Last week, in the hard-hitting journalism you crave, we reported on the existence of an eBay listing for an original oil painting of Channing Tatum and his prominently displayed ballsack, which we suggested that you score for a cool Buy It Now price of $230.
In a true testament to the power of the Written Word, a bidding war ensued, pushing the Chris Mann original from an initial bid of $175 to a winning bid of $6,600 just one day after publication. Clearly, people were in a frenzy to grab Tatum’s ballsack. The painting did not end up being the bargain we once thought, but we must commend the new owner of the Channing Tatum ballsack painting. (Hope you’re putting that one above the mantel.)
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While we wish we could provide Channing Tatum’s own thoughts on the “tainting”—as Pride.com cleverly called it, and thank you, sincerely, for that—a representative for Tatum has not responded to our multiple requests for comment. We did, however, talk to Chris Mann, the Los Angeles-based artist behind the painting, to learn more about what inspired this testicular tour de force.
VICE: How long have you been painting?
Mann: I’ve been painting and drawing my entire life. I started selling art on eBay around 1999 in addition to selling commissions and work sold in galleries.
How much of your work includes celebrity nudes?
A third of my work consists of celebrity nudes. I’m primarily an artist who specializes in male erotic paintings, but I have also painted and drawn portraits of famous people. I like to combine the two in nude celebrity paintings. They’re fun and I enjoy the element of fantasy I create.
Do you have a favorite that you’ve done?
My nude painting of Michael Jackson was one that I was pleased with, and although there weren’t any frontals shown, it made people uncomfortable. This painting of Channing Tatum is easily one of my recent favorites as well.
What inspired the Channing Tatum painting?
This is not the first nude of Channing Tatum I’ve done, but the original photograph by Nino Muñoz is what inspired me for this one. Tatum was named 2012’s Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine, and this was one in a series of photos that accompanied that cover story. I usually create my own poses and backdrops, but the pose, lighting, and composition were all perfect in this shot and I didn’t want to change any of that. I just took it a step further and removed his pants. Shirt cocking (or shirt balling in this case).
Were you surprised by the final bidding price on the painting?
Yes, and also surprised at the amount of press this has gotten.
What’s the status of the painting now?
The painting has been sent to the new owner. I keep the correspondence with and identity of my buyers private, but I have always received positive feedback from them. It’s great to see a resurgence in collecting hand-created art, paintings or otherwise.
