Wilhelm von Gloeden

1997.4.25 - 6.28

An Ode to Film

Greek pederasty is believed to have its origins in ancient Sparta and Laconia, gradually spreading across Sicily to the east, Hispania to the west and Cyrenaica to the south. The Dorians, who shared the same　ancestry as the Spartans, inhabited the Magna Graecia. It is believed, that as people of the same origin, they engaged and thrived in pederasty and homosexual romance. In the middle of the nineteenth century, Baron Wilhelm von Gloeden was born in Wismar, Germany, on the coast of the Baltic Sea. He moved to Sicily for medical treatment, where he was captivated by his obsession　with Ancient Greek culture. Whether pederasty existed in Sicily in the late nineteenth century, early twentieth, is not of importance. What is important, however, is the film left by Gloeden, in which we cannot deny the witnessing of the Ancient Greek's romance and affairs with beautiful boys. Branded as corruption by the Vatican and Fascism, many of these films were never to see the light of day.

-Takashi Mutsuo