BEEFCAKE: THE MUSCLE MAGAZINES OF AMERICA 1950-1970

F. Valentine Hooven

[Eroticism - Gay - Beefcake]

After the Second World War, a group of artists and photographers, mostly American, offered something new in the realm of popular art - naked men. Nudes of women had always been popular, but not since the Renaissance had men displayed their bare bodies for the enjoyment of others.This book tells the fascinating story of how a few courageous artists and photographers persisted in the face of the hatred and bigotry generated by McCarthyism and the Cold War. It details how they went on to create several dozen magazines and forge an entire new field of popular art, becoming major spokesmen for the awakening gay movement. It is a story lavishly illustrated with the photographs and drawings by Quaintance, Tom of Finland, Bruce of L.A., AMG Studios, and many more, taken from the magazines themselves.

Taschen (2005) 160 p. 19 x 25 cm - Softcover - In English, french, german