Beautiful

Lost in Fenn Woods

IT WAS HOT THAT DAY AND THERE WAS NO ONE FOR MILES AROUND. NOBODY TO DISTURB THE QUIET AND SILENCE SO NECESSARY TO CREATE THAT SPECIAL BOND OF TRUST AND COMFORT BETWEEN PHOTOGRAPHER AND MODEL. NOT A LIVING SOUL. EXCEPT MAYBE FOR THE MOSQUITOES.

Roy Valdes is 29 years old and born and raised on the beautiful island of Cuba. He has lived there all his life. Until last year that is, when he decided to make the bold move to emigrate to the United States in order to live closer to his relatives. And that move brought him to western Michigan, and not only closer to his family, but also to photographer KJ Heath.

KJ Heath has presented us over the past years with some beautiful and sensual photo sets and his work with Roy Valdes is no exception to that rule. Except that these photos were taken at a location that KJ never used before. Even though it is a location very familiar to him. Fenn Woods is a tree farm in Michigan and property of KJ himself. Roy lives close to the farm and when KJ met him one evening he couldn’t help but thinking the young Cuban would make a wonderful model in the rural surroundings of the farm.

The day of the shoot KJ and Roy wandered all over the farm looking for spots to shoot. When they walked into the heavily wooden area of pine trees KJ knew it was the perfect place to start. Since the farm is wooded and far away from town, Roy could just walk around naked. The only problem was that because it was hot that day, the mosquitoes were very active, leaving Roy with lots of mosquito bites in places where no one should have them. But it is a small price to pay for the result is stunning. Another beautiful set by KJ Heath. –BM-

KJ HEATH | BEAUTIFULMAG
ROY VALDES | BEAUTIFULMAG

Rise the dragon

Today I send my fears on vacation ... Sometimes I have chosen to ignore the information I get for not to make one more scar to my heart ... sometimes I do not say what I think ... but my thoughts could be compared with terrible sand storms in my head ... stirring everything up, messing everything up, disturbing everything ... sometimes I think I go crazy ... sometimes I feel that I am incapable to love ... only sometimes!

I've done things that I'm not proud of ... but I've never lost my integrity. I have provoked so many emotions in my soul that sometimes I feel that it wants to leave me and leave this body so earthy and human ... sometimes so psychopathic ...

But I come back to you from the other side of the mirror ... to feel that warm and soft beat, to that silent echo that repeats me over and over again that there is no way this can end badly! And I see you into your eyes and I recognize myself ... from so many lifetimes ago, from so many other worlds beyond ... those eyes that do not stop observing even when my damp eyelids from crying are closed clouding reality ...

Today I choose to undo the light and go through the darkness to that place where I feel floating ... where there is no pain ... where there is no thinking ... where all the greatness of the dragon resurfaces from my insides. - text by Carlos Martínez Guzmán, translated by Ricardo Pérez -

Carlos Martínez Guzmán believes that the body has memories. Memories of pleasure and pain, and the thin line between them. This is what he tries to express with his photography, whether it is nudes or semi nudes. Memories and experiences imprinted in skin and spirit. He has two passions in his life: graphic design and photography. Obviously Carlos has been seduced by visual arts. Graphic design he chose as his professional path through his life. Photography is his hobby that accompanies him. As a designer and brand developer Carlos has worked for various companies. As a photographer, he has focussed on portraiture and fashion, two disciples that have become the source of inspiration for his personal style. A style that starts to manifest itself from the moment his lens captures his subject.

As a photographer of nudes Carlos Martínez has learned that for a model it is not always that obvious to reach the expected goal. Some strip down to nothing and pose. Others bare it all: body and soul. Once you are on that path it becomes inevitable. A process of which there is no turning back. According to Carlos it is like having been in a desert and craving for water. Once the liquid touches your lips, you instinctively can't stop drinking. And the more you absorb, the more you bare. His latest series Rise The Dragon, featuring Tobias Dragón, is no exception on this rule. –BM-

CARLOS MARTÍNEZ GUZMÁN | BEAUTIFULMAG
TOBIAS DRAGÓN | BEAUTIFULMAG

Multifaceted

THE PHOTOS ARE MULTIFACETED BECAUSE THEY OFTEN SHOW THE SUBJECT FROM VARIOUS ANGLES IN THE SAME IMAGE. WE FEEL A CONNECTION TO THOSE WHO LOOK BACK AT US. HANS IS VERY INVENTIVE WHEN IT COMES TO CREATING THE IMAGES HE WANTS. HE IS A TECHNICAL WIZARD WHO CAN CREATE THE PICTURE HE IMAGINES IN THE STUDIO AND A LIGHTING WIZARD WHO CAN PROVIDE A SENSE OF COMPOSITION WHICH IS POWERFUL AND SEDUCTIVE.

Hans Fahrmeyer is a recognized photographer of male and female portraits combining both technical skill and artistic expression. His three previous books (Colors of Men, Between Men and Women, Between Men & Water Moves) reflect his stylization. For Multifaceted he takes a different direction without sacrificing any of his key assets. And to please many of you, after numerous requests, yes there are some full-frontal images induced.

Born in Bochum, Germany, Hans developed both his professional and artistic skills. After leaving Germany he worked in Paris, Cannes and London before immigrating to the USA where he established a studio in the West Village of New York. Watching him in the studio or on location, he can either be the fly on the wall when he has to be, or the sorcerer, pulling out the best of the talent in front of his lens.

His latest book, Multifaceted, shows his man from different angels combined in one single construction. The result is a somewhat dreamlike image, a dream for many. His subjects are intriguing and the photos are beautiful and complicated. He tests the viewers' imagination. Sometimes he plays with the images, adding subjects, viewing them from different sides, and creating arresting shapes and images. So, each photograph is carefully constructed and creates a stunning image when completed

Hans models are alluring and suggestive. They seem to be challenging you to look at them. Hans included this time again, provocative female models to interact with stunning male subjects. Some images are like colorful paintings, almost abstract. The photographs have so much variety one could spend hours with them and not get bored. This seventh volume continues the riveting body of work that Hans Fahrmeyer has created. Perhaps it is his most adventurous. Again, you will be surprised by his imaginative display of presenting art in a bold new way. –BM-

Mutlifaceted can be purchased in Amazon.

HANS FAHRMEYER | BEAUTIFULMAG

BeautifulMag #245 December 2018 | The end

EDITORS LETTER

All good things come to an end. And for most of you our end probably doesn’t come completely unexpected. After last year’s hiatus, we made a restart in January, but already slowed down our pace. It took us some time to take a distance that will allow us to say goodbye to a work we have done with love and passion for 13 years.

When working with photographers and models and coming to the realization that, back in 2005, artistic male photography was something many frowned upon, we initiated BeautifulMag. Since then it has always been a platform created to give the opportunity to gay artists to show their (photography) work. To give them visibility and credit for the beautiful work they create. According to the popularity of our blog with both artists and audience, I dare to say we have been successful in our objective. And even if I know that there is still a long way to go before artistic male art is fully accepted by the mainstream audience, I do believe we have been able to make waves in the sea of ignorance, non-understanding and non-acceptance, that will certainly ripple out some more in the years to come.

We have had an excellent run. We have made many friends, seen and learned a lot about photography and art, published a calendar, published a book, offered photographic projects and even took it to a more physical format by organizing and sponsoring main gay events. So why stop now you might ask. The answer is not simple and the decision was not an easy one. First, we believe the objective of blogging has changed over the years. Whereas blogs were a novelty 13 years ago, they have now become somewhat redundant, except if used for commercial purpose. And that is something we never planned to do. Which leads us to a second reason. BeautifulMag has always been a voluntary initiative. Over the past decade and more we have put countless hours in our project, hours that unfortunately are no longer available to us. But more importantly is the overall perception of male art. Many of the artists we have been supporting over the years have grown from struggling to established, and paved the way for new generations to come. That has always been our main goal and we feel we have succeeded in doing so.

So here we are, on the doorstep of our last month. Come end December we will close our doors officially. We thank all the artists who so freely contributed to BeautifulMag and of course all of you who are reading this, for being with us and staying with us. And who knows our paths will cross again. –BM-

BEAUTIFULMAG

Just James

THE DEFINITION OF THE WORD NORMAL, ACCORDING TO THE DICTIONARY, IS CONFORMING TO A STANDARD. USUAL, TYPICAL, OR EXPECTED. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT, REALLY, AND THE WORLD DOES NEED A GOOD AMOUNT OF NORMALITY. BUT THEN AGAIN, NEW AND EXCITING EXPERIENCES MAKE LIFE WORTH LIVING. VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE. NO WONDER THAT NORMAL PEOPLE CAN SOMETIMES BE SCARY.

James Sutton is 27, born and living in Bolton, just north of Manchester He is the oldest of two, works in the family business doing property development where he works the books and a lot of the administration. He loves going for walks and enjoying the countryside, is a film buff so can be found often in the cinema and likes hanging out with his friends in general. Pretty normal you would say. But James is anything but normal.

James has been modelling ever since he was 19 years old so once could safely say he is quite experienced. And that shows. In his earlier work and in his most recent work with Nige Rorbach. Now we know Nige of course as a man who knows what he wants and how to get it, and he certainly got it with James. There is something special about James, that I cannot really put my finger on. He has that kinda good boy gone bad look. He’s lean. He’s well built. He has great hair. And he has that challenging look in his eyes. In other words, James is hot.

Nige and James Sutton met through the usual channel. Still after spotting him for the first time about a year ago, Nige a few months ago. I guess that time wasn’t right. Anyway, may I just say I’m are glad he eventually did contact James. He turned out to be one of the most natural models Nige has ever worked with, posing effortless and when direction is needed taking the points on board and nailing the shot. A photographer’s dream. Certainly, for Nige: “For me, as an artist, someone like James is a dream to work with. He's friendly, professional, works hard and really makes you want to pick up the camera. There is a genuine respect for each other's work, so that made us both work hard to achieve what we both wanted from the shoot.”

The location of this shoot is an abandoned warehouse, near to Nige Rorbach’s own home. It has recently opened as a studio, has 3 floors and enough backdrops to occupy you for a day, dreaming and fantasizing what could be. As is his usual style Nige discussed his ideas upfront with James and together they polished them into the concept they eventually shot. They took their time to perfect the. Asked about his favourite shot James doesn’t have to think twice: “I love the Normal People Scare Me jumper shot. You could tell we both enjoyed it as one of our early shots was nearly perfect so quick. The playfulness of the caption on the top with the surroundings and the lack of pants made for a fun and already realised concept before we even shot. It was cheeky and one of our early concepts, so much fun to do.”

James loved the collaboration with Nige: “He [Nige] set up the scenes quick but so well. As soon as I changed from one outfit to another he had everything set up and we were ready to go. He explained the ideas beforehand very well. He had a mood board for me to look over in the car on the journey to the shoot, so everything was so well prepared and understood. Made for a brilliant shoot that I look forward to doing again with him soon.” James and Nige, two normal guys, not so normal. –BM-

JAMES SUTTON | BEAUTIFULMAG
NIGE RORBACH | BEAUTIFULMAG

Eden

“THE LORD GOD CREATING THE FIRST MAN WHOM HE PLACED IN A GARDEN THAT HE PLANTED "EASTWARD IN EDEN". AND OUT OF THE GROUND MADE THE LORD GOD TO GROW EVERY TREE THAT IS PLEASANT TO THE SIGHT, AND GOOD FOR FOOD; THE TREE OF LIFE ALSO IN THE MIDST OF THE GARDEN, AND THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL.” - GENESIS 2:4-3:24 –

Since the beginning of time the Garden of Eden has been a source of imagination. Though considered to be mythological by most scholars, there have also been suggestions for actual locations. The head of the Persian Gulf, in southern Iraq has been mentioned. Some also placed it in Iran and Lebanon. Alas, if there ever really was a Garden of Eden, the location is now lost for eternity. Much like Atlantis. But one doesn’t have to travel far to find its own paradise.

If you are a follower of BeautifulMag you might have recognized the photographic style of Gastohn Barrios right away. If not, then certainly his name rings a loud bell. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Gastohn Barrios started his successful career first as model and later as photographer. His modelling career brought him all over the globe, resulting in Gastohn living in the United States, Chile, Spain and eventually settling down in Brazil. Until recently that is. Recently Gastohn moved to Mexico City and it is there that he met Daniel Sisniega.

Born and raised in Mexico City, Daniel Sisniega set his first careful steps on the modeling floor at very young age already. He started out as a child for clothing catalogues and from there on his name has been related to fashion columns ever since. In 2012 Daniel won a modeling contest for Andrew Christian, beating no less than 1,000 contestants. 30 years old now, Daniel is a well sought after model and Instagram personality with a fast-growing fan base of already over 170,000 followers.

If you are familiar with Gastohn Barrios’ work, you know that he is a big fan of location shoots and seems to have a talent to always find the most beautiful spots. In other words, it seems safe to say Gastohn know where to find his paradise on earth. No matter in what country he shoots, he always presents us with the most beautiful landscapes. His collaboration with Daniel Sisniega is no exception on that.

This time Gastohn takes us on a trip to Los Dinamos, a natural protected area with an area of 2,429 hectares of forest, waterfalls and cascades of the Magdalena River, the last river of Mexico City. The beautiful park got its name thanks to some old textile mill facilities where electricity was generated from the flowing water. But looking at the photo’s Gastohn took of Daniel, it doesn’t give the impression of a large city park. Indeed, it makes you think you have arrived in Eden, Daniel being the first man on earth.

Though Eden is probably a metaphorical garden, a paradise in words rather than reality, there are people who are still trying to figure out where this wondrous garden could have been located. I dare to say we can stop looking for it. Gastohn Barrios and Daniel Sisniega have just pointed us in the right direction. –BM-

Daniel Sisniega can be found on Facebook and Instagram.
Work from Gastohn Barrios can be seen on his website as well as Instagram and his YouTube channel.

GASTOHN BARRIOS | BEAUTIFULMAG
DANIEL SISNIEGA | BEAUTIFULMAG

 

Quest for beauty

IT IS RARE TO MEET A PERSON WHO IS A KIND-HEARTED AND GENTLE SOUL, A DRIVEN DEFENDER OF EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY ACCEPTANCE AND A PASSIONATE ARTIST AND BEAUTY SEEKER. DAMIAN SIQUEIROS IS THAT PERSON.

Photographer, visual artist and citizen of the world, he was born in the North-west of Mexico and currently living in Montreal, Canada. Damian Siqueiros’ first mission as an artist is being humane by incorporating into my images, artistic or editorial, a sense of social conscience that betters our life and our social environment. Damian is on a constant quest for beauty. Not the one that is shallow but the deeper sense of beauty. the one that embraces the transformative power art to change our surroundings, or our appreciation of it. Damian’s vision of beauty is dynamic, evolving and non-judgemental.

Our first rencontre with Damian Siqueiros dates back 10 years. Him still at school in Paris, us in the early years of BeautifulMag. After the success of our collaboration with Aymeric Giraudel – The Prophecy – we choose to work with Damian on another artistic project, which became the Chronicles of Desire, a modern interpretation of some of the most beautiful and dramatic myths and legends with one thing in common: irresistible desire. His artistic vision and sublime execution of the project made it immediately clear that we were dealing with a great talent, and the past 10 years are proof we were not wrong. Moving to Canada, Damian made Montreal his home base from which he conquered the world. Not in an aggressive commercial sense, but ever so gently through an aesthetic that draws from the great masters of painting, such as Caravaggio, Rembrandt and JW Waterhouse.

With his work, Damian seeks to provoke emotions, change conversations and respectful confrontation. He has worked with talented people, such as choreographers Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Canadian icon Margie Gillies, for international magazines and clients, like Vogue Mexico, Elle, Esquire, Porrua and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens of Montreal, and won several grants and prizes such as the Public's choice Scotia Bank Prize 2010 in Montreal's Art Souterrain. Through his career Damian has created more than 60 exhibitions in Canada and internationally, notably in Washington D.C at the Art Museum of the Americas, Miami at the Frost Museum, Mexico, South Korea at the MMCA Goyang Residency, Toronto, Montreal and New York, at the prestigious Tambaran gallery. And now a small selection of his magical work can be seen in at the Fotofever exhibition at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris.

Fotofever is an international contemporary photography art fair created by Cécile Schall to encourage everyone to collect photography and support artists during their lifetime. This weekend Fotofever returns to the Carrousel du Louvre for its 7th edition in Paris. With the participation of 100 galleries and publishers from 20 countries, representing 250 artists Fotofever is a must for everyone who is passionate about art and contemporary photography. This year Damian Siqueiros is present, with a selection of his work created in various locations in the world. Another glorious step for this talented artist on his quest to save the world with beauty, one image at a time. –BM-

Damian Siqueiros at Fotofever, represented by Gallerie Youn.
Carrousel du Louvre, épace 302, 99 rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris.
Saturday 10 November, 11am – 8pm
Sunday 11 November, 11am – 6pm
18€ full rate/12€ reduced rate.

DAMIAN SIQUEIROS | BEAUTIFULMAG
FOTOFEVER | BEAUTIFULMAG