Beach Towels

Yesterday's surfboards took us to the beach just as summer was slipping away, so I'm staying there a little longer. This time I'm interested in something much less glamorous but nearly impossible to avoid in physique photography: the towel. Once you start looking for them, they're everywhere.

1. Jamie Clark, Malibu, by John Barrington in 1976.

2. Jay Howard by Mel Roberts in 1962.

 

At the beach, at least, the towel makes perfect sense. It keeps a naked body off hot sand, sharp pebbles and whatever else is underneath, provides a place to stretch out in the sun, and dries us off before getting dressed. It's practical, portable and already associated with leisure, vacations and tanning. The nude beach simply makes the fantasy believable.

3. Michael Viren aka Arnold "Arnie" Jarvinen for Young Guys magazine c early 1970s. There was apparently a fetishized "Nordic" masculine ideal during this period, which influenced his choice of pseudonym.

4. Mike Betts by Colt aka Jim French c. late 70s to early 80s.

4. Mark Ross aka Eddie Dew by Bob Harrison c 1957. Harrison worked in the same area and circles as Mizer, but preferred more candid, stripped-back, and "natural" aesthetic...a reaction to the more theatrical production value in Mizer's work at the time.

 

But photographers also discovered that a towel makes a remarkably useful piece of equipment. Spread it out and suddenly the model has somewhere to sit, kneel, recline or roll over—especially helpful when he's naked and probably covered in tanning oil. No furniture required.

5. Scott Hammond on a green beach towel after the fact. By Mel Roberts in 1964. Because Roberts preferred creating more explicit photos than what was allowed at the time, he built a hidden custom color-processing lab in his Bel Air home to avoid legal issues.

7. Garry Brooks by Bob Mizer in 1955..

8. James Grimes (featured in yesterday's Surfboard post...this time out of the jockstrap), with towel and surfboard aside by Bob Mizer.

 

Sometimes it's barely doing anything at all. It's simply there beneath the model, almost disappearing into the photograph. That's part of what fascinates me. Towels are the Where's Waldo of physique photography. Once you notice them, you start seeing them everywhere.

9. Dan Sumers on a confederate flag towel holding a firework by Bob Mizer for Physique Pictorial November 1958 issue.  Apparently the confederate flag was a popular "rebel" image with youth culture at the time.

10. Clay Winslow with yellow towel and peekaboo by Colt c 1979.

 

Please leave thoughts, questions, corrections or additions in the comments. I am particularly interested in info about the models. Thank you, bns