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Heroics II (2013)

HEROICS II continues Paul's reflection on the self-aggrandizement and adornment by men, of men, in classical art, their heroics down the centuries since the Renaissance being depicted more often as naked godlike sensual fantasies than the brutal acts of mean and ugly men that they often were. From the moment a more naturalistic human form began to appear on canvas and in marble during the Italian Renaissance, men were glorified with epic and fleshy muscularity, performing momentous and miraculous feats whilst scantily clad and militarily adorned, apparently oblivious to any danger to their physical ( and very exposed) selves. As with the first HEROICS this book seeks to comment on society's discomfiture over the naked male in real life, by drawing our attention to the almost blasé acceptance of the very public frontal male nudity in the heroic art all around us in the everyday downtowns of our great cities.... By using contemporary male nakedness in heroic attire and attitude, in a mixture of post modernistic and contemporary settings, Freeman relates his portraits to the public art which he opens the book with, then mixes in an ample splash of whimsy that entertains with each twist and classical turn of the page.

“Freeman is the best photographer of the male nude anywhere in the universe..This work takes on the heroic quality it seeks to pay homage to, through its celebration of the naked form, challenging the conservatism that are increasingly evident in Australian social and cultural practices.”
Andrew Nelson, Amazon Review, August 12, 2013

”Always magnificent Paul Freeman is a master of composition, of skillful and consummate lighting effects, and of bringing to our eyes a collection of extraordinary men in magnificent  photographs that are as fine as any artist’s work today. . having mastered photography of the sensual male nude and remaining at the top of the heap of his fellow colleagues, Freeman is taking fascinating steps in another direction”
Grady Harp, Hall Of Fame, Top 50 Reviewer, Amazon, August 12, 2013

 Heroics II is a collection of over one hundred and eighty fine art nude photographic portraits of men captured in the classical tradition of mythologised heroism, and the sometimes grandiose and dramatic poses that entailed, and shot in an array of contemporary, post-modernist, neo-classic and painterly environments, in both colour and warm toned black and white, reminiscent of the influences being evoked and in the tradition of fine art film photography.

First published 2013, 164 pages, Hardcover.