The ceramics from Italian designer Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007 are glossy and bulging with curves. So are the men in Physique Pictorial, the original beefcake magazine. In particular, I’m very fond of the once-an-issue photograph of a hunk taking a shower. So many questions: What temperature is the water? Is it safe to have an expensive camera and lighting close to splashing water?

Sottsass’s sexy ceramics inspire other questions. Is that red legal? Is that hump a breast or the head of an erect penis? Can anyone with a Memphis-style sense of humor make things seriously erotic?

This book is a mash-up of both of my infatuations, quite literally as ceramics are printed directly on naked men. The book contains traditional opague paper and translucent vellum along with smart commentary from clever designers and artists. Did you know David Hockney was a fan of Physique Pictorial’s shower shots? -Publisher