Pencil Crayon Drawings by Paul Petro

“Examining these images in retrospect they become imbued with gravity. These faces are chosen for their ability to communicate, within their expressions and physiognomies, ideas of boyishness, lust, fascination and compulsion. From smiley and buoyant to brooding and melancholic to startled and confused, their countenances illustrate a rich spectrum of emotions present during male adolescence, especially when burgeoning masculinity is confronted with the often self-shattering presence of homosexuality. The figures are pictured from the shoulders up and alone, confusing their pornographic origins and dignifying them with the historical conventions of portraiture, and creating an allegiance with one another from picture to picture because of the similar implications which bring them together. Their combined effect resonates with a consideration of the more delicate and volatile potentials of young men in general."

- Paul P.,
September 2002