Draško Bogdanović is a Toronto-based Portraitist and Photographer who has quickly gained respect in the local Arts community for his body (no pun intended) of work, focusing on the concepts of Masculinity and Homoeroticism. His work on an immediate level serves one main purpose - to arouse anyone who appreciates a beautiful man. Bogdanović utilizes physically correct male subjects often flaunting their erect members or just capturing them in playfully suggestive poses. His photographs consistently have a naturally lit aesthetic and cooler tones - not at all over-processed.
On a deeper level though, he challenges social norms by pushing us to ask why it is as a society we experience an unsaid wave of awkwardness at the sight of male nudity. If you've ever watched comedies like Forgetting Sarah Marshall or Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, these films play on this notion, purposefully prolonging scenes of male nudity enough to generate a feeling of unease in the audience and even the characters in the scene. Also, through his collection, we examine social ideals of what defines Male Beauty and how Art and Media dictate what we perceive as "beautiful" in men; such is PERVasive Influence - the theme of the festival.
The photographer's launch party for Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival took place tonight at Grasp Erotica Bar (543 Yonge St.) situated opposite (not inside) popular bathhouse St. Marc Spa in Toronto's Village. Presenting his pieces (goodness, I'm getting myself into all sorts of innuendos here!) in 11 x 14 frames and digitally on television screens, the dimly lit room contained male dancers behind windows gyrating to hot Top 40 remixes by my friend, DJ Sumation. Good times.
Check out some of these photos I got from the event below:
L to R: Models Josh and Brian (seen in above photos) with Bogdanović, DJ Sumation
Bogdanović's exhibit cross-promotes his latest picture book The Persuasion of Men, running til May 31st. More of his work can be found on his official website here. (Warning: site contains mature content and nudity... you know you wanna look!)
(Photo credit: Mr. Will-W./Draško Bogdanović)
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