Arty 16: Aug/Sep 2004
Boys

Boys keep Swinging

Arty Boys is a counterbalance to Arty Girls (no.14). So the call went out for contributors and here they are boy centred and beautiful.
One of the main criteria when choosing this theme for Arty 16 was that it should be able to feature the Libertines. Their inclusive anti-music business stance – do gigs anywhere, mingle freely with fans, have internet chat rooms where you talk with fans on the same level, put music on the internet – ignore the rules and the hierarchy, fits perfectly with the principals that apply to both Arty and Transition. Unreachable superstar status is over, yet if we’re honest we still want it. So lets all be famous for 5 minutes, lets start a gallery, a magazine, a band – I know that they can’t all be great but lets do it anyway. Britpop and Britart left me cold but they were stepping-stones to what we have now. A new groundswell of proactivity.

But back to the boys. The Arty contributors have turned in a multitude of males. From the very young, to the sexy, to the tough and of course the down right naughty.

One reoccurring theme seems to be the film Withnail and I. Mentioned by no less than three of the contributors it seems to hold the key to a warped modern notion of masculinity.

Cathy Lomax

Joe by Stella Vine

Buy Arty 16 - £1 (reduced from £2.50) & UK Postage