National Pornographic

This series of collage explores beauty in the male form. It raises questions about masculinity and challenges the double standard for nudity. These men are placed on regal and beautiful backgrounds. I chose things that were colorful and sublime. The background images are from a National Geographic edition titled “Wonders of the World.” I chose the most dramatic natural landscapes that I could find and many of the colors are so bright they appear artificial. The men are shown in nature. They are seductive but also resemble power when juxtaposed against the incredible forms of nature. These colors create a regal atmosphere that makes the beauty of the male body and the beauty of the natural world intertwined.

This piece is about many things but one of the things it addresses is censorship. It is common and relatively normal for women to be photographed nude, sometimes full frontal or even in promiscuous poses. Women are often objectified in the media and men are less so.

There are flowers covering the penises and other body parts on the porn models. The flowers are meant to interpreted as yannic symbols. I think there is something ironic about censoring male nudity with yannic symbols when addressing the double standard between female and male nudity. I wanted the collages to have shock value but still be censored to raise questions as to when to censor the human body and raise questions such as when is something beautiful and when is something objectification?

I have recently become very interested in defining masculinity and the role men can play in feminism. While this collage raises questions about censorship it is also supposed to show that some men, like women, are also objectified in the media and in things like porn. I would argue that many men being objectified in the media are gay. I truly believe that many straight men are not bothered by homosexuals, as long as they conform to “traditional” masculine ideals like being strong, dominant and competitive.

There are body image issues within the gay community because all gay men want to either be skinny as a model or buff as a bodybuilder and I personally believe that this fitness obsession could derive from a desire to be viewed as equally masculine as straight guys. It's another form or conformity. Another one of the reasons I chose gay porn stars is because they have perfect bodies that are god-like and unrealistic.

https://vimeo.com/179791907

http://www.chantarphotography.com/