Issuu

ART

2018 annual #1

WIM ADRIAENSSENS THIERRY JOCHUM JOÃO DI SOUZA KINDER AU-WILLIAMS DAVID J.VANDERPOOL ROGER ROSEN Greek statues with small penises Baculum, the penis’ bone

FALO ART© is an annual publication. january 2019. ISSN 2675-018X version 11.05.20

editing, writing and design: Filipe Chagas editorial group: Dr. Alcemar Maia Souto, Guilherme Correa e Rigle Guimarães. site: Pedro Muraki cover: Light upside down, oil on canvas. Mute Conversations serie, from Wim Adriaenssens

Care and technique were used in the edition of this magazine. Even so, typographical errors or conceptual doubt may occur. In any case, we request the communication (falonart@gmail.com) so that we can verify, clarify or forward the question.

Editor’s note on nudity:

Please note that publication is about the representation of masculinity in Art.There are therefore images of male nudes, including images of male genitalia. Please approach with caution if you feel you may be offended.

Rights and Commitment:

This magazine is committed to artists retaining copyright of their own work. All rights are reserved and therefore no part of this magazine may be reproduced mechanically or digitally without the prior written permission of the artist. We have been careful to ensure that the images used in this publication have been provided to us by the creators with copyright permission, or are copyright free or are being used under the “fair usage” protocol shared over the internet (images are low resolution, attributed to their creator, not for profit and used only to illustrate a relevant article or story). If, however, you feel your image has been used by us unfairly and your copyright breached, please contact us at falonart@gmail.com and we will proceed in the best way possible.

Submissions:

If you are interested in participating in the magazine either as an artist, model or journalist, please contact us via e-mail falonart@gmail.com.

FC Design R. Mario Portela 161/1603 C, Laranjeiras Rio de Janeiro – RJ 22241-000 Brazil

Editorial

ere we are! Falo Magazine in english! Woohoo! Sorry if it took so long to happen but I am just one guy doing everything... fighting for the Arts. And I must say: it is a hard work – fortunately, most of the times it is a pleasure one. So... let’s begin! First I need to explain to you why I am doing this magazine. In 2017, Brazil had some male performers arrested and an exhibtion closed because of male nudity. Then I understood the problem was(is) the penis: it bothers. A quick research made me realize that there’s a lot of information about Art and male nudity but nobody wants to talk/show. As an art teacher and a designer, I decided to do something that envolves education through graphic media and brings free knowledge. A year ago, I started to design this project (and wrote the text on the Presentation). In March 2018, I released the first issue. One main point was to be in portuguese, to be a Brazilian magazine cause people here REALLY NEED TO LEARN ABOUT ART (if you are aware of our political situation, you are understanding what I am talking about). During last year I saw the international

Summary interest grows not only by the artists involved with the magazine but also with followers on social networks. It was clear that I had to translate the magazines. What a big work for one guy, right? Yes it is! That’s why I decided to do an annual version with the best of 2018. However, to turn five issues into one would become a boring compendium. So, one became three: Falo Art (this issue you are reading now with all the contemporary artists), Falo Photo (with the photographers) and Falo History (with all the artists from the past that were in the magazine). The three issues also have other articles about Art or/and male nudity that were written on 2018 issues. To be fresh for the “old readers”, some images were changed and the session moNUment (a moment of nudity) brings a new photo and one that was already shown. As the first one, I open the session with the “undress” photo and invited a dear friend/ family to share the space with me. I would like to thank everybody... really... EVERYBODY! Readers, followers, artists, even the haters cause all of you made this magazine stronger. I hope you understand how relevant this project is nowadays and learn something in the process. Enjoy!

PRESENTATION The Olympios

Wim Adriaenssens

Thierry Jochum

João di Souza

Kinder Au-Williams

David J.Vanderpool

Roger Rosen

PHALLORRHAGIA Why do statues have small penises? PHALLORRHAGIA Baculum, the penis’ bone

Filipe Chagas, editor

moNUments

PRESENTATION

The olympios Second half of the 19th century. Some painters decided to stop idealizing the everyday with allegories and metaphors to do works that show reality and represent life as it is (the artistic movement called Realism). In 1863, Édouard Manet painted Olympia (oil on canvas, 1.3 x 1.9 m, Musée d’Orsay), inspired by the Venus of Urbino of Titian and by The nude maja of Goya. Two years later, Olympia was selected to appear at the Paris Salon.

Acima: Olímpia. Na página ao lado, de cima para baixo: Vênus de Urbino e A maja desnuda.

IMMORAL! VULGAR! These were the lighter curses that the precursor of Impressionism received from conservative critics of the day. The artistic nude has always existed, however, academically (as studies of the human body with living models), allegorical (in mythological scenes) or exotic (showing distant and considered primitive peoples). When Manet represented a luxury prostitute out of these three contexts, he shifted the nude from the profane imaginary to the prudish (and hypocritical) reality. BLASPHEMY! And he did more: by placing the woman directly looking at the viewer with his hand over his sex, he gave her power. It is she who commands in sex, it is she who gives access and controls her own sexuality. HOW ABSURD (for a macho and patriarchal society)! A SCANDAL! The French writer Ă‰mile Zola defended the painter: When other artists correct nature by painting Venus, they lie. Manet wondered why he should lie.Why not tell the truth? Manet was devastated by the reactions of the public. His friend, the French poet Charles Baudelaire, was worried: Manet has a great talent, a talent that will resist. But he is fragile. He looked desolate and stunned by the shock.What strikes me is the joy of all the idiots who believe he has been beaten. The painter came to isolate himself, but (thankfullt) he returned by the efforts of Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro, and Claude Monet (who was responsible for running a campaign in 1890 for the canvas to be bought and donated to public collections). He should have talked more with Gustave Courbet, painter of The Origin of the World, censored by Google and Facebook ...

Let’s go then to the beginning of the 21st century. In July 2017, the artist Maikon K performed in a private project the performance DNA of DAN, in which his naked body is covered with a liquid that slowly dries until, at last, it breaks, revealing the skin of the artist (photo below by Victor Takayama). He was imprisoned in a truculent way for ATTACKING THE DECENCY and OBSCENITY, but made a point of declaring:

You can put me in front of a judge. I know I did nothing wrong or anything that I should be ashamed of. I was working, and my job is this: to disturb the controlled landscape of the senses. My body confronts the clogged channels, the contained hate, even when standing. Because you’ll never control me and I’ll pay the price, I know, I always paid. Because standing there, naked, motionless in the middle of the square, your voices pierce me, your stupid jokes try to knock me down, your indifference makes me laugh, your embarrassment pitiates me, but I still stand.

In September 2017, the artist Wagner Schwartz made the Le Bête presentation in an art museum, in which he manipulates a plastic replica of one of the sculptures of the series “The Critter” (O Bicho) by Lygia Clark, and stands naked, vulnerable and surrendered to the artistic performance, inviting the public to do the same with him (photo above by Humberto Araújo). The event had age rating warnings. A mother (choreographer and also artist performer) took the daughter to interact with the artist. It was filmed and... PEDOPHILUS! CRIMINAL! DESTRUIDOR OF THE BRAZILIAN TRADITIONAL FAMILY! These are just two of the dozens of censures that Art has been suffering at the present time. We live in a period of transition and polarization that Art insists on opening wide. Zola said: Just be different from others, think with your own head, to become a monster.You are accused of ignoring your art, running away from common sense, precisely because the science of your eyes, the drive of your temper, lead you to special effects. It is just not to follow the broad stream of mediocrity that fools stone him, treating him like a madman.

Nudity is one of the most hypocritical taboos we have today. In our society, you can wear underwear on the beach, but you can not breastfeed in public.You can put makeup children erotically dancing a funk, but you can not expose the child to the most forceful artistic manifestations.You can give a toy gun as a gift, but never go to a nude beach. Send nudes, but do not bathe with your child. Female nudity has been “worked” for centuries, while male nudity comes down to Greek statues with vine leaves or small penises that do not call attention. Maikon K and Walter Schwartz stand in Olympia’s shoes and confront the patterns of both the male representation and the art itself. This is the role of Art (said contemporary) since the vanguards of the 20th century began to question what had been done in search of greater expressiveness rather than aesthetic constraints. Techniques and supports were being tried and replaced. The body has become a tool and a media. To like or dislike is not Merit of Art: this is a problem of the spectator.

All this discussion only encourages artistic production even more. I expect a lot of naked people out there. 8=D

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Wim

Adriaenssens

s long as he can remember, Wim Adriaensses has drawn and painted. Born in Belgium in 1968, he has clear aims when he has studied fashion, textile design and interior design. However, he doesnâ€™t recognize himself as an artist, because he thinks this is just a label:

I do what I do and thereâ€™s nothing else I want to do.

Lay down, oil on canvas. Learning to Fly series.

As a painter, Wim is figurative, but uses his materials in an almost abstract way, very gestural. This could be to the fact that his canvas are on the floor when painting to take advantage of its own movement (maybe influence of Pollock’s Action Painting). Although his works has a decorative value, it also possess intense emotional load. In his search for materials, Wim found the Venetian turpentine, an 18th century wax to mix with oil paint in order to make it transparent and more fluid, which eventually became the differential in his work. His use of the canvas is very particular, because it refers to the “Wu Wei Principle”: to gain as much possible expression with as less possible visible

effort. Wim uses the part of the canvas that is interesting to tell his story; the rest is left blank with the stains of his energetic brush strokes occurred naturally during the painting. He believes that his choice to paint the human body comes from his relationship with fashion, as he has carried out constant studies of the anatomy and created numerous menâ€™s collections. However, Wim is still intrigued by the discomfort of people from the view of the male nude, especially in Art: I donâ€™t understand, because for centuries it has been common to see naked women in art. And sometimes it has consequences, such as being blocked on Facebook in 2018...There is nothing abnormal about portraying a penis. Itâ€™s part of the human body!

Wim at his studio.

Pop up (porcelain). On previous page: Freefall 3 (oil on canvas). Learning to Fly series.

Look at the stars, porcelain.

The sexual charge is either in how you portray it or in the head of the viewer.

As a sculptor, Wim is inspired by Rodin and maintains the abstract-figurative process in works related to his paintings. He chose porcelain and bronze as material because of its fragility and transparency, but he uses it roughly to contrast with these characteristics.

Wim works from photos, because a model could not hold the position and the expression for the time necessary for the completion of his work. This makes his creative process more natural: “It’s something that triggers me in a person. Sometimes a stupid and banal thing that makes me want to paint and transfer that emotion in my painting.” His models are friends or chosen randomly on the street for a photoshoot, with or without clothing, since for him the emotion he wants to capture is more important than a specific body part. For example, in the series “homo copulandus”, Wim portrayed men during sexual pleasure and therefore appear erections. But in the series “Learning to Fly”, the penis has no importance and may appear or not.

Donâ€™t wanna see, oil on canvas. Mute conversations series.

Incarnate love, oil on canvas. Homo copulandus series.

To bring back the kingdom of the gods, oil on canvas. Learning to Fly series.

Freefall, oil on canvas. Mute conversations series.

Kiss me, oil on canvas. Mute conversations series.

Wim intends to continue to produce and exhibit his works, regardless of negative repercussions or virtual blockades, because he believes that Art is still a social exception that can open the door to a discussion about the male nude. â€œBe honest with yourselfâ€? is the advice he gives and follows. 8=D

Noooo!, acrilic on canvas.

Thierry Jochum

hierry Jochum considers art his primary desire, his choice of life. Despite having studied design and being a freelance hairdresser, he got rid of everything that prevented his expression and fun with colors.

Passive pause, acrilic on wood diptych.

Born in 1981, in Strasbourg, France, He paints with acrylic paint on wooden plates, blending his cold colors palette directly into the support. Having Rembrandt, Rodin, Schiele and Klimt as references of human body and eroticization, he applies his gaze and testimony on sexuality and uses male nudity to exercise his aesthetic sense and disrupt.

I like to portray the penis in a normal state. It’s as erotic as the preliminaries.

All body tension is a means of expression for Thierry, so the erect penis becomes important even if difficult to be portrayed and accepted. He builds an “image garden” with photos until he feels the need to create something that translates his sensitivity without filters. On certain occasions, he uses models to be able to change lighting and position in the way he wants, allowing him to feel the sensuality he wants to convey. He says his art was his second “coming out” and that the reaction of gay and straight to his work is similar:

It’s strange and at the same time exciting to see people’s embarrassment.

Ecstasy. skecth and process. (final piece on page aside, acrilic on wood).

Naked couple, acrilic on wood.

Sexy men, acrilic on wood.

Sweet and strong, acrilic on wood.

Sketches for Naked man on his back, Naked man, Masturbation I and Masturbation 2.

At first, Thierry also felt embarrassed, but assumed his artistic freedom and came to understand the political role of what he does:

â€œIn our modern society, we exhibit war, but nudity is forbidden! So, I show the male frontal nude as a gun! I donâ€™t have to follow puritan dogmasâ€?. Thierry at his studio.

As an art history lover, he remembers that the ancient canons of beauty were naked men, but realizes that today male nudity reveals the vulnerability of the world led by testosterone. Thierry then uses his art to broaden this discussion. 8=D

Sensibility, acrilic on canvas.

Male nude, acrilic on wood.

João di Souza

The Three Graces, acrilic on canvas.

ntil the age of 15, JoĂŁo di Souza had difficulty in all disciplines at school, in Teixeira do Progresso, Bahia. Less in Arts Education:

I already had an affinity for the arts. I was always ahead of the school art projects and this scenario gave me the certainty that this is what I wanted for myself.

Weir. acrilic on canvas.

At 16, John participated in an exhibition with drawings and an art critic advised him to go to São Paulo, if his wish really was to be an artist. Three years later, Joao landed in the city. Dance, circus, theater... he had a trajectory that made him find the beauty of body movement to devote himself to painting in a self-taught way. Under the influence of Latin American figurative artists – especially the muralist Diego Rivera and the surrealist Frida Kahlo – he united the sensual and festive in images of warm and vibrant colors like his nature. His interest in the subject of male nudity in his works in oil and acrylic or woodcut comes from the memories of teenage days swimming in the river with men who shaped the desire in his imaginary.

Water park. oil on canvas.

Nadadores, óleo sobre tela.

I am moved by desire; and the male bodies attract me for a variety of reasons – even my sexuality. I start from photographs of men, deconstruct the forms of bodies and reinvent them pictorially.

João at his studio. Photo: Rodrigo Costa

The lonely madman laughs with his lonely friends, acrilic on canvas.

The bath, acrilic on woodcut.

Robert Mapplethorpe, Georgia O’Keeffe, Luiz Zerbini and Paul Gauguin are some of his references, which make him use not only the human figure to seduce but also the whole composition of shapes and colors that make up the background. Fantasy and reality are mixed in organic images that open to Pop Art without escaping modern Brazilian anthropophagy, as in his series “Landscapes Invented”, “Intimate circle of friendship” and “Chimeras”. Pietá, oil on canvas.

João knows of the adversities that his work faces in a society that he believes to be in a process of moralistic regression: People are not willing to buy figurative works of sexualized male bodies because they carry a narrative they do not want for them. Regardless, he makes it clear that he will continue to do what he likes in pursuit of more exposure and freedom. 8=D

36 Rosary, oil on canvas.

Kinder Au-Williams 38

orn in the dynamic cultural melting pot that is Hong Kong, Kinder AuWilliams have always loved drawing and soon developed an interest in the worlds of imagery.

As an young artist, he was inspired by the simplicity and clean lines of David Hockney’s portrait drawings and was fascinated by Claudio Bravo’s attention to details. When he realised he was gay, it just seemed natural to combine men and art to reveal its erotic potential and the infinite variations of mood and structure. So he takes on the male nude his interpretation of movement, form and context with a bit of freshness and sometimes irony to be more contemporary. My first artistic creation was a black and white sketch of a sleeping naked man [opening image]. I drew it because I like how it looked – calm and peaceful. I didn’t really care how people reacted, but whoever saw it seemed to like it. He mainly draw from photographs sent by models, and then add his own imagination and interpretation using colour pencils (“no more than four colors on each drawing”). To achieve a smooth effect and blend the colors, he uses paper stumps. But if the face is not right, he considers as a failed drawing.

Jeff, coloured pencils on paper.

Ed Galloway, coloured pencils on paper.

Biscuit, coloured pencils on paper.

Little prince, coloured pencils on paper.

Tucan, coloured pencils on paper.

The knot, coloured pencils on paper.

By my side, coloured pencils on paper.

Sleeping beauty, coloured pencils on paper.

Donâ€™t look back, coloured pencils on paper.

The Monkey Year, coloured pencils on paper.

Halloween Special:The birds, coloured pencils on paper.

The Force awakens, coloured pencils on paper.

Kinder released a project called “Men on Paper” where he seeks to capture the essence of an “erotic elegance” and feel connected to his art. He thinks the phallus is an interesting part of a male body and a challenge for artists to draw.

The normal phallus is probably a bit more challenging for the artist than a erection. It is so complex and has so much details! It’s not easy to get the texture, the light and shadow, the details right.

For that reason he created the “CockPortraits”, a voluntary part of his main project, where he draws only the penis in all its shapes, colors and sizes. The main goal is to differentiate Erotic from Pornographic, Sexy from Sexual as he sees all genders liking the male form in social medias. People seem to be a lot more open-minded about the male figure. Look at those male body feeds on Instagram!

44 CockPortraits, coloured pencils on paper.

Sweet like honey, coloured pencils on paper.

Twenty centimeters, coloured pencils on paper.

He is going to establish a business called “MenOnPaper Art” to fight against censorship of male form art on social media. The aim is to invite artists, photographers, models and writers to collaborate and sell their work. When I first started, I simply wanted to transform dick pics into something beautiful. But then, when censorship of art on social media started getting crazy, I wanted to use my drawings to prove that nudity and sex are not sins and art should not be censored. Kinder is also planning to publish a catalog of his work and a booklet of the cock portraits, hoping that his upcoming publications become an inspiration for other artists who specialize in male form. 8=D O artista e seu modelo, lápis de cor sobre papel.

Olhe o que encontrei, lápis de cor sobre papel.

Pearl boy: Chris Wilks, lápis de cor sobre papel.

Tire tudo, lápis de cor sobre papel.

The butterfly effect, coloured pencils on paper.

David J. Vanderpool

Michael, graphite on paper.

avid J.Vanderpool believes that drawing is one of the first skills children learn and one of their first experiences in acceptance and recognition, because through it, it is possible to grow. That was how he found himself during his teenage years in California and learned that in his last attempt he could still â€œmove on and improve.â€?

Evolution of Clyde’s portrait, graphite on paper.

His style in graphite is very realistic and figurative, almost photographic. He uses soft pencils to make fine lines over darker graphite, ensuring more control over the blend. Therefore,he prefers hatching to shade instead of a smudge to “dirty the graphite” because he believes he can get deeper shadows, while the tool “flattens” the drawing and prevents it from “jumping off the page.”

52 And “giving life” to drawing became what he is known for. From feminine models, she enjoys the beauty and softness of the curves, while the masculine models make him interested in the force that seems to evoke classic art:

There is no limit to what I appreciate in the male figure. Sometimes can be hands or feet that I want to draw because of the challenge, or simply the beauty on their faces. And sometimes it is the elegant shape or the graceful position of a penis. It all depends on the emotion I’m getting in a drawing.

Socratic method, graphite on paper.

Stephen, graphite on paper.

Gregg, graphite on paper.

Aaron, graphite on paper.

Whatever II, graphite on paper.

Airskin II, graphite on paper.

Relaxed Kevin, graphite on paper.

For David, the frontal nude works best when there isnâ€™t hidden barriers, when the pose is able to capture an emotion without offending the viewer or be thought to attract all type of audience. Although he has never designed an erection, he realizes that his models are more open and available in relaxed poses. He always thanks everyone who stops to contemplate his drawings as an art form, because he believes that the male nude still doesnâ€™t have a good reception and, for that reason, he has worked much more from photographs of people from other continents: Even friends who ask me to draw them naked donâ€™t show my art in fear of what people will think. To this day I could not expose my nudes in a gallery. 56

Above: Tattoos, graphite on paper. Below, the artist making the piece.

David then sells his works to collectors all over the world. In addition to being a marketing assistant, David has already been awarded as an artist and knows that the most important thing is to appreciate what you do, no matter the obstacles. 8=D

Mehadi, graphite on paper.

Roger Rosen 58

oger’s response to the question of when he recognized himself as an artist was short and straightforward: “Always.” Very similar to the haikus - a three-line Japanese poetry style which he usually writes. And when he speaks of his art, he goes beyond his production: My art is present in every thread of my life. My art is even in the private conversations I have at work and at parties. My art is the fact that I am constantly learning. My inspirations are everywhere. I find inspiration in others, activists, artists, the fearless, the creative thinkers. People known and unknown.They inspire me to be better, to create more, to question everything. I find inspiration in the tiniest of private moments, in dialogue with others, both in real life and in the virtual world.

Photo: Charles Thomas Rogers

This is also shown in his life trajectory. Born in 1972, he got his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. For 15 years he worked in musical theater mostly as a dancer, which took him all over the US, through Europe, and eventually to Broadway. Since he left performing, he has focused on writing and decided to pursue a Master’s degree in Fine Arts, studying queer/ gender theory/history and writing. And then anger got him. The more he learns, the more furious he is about the treatment of queer community at the hands of the hateful. He says, “Anger can destroy or create; I don’t understand destruction, so I create and connect myself to the world.” His social media posts become performances, just as his cell phone photos turn into art. His body becomes a platform to celebrate, experiment and question what it means to be gay in this society still full of homophobia.

60 Above: Black box tyranny? / Maybe black box seduction? / A little of both? Below: Furry and blurry, / Hands and mouth in a fury. / Inhale. No hurry.

Even though he is interested in every artistic depiction of the male body, Roger knows that there is still a lot of shame associated with nudity and he regretted asking a photographer not take pictures of him fully naked. However, he realized that in nudity is equality:

I don’t think my body should be naked: I think ALL bodies should be naked.They are wonderful and glorious things that shelter our spirits and our souls for a bit. They come in so many variations. Some bodies stand out in certain things that others cannot, come with strengths and vulnerabilities.

Whatâ€™s behind the pane? / Insatiable inquiry. / This madness in me. The piece above has been blocked on social networks and generated others, which you see on the next page.

The gay male body / Beautiful exploration. / Clearly queering gaze. Sexual impulse. / Good or bad, depending on / Whose impulse it is. Scared of your own thoughts. / I merely posted a pic. / You wrote the story. Eyes with fantasy, / Are glorious sex organs. / Shall we ban them, too? Which part incites you, / Invite you and excite you? / Please elaborate.

Exploring the sensuality and sexuality of the queer body allows Roger to reflect on his own issues at various intersections that take him to new places. Each discovery increases the number of possibilities and different reactions. Some people look at him as a pure narcissist and report their posts from social media, while others see the humor and strength of his messages. Thatâ€™s the awesome - and scary - thing about creating something. You canâ€™t predict how people will react.They react based on their own history and perspective, on their own knowledge base.

Above: Reaching beyond night, / past slivered and edgeless dreams / Becoming the day. Below: Gay man in prayer. / Prostrate anticipation. / Stain my holiness.

Now Roger is writing an autobiographical one-man show about his queer life while he is finishing his book of haikus and exploring to get more political on the hook up apps. But it is not possible to predict what path he will follow: the only certainty is that he will continue to question sexuality, the queer community, his art, and himself. Always. 8=D

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PHALLORRHAGIA

Why do statues have small penises?

he ancient Greeks were famous for their sculptures of powerful and notable men with perfect bodies, tense and marked muscles. Sometimes these figures were partially covered with cloth; but most of them were completely naked. To the contemporary eye, their bodies approach the ideal, except for a â€œsmallâ€? detail: their below-average size phallus.

Is it cold, Davi?

In most cases, it is a disproportionality of size by comparing the massive marble bodies to the flaccid member, especially in the case of gods known for their masculinity – as Zeus or Hercules – or emperors, men of the elite and great athletes with mythical personalities. Were the reference models users of some kind of old anabolic? Or did the European cold join with a great timidity when it came to posing for the work? None of this. Exposure to the naked body was part of Greek life, starting at an early age in physical activity. In addition, the word “gymnastics” is composed of “gymnos” (nude) + “ica” (art of), meaning the art of being naked, while “gymnasium” was the place to exercise naked. Therefore, the size of the penises of the Greeks was always well-known throughout society. Although many of the models posing for the statues were athletes during or after exercise (this influences the blood circulation of the body and – consequently – in size), there was a real reason for this aesthetic choice. While today being well endowed is often equated with power and even good leadership, the penis was never a sign of virility or masculinity in Ancient Greece. Power came from the intellect necessary to hold man responsible for fatherhood, to provide for the family and to support the polis (city-state). In his play “The Clouds” (c. 419-423 b.C.), the Greek playwright Aristophanes summed up the ideal features of his male counterparts: If you do these things, I’ll tell you, and duplicate your efforts for them, you’ll always have a bright chest, shiny skin, big shoulders, a tiny tongue, a big butt and a little prick. But if you follow today’s practices, to begin with you

Hercules Farnese (statue in marble) shows the great hero of humanity in all his glory... and civility.

will have a pale skin, small shoulders, a thin chest, a large tongue, a small back, a large spike and a long-standing decree.” So the small size was in line with the Greek ideals of masculine beauty, a sign of high culture and civility model. The art historian Paul Chrystal says that the large or erect penis was not considered desirable because it brought animal characteristics to man:

The great penises were vulgar and out of the cultural norm, something exhibited by the barbarians of the world. For example, the lascivious satyrs who accompanied the orgiastic celebrations of the god Dionysus were portrayed with erect genitals, sometimes almost as large as their torsos. According to mythology, these creatures were part man, part animal, without any restrictions – a quality vilified by the Greek high society. 70

The art historian Ellen Oredson adds that the artistic nude with erection carries a sexuality that would change the meaning of the works and present an unprofessional attitude of the artist (they would still be labeled pornographic today). She also recalls the story of Priapus, a Greek god of fertility cursed by Hera with ugliness, madness and a permanent erection. He was so despised by the other gods that he was exiled from Olympus. However, the erect phallus remained as a symbol of abundance, luck, fertility and health, being used in the form of an amulet in various rituals. In Greek comedy, fools and madmen also often appear with large genital, “the sign of stupidity, more a beast than a man”, according to Chrystal. The focus was on the member’s hilarious / grotesque size and not on the character’s psychological and emotional development. As well as the artistic representations that the Greeks made of the Egyptians, says the historian Andrew Lear, who were his enemies. In this way, satyrs, fools and enemies served as parameters of opposition to male gods and heroes, who were honored by their own control and intelligence. Lear says:

Dionysus and a satyr (ceramic painting) and Pryapus (statue in marble).

If large phalluses represented gluttonous appetite, then the small, flaccid penis represented self-control. A naked male statue itself is already a celebration of masculinity, and although the genitals are part of it, it was more important to show its sophistication and rationality – one of the virtues most prized by the Greeks – through an ideal male body with a civilized penis size. “The ideal Greek man was rational, intellectual and had an aura of authority”, says Oredson. “He could do a lot of sex, but that was not related to the size of his penis, and a small penis allowed him to stay logical.” Thus, in all ancient Greek art, the representation of the phallus – and its varied size – was symbolic. As Lear suggests, artists of the time often portrayed male nudes, even when a character or narrative did not require it, because the penis functioned as a “character index”, if a man was respectable or not. The foreskin was also a symbolic reference, since the exposure of the glans represented the lack of limits and restrictions. A small, uncircumcised penis kept the image of the man controlled, jovial and noble, a symptomatic sign that he was preserved from the inevitable corruption of life. Oredson points out that, while the excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum show that the Romans appreciated hedonistic representations with larger phalluses (probably because of their contact with barbarian civilizations), they maintained Greek aesthetics and reverberated by Western art, as in Michelangelo’s David. Specifically David has another possible theory about the size of his phallus. In 2005, two Florentine doctors published an article arguing

The big difference between the greek Victorious youth and the pompeian Pryapus.

that David’s penis was reduced by fear. When viewed from the front, David’s face would seem frightened and worried, because of his impending fight with the giant Goliath. Doctors argue that Michelangelo carved out every detail in the body to be consistent with symptoms of fear and tension, including his genitals. Although these symptoms introduce a certain vulnerability, Michelangelo’s statue has never lost its grandeur and remains one of the most celebrated artworks. While for Freud, “showing the penis” means “I am not afraid of you, I am facing you, I possess a penis”, for Lacan, penis (real object) and phallus (imaginary object) are different things. And, in the inhuman society of hyper yield, there is no room for failure (whose etymological root lies in the word “phallus”), turning the great imaginary object into a threat to man’s performance. With that, all those who are uncomfortable with their sizes have gained a weapon to face their anxieties: they can already say that – even flawed or scared – they are honest, civilized and divine! 8=D 72

Poseidon or Zeus Artemision (statue in bronze, 460 b.C.).

PHALLORRHAGIA

Baculum, the penis’ bone

Don’t get depressed if a Panda is harder than you.

he baculum – also called penis bone or the priapi – is an extra-skeletal (meaning, unconnected with the rest of the skeleton) bone present in the penis of most mammals. Variable in size and shape, it is in the tip of the organ, not in the base, and may have a groove where the urethra rests for the sperm to flow to the external environment (since there is no ejaculation or mechanical expulsion). The females also have a homologous bone, the baubellum, also called the clitoridis.

Anthropologist Christopher Opie and scientist Matilda Brindle, both of the University of London, in a 2016 survey found that this bone structure appeared in mammals around 95 million years ago and was present in the first primates 50 million years ago. Its function is to assist the copula with a penetration of more than three minutes that guarantees the fertilization. In felines, for example, the femaleâ€™s body does not expel the eggs while there is no mating, and some researchers maintain that the penis bone can help stimulate females to trigger ovulation (vaginal friction hypothesis). The research supposes that the disappearance of the baculum in the human species occurred during the evolution of Homo erectus to Homo sapiens, due to the short time of the sexual acts and the structuring of monogamous relations. As our species shows no obvious heat (the woman has a hidden ovulation), the male would not know when she would be able to reproduce. Therefore, many short time assaults in the same female would guarantee genetic perpetuation rather than a single long run that could occur at the wrong time. To have the penis always erect because of the baculum was no longer an advantage in a society in which the females no longer mated with other males shortly after the act. The rigidity of the erection was then fully achieved thanks to blood pressure in the cavernous body of the penis. Females opted for males that seemed to control their erections, abandoning those who stood erect and appeared to have some health dysfunction. Nowadays, there are very few cases of the appearance of a baculum in men, and when they happen, they are removed surgically shortly after birth. It has also been hypothesized that penetration time and levels of sexual competition are responsible for the size of the baculum. The longer you need it and the greater the competition, the greater the penile bone. In gorillas and chimpanzees, the baculum is

A racoonâ€™s baculum.

The 60 cm from a walrus.

located at the bottom of the member and measures approximately two centimeters in length. In sea lions, the baculum can measure up to 70 centimeters. It does not exist in the human species, as it is absent in cattle, equidae, marsupials, lagomorphs (rabbits, hares etc.), cetaceans (whales and dolphins), among others. The word baculum means “cane” or “bengal” in Latin, a term widely used for staffs’ shepherds who lean on the flock. Isn’t it interesting that this is a term also used by members of the Catholic Church? And did you know that the “rib of Adam” that created the woman may have been the baculum? Keep that in mind. 8=D

Byzantine engraving of the creation of Eve from the rib of Adam.

moN Um e n t s

Undress. Filipe Chagas (selfie).

Untitled. Mantis (selfie).

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