VANGARDIST MAGAZINE - Issue 57 - The Fat Issue

46
VANGARDIST: Your work as a photographer
shows naked, hairy men lying
on the floor or sitting on a copy machine.
What do you want to tell with
that?
Christopher Schulz: When I started Pinups
I simply wanted to capture a type
of man that attracted me, a type that
I scarcely saw in print. These days I’m
more interested in the individuality of
my subjects. Type is irrelevant. I want
to capture something essential about
them. Sort of like an interview, but visual.
I want to show my subjects naturally,
behaving as they would with no
camera present (as much as that’s possible).
I’m interested in the intimacy of
solo nude portraiture because it makes
the subject vulnerable, and when the
subject is relaxed and comfortable in
that vulnerability, a very powerful image
can emerge.
V: What inspires, what drives you?
C: My love for printed matter drives
me. When I started Pinups I was very inspired
by gay print publications of the
50s and 60s that had to subvert strict
homophobic laws to maintain circulation
while connecting with intended
audiences. I love to explore the past
through books, and to explore queer
history, to weave it into my contemporary
work.
V: Do you think men are causing
themselves too much stress about being
slim enough? About not being
male enough?
C: I think we all have anxieties about
our bodies. I know men that aren’t interested
in being thin. They want to
bulk up, to be muscular. I encounter a
lot of gay men who really want to be
seen as butch. “Masc4masc” as they
Christopher Schulz
©Mike W Nguyen