Tasteful Friends, Thoughts on Nude Art

Honestly, I always think gay guys with say more than one male nude on the wall in their home is sort of infantile. Beyond that it basically says to me that they draw their inspiration from a bathhouse.

I appreciate your input r1 and feared that type of reaction.

I display art that I like and care very little what others think. It is my home after all. Oh, and what is so awful about a kid seeing a nude human? Please tell me.

It's a beautiful photograph on the one hand, but honestly whenever I go to a friend's house and they have a photograph of a nude person (whether male or female) openly displayed, i always think, "Tacky."

[quote] I display art that I like and care very little what others think. It is my home after all. Oh, and what is so awful about a kid seeing a nude human? Please tell me.

If you really cared little what others think, charlie, you would not be posing the question because you would not care.

One of my old gay Clients, Scottie left me several 1st additions of that photo and several others of those war photos. My kids called him "Naked Charlie"

Many people put nudes in the bathroom

“This is the enemy” by the ass, change it to this is the enema and they’ll think it’s a vintage ad.

r6 I'm so jealous! If I had a first addition there wouldn't even be a question, it would go up. I'm going to just man up, enjoy being a proud gay adult, and buy the darn picture. I'll put it in my bedroom because sometimes I invite co-workers over for cocktails and don't want to cause any issues.

As always, thank you DL. others are free to add their opinions.

I love this photo so much, I have a large poster hanging on the wall in my bedroom.

OP, do what makes you happy. The older I get, the more authentic I become, and I cannot tell you how GOOD it feels to not be hiding behind a mask. The flip side? It’s nice that you care about your guests comfort. If that worries you, hang the picture in the “private” rooms of your home, not the common spaces, problem solved.

Don’t buy it. It makes you seem like a tacky pervert.

As long as you can’t see any pink, it’s fine.

R4- If said nude person in said photograph had tattoos, piercings, rings AND shaved 🪒 pubic hair I would think-

TACKY

That's a beautiful photo, OP, and it is a work of art.

Thoughts of tackiness and shame are in the eye of the beholder only.

OP are you buying a signed gelatin silver print of the Horace Bristol photo? What is the price? 10K? 20k?

Or are you buying a poster.

I'm sorry to be a snob but it works this way - if you are buying a real print of this image, it is not tacky. If you are buying a poster, this is what you should consider:

1) spend 50 bucks at most.

2) It is still a beautiful photo but it has no value as art. Take if off the wall and put it in the closet when your parents visit. It's not tacky by the way.

Buck never would have contemplated purchasing artwork nude.

as long as it's not Thomas Kinkaide shit do whatever you want!

If it doesn’t feature nekkidness it’s not art. Put it wherever you want and enjoy.

A decorative obelisk strategically placed is in order.

That edition might make a nice addition to your collection.

Personally, too much nude art, in particular photography, does give off a trashy gay vibe. One is fine though and also, if you love it, do it anyway. It is your home.

What's not to like, OP, about all-American buns 'n guns?

On on hand, OP, you should buy whatever you want and de decorate as you wish.

On the other, although it is a nice photograph, it can only work decorativewise in a very specifc decor. And also you can get sick of it.

Nudes themselves are ok, have been in decoration for centuries. Context, though, is key.

r24 can you give more context or an example of ways you've seen it done right?

I commissioned a nude of my favorite bag boy at the local grocery store. It looks divine over the sofa.

R25, either minimalistic, off center, in a very clean de or or just the opposite, mixed with a lot of other stuff. Never the major focus.

Got it r27. I have 5 other B&W prints of the same size on order. So, he wont be along but I think I'll place them together. They all have a WWII theme. Wasn't intentional but turned out that way as I feel in love with one photo after another. So he'll fit right in, but I'll likely place it in my bedroom

When it comes to nude art your mantra should always be What Would Blanche Devereaux Do?

I have a print of the Roman baths and homoerotic art all over my house. This way the message is clear. This is a sex positive space. Strip immediatly. My design theme is Italian 60s Whorehouse meets 70s Gay New York. Only gay men may enter.

Bologna bros Gaetano and Ubaldo Gandolfi seemed to have a special interest in male nudes. Their original red chalk drawings are affordable given their quality and age (early 18th century). Prices are rising though as owning and displaying nudes has become more acceptable this century.

I forgot to add this link, one of many on the Web.

I can’t speak to the reaction of the audience as my job is to create. I do love drawing the nude it is an incredible challenge. But as a displayer I would define your role as that of a curator. Every one is responsible for their own taste in The art world you have to own your nude and be proud of it. Or one could just put it in a closet and peek at it like a guilty child.

R33, I’m not OP, but you gave wonderful advice. I have my BFA in printmaking, drawing the nude form was by FAR my favorite thing to draw in the entire world, I loooved it, man or woman. I love the human figure and trying to render it in drawing (or painting).

OP, you definitely have good taste — so even if you opt out of hanging that photo in a prominent location, just know that you have a great eye.

Thank you r33 and r34. If only I could express myself better on this site. Re-reading my yesterday's comments make me sound like English isn't my first language or something, lol. Typos for days!

I'm excited for my prints to arrive. Should be here over the next two weeks, then I'll go through the process of frame selection and location. Art, like decorating, feels like such a choir because I want a nice place to expresses my style, but I'm working on my confidence.

This is my first place without roommates or family.

Good luck. You have very good taste in art. I'd hang it in my bedroom so I could see it the first thing when I wake up. Be careful that your sex partners don't get too enamored with it, though.

Would you mind linking where you bought this from? Thanks.

I'm asking because I'm curious if you bought a silver gelatin print of it, and how much they are going for nowadays. They are in many museums, you know. I believe 10-20K. Or if you bought a poster. And how much the poster cost. Thank you.

R26, lol! Thank you!

NUDIES. That's what they are.

I can see your dirty pillows OP. Everyone will.

[quote] My design theme is Italian 60s Whorehouse meets 70s Gay New York. Only gay men may enter.

And apparently only elderly ones.

quote "1st additions": oh dear!

thank goodness R21 is awake.

Honestly, is it possible to be a gay man and not have a nude in your bedroom? What about wallpaper? My #1 son is all man and only has clothed pictures of men in his room, so relieved it's Billy Porter because we're not racist.

r16 I'm buying a poster. I am not at that stage where I feel comfortable dropping thousands on art, when a simply poster print will do just fine.

Ok thanks for your response. Please do not spend much money on any future posters you buy. Posters have no intrinsic value besides the image on them. They are not "prints". They are not lithos. They are paper.

Only buy 1 poster first, from an online seller. They are often just taking any digital image they find online and printing them. The quality can be atrocious. For example, a classic black and white photo, such as your beautiful choice, will be printed from a low quality digital image and the result will have terrible definition - no greys. So just buy 1 to see if the seller is doing a good job, or not. Most of these are image mills and most of the quality is garbage.

If you want to buy posters, it is almost always better to go to a poster store and look at the actual product. Or to shop for them from museums shops. THEY do a good job with the image quality.

Good luck.

[quote] Ok thanks for your response. Please do not spend much money on any future posters you buy. Posters have no intrinsic value besides the image on them. They are not "prints". They are not lithos. They are paper.

Most wall art in general is just paper and paint (or paper and chemicals). Almost no art anyone owns is worth that much--I have had so many friends who have inherited their parents' beloved art treasures only to find out they cannot sell them for much of anything. And of course unless it has sentimental appeal, the art isn't of much use to them, since tastes change so much over time.

If it's on your wall, it's because you like looking at it. Really, who gives a shit if it's just a poster or a genuine litho?

Nobody gives a shit it's a poster. But 30 years ago posters were well done and had been so for decades.

Now online retailers are selling complete garbage, with poor reproduction of the desired image.

I was kindly informing about this possibility and recommending caution.

This flew completely over your head, asswipe.

Nobody should be buying cheap prints of anything when there's so much decent, original art to be had at the many, many art auctions occurring every week -- art from all eras and at all kinds of price points.

Years before "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," actor Joel Johnstone modeled. Nice big ass.

He played the best friend/business associate of Michael Zegen's character.

For those who don't know who he is.

[quote] Nobody should be buying cheap prints of anything when there's so much decent, original art to be had at the many, many art auctions occurring every week -- art from all eras and at all kinds of price points.

Why do you get to decide that for everyone else?

I have mostly original art in my house but a few nicely framed museum prints. I'll hang what I like on my walls, not what some anonymous queen on the Internet tells me I should.

I own an incredible large nude photo given to me by a photographer friend. That said, it’s hanging in my walk-in closet. I always wonder what the cleaning lady thinks of it.

I have a very large lithograph of Dali's "Dream Caused by a Bee Flight" in my family room. A couple of other smaller ones in other rooms. I never gave it a thought. But then my guests don't object, they're too sophisticated, at least they pretend to be.

I saw some male nudes in the home of an older gay couple. They lined the hallway on the way to their master suite, which had mirrored ceilings. I didn't like them because they were rather amateurishly painted and not fine art at all.

What I don't like are photos of ladies giving birth. It used to be popular back in the day. A woman would have a home birth and show pics of baby emerging, blood, and other stuff. I didn't want to see it and I don't it should be on a wall. Come to think of it there is a gallery nearby that has a sculpture of a goat mid-birth, as in baby half out. It's disturbing because that poor goat will be forever uncomfortable, never being able to push baby all the way out.

Don't be such a pussy. You're just worried because you have too many bumpkins in your social circle.

I kept Robert Mapplethorpe's 'Black Book' on my coffee table for years until the stupid comments got to me.

Tasteful Friends, Thoughts on New Dart

Great dumper at R49.