Thursday, September 18, 2008

The Company of Men

You're killing me, Blake Little.
Oh jeez.

Just when I thought I would be able to concentrate at work I catch wind of Blake Little's photo exhibition entitled, "The Company of Men" which features the most handsome of jaw-dropping, body-slamming, take-the-wind-out-of-your-sails men.

Swoon!

This exhibit is at the other end of the SmoothN'Young Bruce Weber photography and the Abercrombie and Fitch 6-packed dominant spectrum.

The exhibit opens tonight at The Wessel + O'connor Fine Art space in Dumbo and lasts through November 1st.

You can view some of the exhibit online here. Totally safe for work, all the men are clothed yet still they're going to make you weak in the knees.
Wessel O’Connor is very pleased to present THE COMPANY OF MEN, a solo exhibition by photographer Blake Little. This is his first new work for the gallery since his 1997 series of nudes entitled “Dichotomy,” which also became a book with the same title.

Blake explains how the project started: “I wanted to start a new series
yet I was bored with photographing nudes, I wanted to get past the nude. I wanted to take photographs that were emotionally charged without being obvious or consciously sexy, distilling exactly what I find compelling about men into a photograph without showing everything. I also wanted to show a particular type of masculine gay male that I appreciated and related to but that I did not see photographed anywhere else; an alternative to stereotypes or what is usually seen as†the physical ideal of a man in the mainstream.

I started photographing my friends and then friends of friends and guys who looked like they should be my friends. It turns out that these particular guys were somehow connected, a large network of men all over the country, invisible to the outside world. I photographed them using the same process and skills that I have developed over the past 20 satisfying years as a celebrity portrait photographer. I dressed them in their own clothes and photographed them in their own homes or around where they live. I choose environments and clothes that visually or characteristically complemented the subject. I photographed these men more instinctually, reacting to the way they made me feel.”

Blake Little makes his living as a commercial photographer in Los Angeles, a town where it is said there is only one industry. He has done portraits of actors, musicians, athletes, politicians and celebrities; for magazines such as Time, ESPN, Parade and Entertainment Weekly, as well as movie campaigns for the likes of “Get Smart”,"Austin Powers" and "Borat."
Killer!

17 comments:

Adam said...

Those are awesome photos with beautiful subjects. I really like how they aren't nude. I think that makes these men all the more sexy because even with clothes on they ooze sex without the bluntness of nudity. Some of them aren't even trying they just can't help it.

These men speak to me more than any A&F or David Beckam ad ever has or ever will.

Viva Woof!

Anonymous said...

Holy god...

Yeah, I'm goin', Eric. We should take Alex for a pep-me-up.

Btw, that "somehow connected" and "large network" is called Big Muscle Bears. I talk to like five of these guys on there regularly. And not in the ManHunt chat sense. Like in the keeping up with each other's lives sense. It's a great community site.

Anonymous said...

Another blogger I read is featured in this exhibit. Here's a link:

http://jackal.livejournal.com/

Mark said...

i expected to see some guys I knew and sure enough I did!

Cool!

Greg said...

Looks like a great exhibit.

Anonymous said...

There is only one in there that didn't appeal to me. Not going to single him out, but it was like the old Sesame Street song "One of these things is not like the other"....
Eric, thanks for blogging on this. My photo tour was stirring, let's say.

rptrcub said...

OMFG. I can't get up from my work chair now... thanks Eric! Of course, there was one very, very glaring omission... you!

Anonymous said...

oh gosh...I'd love to be on the bottom of that pile hunky bearmen.

Anonymous said...

My partner and I are headed to NYC this weekend and that exhibit is on my list of things to see.

Anonymous said...

Dog bless the Pacific Northwest!

Anonymous said...

3. Guy, Seattle, WA 2006

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR !!

dpaste said...

Eric,

You and I have very different tastes. Enjoy.

Marker said...

Eric,

You and I have very similar tastes. But, you know what they're always sayin': de gustibus non disputandum est.

Thanks for the link, and for making me late for work--note lack of personal responsibility there. :) Must make it out to DUMBO before November 1.

There appears to be a genetic link between a magnificent beard and beautiful eyes. Someone do a study.

Anonymous said...

Holy crap, now I can't get up from my desk.

They're all incredible, but Wolfgang is f'in gorgeous.

Tony Adams said...

Remind me to tell you about #12 in Birch Park who is an acquaintance.

Anonymous said...

I stumbled upon this in the Advocate. Totally hot men. Maybe this will start a new trend...

Anonymous said...

Went this weekend while we were up in NYC. Great exhibit... I have spent more money than I care to think over the years at their Gallery. Could have certainly chosen one of these images to add to the collection. Not only are the men gorgeous, but there is a depth to the photographs that just doesn't translate online. Defintely worth a look for anyone who was in doubt.