Dirty pillow talk: Justin Jorgensen's Obscene Interiors explores what's really disgusting about Web porn--people's furniture.Justin Jorgensen has never dated, hooked up with, or even met any of the 56 men depicted in his new book, Obscene Interiors, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have feelings for them. "I ended up sort of falling in love with the guys," admits the Fargo, N.D., native, who works as a freelance designer for entertainment ventures in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . "I began to see men in general as this big group of bumbling bum·ble 1 v. bum·bled, bum·bling, bum·bles v.intr. 1. To speak in a faltering manner. 2. To move, act, or proceed clumsily. See Synonyms at blunder. v.tr. fellows who just can't seem to ever get it fight." By "it," Jorgensen means home decor, for Obscene Interiors is not about what men do in their bedrooms; it's about how they deck them out. The author pulled the book's images from male personal ads he found on the Web--some from gay sites, some not. Then, after Photoshop-ing away the subjects' identities, he would pen affectionately af·fec·tion·ate adj. 1. Having or showing fond feelings or affection; loving and tender. 2. Obsolete Inclined or disposed. af·fec biting commentary about their decorating to go with each picture, like "That couch would look totally great if it was on fire being thrown from a bridge" and "Something wicker this way comes." "I didn't want it to just be negative and constantly say 'Oh, my God, look at how awful that is!'" says Jorgensen, who began posting the interiors on his Web site, JustinSpace.com, in 1999. "Please--my home doesn't look any better. It's a huge mess." While Interiors--with its mix of humor humor, according to ancient theory, any of four bodily fluids that determined man's health and temperament. Hippocrates postulated that an imbalance among the humors (blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile) resulted in pain and disease, and that good health was and voyeurism--could turn out to be the gag gift of the year, Jorgensen hopes that readers see there's more going on than just cheap shots at cheap furnishings. "I've spent a great deal of time thinking about what it means to decorate as a man," says the author, who's working to turn Interiors into a TV show. "What's so interesting to me is this constant conflict in men between what's masculine and how you decorate. How do you fill your room as a man and still be a man?" Well, judging by the shots in Interiors, you keep your plants around even if they're dead. "What really amazed a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. me is seeing how different men from around the world would do the same ridiculous things," says Jorgensen with a laugh, "like putting their dying plants up on big pedestals or using cardboard boxes cardboard box n → caja de cartón cardboard box n → (boîte f en) carton m cardboard box card n → as end tables. Or they'd make everything symmetrical, thinking, If it's symmetrical, it looks prettier." Speaking of pretty, some of the presumably pre·sum·a·ble adj. That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. available gents featured look pretty hot, even in silhouette silhouette (sĭl' ĕt`), outline image, especially a profile drawing solidly filled in or a cutout pasted against a lighter background. . "We made a conscious decision to not show any penis silhouettes, but people still think they see them," says Jorgensen. "They'll say, 'I saw your book with all the schlongs hanging out.' I'm like, 'There's no schlongs.'" There are, however, a lot of men out there who have no problem telling the world that they use their stereo speakers as shelves. "I'm really conflicted about the speakers-as-shelves thing," he admits. "Can it really be that bad if everyone's doing it?" |
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