Exquisite Mayhem: The Spectacular and Erotic Photography of Theo Ehret (Taschen's photobooks) [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

Fans who frequented the Olympic Auditorium most likely remember seeing Theo Ehret snapping photos at ringside. The introduction of this book includes an interview with Ehret in which he says that pro wrestling held absolutely no fascination for him; he was a photographer, and that was his job. So here's a wonderful irony, that a guy with no passion for the wrestling industry publishes a book that vividly captures the height of Southern California's pro wrestling heyday.

The superstars who personify 1970s L.A. wrestling are all here: Freddie Blassie, John Tolos (for those of you who remember the Blassie-Tolos feud, the photo of John Tolos jumpstarting the war by throwing the blinding powder into Blassie's eyes is included!), Mil Mascaras, The Sheik, Superstar Billy Graham, Dr. Jerry Graham, Andre the Giant, Antonio Inoki and many, many more!

If you are offended by adult entertainment or the erotic apartment house wrestling phenomenon that was hot in the 1970s, this book is definitely not for you. If you are a fan, this is paydirt! These "Pulp Mag" style nude photo essays were all over the magazines, albeit they had those black bars pasted everywhere to cover up the naughty bits. For those of you who ogled these pictorials (while pretending to be offended in front of conservative wrestling fans who thought these trashy photos degraded the wrestling industry!)but were frustrated that the forbidden fruit was blocked from your view, well... the women are here in all their Amazonian glory! This trip down memory lane is also enjoyable as this was before the era where virtually every erotica model had the extensive plastic surgeries so prevalent today. An interesting sidenote for fans of adult cinema, one of the models who frequent the pages of "Exquisite Mayhem" is the legendary Seka!

If you are a nostalgic wrestling fan who is indifferent or "on the fence" about the erotic nature of this book, the ratio between pro wrestling and apartment wrestling pics is pretty evenly divided. The book is well worth the price. This is easily the best pro wrestling collectible I have found in over five years.

Apartment house wrestling is a widely underrated chapter in the modern art world. In this monumental work, photographer Theo Ehret brilliantly poses the female warriors in such a still manner that they are obviously not actually engaged in combat. These fictional combat poses would look ridiculous on their own, but Ehret brilliantly derails the silliness by bringing out dynamic facial expressions on his models; the grimaces of rage and angst on the scantily clad women are simultaneously haunting and sensual. It is a mix of halted action and living Hellenic
desire that Ehret delivers in seemingly infinite doses.

Ehret distances himself from his brilliant visual existensial declaration by denying an active interest in his subjects; he claimed that both the pro wrestling and female combat photos were merely work assignments. Perhaps this is part of his statement: to capture erotic passion through the lense, place it in sensational pulp magazines, and then add a touch of performance art by portraying himself as a blue collar artisan who has numbed himself to the potential pleasures of sensual expression. Is this possible complex mix of photography and performance art a cry against the religious right's mockery of our progressive culture? Or could this be a literary hammer that pounds a nail of truth into the soul of the cowardice that is all too present in modern art.

An odd addition to this fantastic ocean of voyeurism is the popular essay on professional wrestling by Roland Barthes. While entertaining for its day, they could have used an essay that stands the test of time. Pro wrestling has changed since Barthes penned his pseudo-philosophical essay, but missed his tegmental strike into the art's depth. The publishers of this book would have been wiser to print the modern pyrrhonic rants and scribblings on pro wrestling that was penned between 1978 and 1980 by New York sports historian Captain Lenny Dauber.

This oversight does not take away from Theo Ehret's brilliant photo essay. This work is both a feminist cry of victory as well as a societal cry to break the chains of enslaved victims of religious judgment.