“I want to show that like women, some men have body-image issues
due to internalized societal ideals," Abigail Ekue explained.
There
are very few
spaces where heteronormative men need to fight for visibility. Yet, while women’s unclothed bodies are on
display everywhere from The Metropolitan Museum of Art to HBO, images of nude men are way harder to come by.
Sure, depicting a naked body can lead to objectification and sexualization (as
women can surely attest). But a powerful nude representation also has the power
to be empowering, liberating, and, of course, beautiful.
In 2012, photographer Abigail
Ekue embarked
on a mission to photograph the unclothed male body in a truthful, expressive
and direct manner, a style Ekue saw was lacking in the larger cultural lexicon.
“I wanted something different from the
studio-based bodyscapes or flexing physique male nudes,” she wrote in an email
to The Huffington Post. Instead, Ekue was interested in everyday images of
bodies at rest ― bodies that are imperfect, vulnerable, normal.
Her project is open to all men over 21, including trans men, regardless
of race, body type, tattoos, piercings, or whatever else. “No need to ‘get in
shape’ or ‘tone up’ for the shoot,” Ekue writes on her website.
Thus far,
she has snapped almost 500 photographs of men sans clothing, which she’s
compiled into a massive nudie compendium titled Bare Men.
From the start, it was important to Ekue that she capture the entire male form
from head to toe, so the images resist becoming either too sexualized or too
romanticized. She wanted a real person, desirable yet flawed, as we all are.
“At
the beginning of the series it was a challenge getting men willing to pose and
have their faces visible in the images,” Ekue told The Huffington Post.
“Everyone just wants to be a cock on camera. That’s still an issue now, but to
a much lesser extent.” Ekue also mentioned the difficulty of finding men of
color who are willing to pose.
Ekue photographs her subjects in their homes, an effort
to make them feel as comfortable as possible. “A majority of the men I’ve
worked with so far had never posed nude for a photographer before working with
me so I think it’s important to have them at ease,” she said. “I like to have
the man do what he’d normally do, just in the nude and with me pointing a
camera at him. Sometimes a conceptual idea will strike and we’ll capture that.”
Bare Men offers a striking range of individuals and
bodies, each attractive in its vulnerability and strength. Women so often live
under the constant scrutiny of the male gaze, which reduces a woman’s complex
being to a matter of desirability. Yet for the many men whose naked bodies
are rendered invisible by mainstream culture, it becomes difficult to imagine
the possibility that their bodies could be, in and of themselves,
attractive.
Euke hopes, through proliferating the available
images of nude men, to tip the scales. She wants to close the gap between what
a “male nude” and “female nude” communicate, while removing both the stigma and
shame that surround their creation and circulation.
“I hope the images of the Bare Men series
can illustrate to viewers that naked men aren’t ugly or undesirable,” Euke
said. “I want to show that, like women, some men have body-image issues due to
internalized societal ideals, but also that some men are confident show-offs. A
man being naked isn’t always sexual. I want to remove the stigma of male nudity
being taboo and threatening.”
I
can’t say there was a consistent change among the men. Some of the men got
aroused and we continued to shoot. They expressed interest in getting erotic
images done of themselves so even if they had to think themselves into that
state or take some time to stroke until they became aroused, I would take a
break from shooting then start again when they were ready. Others got erections
because they were nervous.
Did
you ever feel like men were trying to seduce you with their nakedness?
Yes,
considering the majority of the men I’ve worked with are hetero or bi I think
there was a definite “power play” at some moments. They’re nude in front of
woman and she’s taking photos. But I’m professional during the shoots.
It’s a fine line giving verbal cues to get him in a particular pose or frame of
mind and flirting. I can compliment a man on a shot we’ve created without it
being skeevy or sexual. I think out of ego they wanted to elicit some
sort of response from me. Some men, who approach me for the series or
private nude shoots admit that being naked in front of a women is a thrill for
them.
When
and how did this idea come to you? Did you have an ah hah moment?
It
wasn’t really one particular aha moment. I always loved the idea of editorial
photography. As much as I love movies, there’s something about still
photography that I gravitate towards. So I did a male nude photo shoot and the
response was positive. Viewers were intrigued by a feminist approach to male
nudes even though that wasn’t my intention. From there working with more men, I
knew I wanted a collection. The photo exhibit was the first idea. Fine art
nudes of men with full frontal nudity are rare. I want(ed) to produce that.
Did
this series change anything for you as an artist, photographer, woman?
I can’t say Bare Men has changed me as a woman.
From personal relationships, I already knew that men had this other side to
them – vulnerability, angst, insecurities, bravado – and it’s great that
men are willing to share that part. As an artist, the series has been an
extension of my other work. Before I started the series, I was already writing
and blogging about sex, relationships and body image, I’d published the first
edition of my erotic short story collection, The Darker Side of Lust, some of my
self portraits were nude and I used to be a nude art model. I did a small
collage project years ago called “Men Wanted” where I asked me questions about
what it’s like to feel wanted. I’ve always worked to share how people think and
to express their experience. That is a project I would revisit on a grander
scale. now. http://www.abigailekue.com/MenWanted.html
ARTIST STATEMENT
Bare Men portrays
the male nude as a human and art, not simply a utilitarian device. I
wanted a series of natural, candid, voyeuristic nude images of men being
themselves. Through Bare Men I am able to
present men artistically, emotionally and being themselves sans clothing.
Bare Men celebrates
the inherent beauty, sensuality, sexuality and vulnerability of the everyday
man. The images share moments of joy, angst, self-care and self-love,
playfulness, doubt and reflection through each man’s own filter of
masculinity.
The overwhelming focus on
female nudity over male nudity was another catalyst for this series. Male
nudity in art perpetuates the Greek god trope - bodies carved out of marble
with minuscule, flaccid, non-threatening penises or penises not visible at all.
That carried over into modern-day photography, where there is rarely
full-frontal nudity - visible face and genitals. A faceless man, with the
focus primarily on his penis was not my objective. Nudity and sex aren't the
same thing and the penis is considered threatening or taboo because that
connection is made erroneously.
Over time Bare
Men has also evolved into an outlet for men to work through
body image issues and to finally be seen. Many of the men expressed their
desire to objectified -- to be considered beautiful and lovely. I've worked
with many men who had never posed nude before working with me, and I love the
process of seeing them strip the armor of "being a man" in society.
I've given the men I've worked with up until this point a new way to view
themselves. I stay away from studio shoots for this series so there's less
production and more connection. I'm working to showcase men in a human,
personal light.
The images in Bare
Men offer glimpses into their private moments; the men have
offered me and by extension, the viewer a front-row seat to moments usually
experienced alone or with intimate relations. As a result the viewer is privy
to two relationships: the man and the photographer and the man and himself
while in some instances is invited to join in.
Men are beautiful and lovely
and vulnerable and in that there is art.
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