BRUCE WEBER (1946- ) CALVIN KLEIN UNDERWEAR. Bus stop poster. 1983. 67 1/4x47 1/2 inches, 170 3/4x120 3/4 cm. Condition B+: losses and residue at top margin; scratches and abrasions in margins and image. Printed on Acetate. Bruce Weber's photograph of Brazilian pole-vaulter Tom Hintnaus originally appeared as a 70-foot high billboard in New York City's Times Square. This image and the ad campaign had a seismic effect on America's social and cultural scene. "Weber's photographs are part of the phenomenon they document . . . his advertising campaigns . . . have come to stand for the acceptance of this imagery by the cultural mainstream. For those who can recall a time before it became acceptable for men to regard their underwear as fashion statements, Weber's images must count among the most revolutionary tools yet devised in the history of consumer manipulation. Miniature dramas in which men assume the passive role once assigned almost exclusively to women, they have also been a force for change in relations between the sexes" (Herbert Muschamp, New York Times Magazine, November 14, 1999). American Photographer Magazine named the photo one of the "10 Pictures that Changed America."
