Customer Reviews

Sinners & Saints

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

 

 

I was initially disappointed to see that the photographs were all by one photographer, when I was under the impression it was a catalog of Sinner and Saint images throughout history. I was further disappointed to find the book is actually short than it appears as 1/3 of it is the english text re-printed in German, French and Italian. And then lastly I was disappointed because the images by the artist, while striking, were sometimes as small as 1/4 page and I think have been done much better by artists such as Pierre & Gilles. I returned this book.

The premise behind Anthony Gayton's color saturated photographs of men is an interesting one: capture the long history of depiction of male erotica from mythology, Renaissance and Baroque painting, Victoriana sepia tones, and physique photography from the early Hollywood influenced era. Such a survey in and of itself is an interesting bit of scholarship made visual and for that the book is fine.

The problem with these photographs is that they appear so staged, so artificially posed from reference materials that there is little life to the images. Now granted, that may be the intention here, to 're-create' images and tales from the past in the way the art festivals (think Laguna Beach Art Festival!) create frozen paintings by transforming props and sets and touched by paint people to astonish the viewers. But just at the moment these images could become sensual they rely heavily on quotation and the history of it all gets in the way.

The photographic techniques are sound and the color is splendid. And of course the models are spectacular. For the collector of male photography this would be an added diversion, much along the lines of Pierre & Gilles, and that is not a bad comparison! Grady Harp, December 05

Sinners & Saints is a compendium of homeo-erotic images in which photographer Anthony Gayton pays homage to the iconography of the male in the tradition of pictorialist photography. From romanticized mythic imagery, to Victorian style nudes, to stylized contemporary pin-ups, the visual theme of eternal masculine beauty and desire is provided from beginning to end without textual interruption. Enhanced with a bi-lingual essay on "Youth, Beauty And Desire: The Photographic Work of Anthony Gayton" by Peter Weiermair, Sinners & Saints is an impressive body of work and a recommended addition to personal, professional, academic, and community library 20th Century Photography collections.

As a professional photographer, I was totally blown away by the seething talent and sense of male beauty, powerful and refined, that literally jumps off the pages of this wonderful book into your psyche and heart. The choice of models is exquisite and the control of the lighting, the impeccable and fascinating attention to hairstyle and the details of the often elaborate "sets" demonstrate complete control of the medium with an overwhelming aesthetic and erotic sense. This is the type of work I would aspire to create in my own photographic career. That Anthony Gayton was a student of Andreas Bitesnich, one of the most talented photographers of the male and female form alive today, comes as no surprise. "Chapeau" to Anthony Gayton for having developed a most wondrus and breath-taking photographic style. Ross Pierce, Bethesda, Marhland, USA