The boys of summer.

Western art has always had trouble deciding how it feels about the male body. Ancient Greek and Roman sculptors presented the male form in its full glory?bulging arms, bulging abs, anything that bulged. Then Medieval Christians made sure everyone else felt as repressed as they did. Later, Renaissance artists revived the male nude, though only within the context of religion. Jump ahead to the late 20th century, and artists could again begin depicting as much homoeroticism as they pleased without fear of being penalized.

CLAMPART's "Boys of Summer" exhibit features photos that span social attitudes from the 1930s to the present. The theme of the group show, which includes 25 mostly male photographers, is simple: photographs of and about men.

"(The show) looks at the challenges artists have depicting the male form," says Brian Paul Clamp, the gallery's owner. "It examines the psychology of the subject and how different the challenges are as opposed to showing women."

George Platt Lynes, whose prominence peaked during the 1930s and 40s, inhabited the center of a group of powerful homosexual men who heavily influenced New York's art institutions. He worked in portraits for the socially elite and in fashion for leading magazines. However, he is best known for the male nude photography he pursued as early as 1929.

"He's famous for his male nudes, but he was reluctant to distribute his photos because of fear of retaliation," Clamp says. "No one really talked about these things back then."

Due to existing laws and the social climate, Lynes' work with erotic male nudes was always hush-hush, wink-wink. Though he often used friends and lovers in his photos, using paid models in his shoots demonstrates his creativity in dealing with taboos. He could flatter even the most reluctant subjects into performing a striptease for him in front of the camera.

Appearing for the first time on the East Coast, Mel Roberts' prints, ranging from the late 50s through the 70s, are another example of revolutionary work in the field. He often crossed dangerous boundaries with his work?in 1979, the Los Angeles Police Department raided his home and seized his equipment and photographs. (They were later returned.)

The unique color tones in his shots of California boys aren't just the result of skillful photography. Because of the provocative nature of his shots, he couldn't drop his negatives off at a photo lab. Instead, he learned to develop his own prints, which ended up bearing a novice quality that added another artistic dimension. Carefree and fun-loving though they may be, his photographs hint at a society on the cusp of change.

"Originally, I organized this as a fun summer show with a huge collection of great photos," Clamp says. "But when I started bringing it all together, I realized that there were political dimensions to it as well."

Some of the more contemporary photographers examine pressing issues in the post-sexual-revolution world. Bill Jacobson uses a blur effect in his prints to the point where they're more suggestive of their subjects than they are explicit. Much of his work deals with memories and loss and is his reflection on the AIDS epidemic.

If you're in the mood for something just as penetrating, check out "Men Connecting," specially organized for Gay Pride month by the Soho Photo Gallery. Guest photographer Ed Evans compiled 20 b&w images displaying various pierced body parts connected to one another by wires or other materials.

"The collection evolved from the initial idea of just seeing people connected close up," says Evans, who is based in Los Angeles. "The more I worked, the more I saw how my work symbolizes how we're all connected? I wanted to illustrate that graphically, though a little bit alarmingly."

Many of these photographs feature the male sexual organ connected with more benign parts of the body, such as tongues and nipples, via Prince Albert piercings. Evans says part of the fun in shooting the photos was observing the various awkward positions into which models contorted in order to achieve the desired pose.

"When people see my photos, they usually wince and say 'Doesn't that hurt?'" says Evans. "It's a funny question, because they should know that 'No, it doesn't hurt.' The pain is transient, and eventually the body heals after the initial piercing."

The Soho Photo Gallery is featuring a number of photos from its members to go along with the theme of Gay Pride, including male nudes done by Norbert Torriente, who's shot cover models for a men's health magazine. But Evans' prints are definitely of a brand that the gallery has never displayed before.

"The subject is definitely over the edge for this gallery," says Larry Davis, a gallery member who helped organize the show. "But we always go for quality of work first? We always reach out to a variety of people in the community. This month we're reaching out to the gay community. It's an effort to get people down here who normally might not stop by."

"Boys of Summer" through Sept. 6 at CLAMPART, 531 W. 25th St. (betw. 10th & 11th Aves.), 646-230-0020.

"Men Connecting" through July 5 at Soho Photo Gallery, 15 White St. (betw. W. B'way & 6th Ave.), 212-226-8571.