Male Desire: The Homoerotic in American Art

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Male Desire: The Homoerotic in American Art

3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 · rating details · 10 ratings · 1 review

Examining the history of homoeroticism in American art, "Male Desire" surveys how the male body has been portrayed for the last century and a half. 220 illustrations, 128 in full color.

Hardcover, 208 pages

Published April 27th 2005 by Harry N. Abrams

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Mar 12, 2012 Scott rated it 4 of 5 stars

The cover art of this book is a detail from a painting by our friend Harold Stephenson, an artist from Idabel, Oklahoma. It is a detail from "The New Adam," the most monumental male nude in American art history. It is forty feet long and hangs on three walls of the gallery. It is of the actor Sal Mineo. Harold did it in the early 60's and the piece was not show in the exhibit it was intended for. After being shown a few places, it disappeared into storage until the Aughts and was then bought by...more The cover art of this book is a detail from a painting by our friend Harold Stephenson, an artist from Idabel, Oklahoma. It is a detail from "The New Adam," the most monumental male nude in American art history. It is forty feet long and hangs on three walls of the gallery. It is of the actor Sal Mineo. Harold did it in the early 60's and the piece was not show in the exhibit it was intended for. After being shown a few places, it disappeared into storage until the Aughts and was then bought by the Guggenheim. It hung in the New York branch for a while a few years ago, though it wasn't up when I visited there in 2009.

We were very excited for Harold when the book came out. Our friend Mary Jane bought a copy then. It was a pricey art book, so I couldn't afford it. I looked a month or so ago and discovered it was now half-price, so I purchased it.

The book is beautiful and sexy, with lots of great iconic images and many lesser known pieces. It covers a period beginning with Thomas Eakins and ending with the contemporary scene in 2003. Along the way it not only discusses the major artists you would expect (Hartley, Rauschenberg, Warhol) but also graphic artists, advertisers, gay cartoonists, and more.

The writing is very good, and I learned a lot from the analysis. It reminded me of my burst of reading in queer history, theory, and lit back in 2004-5, in particular some parallels with a book on the history of gay male American lit.

One thing that the book does remind you of, the effort for better social treatment of gay men began in the 19th century. It had a burst of energy pre-WWII, but post-war society sent most people back into the closet. It was only with the sexual revolution of the 60's and the subsequent post-Stonewall political movements and AIDS epidemic that the tide began to change for the positive again.

It made me angry, again, about the slow-pace of our civil rights movement. I had a Roman Catholic official tell me last December that we needed to move more slowly. Hmm. Our first major gay and lesbian civil rights march on Washington, D. C. was in the 1950's. I think you've had enough time to figure out if you are inclusive or a bigot.(less)

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Jan 09, 2013 Shameem Salehin marked it as to-read

Dec 22, 2012 Jason added it

Shelves: home-library

Sep 28, 2012 Remco Van dam rated it 3 of 5 stars

Jul 09, 2012 Peter rated it 4 of 5 stars

Feb 29, 2012 Paul rated it 2 of 5 stars

Jan 21, 2012 Jon Gilmore marked it as to-read

Jan 12, 2012 Lisam marked it as to-read

Oct 31, 2011 Center for Sex & Culture added it

Shelves: art, gay-men, homosexuality

Aug 08, 2011 Chad added it

Apr 13, 2011 Sean Stevens marked it as to-read

May 11, 2010 Jon added it

Mar 18, 2010 Patrick rated it 5 of 5 stars

Jan 22, 2010 Shawn marked it as to-read

May 27, 2009 Joanna marked it as to-read

Shelves: art, queer, raunch, 2000s

May 15, 2009 Perrin marked it as to-read

May 02, 2009 Cyn Coons rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: art-history, art-book, history-of-homosexuality, history-of-sex, sociology-and-culture-stuff

Mar 05, 2009 Brandon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: indexed, art

Jan 11, 2009 Scott marked it as to-read

Shelves: my-library

Mar 22, 2008 Stephen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: photography, art-books, gay-art

Sep 08, 2007 Robert rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

Sep 07, 2007 David rated it 5 of 5 stars

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