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Under Pressure - June 20, 1997
Forward to Pressure by Monique Meloche
Literally under pressure - bodies contorted and pressed against a glass pane - Joe Ziolkowski's nude males physically and metaphorically display the strain of both body and mind. When compared to an earlier series depicting nudes against a pure white, seemingly hopeful background, this 1991-92 Pressure series, images of male nudes against a black ground, evokes
a darker and more solemn character. The suggested emotional and corporal torture of these figures alludes to the artist's reaction to the increasing number of friends he has lost to AIDS. Beyond the negative emotional associations the Pressure series may have, the work continues in the tradition of such photographers as Edward Weston, Minor White, Duane Michaels, and Robert Mapplethorpe - the photographic exploration of the male nude.
When you type in "male nude" on an internet search what appears is a list of pornographic websites. Why is it that Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo's drawings of unclothed men are revered and the work of contemporary photographers like Ziolkowski, Michals, and Mapplethorpe are looked at with antipathy or even censored? Perhaps it is because drawings, sketches, and even paintings of the nude male body are viewed as anatomical studies with a much more scientific base and so many photographs of the same subject are considered documentary and therefore too explicit. But there exists a
hierarchy amongst nude photographs as a whole along the spectrum between art and porn. This hierarchy is even more evident with male nudes. As Philip Berger quoted, "you'll gladly put Bruce Weber on your coffee table but youâ
ll hide Inches and Blueboy under the mattress." (Philip Berger "Walking the Line with Herb Ritts and Joe Z." Windy City Times, July 2, 1992, Chicago p.25) No strict guidelines exist, nor should they, to make this distinction but that still leaves the work of many artist's like Ziolkowski misunderstood. Like da Vinci's drawings of nude males, Ziolkowski's photographs are not intended to be erotic. In fact, many of his early works featured models in poses lifted from art historical references. This is not to say that images of naked men throughout the history of art are void of significant sexual content; Ziolkowski's photos address sexual issues as well.
Over the past 15 years Joe Ziolkowski has examined the dynamics of relationships men have with men and the societal responses to them through photographing the male nude. Inspired by Minor White's insistence on capturing an inner spirituality in his photographs, Ziolkowski works with the ability of the masculine body to carry psychological metaphor. Once you get past the intriguing and seductive images of naked men pressed to glass, the Pressure series deals with universal ideas of pleasure and pain. Whether or not these strong young men are succumbing to or applying pressure is left to the viewer. What is important is the vulnerable state that they are in - a state that transcends sexual politics and speaks to all people regardless of sexual orientation.
ISBN 0-9642009-7-X
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