“Fractured Morning” from the series “Male Beauty”
Men Reinterpreted Through an artistic lens
MACHINE LEARNING ART celebrating the male body and homoerotic relationships
Growing up in rural North Carolina in the 1980’s, I did not encounter images celebrating the male form and gay relationships. I was socialized to be straight, to objectify women, and to think of homosexuality as an abomination. As you might imagine, I had a lot of internalized homophobia to overcome when I realized that I was sexually attracted to other men.
I’ve always wondered how different my path to self-acceptance might have been if I had encountered images that highlighted the beauty of the male body and positively depicted relationships between men. Images that did not require masculinity to be toxic in order to be authentic.
I hope the images I create provide other men with the kinds of aesthetic references I wish I had encountered during my own sexual awakening.
“I just wanted to say how much I resonate with your story. I live in rural Vermont, and sometimes, I don’t think that queerness is anything other than a figment of my imagination. This work helps to remind me that it’s very much not that.”