Men Before Ten A.M.

"I have an idea that men put their masks on by ten o'clock in the morning, that if you want to capture what is inside a man, you have to catch him when he first wakes up". So began photographer Veronique Vial's first phone call to Pam Houston proposing a book that would discover the elusive aspects of the male species early in the morning while they're still soft and vulnerable. The result is a celebration of men by two women who love them intensely - for all the ways they are not like women. Realizing that she got the best results when she actually woke her subjects, Veronique began arriving before the scheduled appointments. As a result, her photos reveal these men in a way they have never been seen before - Harry Dean Stanton plays solitaire on top of his covers, Peter Falk paints a morning masterpiece, Tim Roth meditates with his coffee, Kiefer Sutherland reveals his tattoos, and Peter Fonda lies sensuously in bed. Like voyeurs, Houston and Vial capture the true essence of men from the United States, France, Germany, Brazil, and around the world. In photographs and text, Men Before Ten A.M. reveals a playful, sexy, and honest glimpse of men before they put on their masks.