Dale Curry was a great model whose nude images are for the most part not attributed to a particular photographer. He is well documented to have done non-nude work for Bob Mizer of AMG, whose notes indicate that Dale was a married truck driver who wore his wedding ring during shoots. (You can barely see it in this photo.) Dale is also thought to have worked for Fred Kovert and Lyle Frisby, but while the style matches either's, evidence is scant. Today is Dale Curry day on the blog.
So many of the models were in fact straight - and many married. They could not have been so naïve not to know the purpose to which their photos were put. Perhaps the money was good. Or just maybe they didn't care. Not everyone is in the Salvation Army.
ReplyDeleteMany discreetly whored themselves out. "I would like to hire a model" usually didn't mean for artistic purposes. Funny thing, Bob Mizer apparently had no idea until the late 60s; he had morals clauses written into his contract, saying that as icons of American masculinity, his models were role models for the youth of America.
DeleteThe 50s and 60s are also known as the Age of Innocence or Silver Age, and this is the most this era plausible deniability I've ever heard.
Some were naive, but most probably knew that their photos would be lusted over by gay men. Many of the photographers also did "legitimate" work for bodybuilding magazines and promotions, so some of the models worked nude in return for pictures they could use to further their bodybuilding careers. By the late 60's male prostitutes became a more common source of models than bodybuilders, and it's easy to tell by looking at the bodies on display. Of course there have always been exceptions to the generally believed norms.
DeleteThe comments by Anonymous about Bob Mizer are interesting to me. I don't know that much about Mizer, but I thought that many of his photos contained a code that indicated what kind of "extracurricular activities" the models were willing to engage in. Did Mizer create the code after he realized what some of the models were doing? Or do I have Mizer confused with another photographer?
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Yes, that was Mizer with the coded symbols. They indicated a variety of things, though, and the great majority could only vaguely be linked to sexual proclivities. There were symbols for level of ambition and criminal tendencies for example. Many were just ordinary personality traits that anyone might or might not have. If you google the subject, a key to interpreting the symbols can usually be found. I have it in my files and can email it to you by return message if you use the contact form on the blog. It is generally agreed by most knowledgeable observers that Bob very rarely had sex with his models and gained most of the information for his notations from gossip from other models (and occasionally other photographers) and some personal observation not not necessarily based on participation. Having said all that, I'm sure there's more to the story that what we "know."
DeleteA number of these photos are washed out, lacking contrast and highlights. A shame because they are quite beautiful. Were they originally that way, or has time aged them? With some skilled Photoshopping they might be "restored."
ReplyDeleteThat's a good observation and a very valid point. I think the answer to your question is probably a combination of original quality and age, although in this case I would give a slight nod to lack of original quality. The reason I say that is that it would be somewhat unusual for the various photos to all show such similar levels of aging damage. Also, the white specks that appear in quite a few of the uncredited Dale Curry photos in my collection don't occur due to aging. Remember that these photos were illegal at the time they were made, so producers sometimes were rushed or unable to use the best methods. As you might expect given my hobby, I do have some good photoshop software, but I try not use it unless a picture is essentially unviewable otherwise. Viewers are, however, free to do it themselves, and I am 100% certain that more than a few of the photos I post have been altered before I even get them.
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