Estonian Photos - Part 17

Estonian Photos

Here's another group of photos from the Tartu Ülikooli museum of anthropology in Estonia.

For those who haven't seen my previous posts in this series, a few words of explanation.  The museum provides no information about the men, other than the photos came from the Institute of Anatomy.  In particular, it does not say who these men are, or when or why the photos were taken.

My best guess is that they are military recruits.  The very short haircuts suggest that these photos were taken during or shortly after the enlistment process.

The dark faces and hands of many of the men suggests that they are either deeply tanned from working outside like farmers, or they are dirty from working in a place like a coal mine.  Estonia doesn't have any coal mines, but it has oil shale mines, which would make the workers just as dirty.  Or if they're recruits, maybe the Army put them to work on something dirty.

When were the photos taken?  My assumption has been between World War I and World War II, when Estonia was an independent country with its own military.  Before WWI, Estonia was part of the Russian Empire, and after WWII, Estonia was part of the Soviet Union until 1991.

A clue to the time frame is that these photographs were made on glass plates, not film.  Dry glass-plate photography started in 1871 and began to fall out of use in the 1920s.  I found some references to it in Estonia through the 1930s.

One other clue to the time frame of these photos is that in a previous batch, one of the men is wearing a wristwatch.   Wristwatches were considered to be for ladies before World War I.  (Men used pocket watches.)  However, during the war, wristwatches proved very useful for soldiers and pilots.  After WWI, wristwatches came into fashion for men. 

 Although they were evidently rare in Estonia (only two men wore a wristwatch among the hundreds that were photographed), it suggests that these photos are post-World War I.

Since the use of glass plates fell out of use in the 1920s, I think the photos were most likely taken shortly after World War I.

Although these appear to be military recruits, these may not not be military photos.  We know that the museum that currently has the photos got them from the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Tartu.  If these are military photos, why would they end up at the Institute of Anatomy?

A more likely possibility is that the photos were taken by academics.  Scientists at the Institute of Anatomy were doing studies to try to measure what they considered racial characteristics of the population by measuring the body, including phrenology (measuring the skull), ideas which are now discredited.

I think that the scientists at the Institute of Anatomy may have persuaded the military to let them take photographs of the naked new recruits for "research" purposes.  I have no written evidence to support this idea, but since the photos were at the Institute of Anatomy, and the photo subjects appear to be military recruits, it's now my best guess as to what happened.

One other question that perennially arises from these photos is: why were the men photographed in pairs?  Was it to save film?

The answer is that these photos were made on glass plates, which were more expensive than film, so yes, it's likely that the men were photographed in pairs to save on glass plates.

(Note: the front view of #568 and #569 is missing.  It was not in the museum's collection of photos.)

So, bottom line: My best guess is that these photos were taken after World War I, the subjects are new or recent Army recruits, and the Estonian military allowed scientists from the Institute of Anatomy to take photos of the naked recruits for "research".

Boys and Their Balls - Part 51

Foosball

Foosball, or table football, is a game played by rotating rods with miniature football (soccer) players attached to drive the ball into the goal at the end of the table.

It's often played in bars.

These players, members of the Young British Naturist Association, look quite innocent.

These guys appear to be less innocent.

Above is part of a video of BelAmi models playing foosball in Prague.  There are six of them: four players, one observer, and a cameraman.  After each goal, they rotate places and someone else takes the camera.  Some of the cameramen were more interested in the other players than in what was happening in the game.

We end with excerpts from a video of four guys playing strip foosball.  Each time there's a goal, the losers have to take off a piece of clothing.  When one team is naked and they lose again, well, it's a gay porn video, so I'll let you imagine what happens next.

Weighing In - Part 53

John Murray

For those who wonder why boxers sometimes strip naked to weigh in, thinking that the weight of their trunks can't make much of a difference, look at this video of British boxer John Murray weighing in.

John Murray had won the British lightweight title in 2008.  On June 13, 2009 he was scheduled to defend his title against Scott Lawson.  As seen in the video above, when weighing in, Murray was 0.2 kg (7 ounces) overweight.  He stripped and weighed in again.  He was still .08 kg (2.8 ounces) overweight.  After a quick attempt to shed the ounces, his final weigh-in was still .08 kg (2.8 ounces) overweight.  As a result, he forfeited the British lightweight title, and his trainer and manager were each fined £1500.

A few ounces can make all the difference.  That's why they strip naked.

Poem of the Day - Part 52

The Fly
by Ogden Nash

The Fly is a classic short poem, only two lines long, by Odgen Nash:

                                                God in his wisdom made the fly

                                                And then forgot to tell us why.

*        *        *

That's it for the Ogden Nash poem, but I thought there was more to be said on the subject, so I added a few lines of poetry of my own about a different kind of fly.  This is by me, not Odgen Nash:

                                                God made the fly 'cause he was hip

                                                Sometimes a guy needs to unzip.

                                                Without a fly, we drop our pants

                                                Which might be worth a second glance.

                                                Dear reader, do not ask me why,

                                                But now and then, we love the fly.

Photographers - Part 53

 John Coplans

Recently, my friend Jerry featured a set of photos by John Coplans in his blog Vintage Muscle Men.  I had never heard of Coplans, so I thank Jerry for introducing me to this fascinating figure.  John Coplans (1920-2013) is best known as a British artist, writer and museum director.  But late in life he produced an amazing series of photographic self-portraits.  Vintage Muscle Men only covered portraits up to 1987, because Jerry has a self-imposed time limit of what he considers "vintage."  I have no such limit, and today I'll show some more of the portrait series. 

Let me start with the one above.  It hardly looks human.  Coplans completely redefined what a self-portrait is.  This is Back With Arms Above, 1984.

Coplans said: "I photograph my body. I generalize it by beheading myself to make my body more like any other man's. Nakedness removes the body from the specificity of time: unclothed, it belongs to the past, present, and future. It is classless, without country, unencumbered by language, and free to wander across cultures at will."

Here's another one.  Is it some strange view of his ass?  No, it's Fingers Walking, 1999.

Not that he hid his ass.  This is Back No. 8, 1991.

And here's a front view: Front, Hands on Knees, No. 5, Two Panels, 1999.

Here's a combined back and front view: Frieze No. 1, 1994.

Standing, Side View, Three Panels, 1993.

Sideways, Two Panels, No. 1, 2001 shows his low-hangers.

Crouched, 1990, also shows the low hangers, but it's a more conventional view, showing his whole body (although he's still hiding his head), and it's not divided up into panels.  I have to say I like the unconventional views better.

We end with my favorite Coplans photo, Interlocking Fingers No. 1, 1999.  It could almost be abstract art, and yet it's just a photo of fingers.

Coplans said: “I have the feeling that I’m alive, I have a body. I’m seventy years old, and generally the bodies of seventy-year old men look somewhat like my body. It's a neglected subject matter...So, I’m using my body and saying, even though it's a seventy year old body, I can make it interesting. This keeps me alive and gives me vitality. It's a kind of process of energizing myself by my belief that the classical tradition of art that we’ve inherited from the Greeks is a load of bullshit.”

Artists - Part 56

Guillermo Pérez Villalta

Guillermo Pérez Villalta (born in 1948) is a Spanish artist.  He was a member of the New Figuration movement in Madrid in the 1970s.  Above is The Room, 1982-83, a self-portrait with Villalta as both the artist at right and the model at left.  The two figures painted on the wall, one of whom is holding a crown of thorns over the naked model, are also Villalta, so the work is really a quadruple self-portrait.

Villalta's work features a lot of geometric architectural designs, as well as a lot of naked men.  We'll concentrate on the men.  Above, Los Tintoretos (The Dyers), 1988.

Dos Mujeres Contemplando a Dos Hombres (Two Women Contemplating Two Men), 1995.

Los Baños (The Baths), 1993.

There is a Catholic influence in his works, although it doesn't always come out in traditional ways.  Above, Ofrenda (Offering), 1992.

But what about the guy in this untitled painting?  Is he Jesus?  Is he a saint?  He has a halo, but he's naked. --- Update: as a reader pointed out, the staff with a pine cone is associated with the Greek god Dionysus, which this probably represents.  A weird mixture of pagan and Christian (the halo) iconography.

Some of Villalta's work is surrealist.  Above, Reason, 1993.

And look at this figure whose penis has sprouted into a tree, or maybe it's a grape vine.  Talk about being fruitful!

Some of Villalta's work, particularly his drawings, combine fantasy and eroticism, like this 1988 drawing of a man and a cock-beast.

And look at this 1998 drawing of two men.  I couldn't find any biographical info about Villalta, but I would say he's gay.

We end with this 1991 painting El Instante Preciso (The Precise Instant).  What does it mean?  I don't know, but ...

another artist liked it so much, he copied it and made this life-size sculpture in 2002 that now sits atop the City Hall in Grenada, Spain.

Beach Bums - Part 50

Swanbourne Beach
Perth, Australia

Swanbourne is an official nude beach in Perth, Australia.

There's a wide expanse of sand and water.

It's one of many nude beaches (official and unofficial) used by one of my favorite unashamed males, Nudist Jeff.  Above, Jeff plays beach volleyball at Swanbourne.

This is Jeff's partner, Jason.  The caption was "Jason, fish and chips at Swanbourne."

Here's Jeff in front of the dunes that back the beach.

Back in the dunes ...

guys may be pursuing ...

other activities.

But on the beach, the main activities are lying back and enjoying the sun ...

and enjoying the water.

We end with this sunset shot of Jeff at Swanbourne Beach.