Great Ass at The Met reproduces the complete series of drawings Karl Haendel made after a visit to the The Metropolitan Museum of Art, iPhone in hand, looking for the best male asses of antiquity. The New York born artist, known for his practice of expanding the language of contemporary drawing, made the pencil on paper works from the photos he took on his Met cruise, after recognising that they looked a lot like, well, butt pics–the lingua franca of contemporary nudes. The book includes a cheeky (but scholarly) essay by art historian Andy Campell, that explores relationships between classical statuary, homosocial encounters, modern bodybuilding culture, contemporary masculinity, and butt selfies (aka, belfies), as well as what is believed to be a first for an art monograph, a section devoted to glute work-out tips, penned by NUNZI, a personal trainer and butt influencer, known online by millions for his luscious peach.
48 pages, 23 x 31.2 cm, hardcover, Triangle Books (Brussels).