Karim Konrad Berlin Gay Mates (pp 368), hard cover, 27,95 by Julien Beyle |
| When I come across something really surprising
amidst the hundredth Bel Ami book, Howard Roffman’s fiftieth twink photo
collection and the umpteenth issue of XYfoto with photographs by Sean
Bentz in the male photography section of the bookshop, that’s truly a joy.
I was therefore pleasantly surprised when I noticed Karim Konrad’s Berlin
Gay Mates. It’s not a large format book, but its 368 pages make it a
fat book. And then to realize there are even more photographs in it. |
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| Karim Konrad is a rather young photographer, born
in 1979, and his models are from the same generation. Moreover, these are
clearly pure city lads. I don’t know how you can see this; is it the occassional
tattoo in an odd spot, the Prince Albert piercing in a dick, the standard
shaved genitals, the dildos and other sex toys laying around, or the shocking
pink wig on model Marcel Schlutt’s head? |
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| Whatever it might be, these guys are urban, cosmopolitan,
erotic city dwellers and not country boys. This suggestion is strengthened
by the often crammed, colorful apartments in which Konrad has situated his
models. |
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| Fellow photographer Reed Massengill calls Konrad’s
photos “colored orgies,” which Konrad endorses wholeheartedly and which, he
says, is his way of capturing the energy of Berlin: “The best way to interpret
that energy is to show it through a lot of colors. This city has so many crazy
worlds, sexy types and coolness.” |
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| Konrad experiences the German capital as a brimming
mix of “chaos, good food, damn beautiful men, heartbreaks, fast love, culture,
crazy people, artists, liberty and good bars.” In his photographs he tries
to stylize this hectic atmosphere and since some of those “beautiful men”
obliged him by posing in front of his camera, Berlin Gay Mates is a
book to enjoy, even if you’re not one of those aficionados of urban bustle. |
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