Brian: A Nine-Year Photographic Diary [Hardcover]

Reed Massengill (Photographer)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Hurts so good” -- Detour Magazine, February 2001

“The steamiest book of photographs to cross our desk ... just happens to be the most humanly fascinating as well.” -- Playguy Magazine, July 2001

“This book…celebrates the male form in all its salacious splendor.” -- Genre Magazine, December 2000/January 2001

“…blatantly sexual yet still playful with perhaps a slight touch of naiveté” -- Lambda Book Report, May 2001

“…these photos are smolderingly hot indeed, exuding the model’s brooding sensuality.” -- Mandate Magazine, June 2001

Product Description

 In a unique photographic diary that spans nine years and several cities, photographer Reed Massengill has chronicled the coming of age of his model and friend Brian Hess, a very handsome and charismatic young man. Massengill began photographing Brian in 1992 in Knoxville, Tennessee, shortly after Brian's high school graduation. During the intervening years, as the photographer and model became friends, Massengill's portraits of Brian documented his radical physical transformation. His hair was bleached, shaved and re-grown several times. Tattoos, piercings and scarifications further adorned his body and dramatically altered his appearance from year to year. Massengill's portraits have ranged from pensive and introspective to playful and wildly erotic.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Fotofactory Press; First Edition edition (November 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883923492
• ISBN-13: 978-1883923495
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,843,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Pictures and an Interesting Concept, September 30, 2002

By	Peter Saenz "Artemisboy" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Brian: A Nine-Year Photographic Diary (Hardcover)

I noticed this book the last few times I browsed through several book stores in my area. Each time it stood out as if trying to catch my attention. I finally gave in and went through the book, first looking through the pictures then reading the introduction explaining the concept of the book's meaning. I was amazed to discover that the photographs in the book were of the same person. Due to the extreme differences the model Brian had in appearance, I had assumed that the photographer Reed Massengill had simply decided on making a picture book on various young men all named Brian. This really impressed me as the book started out with a young, relatively clean-cut man who gradually alters his appearance with varying degrees of hair styles and a progression of tattoos and piercings. I think this book is a nice window into the life of a 20 something year old man going through many identity choices in the last decade of the 2000 millennium. Not a traditional coffee table book by any means, I think Brian: A Nine Year Photographic Diary is a nice concept book that should be appreciated for it's lensing of a person living through a specific point in history.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, erotic , BRIAN is a stunning masterpiece!, April 6, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Brian: A Nine-Year Photographic Diary (Hardcover)

I absolutely love this book. This is one book that I will never get bored of looking at. Reed Massengill has really captured the essence of his model, Brian. As one views the photos, one feels like a voyeur, having glimpsed into the life of a very sexy, charismatic guy. We get a sense of Brian's personality as his body metamorphizes through physical changes from body piercings and tatoos. And, Brian is different and unique from many models because even though his exterior becomes tougher and tougher as years go by through tattoos, his innocence still manages to shine through. Brian has many looks throughout this book and I loved every single one of them. This book is highly erotic and it was a real pleasure to see that Brian seemed more natural and unhibited in front of the camera as the years passed. I sensed a real feeling of trust between the photographer and Brian. This is a mesmerizing, daring piece. It showcases the transformation of a boy reaching manhood. I highly recommend this book to anyone. There is something for everyone in this book.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating document of transformation, February 10, 2001

By	Alan L. Case (Geneseo, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brian: A Nine-Year Photographic Diary (Hardcover)

A moving and challenging book. Reed Massengill witnesses and documents the process through which Brian Hess embellishes (or to some eyes perhaps, disfigures) his own body. At the same time we see a "mildly smirking boy" mature into a man of gravity and great beauty. There is a period documented in the middle of this book during which Brian almost becomes the various tattoos, piercings and scarifications with which he has transformed his body. By the end of the book, however, they have in some way been absorbed, made part of him... in the last photos one hardly notices them: Brian has become much more than the sum of these parts. These photos are indeed highly erotic, but also much more then that. Many, like the last, are intensely moving. I hope that this is the first installment in a journey which will continue for many years.