CARNAL NATION

The Occasional Man is a new spin on an old classic: the pocket-sized spicy pulp magazine of pin-up glamour, the popularity of which reached its apex during World War II. The work of such famous pin-up artists like Gil Elvgren, George Petty, Earl Moran, Rolf Armstrong, and Albertos Vargas graced the covers of both pulp fiction magazines as well as mainstream ones like Esquire and Life. The rise of the popularity of the pin-up during times of war is no coincidence; this stylish and suggestive artform was intended to boost the soldiers' morale. As Charles G. Martignette states in his essay in The Great American Pin-Up, “When American soldiers boarded the transport ships for their destinations overseas, they carried not only their guns, the gear, and pictures of their loved ones but also their favorite pin-ups.”

For most of its history, this genre has been mainly dominated by paintings of females, but Canadian burlesque and pin-up divas, Bettina May and Go-Go Amy, have creatively updated the tradition by highlighting classy and contemporary male pin-up art in the form of photographic images. So how do these women find the men for these delectable pin-ups? As they state on the Occassional Man site, “We're all touring burlesque performers, and as we shimmy and shake across the planet, we keep an eye out for the hottest man candy out there…It's a tough job, but someone has to do it!”