Torsos
Andy Warhol
Histoire d'art
Torso (male buttocks) from Andy Warhol's Torso series.
Back in the days of modesty and restraint, Andy Warhol was busy creating artwork that was anything but. Of course, showing this artwork would prove to be very difficult. In the 1960's, Warhol had already been producing a photographic series called "Sex Parts" which was never to be shown during his lifetime. Despite the impossibility of him to distribute photography of fornication and felation, he was able to successfully show a new series he had developed called, "Torsos", which was deemed more suitable for the artistic world.
Torso (female genitalia) from Andy Warhol's Torsos series.
Due to the illegal nature of being gay at these times (one could even face jail-time) the Torsos series was somewhat revolutionary in the sense that it would bring contemporary nudes out into the icy stare of art critiques globally. Andy Warhol had even called his torso pieces "landscapes", reffering both to the models and images.
Andy Warhol
"Don't pay any attention to what they write about you. Just measure it in inches."
Torso (male buttocks) from Andy Warhol's Torsos series.
Torsos ultimately became one of the gems in Andy's portfolios and continues it's omnipresence especially throughtout the world of gay imagery. It even appeared in the film "American Gigolo" in a now iconic photo of Richard Gere seated in his pimp's home.
Richard Gere in "American Gigolo" flanked by multiple posters for the Torsos exhibition by the Ace Gallery at the Grand Palais, Paris, 1977.
Sex Parts; however, would go on to never be shown during Andy's lifetime, being only sold to a handful of collectors. That said, It is definitely worth a google search. You won't be disappointed.
Credits
Written by: James V. Thomas
Sky Blue
Est. 2019