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 [Massengill cover]

An Introduction

By Reed Massengill

People often refer to these photographs as my "work," but that is a term I use with some discomfort, because I have no formal photographic training. Every frame I shoot is built around what feels right to me on an intuitive level, rather than on formal dictates of composition or technique. Photography has never been my vocation, and I'm certain that's why I enjoy it so much -- my livelihood has never depended on it. Nor are the men in this collection professionals in front of the camera. They are bankers and busboys, athletes and architects, fraternity boys and young fathers, dock workers and social workers. One was living in a homeless shelter when I met him, walking through my neighborhood. In exchange for posing for me, he asked me for a six-pack of Heineken, a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich, and a shower.

Whether they are straight or gay, professional men or slackers, their beauty -- or the attributes I ascribe to beauty, which can be something as unassuming as a scar I want to touch or the nape of a neck I want to kiss -- impelled me to photograph these men. Some of them passed through my life just once; others I have come to count among my closest friends.

The men in this book are special to me in some way, and I hope that resonates through these photographs. Their reasons for posing for me are less clear than my own reasons for asking them. In some cases, their vanity -- or my flattery -- may have swayed them. Regardless of their reasons, these men allowed me to bring life to both their innate strengths and their subtle vulnerabilities. What you see is the truth -- at least for that moment when my shutter clicked and light exploded onto the emulsion. Their beauty, I hope, will live on through these images.



REED MASSENGILL is a writer and photographer who divides his time between Knoxville, Tennessee and New York City. He is the author of the critically acclaimed Portrait of a Racist (St. Martin's Press, 1994) and his articles and photography have appeared in The New York Times, Interview, Connoisseur, Art & Understanding, Forbes, Genre, Essence, Swim, and Paramour, among others. Massengill's work is available through Naked Gallery, 7336 Santa Monica Blvd., #714, Los Angeles, CA 90046. (213) 782-1978.



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