Title: Gay Art: A Historic Collection Author: Felix Lance Falkon (editor) and Thomas Waugh Publisher: Arsenl Pulp Press Publish Date: 2006 Pages: 255 Genres:: Gay, History, Non-Fiction, Sociology Reviewer: Anwar Harper

Rating:

Gay Art: A Historic Collection is an update to Felix Falkon’s 1972 edition. The new edition has a new preface by Falkon as well as the two original scholarly critiques by Don Gilmore and G.G. Stoctay. This version is a collaborative effort by both Falkon and Waugh, which focuses on the concept of homoerotic art as a historical record of the existence of homosexuality throughout Western culture. Gay Art takes the reader from antiquity to contemporary 20th century Americana.
           
Surprisingly, Gay Art does include minorities. The inclusion of minorities creates a viewer paradox, because the minorities that are depicted throughout the book are representations of fetishized fantasies of the European male majority. Yet, this inclusion can be seen as progressive for two reasons: First, the mere thought of portraying male/male homosexual acts before Stonewall was illegal in the United States and abroad. Second, the aesthetic admiration of minorities was unheard of before the Civil Rights movement (regardless of sexual preference). Ultimately, the reader must remember: these men were conceptualized by the artist. Therefore, they (the artists) only created what they saw, fantasized about, and what their audience knew.
           
The artwork is also a reflection of desire. Falkon and Waugh’s book is the Pandoric box of homoerotic desire and fantasy. The artists that are featured were able to allow their “id” to take control and forego the social restraints of the ego. For, it is sometimes needed, in order to make others not feel so foreign in a strange land. The viewer may not agree completely with the artist’s concept or theme, but they can understand the artist’s perspective. This compilation does reflect the idea that desire does render how art is the medium in which we express ourselves.
           
Don Gilmore states: “In dealing with the homosexual theme we deal with what might well be labeled ‘the second sex’ from the standpoint of incidence and popularity” (p. 26).  Therefore, regardless of ethnic and or socioeconomic background, male/male erotica is subject to marginalization from mainstream society. Personally, I agree with Gilmore’s statement.  The biggest social taboo is deviant behavior in regards to male masculinity.  In retrospect, any male that goes against social norms is subject to scrutiny.  However, the artwork in this book uses hyper-masculine images.  The role of the submissive or dominant male causes the viewer to pay close attention. For example, if a large muscular male is in a submissive role the dominant male is either smaller or of equal size to that of the submissive. Therefore, the artists not only use their fantasies for their own fulfillment but they also serve as social commentaries of what is considered masculine.
          
 In reading this book, I was entertained with the amount of research, accuracy and universal appeal that Falkon and Waugh’s book contains.  By taking such meticulous care, Gay Art is an excellent contribution to the study of LGBTQ culture, history and theory.  Gay Art is a fine addition for the LGBTQ scholar’s library as well as fans of the physique models of the 1940s-1960s.