The Grappling Hook

Pairing the nudes hoepfully solves that perennial problem of the naked man in art - they end up as too effete, too passive, or ridiculously overblown and in unlikely poses and contexts. here the yin-yang aspect is delineated: the physical v. the spiritual; earth v. sky; physical v. mental activity. That the Ancient Greeks practiced their sports in the nude is often cited as an exemplar, either of innocence or of its dire opposite.