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In the Galleries: From Under the Mattress

In the Galleries: From Under the Mattress

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Video killed the illustrator stars. This upcoming exhibit at the Leslie-Lohman Museum shows the rich history of the male pinup in the golden age of gay men's magazines before video ruined everything.

In the 1950s there developed a surprisingly large and growing market for what can only be described as male "pinups." But of course their real intent had to be camouflaged.

These "pinups" came in the form of little magazines with titles like Grecian Guild Pictorial and Tomorrow's Man, which pretended to be bodybuilding magazines, strength and health journals, and sometimes, more rarely, anatomy guides for "artists." Those who bought them, however, understood that they were a means to allow gay men and boys to look at handsome, well-built, virtually naked men. They were available in drugstore magazine racks and newsstands across the country. Certainly buying one of these publications required an act of courage, especially if the small-town drugstore owner knew the buyer and his family most of their lives. But the exhilaration of knowing that something so exciting existed so close at hand, and the possibility of owning one of these publications overwhelmed any misgivings or obstacles that stood between him and the thrilling object of his lust. So he bought it! The "Stroke" exhibition, curated by Robert W. Richards, will explore the history of the artists whose illustrations were published in these magazines from the 1950s until the magazines' demise in the '90s. when VHS tapes, then DVDs, and finally the Internet made them forever obsolete. An era in gay history had died.

Among the artists drawing for the magazines from the primitive pamphlet-type publications to the progressively slicker Blueboy, Torso, Mandate, Honcho, etc., and whose work will be represented in the exhibition are Tom of Finland, George Stravinos, Harry Bush, Mel Odom, Benoit Prevot, Jim French, Richard Rosenfeld, Michael Kirwin, Kent, Neel Bate (Blade), and Michael Breyette.

STROKE: From Under the Mattress to the Museum Walls
March 28 - May 25, 2014, Leslie-Lohman Museum
Robert W. Richards, Curator

01-prevot_johnroses
Benoit-A Prevot, John Roses

Click through for more art from the exhibit>>>

03-king_pinned
Beau, Pinned

05-breyette_winter
Michael Breyette, Winter

10-kent_door
Kent Neffendorf, Door

06-breyette_senator
Michael Breyette, Senator

08-rosenfeld
Richard Rosenfeld, Untitled

13-mcmullan
James McMullan, Untitled

12-martin
Martin, Untitled

16-richards_tobyx633_0
Richards, Toby

14-kirwan_carpark
Michael Kirwan, Car Park

07-breyette_power
Michael Breyette, Power

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