Joe Oppedisano's J/O

"WHEN I FIRST SAW JOE’S WORK I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, “I NEVER THOUGHT BEING SO DIRTY COULD LOOK SO SEXY.” IT WAS ONLY AFTER WORKING WITH HIM THAT I REALLY GOT TO HIS GENUINE WAY OF CAPTURING A MAN IN HIS MOST RAW, UNEDITED AND SEXIEST FORM. HE HAS CARVED A PATH THAT HAS INSPIRED SO MANY TO TRY AND RECREATE HIS VISION BUT THEY JUST CAN’T GET CLOSE. THERE IS ONLY ONE JOE O!" – ERIC RHODES (†), JUNE 2012 –

Who doesn’t know him. Joe Oppedisano. The man who singlehandedly lifted male artistic photography to a whole new and previously unknown level of sensuality, sexuality and eroticism. His work has been published by many printed and online magazines, displayed at various expositions, and collected in numerous books, not in the least his own bestselling photobooks Testosterone and Uncensored. Joe is one of the most noticeable photographers of the male form from the last decade and a true artist who has lived his life to the fullest. A man of sharp contrasts he both basked in the spotlights of his international success and hid in the dark shadows of self-doubt, self-destruction and misunderstanding. Yes, both admired and critized by many, Joe has learned life the hard way: “I have been blessed with family and friends who have put up with a lot. They have watched me grow, bloom and destroy everything I has around me. Then they helped me put back the pieces, one by one, and start over.”

Christmas day 2011 was a major turning point in Joe’s life. Even though his life before characterizes itself already with some big ups and downs, that particular day Joe totaled his car and almost lost his life. He woke up in a hospital after having been in a coma for 2 weeks. And when he woke, he woke to the beginning of a period in his life that would bring many irrevocable life changes: “My parents sold the house that they built and have lived in my entire life and so, I’ll never feel entirely at home anywhere again. This was a major influence in the first months. But June hit me even more when I lost a friend who I never imagined would be one of the first to go.” Internationally acclaimed porn actor Eric Rhodes died in June 2012 of a heart attack at the age of 30. Like Joe, Erik was a troubled man who fought the demons of drug abuse and fame. “Erik was someone with promise, someone with talent, a name of recognition and a sweetness that was so simple and so honest. And because how he treated me he changed the way I saw myself. He helped me see me the way others saw me. Not as a mess but as a man. That gift is a priceless one and one I hope to pass on.”

Erik’s passing was a turning point in Joe Oppedisano’s life. The hard realization that nothing stays forever and that moments pass faster than you imagine, no matter how much you nprepare for it. That life is worth living and deserves for you to slow down, breathe a little deeper and inhale the fresh morning air. To enjoy every second and every minute of it. For that reason, and in honor of his good friend Eric Rhodes, Joe Oppedisano collected 128 pages of work and grouped them together under the simple title J/O. J/O presents you a photographic journey through Joe Oppedisano’s turbulent life. Some already seen, some never published before. All sexy, provocating and seductive. A true testimony to the courage and vision of one of the greatest photographers of male sensuality of the last decade, Joe Oppedisano. –BM-

J/O is a 128 pages, full color photobook by Joe Oppedisano. J/O is published by Bruno Gmunder and available for purchase in hardcover edition with dust jacket at www.brunogmuender.com.

JOE OPPEDISANO | BEAUTIFULMAG

Comments

[iama{GAY}tekeeper]

Hubba, hubba, hubba