Featuring the world-class photography of Herb Ritts, Annie Leibovitz and Helmut Newton, Playboy pages have also been art directed by the likes of Keith Haring, David LaChappelle, Eames and Salvador Dalí. The latter's 1973 Playboy spreads are this
Playboy magazine has been entertaining, titillating and informing men (and women) for almost six decades. The first issue was released in December 1953 by the now infamous Hugh Hefner and produced in his Hyde Park kitchen. Featuring Marilyn Monroe in the centrefold, the issue sold out in just a few weeks, making way for one of the world’s most popular men’s magazines. Featuring photographs of nude women – which range from Betty Page to Daryl Hannah, Farrah Fawcett, Drew Barrymore and Pamela Anderson – it is also renowned for its long history of publishing short stories by notable novelists such as Arthur C. Clarke, Ian Fleming, Vladimir Nabokov, P. G. Wodehouse, and Margaret Atwood. The Playboy Interview has also featured conversations with a broad range of public figures including Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Jimmy Carter, with David Sheff's John Lennon and Yoko Ono interview famously appearing in the January 1981 issue, on newsstands at the time of Lennon's murder.
Whilst Playboy has seen a decline in circulation and cultural relevance with increased competition in the field it founded — first from Penthouse, Oui (which was published as a spin-off of Playboy) and Gallery in the 1970s; later from pornographic videos; and more recently from lad mags such as Maxim, FHM, and Stuff, it still remains amongst the most iconic publications of all time. Featuring the world-class photography of Herb Ritts, Annie Leibovitz and Helmut Newton, Playboy pages have also been art directed by the likes of Keith Haring, David LaChappelle, Eames and Salvador Dalí. The latter's 1973 Playboy spreads are this week’s Most Loved on AnOther Loves as chosen by photographer and picture editor Raven Smith. Here the master of Surrealism juxtaposed the shot of a nude leaning against a giant egg, coiled in snakes with cut-up Renaissance imagery. Asked what his bizarre compositions meant, Dalí replied with an equally ambiguous response, “The meaning of my work is the motivation that is of the purest – money. What I did for Playboy is very good and your payment is equal to the task.”
As Playboy has just released iPlayboy, a digital archive of the entire Playboy mag universe available to view on the iPad, we speak to Smith about his choice of this particular spread and who his favourite Playmate has been.
Where did you find this Salvador Dalí for Playboy magazine image?
On my reader. I'm a slave to my reader.
What made you choose to Love It?
The boobs. Then Dalí added the snakes, the giant egg and a roman bust. Win, win, and win.
Do you read any men’s magazines or erotica?
I read a variety of men's magazines. Fantastic Man stands out. But I'll never be a fantastic man, I don't have the patience for that level of grooming. Is that how women feel about Vogue?
Erotica-wise, I've read a book called Intimate Memoirs of an Edwardian Dandy by Rupert Mountjoy. It was really gross but reminded me of the lesser-used word stiff-stander.
Who has been your favourite Playmate or model who has posed for Playboy, and why?
Jenny in Forest Gump. The cardigan gives her the edge over Marilyn Monroe, just.
Are you a fan of Salvador Dalí’s artwork?
I'm on a time out from Dalí. I recently saw the film Little Ashes in which Robert Pattinson plays a young Dalí – that kind of ruined it for me. Dali was a god. R-Patz is not.
Are you a fan of any other artist/publication collaborations – who have done it best for you and why?
Lucy and Bart for Another Man. I have that picture of the man covered in toothpicks on my wall. If they ever let me art direct a Playboy shoot the girls will be covered in toothpicks.
What was the last thing you bought?
A Bauhaus factory lamp. That sounds grand doesn't it? If you come round my house you'll see me reclining on a Lazyboy, reading vintage Playboy by the light of my Bauhaus lamp. I'll probably have a Brandy to hand as well. And a cigar.
What is your favourite online shop?
La-z-boy.com
Text by Lucia Davies
