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Herb Ritts photograph of 'Fred with Tires' must have been been one of the best known images of 1984 with posters of it adorning countless bedroom walls. For a gay man it's universal popularity was a public validation of their attraction to the naked, male form. The oil-smudged mechanic was unashamedly erotic with undone overalls barely covering his private parts and the plunging lines of his abdomen drawing the eye downwards towards them. At the same time his coy, awkwardness was immensely cute.
This image glamourised the lean, 'cut' physique style that broke away from the traditional, body-building stereotype of plush bulk, represented for years in popular culture by the middle-aged Charles Atlas. Ritts connections with the fashion industry and media played a part in making a muscular physique seem a 'must have' for a young man, widely desirable and attractive.
40 years on, the butch eroticism seems less powerful. The inoffensive tameness was probably instrumental in it's success but there are 8 more photographs in the series, many of them much more sexy.
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| Herb Ritts - Fred with tires No 4 |
You can see the rest at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Their collection also has other images of Fred by Ritts, including the extraordinary, booted naked shower with 'Dan'.
The original image has come to define manliness and has inspired countless artist and photographers to copy the idea, those of Priapus of Milet (in Shooting the Past) and ASN, are both represented here at mitchmen blog. When these tributes appear they bring a fond, nostalgic smile to the lips of old-timers who were around at the time.
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