The title says it all. Reed Massengill has put together a collection of male photographers doing nude-- for the most part-- self-portraits, a very creative idea for a book. In his "Introduction" to this volume he says: "The common thread that binds together these images is not simply that they are self-portraits by men; each of these artists shows us what is beautiful and different about their work and about themselves through these images." Certainly each photograph here is different; unfortunately, they are by no means all beautiful, although many of them are. In alphabetical order-- the way the photographers are presented-- Plate 4, John Arsenault; Plate 16, Armando Branco; all the pictures by John Dugdale; the two photographs by Mark Jenkins (beautifully lit and printed); Plate 91, Douglas Prince; and the two photographs by Brian To would meet the severest critic's requirements for beautiful. Then there are the erotic, the pornographic (by Jesse Helms' standards), the very creative, the cutesy, the dull and the just plain ugly. An inordinate number of photographers chose to present themselves as just body parts, reinforcing the cliche that if you have it, flaunt it. Several of the artists are into crossdressing and fetishes. And David Hockney forgot to remove his clothes.

The Pierre et Gilles and Jan Saudek self-portraits are as creative as we expect from these fine artists. A very young Robert Mapplethorpe, believe it or not, radiates innocence. Tom Bianchi's portraits are exactly what we would expect from him. There is obviously not a shy bone in his body. Both Arthur Tress and Duane Michals are to be commended for removing their clothes although they do not have beautiful bodies. There is an honesty and vulnerability in the Tress self-portrait that is very moving. Finally, Andy Warhol proves that anyone can take a bad photograph of himself.

Mr. Massengill also says in his introduction that he had to exclude a lot of "beautiful" work. Perhaps he will publish SELF-EXPOSURE TWO in the not too distant future.

This book delivers. Any individual interested in the above average, will find in this book a treasure of photos. The pictures are in most cases, experimenting with the self. In this book it is easy to share emotions with the photographers- as most of us have been there. Some pictures are raw, others subtle, but the quality never sucks! This is a book that you would like to share and most people just won't let it go!

This book is extremely erratic in quality. It has some images that are truly fine art. But, buyer beware! Read that title and be warned that it IS "SELF-EXPOSURE". It has about five images that are truly artistic and fantastic photos, but the range goes downhill from there to include anything and everything an exhibitionist might want to show you and much more that you might involuntarily say: "Oh, YUCK!" at. Maybe it is just my taste but why would anyone want to view self-exposed pics of a saggy, older, overweight person sitting in a chair with his legs open? (and, this is a saggy older person speaking) Then, there is the couple with man holding gun in woman's mouth.
I had high hopes for this book and was greatly let down. I'm an artist who has always loved to draw and sculpt the human form (I hate painting clothing on it as the skin is so beautiful). It is just that this book has so few images that have any redeeming qualities that might inspire, satisfy, glorify the human body, or to educate someone. There are quite a few pictures that I would not want found in my home however and I found quite objectionable.
And, since bad publicity is good sales also, I have probably just sold a few more books for the author. More power to him. But, I do think you should be aware before you buy.

"Self-Exposure" is one of the better photography books on the ever-expanding field of male nudes. Both the content and production quality are excellent. It is fascinating to see how the photographers reveal themselves--some, such as Tom Bianchi, quite explicitly. Alan Cumming, in his forward, proves once again that for this actor the subject is always himself.

Reed Massengill has created a book that will interest everyone who has followed the centuries-old fascination with artists' self-portraiture, a practice dating back to the beginning of art, blossoming in the Renaissance, and persisting through all periods of art change as a manner in which the artist can evaluate his own development as an observer - and as the mirror for the aging process. The difference between those images and the ones collected for this book is the fact that the self-portraits are photographs and hence less able to be 'altered' to enhance the artists' egos!

In a brief introduction actor Alan Cumming states 'I think everyone secretly wants to take nude self-portraits. To be able to see ourselves as others see us - whether passive or in the throes of passion - is always illuminating, but isn't it also erotic just to have in our possession an image that captured a moment in our lives when we were at our barest?' This is followed by a well-researched and very well written essay by Massengill himself who traces the history of photographic nude self-portraiture to an 1840 image of Hippolyte Bayard 'drowned' (staged of course is a case which became a cause cýlýbre in photography's history). Massengill continues his examples from Eadward Muybridge, Thomas Eakins, F. Holland Day, Andre Kertesz, and Herbert Tobias, bringing us into the 20th century when male nude photography became a true art form.

The photographs in this lavishly produced volume are by famous photographers as well as brilliant but not yet famous ones. The works are arranged in alphabetical order according to artist and range from frank frontal nudity, to gently subtle shadow work, to self-portraits in tandem with other models, to reflected images. Some are details of the body (JD Talasek, Shelton Walsmith, Steve Diet Goedde for example) while others are erotic and fully frank. Among the famous names included are Massengill himself, Hockney, Warhol, Mapplethorpe, Michals, Samaras, Saudek, Tress, Bianchi and their works are excellent and not the usual known images. For this reader the photographs by artists such as Jack Balas, Adam Raphael, Brian To, Roberto Rincon, cover photographer John Eric, and Robert Rye are the more refreshingly captivating.

Massengill graciously supplies brief bios of the artists along with website directories where more of each artist's work can be viewed. This is book that, yes, celebrates the male form, but it is so much more than that: it is a rare insight into artists' creative minds and reveals how they perceive themselves - and how they wish for us to perceive them! Highly recommended for a very broad audience. Grady Harp, November 05