Pictures And Passions [Paperback]

In the relatively small area of gay studies devoted to the visual arts, "Pictures and Passions" is a standout. Just about everything that has gay or lesbian thematic relevance is in here, from cave drawings to Renaissance sculpture to Japanese pornographic "pillow books" to the cover of DIVA magazine.

I really consider this to be an intellectual and social history as much as a history-of-art text. Author James Saslow insists that we know enough about the cultural background of each place and time so that we can place the import of the homosexual art in its proper context. For example, anyone who expects ancient Athens to be San Francisco with togas is going to be disappointed--"homosexuality was simultaneously everywhere and nowhere" in the author's famous line; it was culturally pervasive but did not give rise to anything like our 20th century gay life.

In Europe, different centuries have different signatures; at some times male homosexuality and lesbianism could be openly alluded to in art and at other times, only symbolically, as through religious allegory (St. Sebastian was a favorite). At no time--not even when persecution of homosexuals was at its peak--did I feel that Saslow was scraping the bottom of the barrel for gay subject matter. There was always something interesting going on. Non-European subject matter receives treatment too.

The last thirty years, the so-called "post-Stonewall" era, have been a boon for gay and lesbian art in America, and the last fifty pages of this book dwells on that. I for one wish Saslow had been a little more selective about this period--there is some great stuff chronicled here, but also some fairly trashy pop art that it is safe to say won't last.

Since "Pictures and Passions" is a history of thought book as much as a history-of-art book, if any aspect of the field suffers, it is artistic technique. This is not a book to learn about the rise of perspective, or what impressionism is, or why abstract art rose to prominence. For that, the reader would have to consult one of the standard texts on the subject or a beginner's work like "Art for Dummies." I can easily see this book being used in a Gay Studies course in college, or to add diversity to a standard art course. I think it will find a good audience among art lovers, and hopefully not just gay men and lesbians. The book itself is an attractive presentation, copiously illustrated, and includes color panels. Saslow's prose is academic but no more than it has to be.

I bought this primarily for the historical aspect and also as it was recommended by the artist Tee Corinne in her book `Intimacies'.

From the book description - This history of homoerotic art spans three millennia and explores traditions in Western, Middle-Eastern, and Asian cultures. In addition to celebrating glorious paintings and photographs, art professor Saslow illustrates the ways in which degrading images of gay men and lesbians have been used to infiltrate societies with negative assumptions of homosexuality. A groundbreaking work of nuanced scholarship encompassing all genres in all ages on gay themes. 145 illustrations, 32 in color.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: From Stone Age to Stonewall 1

Ch. 1 The Classical World: Greece and Rome 13

Ch. 2 The Middle Ages: Dogma Versus Desire 55

Ch. 3 From Renaissance to Reform: Europe and the Globe, 1400-1700 79

Ch. 4 Asia and Islam: Ancient Cultures, Modern Conflicts 125

Ch. 5 From Winckelmann to Wilde: The Birth of Modernity, 1700-1900 151

Ch. 6 Modernism, Multiplicity, and the Movement: 1900-1969 207

Ch. 7 Post-Stonewall, Post-Modern 259

Further Reading 311

Illustration Credits 319

Index 327

"The first complete history of gay and lesbian visual expression in all media, from the dawn of time to the present day--massive, fascinating, beautiful. ¶ As spectacular in its appearance as in its depth and range--encompassing works of all genres in all ages on gay themes, by gay artists, or for gay patrons--Pictures and Passions supersedes more narrowly focused studies. Following an Introduction that discusses the sexual and artistic practices of prehistoric and early societies, Pictures and Passions examines the classical world`s visual celebration of homoerotic love and how its status among the Greeks permeated later civilizations as an emblem of lost Arcadian ideals. The pictorial denigration and satire of the Middle Ages give way to the dawning tolerance of male beauty and affection in the Renaissance, then to eighteenth- and nineteenth-century economic and social transitions that stimulated the emergence of modern homosexual identity and cultural institutions, and finally to the flowering of modern homosexual art. ¶ Throughout, gay and lesbian art and experience are seen in a broad context that includes non-Western cultures (with an entire chapter on Asia and Islam); traditional media such as painting, sculpture, architecture, and graphics; and modern commercial and mass media such as magazines, photography, and advertising. Pictures and Passions is a groundbreaking work of nuance scholarship in a lucid and engaging idiom that will appeal to general readers, students, artists, and sophisticated gift givers. ¶ Winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Photo/Visual Arts"--© zebraz