"I really enjoy looking at male bodies. I paint images that reflect my taste in men.

I paint the male form as if I’m caressing the skin with my brush."

Masterpiece of a Man is an astounding collection of gay erotic art featuring some of the world’s foremost contemporaries in the field.  This hard-bound, coffee table book includes illustrations, drawings, paintings and digital images that stir the imagination and force the thumbs to flip frantically through the pages and the heart to palpitate slightly.  Gay erotica will not be found in many of the mainstream galleries in Calgary but the rebellious and open-minded collector of all things fine will find this collection hard to put down.  My recent interview with Marc DeBauch, one of the contributors to this masterpiece, was enlightening to say the least and an exciting opportunity to explore the medium including an erotic image of, dare I say, St. Nicholas himself.  Timely and seasonal.

From a young age Marc became enamored with the male form.  Self-confessing to experiencing puberty at the tender age of ten, Mr. DeBauch recalls his acquaintances interest in his differences.  Marc recalls that as a young man one of his first experiences with erotica/pornography came from a neighbor’s reading material.  Poorly constructed drawings of two men slapping each other on the behind with a towel, and he was hooked.  His parents World Book Encyclopedia rounded out his education on all things erotic and sexual.  The Volume G – Greek Gods was of particular note as Marc recalls the impact of these Adonises on what would eventually shape his perspective on the male form.  How those Gods used the fig leaf as a sexual tool proved puzzling to the young lad.  His Mother later explained.

As time passed, more publications became accessible to the Gay community and with the introduction of the World Wide Web the images have become ever abundant, easily accessible and of many shapes and forms.  It was the age of 28 when Marc DeBauch would fully realize his passion and interest in the subject matter.  By this time he had begun to perfect his skill at figure drawing, professing it to be extremely difficult and an art that only comes with years of practice.  People began to respond to his work.

The genesis of CAPOLAVORO di UOMO : Masterpiece of Man began with the publisher, Capolarvoro Publishing located in Washington, DC.  DeBauch points out the publisher’s long and accredited history of producing art books of high quality, outstanding imagery and their progressive stance toward the subject matter.  The book includes not only the artist’s work but really features the artist and their accomplishments.  This 370 page full color book certainly fits the Capolarvoro Publishing style in its scale and breadth.  Publishers from around the globe submitted work to the Publisher which were reviewed for submission by a team at the organization.  The focus of the book was the fine art of painting and drawing.  Artists were predominantly solicited by word-of-mouth as the community is close-knit and cooperative in style.  The book confirms that the fine art world is once again embracing the male nude in all its glory.  The male nude has often been depicted in gay magazines and other publications but it has rarely graced the walls of galleries and museums.

Debauch, a self-proclaimed art school dropout, points out that the erotic artist’s community is close and abundant with camaraderie.  These artists have a unique challenge – the one of censorship - not often found in mainstream fine art.  Censorship seems to bring these artists closer, Debauch points out, as artists become more and more militant about exhibiting all of their work (no matter whom it offends) or none of it.

I asked, how are pornography and erotic art defined?  What is the difference between the two?  Mr. Debauch is reminded of one definition that states that anything that gives ‘right wing, Christian, Judges’ a hard on is likely pornographic. The remainder is erotica. Pornography and erotica are often very different in quality, and taste level as well, especially as gay erotica enters the notable descriptor known as fine art.  Even at Minneapolis’s Gay Pride Event (some 400,000 strong) Mr. Debauch’s work is one of the few exhibitors of its kind.  His booth is extremely popular and attracts a wide spectrum of gawkers, participants and fine art lovers, as more and more straight people take in the event.  As a fly-on-the-wall Marc notes that his work gets reaction for love to hate to simply "icky".  He believes this to be success as good art needs to evoke some type of response or it may be purposeless, he quips.

Critical reviews are very good and since the book’s debut in May, 2013 sales have been brisk as the collection seems to serve as an up-to-date encyclopedia of homo-erotic art. This must-have work is inspiring other events such as the recent exhibitions at Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art in New York who also served as the venue for the book’s launch less than a year ago.

The book is full of penises, all shapes and sizes including that of Santa Claus.  Debauch states that it is no surprise that there just might be a Gay Santa Claus, a Gay Jesus or a Gay Barack Obama or least the notion of fucking (both literally and metaphorically) with these icons.  Mr. Debauch says the book through its artists seems to be able to paint and draw the way some of us are really feeling sexually.  A remarkable feat.

Mr. Debauch closes by reinforcing that this collection is an amazing accomplishment and will certainly become a collector’s item.  It is both beautiful and comprehensive he says.  You will not find this book just anywhere and it certainly will not be discounted.  It is appearing in hand-selected book stores and on the book’s website, where a portion of it can be viewed for free.

As a special offer to GayCalgary Magazine readers, CAPOLAVORO di UOMO : Masterpiece of Man is being offered with free shipping.