Priapus of Milet - 1

This artist burst upon my erotic art world in 2011 like a shooting star, briefly displaying his brilliance before abruptly disappearing. Fortunately he left behind the fruits of many years work, a legacy of great interest and beauty.

1

Temple of Doom 04

Priapus uses photo-manipulation, typically creating stylishly-copulating, masculine couples and placing them in striking, often classical, settings. He seems to be directing the erotic unions of perfect males like actors in a great play.

We live in a world flooded with images of men having sex together and these rather base endeavours do produce exceptionally beautiful images from time to time, I featured a pair recently. A sceptic might think these are simply the fortuitous convergence of beautiful bodies and camera angles - a perverse manifestation of the 'monkeys writing Shakespeare' theory, but more likely they are the result of intentional, artistic direction. Either way, the photo manipulator faces a real challenge to create erotic constructs that are original and stylish enough to differentiate them as art, but Priapus makes out a good case.

2

Decamerone 01

There is a self-conscious 'arty-ness' about his work as he shamelessly plunders the world of the great masters and modern art for ideas on imagery and presentation, including Pierre et Gilles in this example, but to me at least the end result is original and interesting, experimentation rather than copying. There is a sense of of gay love being given the respect it deserves by association with this great artistic legacy.

3

Heavenly Creatures 12

Inevitably traditional sources lead Priapus to mythological and religious subject matter. The 'Heavenly Creatures' series features heavyweight angels, who are muscular not only in physique but with mighty wings as well in classic renaissance style. They are shown copulating on painted ceilings or descending to earth to take mortal men in their beds where their wings become a striking expression of masculine, protective power and purity - truly the man of your dreams!

Go to Part 2