When mothers are asked what qualities they wish for their sons, almost all mention strength first. Yet the very power of boys' clubs is one of the major problems of our time. Some men recognize this and lose their bearings and clarity—regarding their role in the world and their relationship to themselves and their environment. Numerous new visual worlds also speak of the search for a new masculinity. They explore the potential of a masculinity that understands itself as more than just strength, but also paint a picture of a troubled generation that has lost its self-understanding and whose new self-image has yet to be found.
Numerous young artists are attempting to shape a new canon of masculinity. They are breaking with clichés of the "strong man" and instead addressing vulnerability, intimacy, the diversity of male identities, and queer perspectives. As early as 2019, for example, the exhibition "Tender Men" at the Georg Kolbe Museum in Berlin highlighted alternative images of masculinity from the turn of the century. Such examples of alternative masculinity are now numerous in contemporary art. Critics even speak of a new intimacy in painting ("New Intimists") to describe this trend. It's time to present a few examples in more detail.
Nat Meade (born 1975, Massachusetts/Oregon) focuses on archetypal male figures: bearded, stoic characters in American landscapes, reminiscent of lumberjacks or Western heroes. Yet his protagonists often look down in shame or appear introspective. Meade confronts the myths of the strong man with a quiet, self-doubting poetry, revealing the hero as a seeker.
