Steve Masters' Fisherman

Steve Masters - Fishing For Sport

 Steve Master's take on Fishing is very different to Stephen's accident prone, 'Dangerous Sport'. 

The Angler here is amazingly well-equipped, with waders, a realistically detailed rod and an array of hooks dangling from his backside as well as a couple in his hat. A sophisticated harness enables him to rest his rod comfortably in his groin. He appears to be straining backwards purposefully, as though he's just caught a big one.  

The happy figures in the foreground seem as if they might to be his earlier catches. There's another swimmer passing by who looks as if he wouldn't mind joining them. A hook dangles dangerously just in front of his trunks and one wonders if a line, out of sight, connects it to the tip of the fisherman's rod. 

It's also possible to interpret this as a satisfied customer departing, and taking the dangling hook with him as a souvenir.  

The clothes worn by all the men are tight and revealing. The leotard of the reclining figure in the foreground quickly catches the eye. It was Steve Master's style to allow physique details to show through fabric, almost as though they were transparent, but he's muted them here in a concession to realism. He's depicted a daring double lump in the groin area, a clever example of 'hidden eroticism' (see label at foot of post). 

The swimmer, looking back over his shoulder, is the only character who is acknowledging the others. He is clad in trunks which are brief for the era*, showing lower buttock flesh. The waist line (also low) has a V-shaped dip at the back, repeated in the hoop pattern. The design points and flows towards the man's rear erotic zone, of course, so it's significant that he is presenting his backside to the others - and us.  

This V-dip back shape can also be seen in pictures by Tom of Finland. It mirrors the line of a posing pouch support string, but I have never seen a real pair of trunks like it.  

The most subtle item of clothing, and for me the sexiest, are the fisherman's shorts. Tight fitting and brief, they are easily missed, thanks to the panoply of leather straps and gear draped sexily over them. 

One such strap is supporting the waders. It's a curious design, with double attachment loops rather like the braces that used to be worn to support trousers in the days when a loose fit was the norm. Even more interestingly, the second strap, securing the far wader, somehow descends on the inside of the fisherman's leg, from somewhere in the region of his groin.  

The waders themselves are lightly shaded to identify them as clothing, but the leg shape inside them is visible, as if Masters was simultaneously visualising them as sheer stockings. He's left two leg positions visible, as if he couldn't decide whether the knee was bracing or flexing. 

 *This image was published in Fizeek Art Quarterly (Fall 1964) 

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Steve Masters is badly unrepresented at this blog, an omission I must correct! However, there is also an article at mitchmen with a
 spanking picture by Steve Masters