(living legend john palatinus, flanked by curator rick castro)
the icon i'm referring to is JOHN PALATINUS, the only remaining photographer from the golden years of physique photography.
john had allot to say, he told our very attentive group about the police raid during jan, 29th, 1959, how the police took EVERYTHING, including photos, negatives, camera equipment and his hope. how the feds had surveillance on him for months afterwards. john was forced to start over, changed his career and never looked back... until now 51 years later.
i am so pleased and honored to be the first curator to presents JOHN PALATINUS and his artwork to the general public. how bittersweet it must be for him to go thru all that harassment and turmoil, (photographing nudes eventually became legal in 1968) and finally be respected & vindicated all these years later.
btw, don't think this was a rare case, back in the mccarthy 1950s, ALL erotic artists were raided and harassed. all paid hefty fines and bribes, many times to the police themselves...( i will be posting individual stories in the near future).
JOHN PALATINUS: TOMORROW'S MAN, is on display @ antebellum- wednesday thru saturday- 1-7pm, thru march 20th. come check out history.
antebellum
1643 n las palmas ave
hollywood, ca 90028
323 856-0667
www.antebellum.us.ms
here are images from TEA WITH AN ICON salon, courtesy of ruben esparza.
(all photos courtesy of ruben esparza)
No comments:
Post a Comment