Estonian Photos - Part 40

Estonian Photos

We continue our series 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 at the University of Tartu.  In particular, it does not say who these men are, or when or why the photos were taken.  However, the photos are labeled "Füüsilise antropoloogia pildistus" (physical anthropology photography).

Who are these men?  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.

Many of the men in this series have dark faces and hands.  Are they are tanned from working outside like farmers, or are they dirty from some dirty occupation?  We don't know.

Note: the dark faces and hands are not particularly visible in today's post as they have been in some previous posts.  Perhaps the photos in today's post were taken in the winter, when farmers would not be spending as much time outside getting tanned.

When were the photos taken?  My best guess is 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.

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.

One other clue to the time frame of these photos is that in two previous batches, 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 wristwatches 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.

Although these appear to be military recruits, these are probably not 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?

I believe the photos were taken by academics doing a study of physical anthropology.  Scientists at the Institute of Anatomy were trying 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, not film, but glass plates were more expensive and involved more labor than film, so yes, it's likely that the men were photographed in pairs to save on glass plates.

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 a study of physical anthropology.

Not the Same Old Song - Part 72

 Pizza Boy USA

Pizza Boy USA was a 1959 hit, sung by Lou Monte.  My version features a number of pizza boys.

Vintage Military - Part 85

Coast Guard

Previously we have seen the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force.  Nude photos and videos of the Coast Guard are rare, but I found a few of them.  The photo above shows Coast Guard sailors bathing on a ship in the Pacific during World War II.

Likewise, this video shows a shower on the deck of a Coast Guard cutter off Cherbourg, France on August 24, 1944.

This 1950s photo by the Western Photography Guild shows 21-year-old model Billy Joe Carr, who was either in the Coast Guard at the time or had just left it.  There are no photos of Carr showing frontal nudity, but this posing strap leaves little to the imagination.

And here's a rear view of Carr from the same session.

Bodybuilder Ray Routledge had just gotten out of the Coast Guard in 1953 when he was photographed by Russ Warner.  I got the photo from Vintage Muscle Men (thanks, Jerry).

This video is not vintage, but the Coast Guard veteran portrayed here on a nude beach is old enough that we might call him vintage.

We end with a sculpture that is not vintage, either (it dates from 2010), but I have to include it.  It's called The Coast Guard and it's located at the harbor in Fremantle, Australia.

Olympic Photos by Paul Richer - Part 12

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Performers - Part 80

 RITE by Florence Peake

Igor Stravinsky was a Russian composer.  In his 1913 ballet The Rite of Spring, the plot involves primitive rituals celebrating the advent of spring in which a young girl is chosen as a sacrificial victim and dances herself to death.  The music is very avant-garde compared to classical music by previous composers such as Tchaikovsky.  The premiere performance of the ballet in 1913 caused a near-riot.  There was no nudity involved – it was the music and the choreography (which involved stomping) that the audience objected to.

Above is Igor Stravinsky in 1912.  He sent this photo to French composer Florent Schmitt with the comment "I send you my nude body, which is not to be seen elsewhere."

In 2018, Florence Peake created a "performance work" partly based on The Rite of Spring called RITE, which critics described as "a primal, erotically charged mud fest."  The mud fest was staged in the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea, England.  Three naked women and two naked men performed on a landscape of wet clay.

First the clothed dancers made things out of the clay.  The dancers became naked and the clay became waterlogged.

The dancers flung clay in fistfuls at the wall while the audience cowered.

It was only during the last ten minutes that a recording of part of the Sacrificial Dance from The Rite of Spring was played.

At the end, Florence Peake (dressed, at center) posed with the performers.  Perhaps it was not a deathless work like The Rite of Spring, which is now considered a masterpiece, but almost anything goes in the name of art.

Photographers - Part 80

Eugene Strait

Eugene Strait, above, lives in Italy.  Unlike some of the other photographers we have covered, Strait's work does not merely include a few male nudes.  All of his photographs are of naked men.  However, he goes further, giving the photos titles that are thought-provoking, creating visual stories in the viewer's imagination.

Consider the photo above.  He titled it "Behold the man."  Of course that alludes to the words "Ecce homo" (behold the man) from the Bible, spoken by Pontius Pilate when he presented Jesus wearing a crown of thorns before his crucifixion, which has become an image in Western art.

But this isn't Jesus.  This is a different "behold the man."  Perhaps it means "Behold the gay man."  Perhaps it means "Behold what men do."

The photo above is titled "Contemplation."  Indeed, he looks contemplative, but he is also a subject for our contemplation.

Another figure of contemplation.  This one is titled "Contemplative Titan."

"Contours of Strength."  We certainly see his contours, but does strength refer to his muscles?  Or his strength of character, posing naked?  And what about the hat?  The photo suggests that there's a story here.

"Eyes on me."  Certainly, eyes are on the figure lit by a spotlight.  But is he being interrogated?  Again, there's a story here.

"Power Profile." This one might be a bit simpler.  Yes, he looks powerful.

We end with "Nocturne Thought."  Perhaps he's thinking about nocturnal activity with someone special.  Again, there's a story here.

Eugene Strait has produced many more nude male photos.  This is only a sampling.