Beach

Beach by David Morgan. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780312265588.

In the tradition of Robert Mapplethorpe and Tom Bianchi, Beach celebrates both the male nude and the pleasures of friendship on a summers day. David Morgans remarkable photographs of the male figure have been appearing in New York City for over a decade-on posters and party invitations, prints and greeting cards, as well as in various magazines. Now Morgan has brought his camera to the beach and focussed it on young men at play, gamboling among the elements, enjoying the sun, sand and sea, while embodying Whitmans "dear love of comrades" with a panache that would have delighted old Walt. These pictures have a sunny sexuality and a sly humor, while exuding a simple joy at being alive and on the beach on a perfect summer day. The companion story by Ernesto Mestre-Reed captures in remarkable language the lyricism and physical joy that irradiate Morgans photographs, making Beach a contrapuntal celebration of the magic circle of male camaraderie.