'Some may shock, some amuse, but hopefully all will cause you to celebrate the beauty of the male body.'
The statement above, from photographer Allen Beauvisage is on the front page of his site Finexposure welcoming viewers in to enjoy his work. When I first profiled Allen's work last month, (Preferential Treatment) and his images of Amadeus, I was struck by how authentic Allen was, both with his images, and his attitude towards his passion for photography and the male form.
I remember in my first few years working on FH, when I was often greeted by photographers and models who welcomed appreciation and respectful compliments about their imagery, but seemed sort of uncomfortable acknowledging that people actually enjoyed it. It was as if there was a belief that their nudes of the male form couldn't be considered art if they actually brought joy to the viewer.
We all know the truth is art is subjective and to me if it it doesn't bring joy, what's the point, for either the viewer, or the artist behind the camera. Allen's passion is the male form, especially the energy and beauty he captures of the black male form. When I am choosing work to feature on FH, one of the things I look for is depictions that bring about new and unique ways of looking at, and enjoying the male form. With Allen's work, I think one of the things I love best, is his ability to freeze.
Frequently when I am describing a photographer's work, I will use the term moment of movement. This to me, describes artists who are able to capture a model mid movement. Although the image captures but a split second, it holds the energy of the entire movement of the body. If you look at the image from New Manhattan Studio's that I used as pic of the day on August 8th, you will see dancer Luca flying in the air. Although the image captured just one split second, the energy of Luca's entire leap into the air is felt within the image.
So many of Allen's images don't necessarily capture a moment of movement, but a suspended moment as if his models have been frozen in mid pose. This style of capturing the male nude is reminiscent of some of the classic Greek and Roman sculptures such as The Thinker, The Discus Thrower and of course Michelangelo's David. In the first feature, Amadeus was capture stoic and still and although Siemesedream expresses a wider degree of expression, he still maintains a beautiful stillness, no matter how complicated and difficult his body positions are.
It is clear some of Siemesedream's poses require great flexibility of movement, something his experience as a Personal Trainer no doubt assisted with. Allen skilfully managed to still freeze these moments clearly and cleanly with minimal distraction. The viewer's focus is on Siemansdrean's sculpted form, particularly the way Allen highlights his strength, muscles and body definition.
Holding still for the camera is not easy, it takes great concentration and physical discipline. Both are attributes 31 year old Siemesedream practiced during his time in the U.S. Military and during his time in Afghanistan. The American personal trainer and model settled in Germany after his service concluded and modelled for Allen while taking an exam in the UK. I love Siemesedream's presence in front of the camera, especially how his strong and impressive physique is softened by his face and beautiful and expressive eyes.
'I am increasingly producing pictures in black and white as I think these show even better the shape and form of the models, and show the effect of light and shade much better.'
I deliberately only chose images for this piece of Siemesedream wearing... well absolutely nothing! I thought they fit well with the theme of the piece. If you want to see additional images of Siemesedream, this time wearing a little bit more (well, socks anyway) check out more of Allen's images on the FHOver-Flow HERE:
