Masculine Beauty

Masculine Beauty at it finest! Thanks David for including Men of Color in this collection! A wonderful gift to give and receive!!

David Vance is the world's greatest photographer, regardless of subject matter

amazing photographer

There are some nice shots, but not many. I prefer really sultry, exotic men and there's precious little of those to be found in this particular book. Definitely not worth the amount of money I paid for it. This publisher publishes a lot of really nicely-laid out (excuse the double meaning) books for gay men, but most of them fall into that certain "box of chocolates" Forrest Gump thing...you never know what you're gonna get until you open it if you purchase it online. I ended up re-selling my copy.

David Vance always finds the perfect model, setting and lighting.

AOK

Thankfully, once or twice a year, David, publishes a new book. His latest is Masculine Beauty. I always wait with anticipation and never have I been disappointed. This new book is the best ,by far. I 'm not dismissing the glory of each of his past books, however, this one is extra special.In an artists life,and output, there are highs and lows/ alot of in betweens, actually/. This book is the most mature, considered ,excecuted, and complete, of David's many credits. The theme, masculine beauty, is a hard one. In our society, the' knowledgable', consider beauty, too easy, pretty and maybe facile; the subject matter ' rather done'.Beauty is usually associated with the female, and a huge amount of effort has been spent with her over the centuries. Masculine beauty ,is rarely ever celebrated, and when it is,the viewer is often left confused. To the saavy eye, this is a huge mistake. Beauty is beauty. For an artist to capture that magical, mystic moment in his work, is beautiful enough.Then there is a higher level, where the artist can transcend the viewers expectations, and the work can completely immerse the viewer in a thrill. He can ravish the viewer. When one adds exceptionally handsome men to the artists recipe, an artist at his peak ,the result can be astonishing. In looking at the pages of Masculine Beauty, my eye is soothed by David's presence; his extreme restraint,his use of light and colour. As i continue to turn these pages, i gasp.I am astounded. The works collected here, are so fresh,and more, they are flushed with sensuality . We see the artists vision, and he allow us to give some definition to, what is beautiful....how a man is beautiful. David Vance is the master here. We are the grateful recipients of his talent..........buy this book, hold it in your hands and see. Kevin King/ BEAU

I know a book is going to be very special when the first thing that grabs me is the smell. Luscious. Elegantly and superbly printed in the Czech Republic. The sense of touch. The book itself – complete anticipation. Something akin to addiction, having all of Mr Vance's books in my extensive "coffee table book" library. Also a photographer, I'm currently shooting a subject left at the curb for the trash collector. I'm sure when that book comes out, people will say "seen one, seen 'em all." Like the beautiful sunrise of possibility. Or the orange orb slipping behind the horizon, yielding to the mystery the night holds. David has been shooting men for quite some time now, and this is, I believe, his tenth book. One would think, with a yawn, "again?" Those in that crowd lack not only the sense of vision, but neither can they "see" – they barely look. And one might flip through the book, and put it down, forgotten within next five minutes. Better still, they'd put the book down, and then walk aimlessly, filling their eyes with the men around them: the way their jeans fall, the draping of a shirt, a hint of a tattoo. The way their hair should fall, or a totally shorn head. Simply put? David Vance has carved a style which is simply and strictly his own. And he's done it twice – clothed and nude. And both offer wonderful surprises. I marvel at the photographs, with my eyes starting at one point in the photograph (particularly the shot with the dripping honey) and I'm in awe of the position of the model and the cropping and setting of the photographer, and then I notice the honey. Sorry, but I found it funny. David managed to slip a little humor in this photograph, even though I marvel at the position of the model the most. He adds just a bit more, every time. And one and the same – I marvel at the beauty of the men, and am stunned at some positions, the lighting, and composition. Flawless. And with absolute candor, I am at once envious and jealous. It's not that I want to be reincarnated as a subject for David, it's that I, of a largely imperfect spinal infrastructure, find myself just glued to both the body beautiful, and the perfection captured at the precise moment. Blink, and it's gone. But not here. I find myself exploring the pages of the book, running out of fingers marking favored photographs. And after several stretches of time spent with the book, I set it down, walk away, take care of a few errands, and then sit down in a comfy chair, as one would read the Sunday edition of The New York Times in bed, with or without a lover, feline friends, canine companions, and I still find myself in awe. This book is locked, for those who don't take the time to really look at every page, but unlocked for those who breathe in every page, every model, every pose, every surprise. Now to hit a curve ball out to left field, I look at David Vance's work as that of a photojournalist. The father of photojournalism, Henri Cartier-Bresson said, to the Washington Post (1957) that ""There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative," he said." That's how I look at his photographs. As a photograph, first; a moment, second; and as a work of classy eroticism, as the third cap. It's an exceptionally hard time to photograph when you're dealing with "the third rail." David manages to put the third rail into the photograph, but as a distraction because his photographs exude both beauty and trust, the binding factor between photographer and muse. I imagine if this book and its creation were filmed, it would be exceptionally riveting. How does David manage to capture the moment he, himself, selects? Is there much conversation going on? Is there music playing? Is there an assistant or two? For some reason, these photographs exude silence. The type of silence you would experience in a museum (The Museum of Modern Art | NYC; The Metropolitan Museum of Art | NYC) Whispers and respect, awe and amazement. To me? Nothing less than a life-size exhibition of David's photographs would do his work justice. They command your attention. Now it's my turn to dance on the edge of a razor blade: is this pornography? In my opinion (unsolicited) I say absolutely not. The typical response to that eternal question is "I'd know it when I see it." But what qualifies one person to say yes, and another to say no. I'm sure dripping honey is not meant as a statement of humor, but when you see the photograph, you can't help but wonder at the pose of the model, and THEN notice the honey. I think David didn't have humor on his mind when he shot that particular photograph, but that one photograph, for me, sums up the entire book. Magnificent men, the gods who walk among us, brave enough to shed their particular "uniform" and share with us, via David's skill and patience, that beauty with which they have been gifted. I can imagine every single model in this book frozen in marble, placed on a pedestal, one across from another, neatly lined in a long row. I've even got the particular shade of gray for both the room and the pedestals. The catch would be the lighting. You wouldn't be able to carry that. David sculpts the model with its particular light, and is the only one to actually "see" the perfection with which he photographs this bevy of Masculine Beauty. I've seen many photographs of every subject in my day. Early in my career, I was told by someone absolutely critical to where I am today that "if you want to be a photographer, you have to look at a lot of photographs." I find beauty elsewhere. Mostly graphic and unpleasant to most viewers. But I've seen so many photographs by innumerable photographers that I must cast off the wannabes and find the best photographer of their genre. That genre would be photographing men, repeatedly and uniquely each time, and that photographer would be David Vance. MASCULINE BEAUTY would be a gift you would give yourself if you picked up a copy, and it would be a statement to both give and receive, as a gift. And the ultimate gift is this particular collection of the male figure, as seen by David Vance.