Vintage Wrestling

 An image from a recently reassembled, wrestling photo set, produced by the British, vintage, Royale Studio in 1959. It shows the models Brian Lamprill (top) and Tibor Urgay grappling in various poses contrived to avoid frontal exposure and suggestive contact. This one looks a bit of a stalemate!

Royale Studio and it's later incarnation, Hussar Studio, had a brief existence from 1957-63 but reputedly bore the brunt of the arbitrary actions by the British authorities to suppress any form of homosexual expression. They were not the only studio to produce images like this and never featured explicit frontal shots but, uniquely amongst British Studios of the time, they produced photo sets showing men dressed or partly dressed in British military uniforms (tailored to fit tightly) and often involving in corporal punishment scenarios. This seems to have attracted special attention from the Police who confiscated offending material at whim.

This image is taken from the new Royale Studio Open Archive which is attempting to assemble as complete a collection as possible of the Studio's images. 

This particular set is No 37, Urgay v Lamprill 

Boxing Green

DrawprOn - Little Mac

 A saucy image of Little Mac who is a cute character from combat games.
I'm not sure he ever went into a fight dressed like this
But in the gay imagination it's entirely appropriate, cute kit for a cutie.

For some reason I like the green outfit that's his trademark too.

Seconds Out!

 

~

In this multi media age games characters are no more confined to computer games than superheroes are limited to comics. In the gay art universe they all mix freely, hooking up and sharing quests.

DrawnprOn specialises in fan art that transports well known characters into saucy situations.

I

Yellow

 Ivan Gudkov by Serge Lee

 

 I have a bit of a thing about swimming trunks.
Proper ones that look like swimming trunks, not underwear.

If they're skimpy and yellow, I'm hooked!

 

This pose highlights the brevity factor and vulnerabiliy

The little badge seems to add a frisson of importance.

The knotted waist cord looks a temptingly fragile defence.

 

Away from the prying eyes of beach goers

Serge Lee Photography

Swimwear by Marcuse

Unapproved School by Royale Studio

Royale Studio - Unapproved School

The mitchmen Royale Studio Open Archive, a project to compile a comprehensive collection of images by the legendary 50's pioneers of British gay photography has now transferred from the mitchmen blog to a new dedicated blog and gallery. The site is still in the process of building ,but you can see what has been created so far at 

The Royale Studio Open Archive

Alo!

 

Alonso Mena's depictions of men all seem to carry the cheery Spanish greeting.
In this situation of course it has the power to be something more.
The man on the ground looks dejected but we don't know why.

Maybe they had a row or he may not know the other man at all.

 

 Much of his work is solo studies.

He has an eye for classic manliness.

The greeting reaches out to us. 

Planting warmth in his imagery.

 

It seems somewhat incongruous in this one.

But who cares!

Alonso Mena is on Twitter

Man at Work

 Another muscular male back is the focal point of this image of a workman hauling on a strap. 

Manual labour is not highly valued in economic terms but gay men can appreciate it as a priceless expression of masculinity, one that most of us can only realise through the artificial process of gym exercise.

Shame about the baggy jeans though.

It's by the artist Steve Huston who makes something of a speciality of images like this,
involving boxers and workmen.

Night Life in the Rain

 

'Night Life' by Michael Breyette

There are many ways to show off the beauty of the male physique. 

Wet clothes are particularly effective and an almost traditional technique in the realms of non-explicit homoerotica, as my long running series on Royale Studio military images (ca. 1960) at mitchmen blog shows. Those images, largely published in black and white, were barely able to pick the surface. This splendid picture of a man caught in a rainstorm shows why. The wet fabric of his trousers clings to his thighs in the Royale manner, framing but not revealing sensitive, adjacent areas. His thinner shirt, however, becomes translucent in the wet, almost transparent and skin tones and other detail show through. 

Breyette is an old hand at discreet portrayals of manly physiques but the stubbled face he has given this one is right up to the minute. Removing his jacket is an entirely rational response to the drenching he has received but combined with the wet effect it creates the titillating suggestion of a man stripping off in the street.

Visit Michael Breyette Art