This is a rare unread and out of print copy of ROCK BANNED, published and distributed by PAUL FREEMAN PUBLISHING in 2022 features nude male photography from photographer PAUL FREEMAN. This 160 page hardcover book measures 10.25" x 13"H. See photos for condition.
“The idea for a book of rock music style portraits came about during the first Covid lockdown in 2020. Paul was friends with the lead singer of a local Sydney band and he had been keen for Paul to shoot his band during rehearsal, including some nudes, for some controversial publicity photos. He told Paul he and his fellow band members often rehearsed naked. ( And in various states of creative inebriation.) As it turned out their plans were stymied firstly by their rehearsal space getting flooded and then by the band being forced to abandon their space due to lockdowns. But the seed had been planted for some kind of rock music book and, despite restrictions, Paul was still able to shoot in indoor locations with one or two people. He knew some men that fit the theme perfectly, either with a music background, or having that rock or roadie look or experience. The idea became to create a homage to those rock industry performers and workers notorious for their on-stage and off-stage lewd and larrikin antics, drawing on the provocative posturing and dance movement of male rockers in action, but take it that step further into fantasy by shooting them in rehearsal, performance and behind the scenes even more blase and risque about their various states of nudity. The book is quality large formatted and hardback bound art stock pages."
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER:
Having established himself at the pinnacle of his craft, not only as a photographer, but as a visual poet and artist, Paul Freeman’s gift is to capture both the physicality and the spirit of a rugged yet sensitive male beauty in all its glory. From the compositions and lighting through to the harnessing of locations, his collections set a tone of sophistication rarely achieved in books of the male nude.
His nude portraits of sports stars and actors began appearing in Australia’s internationally prestigious Black And White Magazine and its sister publications, Sport and Blue, and in the magazines’ special Olympic editions The Sydney Dream (2000) and The Athens Dream (2004)
He wrote the best-selling biography of Australian footballer Ian Roberts, ( Ian Roberts: Finding Out, published by Random House in 1997).
Freeman’s first book of art nude portraits, Bondi Classic, was published to critical acclaim in 2003, and a best-selling series of Bondi-themed books followed. (Bondi is a beach suburb in Sydney.) His two Heroics books explored neo‑classic and post-Renaissance male ideals within contemporary contexts. He is probably best known for his five Outback books, 2009-2015, sensualising the Australian male of folklore. In his popular Larrikin series, 2016-2020, he molds this aesthetic of the romanticised, rugged and folkloric man, often outside of Australia, reveling more in the playful aspects of this archetype.
Freeman grew up in Tasmania, the small island state of Australia, and moved to Sydney after graduation from the University. In Sydney he studied and pursued acting and held various jobs, before taking up photography at the Australian Centre for Photography.