We Are Not Nameless Faces - Art From a Gay World

We are not nameless faces
We have lives, issues, fears and passions
We make mistakes
We challenge ourselves to be better people
We are heroes, demons and everything in between
We are you

ARCHETYPE: A collectively inherited unconscious idea, pattern of thought, image, etc., universally present in individual psyches

(BLOG NOTE)

Since every portfolio service out there wants to block this series of photos I've been forced to move it over here to the blog. Please note, this is NOT pornography. This is a serious and often troubling set of photographs that I hope the viewer can see past the nudity to the message behind them)

LGBT Culture and Gay sub-culture are not a disease or a moral decay of civilization. We are a valid part of society as a whole.  Like any culture within society, we have our own rules and our own social mores and we attempt to live in harmony with the world around us and the conventions of other cultures. But let no one say we are not deserving of being considered part of the whole or that our culture holds less meaning than another.If this seems defensive, it is only my desire to have society stop thinking of us as an aberration and begin to think of us as a vibrant part of the world that contributes as much as all others do.

Here we face our heroes and demons and try to come to terms with understanding the differences between archetypes and stereotypes and that the roles we assume to know in society may be subtly or uniquely different within gay sub-culture.

There are many more archetypes than what I have explored here, but it is my fond desire that a few of these will make both gay and straight think for a moment about the roles we all play in the world and that just because we were brought up one way, does not mean that others around us were brought up the same. To each of us who are part of gay sub-culture and LGBT culture as a whole, know only too well that we are constantly seeking to understand ourselves better, and yes sometimes running from that which we do not understand. 

One last thought. Some have asked me why I felt it was necessary to create this exhibition with nude models. The answer is simple. It is our overarching comfort with our human bodies that makes this culture different from society as a whole. Our embrace of our sexuality is perhaps the single largest reason why society becomes uncomfortable with us and such a stigma is placed on "the gay". But it is who we are, and who we will always be and therefore essential that it is addressed within this body of work. To the models who gave so freely of themselves, their emotions and their nudity, I will be forever grateful.

AUTHORS NOTE

There are many hundreds of photos in this series. I will be re-posting them one theme at a time over the coming weeks. Each photo is available in print form either individually or as a complete theme. Please contact the artist for more information at:

gcsartno@aol.com

~Grey~

OF ADAM, EVE AND STEVE

It all began with Adam and Eve, claim some. Here both have become archetypes to much of society. But what began as a chant of the religious right that there was no Steve in the Garden of Eden, has for us become an archetype in itself. What if Steve was in the Garden with Adam and Eve? What if Steve had to choose? We all have choices to make even when we are born gay, we still make a lot of choices and they start with this very basic archetype of Adam, Eve and Steve

ADDICTION

Every culture has its addicts, for some its a drug, for others its an activity. In gay culture, addiction is a major problem and combinations of addictions, especially to sex are hard to cope with. Finding balance in our lives is not always easily done.

THE COMMITTED ONES

With the issues of gay marriage so prevalent these days, we examine and re-examine what commitment is. Some would claim it is merely about procreation, but we know that is not the only thing it is about. It is about strength and respect and honor and love between partners of any gender, creed or religion. The joy we take in our partners can sometimes be overwhelming. To deny that it is any less important than any other committed relationship just because its between two of the same gender, is nothing but ignorance.

THE SCHOLARS

Society can sometimes place value on intelligence, but it can also bully us about it. For many young gay men, we are already bullied about our femininity or our lack of conforming to social norms. We sometimes hide ourselves away books and learning just to escape it, or worse yet, we never seek to educate ourselves because we feel it will give the bullies one more thing to attack us over. When we come out of the closet we think of things in terms of the physical and sometimes forget the mind. Finding balance of both is essential.

THE ONENESS OF BEING

Seeking the highest level of spirituality is not a religious journey, but a journey of the heart and soul. Seeking that higher level hand in hand with a partner can only evolve us into greater spiritual beings on level of existence far away from this physical space we inhabit called earth

More Coming! Check back soon!