Above:
Perched & Posed by Robert John Guttke
-See More Below-
Monday, February 5, 2024
The Wrong Rodent
'Home of the rich and tasteless'
No matter how many posts that I do, FH continues to teach me things. The latest lesson was on rodents. When Groundhog Day was approaching, I started looking for movies which featured the theme. I ended up choosing Caddyshack II, not really understanding that there were significant differences between groundhogs and gophers.
A quick Google search however, let me know at although there are certainly similarities, gophers and groundhogs actually belong to two different classes of rodents. I think both are cute and visually, are usually brown and furry. In addition, both rascally rodents are herbivores and known for digging burrows.
Ghostbusters
There are however, several key differences. Groundhogs are bigger, stockier, and they hibernate in the winter. Gophers are smaller and have large, distinctive cheek pouches Another key difference between gophers and groundhogs has to do with their teeth. A gopher’s teeth are larger and protrude from its mouth, whether it’s opened or closed.
So, I decided I had to ditch the post on the holiday, but decided to finish it to post later. First off, Caddyshack II isn't a great film. If you managed to miss it after all these years, I'd continue doing so. I loved the first Caddyshack, and remember laughing with my father while watching it on television as a kid. I've featured the film on FH before, (HERE:) mostly due to two of of it's cast members, Scott Colomby and Michael O'Keefe.
Sadly, the two hotties in Caddyshack II don't strip down to their speedos and undies like Scott and Michael did. Although Brian McNamara has shown skin in the past, (HERE:) he keeps his golf shirt on in this film. So does cutie Jonathan Silverman, who managed to show very little skin over the course of his career. The only real skin in the movie comes in the form of actor Dan Aykroyd and his appealing and ample butt crack.
I've featured Dan's butt crack previously, (HERE:) from a sketch from Saturday Night Live. I was too young to have seen Dan on the show, but whenever I see old images and clips, I always thought he was one of the most talented, and best looking, of the original cast. Dan has an engaging face and a great smile, although I don't think this was one of his best roles. Sadly, the sequel didn't really offer anything new, just a lazy copy, capitalizing on the success of the original.
Robert J. Guttke: Thigh Master
'If it hurts, it looks good'
When artist photographer Robert John Guttke left us last year, I did a post celebrating his work and his relationship with myself and FH. (HERE:) Over the years, Robert shared thousands of images with me. He also shared what I think was an equal number of stories from his time shooting, sculpting and drawing the nude male form.
'As my art professor once said, “the female figure is a ‘nude’, the male figure is ‘naked’. Even during a figurative sculpture competition, when sharing portfolios, I was told by another artist my nudes were really naked nudes .'
Robert was very careful to let me know which images I could, and could not share. His reasons were not so much about the specific model, but how he felt about the quality of the image. Robert spent countless hours scanning his images from film to digital. This process was one he worked on over the years, and many of the first scans did not meet his standards. He upgraded his scanner, and his skills, and let me know which images were good enough to print.
As much as I want to respect his legacy, and not go cray sharing all of the images he sent me, I also don't want to have the ones he was supportive of my posting go unseen. All of those hours of scanning were done with a goal. Robert wanted his work seen, acknowledged and remembered. He shared many himself on his blog and photography sites. He also spoke often about wanting to compile them all into another book. We actually worked together starting a book, beginning with is work with Ben Godfre.
One of the many subjects I liked to ask Robert about was his thoughts on pose. As many of you know, Robert often put his models in risky situations, hanging from buildings, dangling from cranes and posing in glass filled rooms in abandoned factories and buildings. Robert was a perfectionist, meaning models often had to hold their poses for extended periods of time.
'I have ALWAYS told the models “If it hurts, it looks good.” I’ve had models almost crawl out of my studio stating working with me should be an Olympic event. When my eye has ten seconds to scrutinize a figure before the model falls over, it is a race against time to get everything in the right place.'
Although it wasn't as risky as hanging from a crane, one of Roberts favorite poses was the crouch. Robert loved every inch of the human body, both male and female, and loved showcasing each part in his images. We all know how painful squats can be, which is why they're such great exercises, but holding a crouch or squat for long periods of time can be painful.
When capturing body parts, especially genitals, it makes sense that models would often be required to pose with their legs open. Robert however, actually cared very little about what the model's penis or vagina looked like. He was interested in capturing their leg muscles, especially their thighs. As you can see from these images, although the penis's look lovely, it's the legs and thighs that form the foundation for the pose.
That doesn't mean that Robert ignored the penis, like every part of the male form, he wanted it to look beautiful and proportionately in balance with the rest of the model's physique. Robert however wasn't concerned about it's length, but it's beauty and how it's appearance contrasted with the rest of the body. That meant there was one part of the genitals he did encourage his models not to alter or mess with.
'I always encouraged models to keep their body hair. It's not just a masculine attribute, it adds visual texture. I work with how people present themselves… in some cases encouraging them to abstain from the razor. Lord, I’d sooner have hair than a series of red bumps.'
So no bumps, just beautiful architecturally created images of the male form. There are a few other themes that Robert focused on, especially his work with water and fabric. It takes time to go through all of the material Robert sent on, but I hope to share just a little bit more in the future.
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