Wednesday, March 25, 2009

INTERESTING MEN'S FACES


Here's a picture by Hans Namuth called "Armed Farmer." Where does this picture come from? The Spanish Civil War? Argentina? Why is the farmer armed? He doesn't look like he's worried about anything.



Here's one by Fracois Kollar called, "Railway Worker." The guy's head reminds me of a parrot's for some reason, but that doesn't detract from the drama. Click to enlarge. 



Guys with weak chins like myself are full of envy for men with heroic chins like this one (above). If I had a chin like that I'd wear a black body suit and ski mask with just one big hole for the chin and none for anything else. It's by Edward Weston. 



A streamlined head (above) that looks like the owner is facing the wind all the time, even if he isn't. It's another Weston.



Yet another Weston (above). This man just has to be a mad scientist. I can imagine this guy delivering Lugosi's lines from the "Ed Wood" movie, the lines where he threatens humanity with a race of atomic supermen who "...vill conquer da VERLD!"



Last but not least (above), Edward Sherriff Curtis's "Ankara Man." Click to enlarge. Once again we see an Indian portrait where the nose isn't long like the cartoon caricatures. Geronimo had a long nose and, since his portrait was the most reproduced, all Indians were believed to have long noses. I don't think most of them did.

This man is strikingly handsome.  The picture is from 1905, I think.

That's all the pictures I have. While I'm here I thought I'd say a word about "Love Nerds," which I just removed. I asked a few people about it, and they said they didn't post their pictures there because they were too fat, and didn't want anyone to see them that way. Son of a Gun! It seems that this site attracts a lot of fat people who want to pass themselves off as thin...like me! Geez, I should put up Jenny Craig ads and make a couple of bucks!


18 comments:

  1. could be wrong, but I think "mad scientist" is David Siquieros, the Mexican muralist.

    Your post reminds me of a book by Geoff Dyer about men and hats, and how men don't wear them anymore. Its illustrated with a lot of photographs.

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  2. The last one makes me think of my grandpa Wahoo.

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  3. Thomas: Is Geoff Dyer worth reading? What's his best book?

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  4. Eddie-
    Actually, I haven't read anything by him. I went to a lecture and slideshow that he did. It was pretty interesting. He did a kind of riff on photography.

    He's a friend/protege of John Berger, who wrote Ways of Seeing.

    The Dyer book is called The Ongoing Moment.
    Its a personal history of photography. There's a "hats" chapter.
    So, I don't know what best book is, but judging from your blog, you might be interested in looking at it.

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  5. Anonymous4:19 AM

    The last picture has a Gary Cooper quality to the Indian's face.

    Sorry to hear about you taking down Love Nerds, Eddie. I was gearing up to do a video for it, but I kept changing my mind on what I should talk about.

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  6. Like my esteemed pal, Jorge, I too was going to make some videos for Love Nerds.... trouble was, my standard of living at the time didn't support it. That's all I'll say about that.

    But, I'm on a diet, and with my face for radio, I stopped caring a long time ago what people thought of my appearance.

    A while back, I made a video showcasing a puppet I was working on for a secret project that I was going to put up on Love Nerds, but I thought I'd be taking it down soon ( secret project, remember ). But, since I haven't yet, here it is. Enjoy!

    As for yer worry about having a weak chin, Eddie, may I suggest taking a few months to grow a semi-bushy goatee? It really helps improve one's silhouette and profile, plus you'll be one with the hipsters at Starbucks.... provided you wear a winter hat in the summer time.

    Great pics and post!

    - trevor.

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  7. All but one of the photos are taken from a low angle, looking up, helping impart nobility to each subject. The guy with the glasses needs to be seen at eye level, to get a load of his sheer optic intensity. Weston was not only one of the world's great photographers, he was a master at printing his own work.

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  8. Anonymous10:47 AM

    If you put Love Nerds back up as Lard Nerds and encourage people not to worry about weight, it would fly.

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  9. Anonymous12:55 PM

    Okko bakai, ino kalifach asu?

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  10. Anonymous4:26 PM

    Esteemed? Why, I oughta...

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  11. Anon: "Lard Nerds?" Haw! That's hilarious!

    Trevor: Holy Cow! You put a lot of work into that! I hope you find a venue for it. It's nice and cartoony!

    Jorge: Thanks! I don't blame anyone for not contributing to it. In addition to the fat problem, something about it didn't feel right. Next time I do something like that I'll make sure it feels right before going ahead.

    Thomas: Thanks for the info! I'll look up The Ongoing Moment just to see what it is.

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  12. Beautiful, eh Eddie!? While taking the train through Italy last April, between Venice and Florence, we stopped at many provincial railway stations. These men were gathered there with those hard, virtuous peasant faces, high cheekbones and squared jaws pushed close to the lower lip with the skin taughtly stretched across their skulls. Amazing specimens, much like the characters posted here.

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  13. hahha..really really good man

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  15. Eddie:

    The venue is a show I'm pitching when I get to LA. It's like those old puppet shows where they show cartoons in-between with the puppet characters are featured.

    - trevor.

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  16. Is Geoff Dyer worth reading? What's his best book?

    If reading (as opposed to pictures) is the key word here, my personal favorite Dyer book is "But Beautiful".

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  17. hey eddie, amazing faces! i gave it a try to one of them. unfortunately i couldn't do justice to it. the face doesn't look similar to the original and i lost some of the strength in his eyes. anyhow it was a fun exercice and very usefull. i'll try to apply what i learn from it to my cartoons! if you wanna check it out and leave any kind of suggestion i will be honored. btw where did you get this grat pics??

    http://julianhoek.blogspot.com/

    you pall!
    Julian

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  18. jajajajajaja!!!

    excellent!

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