Article
Photographs Most Muscular

By Andrew Boryga

In Brian Finke’s photographs of the bodybuilding world, almost everyone and everything is ripped — even the trophies. Many of the men and women boast layers upon layers of muscles stacked like bricks, their thighs rippling with cuts and their bodies glowing from orange dye. Muscles are abundant, clothing is not: glittery bathing suits, thong-like “performance suits” and the occasional pair of heels.

Mr. Finke was sent to Las Vegas in 2003 by Men’s Journal to document the annual Mr. Olympia competition, a pageant of modern anatomic marvels. He completed the assignment but was still fascinated. “You can’t really capture how a body looks visually any better than you can in these competitions,” he said. “It’s such an extreme level.”

Bodybuilding and bodybuilders have been photographed before. Check your local newsstand and find photos of bodies bulging with veins in places you didn’t realize veins existed. But Mr. Finke doesn’t dwell on that aesthetic. “That’s just not how I photograph,” he said. “I like to show the personalities of the people and also build a story of pictures. When building a story of pictures you have to make pictures that touch on a lot of different emotions.”

To do that, he spent a year and a half traveling the country, taking photographs at competitions that drew thousands in large arenas, as well as local competitions that took place in high school gymnasiums. In 2005, he released a collection of these photos, “Most Muscular,” a selection of which will be on view in “The Sports Show” a group exhibit at the SVA Chelsea Gallery starting August 22nd.

Mr. Finke had no trouble getting his imposing — at times, gargantuan — subjects to pose for the camera. “They were there to be seen in the first place,” he said. But once he went behind the curtains separating the crowd from the performers, he was surprised not to find the sort of screaming lunks you might encounter at a local gym. Those milling about were silent, contemplative.

“Before they go and perform they don’t have a lot of personality,” Mr. Finke said. “They don’t drink anything. They don’t eat anything. They are conserving their energy to perform.”

His photos reveal an emotional range one might not usually associate with bodybuilders. There is vulnerability in the eyes of those staring in the mirror before stepping onstage. There is a deft balance of humor and concentration in photographs of competitors “pumping themselves up” by cranking out dumbbell presses in the bathroom or handstand push-ups minutes before stage time.

Those moments help humanize the bodybuilders in his photos. Sure, big competitions like Mr. Olympia launched the careers of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno and lately offer grand prizes upward of $200,000. But most bodybuilders never see that kind of money or acclaim. Many compete simply to take their bodies to levels they didn’t think possible. Mr. Finke gets at this notion in photos of competitors who certainly look fit, but if you saw them on the beach you probably wouldn’t stare in complete awe. In some cases, you might not stare at all.

One photo shows an amateur at a Brooklyn competition sitting on a nondescript locker room bench. He looks down at the floor and his suit and bronze skin glow with the combination of sweat and Mr. Finke’s flash. “It’s this quiet, contemplative moment,” Mr. Finke said of the photo. “There is also the curiosity of not knowing what’s going through this guy’s head.”

Indeed, we can’t really tell if the photo was taken before or after the event. We can’t tell if the subject has won, lost or yet to compete. But we can tell he is focused, perhaps exhausted, and has pushed his body far. And that is what Mr. Finke wants us to take away.