Here is a really amazing story I wish to share with the entire Steemit community. Back in 2004 a very dear friend of mine who was already 78 years old at the time called me over to his house to enjoy some excellent wine and delicious cheeses. While we chatted and savoured our nibbles, he asked me to have a look at a small collection of artworks that his late son had left somewhere in his home much away from prying eyes. His son had died at 40 of a stroke some time back while living with his longtime male companion whom I had met on an earlier occasion. His "son-in-law" is a really wonderful and very intelligent man. He showed me the most astonishing drawings that his son had done of his lover over a span of 20 years. The works were extremely strong graphically. The technique was that of a genius. One could not help but stare at the beautiful male nudes with entities cleverly grafted into the scenes. I could see that his son Fernando had a really fertile artistic mind, coupled with great talent. A touch of Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophy could be noticed in a lot of the images. The colors, the movement, the spirits, the beauty, the mystery, the sexual energy all made for wonderful enlargements.
So we embarked on the project of "doing something" with all these works. My friend had mentioned that his daughter had threathened to burn the whole portfolio due to the content that went against her moral values. I reproduced the works digitally and made a new presentation which I took up to Toronto in 2005. After trotting around the gay community of the city, I visited galleries to show the works. The reception was good, but not much more than that. Earlier this year, my dear frient died at 90. His widow then entrusted me with full permission to do whatever I thought best with the artworks. So here is what I have done:
I have built vector images from the high resolution scans which can be blown up to A1 sizes - that's 23X33 inches - I have the works printed on Giclée Fine Art Cotton stock which I am now making available exclusively through my ONLINE store, naturally in a very discreet manner. My whole-hearted intention is to share with an audience that will appreciate the true beauty of a relationship that was hidden from society due to entrenched beliefs and morals. Thank goodness all of that is now changing and partners are now able to come out into the open, without being flogged for what the feel for another person. Actually I am inspired by Robert Mapplethorpe's photography and courage who also lived at a similiar time and was also scolded for his immense talent and resolution to create great art on the male sexuality theme. For obvious reasons I can only show to directly interested viewers, but here is a small sample - (http://www.foto.24x36.com.br/produto/vektaprint-secret-life-revealed)
Should anyone be interested I can be contacted my email (http://www.foto.24x36.com.br/contact), to arrange a private viewing online. Note: The images shown online are NOT very sharp intentionally. The final prints are VERY sharp since there are made from vector images. Thank you for reading this far. Do share. Love and beauty is for all.
Here is another example to illustrate the kind of beauty we are sharing -
Two souls, alas! reside within my breast,
And each withdraws from, and repels, its brother.
One with tenacious organs holds in love
And clinging lust the world in its embraces;
The other strongly sweeps, this dust above,
Into the high ancestral spaces.
Faust, Part I, Scene 2.
In these words Goethe expresses a trait which is deeply ingrained in human nature.Man is not a self-contained unity. He demands ever more than the world, of itself, offers him. Nature has endowed us with needs, but left their satisfaction to our own activity. However abundant the gifts which we have received, still more abundant are our desires. We seem born to dissatisfaction. And our desire for knowledge is but a special instance of this unsatisfied striving.
[Rudolf Steiner - The Philosophy of Freedom]