].