There is at least five decades of blacklisted lore when it comes to hyper-sexualised fashion photography. And in art, looking for who preceded your work gives it context and often roots it in a deeper form of expression. So in order to understand one of the most misunderstood artists in crypto, we must visit the artists who paved the way for his work.
Helmut Newton
Helmut Newton had the heaviest of tomes printed full of double page spreads that spoke of power, lust and the luxuriant lives of the decided aristocracy at the time. When other photographers stepped back at what was the conventional limits of the time, Newton strove ahead.
First published in 1999, Helmut Newton's SUMO was the first of TASCHEN's titanic limited editions, towering above anything previously attempted. The form blistered convention and fired the erotic firmly into the territory of possible for photographers wishing to say something beyond the edge.
Robert Mapplethorpe
Another shock jock of the genre, brought in the homoerotic bound in constraints rarely whispered beyond the bedroom. Yet here Mapplethorpe makes these devices part and parcel with the subject matter.
Guido
In comparison, Guido (Line 91)'s work may even be viewed as more of a conformity to the aesthetic pushed by Mapplethorpe and Newton. Where they pushed the context, Guido (Line 91) refined it into its most hyper-realized form. His artworks suggest more than shout. They are making you, the viewer, do the hard work of interpretation -- and if you take it down the explicit route, well that says more about you than Guido (Line 91).
Wake Up 1/66 ed. by Guido (Line 91) is representative of his genre. Originally a 1/1, he decided more should own it, and today it remains an accessible entree into what makes the psychology behind his aesthetic tick.
Distribution and Nudity
Traditional channels for distribution shunned nudity through most of the 20th Century. Even in the 21st Century, Instagram has its edges and they're firmly pushed by all who believe in just a little more freedom of expression. Unlike Mapplethorpe and Newton that were limited to the galleries and publishers of the time, Guido (Line 91) got the power of an uncensored blockchain early, and deployed it as a censor-free distribution layer.
It can be easy to fall into the trap of using blockchain minting as a pricey form of 'Save to Folder'. That sells the medium short, and where the medium is part of the message, Guido (Line 91) wasn't going to make the mistake.
Swap For The New Thing
Every editioned artwork collected could be kept, enjoyed and savoured -- or if the window opened at the right time, you could jump through and burn the art you already owned, swapping for the newest minted edition with one condition. You had to throw out what you already owned by burning it on-chain. That process of ownership, loss and change reflects both the ephemeral nature of fashion, what's in and what's out and moving forward regardless.
Guido (Line 91) literally replicated the seasonal pulsations of the fashion industry on to the blockchain collection he built. 119 artworks later and 7,219 owners of the 17,465 editions, makes it one of the most well distributed, networked collections in crypto.
The New Guard
Guido (Line 91) isn't alone in his quest to speak to the things censored. Korbinian Vogt (Line 99)'s adventures bring blockchain, beauty and mountainous summits together. Emanuelle Ferrari (Line 899) goes to the moon with his own take on minted beauty. Ana Isabel (Line 3) empowers her subjects by auramaxxing in a kind of fairytale dream. The Line is bursting with beauty from artists Kohaku Gava (Line 413), Porn Soup (Line 444), Kaplinskiy (Line 632), Blue Butterfly (Line 719) and Artem Zacepilin (Line 873). This sub genre has deep roots and is being carried forward through minted provenance by a number of photographic heroes.
