Out/Lines: Gay Underground Erotic Graphics From Before Stonewall

Waugh, Thomas

ISBN 10: 1551521237 / ISBN 13: 9781551521237

Published by Arsenal Pulp Press, 2002

Softcover, 4to. 1st E#D. 296 pp. Illustrated wraps. Profusely illustrated in color & B&W. "Gay male representation of sexuality has a long history of varied visibility and acceptance, but the 100 or so years of queer life before Stonewall were a period of unprecedented self-identification as well as renewed pressure to hide and suppress the erotic imagery of gay men in western culture. Out/Lines features a resurrection of erotic gay images, once virtually buried and invisible, that circulated in clandestine communities whose sexualized visibility was a potentially devastating risk a wealth of approximately 200 previously unpublished "obscene" images from the queer pre-Stonewall underground. Drawn mainly from American, German, Italian, and French sources, these images will both broaden and tantalize our view of queer culture with a surprising range of historical styles and motifs. While many of the artists remain anonymous or unknown, some have begun to have increasing notoriety on the erotic gay market. Works include images from a 1945 booklet of 20 unofficial illustrations for Jean Genet s Our Lady of the Flowers; the British artist known as "Hank," whose steamy couplets called "Homo Hotel" featured hot, horny sailors and Cliff Richards haircuts; the increasingly well-known American artist Neel Bate, whose nom de crayon was "Blade"; and numerous contemporaries and admirers of the legendary erotic artist Tom of Finland.". Seller Inventory # ABE-1734217344861

Synopsis:

Gay male representation of sexuality has a long history of varied visibility and acceptance, but the 100 or so years of queer life before Stonewall were a period of unprecedented self-identification as well as renewed pressure to hide and suppress the erotic imagery of gay men in western culture. Out/Lines features a resurrection of erotic gay images, once virtually buried and invisible, that circulated in clandestine communities whose sexualized visibility was a potentially devastating risk&;a wealth of approximately 200 previously unpublished "obscene" images from the queer pre-Stonewall underground.

Drawn mainly from American, German, Italian, and French sources, these images will both broaden and tantalize our view of queer culture with a surprising range of historical styles and motifs. While many of the artists remain anonymous or unknown, some have begun to have increasing notoriety on the erotic gay market. Works include images from a 1945 booklet of 20 unofficial illustrations for Jean Genet&;s Our Lady of the Flowers; the British artist known as "Hank," whose steamy couplets called "Homo Hotel" featured hot, horny sailors and Cliff Richards haircuts; the increasingly well-known American artist Neel Bate, whose nom de crayon was "Blade"; and numerous contemporaries and admirers of the legendary erotic artist Tom of Finland.

Waugh&;s narrative considers both fantasy and history by exploring the cultural and erotic dynamics and the social context in which these secret, sexualized images were created and collected. Historically rigorous and aesthetically explicit, Out/Lines is sure to shock and astonish.

Thomas Waugh teaches film studies at Montreal&;s Concordia University. He is a critic, public lecturer, and festival programmer, and is the author of Hard to Imagine: Gay Male Eroticism in Photography and Film from their Beginnings to Stonewall.

About the Author:

Thomas Waugh teaches film studies at Montreal?s Concordia University. He is a critic, public lecturer, and festival programmer, and is the author of the Lambda Award shorlisted Out/Lines and Hard to Imagine: Gay Male Eroticism in Photography and Film from their Beginnings to Stonewall. He also co-wrote the new edition of Gay Art with Felix Lance Falkon.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Out/Lines: Gay Underground Erotic Graphics ...
Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press
Publication Date: 2002
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: Fine
Edition: 1st Edition