To my readers......

SITE UPDATE NOTICE

Thanks for visiting mitchmen, home of Mitchell's Gay Art

The Caps and Collars/ Flat Cap Gang story at Google Groups is on a summer break until July. (see Group News for link)

Message updated 25th June 2023

Tuesday 28 August 2012

A-Z of Fetish Artists - Roscoe

 Roscoe - The Big Chair

My last major 'R' is another prominent commercial artist who produces a lot of work on the 'dads and sons' theme and this is reflected in my first example, a rather splendid spanking picture. The leather armchair is slightly oversized in this picture and this means it frames the whole composition very strongly, making a satisfying, balanced image. It also makes the 'father' look small in a Disney-esque sort of way, he can't even place his feet flat on the ground! Despite this, it's bulk seems to add gravity to the punishment rather than diminishing the man carrying it out. However, the older man's authoritarian credentials are compromised by the subtle, suggestive bulges in his underwear. This 'son' is less baby-faced than Roscoe usually draws but, typically, his portrayal combines characteristics of boyishness - over-size eyes and touselled hair - with signals of sexual allure - fleshy lips and luxuriant eye brows. He looks out to us, confused and appealing. I am a big fan of Roscoe's neat drawing style, the boy's lithe body shape and pert buns portrayed with silky skin tones are highly sensual.


 Roscoe - Cops Pissing


Roscoe is normally not so much a fetish artist as a portrayer of sexual romps for mainstream magazines. That jolly style infuses this urinal humiliation scene but the racial element in this picture gives it quite a serious political edge for it's time (2003). Of course the 'victim' in these matters is not supposed to look as if he's enjoying it but just to add to the ambiguity, Roscoe leaves the victim's pants on with no clues to his state of arousal. You sense that he likes to challenge taboos! On a purely erotic level, however, this hosing down of a captive's body is an intensely sexual idea and it's a subject where a drawing (with the benefit of exaggeration) can accomplish more than a photograph. The portrayal of liquids in any form, whether as sea, rain, body fluids, wetness etc, is a great challenge for the artist - whatever the medium. You can judge Roscoe's success for yourself.


Roscoe - Tongue Bath
'Tongue Bath' is in a more conventional, realistic style and despite the threatening boot in the groin it is free from any controversial overtones. It's a nice picture, but if anything it's a rather tame exposition of the subject matter suggested by the title. If you're giving (or receiving) a tongue bath, the knee must be one of the least interesting areas of the body to explore (both as a picture and in practice!) It's not a fetish that gets much exposure, apart from the foot variant (I'm disregarding licking of the sexual organs and usual erotic centres which hardly count as bathing)! Licking of the rest of the body and face can be intensely intimate, if you don't believe me get someone to lick your closed eye lids. If it makes you squirm, that makes you a prime candidate for getting it in my book! That's an illustration of the strange 'power' relationships in this fetish, the licker can be serving his partner, pleasuring him, in one part of the body but testing him in another with strange and unusual intimacies. What's more he leaves his spittle behind to mark his territory, which the recipient can feel as it dries on his skin. So just who is in control here?

 Roscoe - Innocent

A super image of a forceful sexual 'encounter' with a 'licking' ingredient as a bonus. I love the bondage element and the captive's helpless, up-ended, open legged position. His captor's half-hidden leg is braced on the marble platform, suggesting a controlled and prolonged pumping is in prospect while he savours his victim's foot as a side dish. The modern tattoos and piercings don't fit into this pseudo-historical setting (where presumably anything goes) but they do serve to establish a gulf in experience between the two men. This is underlined by the look of terror on the captive's face. Since he is fully aroused, we can suppose that this cringing reflects a miscalculation of his partner's size or enthusiasm rather than a lack of consent. But it hardly needs amplifying by giving him a youthful face as well, which only serves to draw us into muddier waters where consent is invalid - in any era.

Roscoe - Locker Room Spank

I finish where I started with the coach paddling his entire team for poor performance on the field. Naturally we arrive just as the baby-faced one is getting it but there's no age concerns here. The maturity of his team mates makes their humiliation all the more erotic and the 'buddy' element of witnessing shared punishment gives the picture a power dimension which isn't present in solo spanking. I love the portrayal of the adult coach who (as in the first spanking picture) looks his age but is allowed a (believable) trim body and flattering clothing. There's a sense of forcefulness, drama and pain here which is not always found in spanking images and spoilt only by the lad playing up to the audience (us!). The coach's left hand, suggesting he's quietly enjoying this close contact with his entire team more than he should, is a classic example of hidden eroticism (click link for previous examples).

~

Much to my surprise I cannot find any dedicated studio link for Roscoe's art but there's a good selection at Daddy's Here , his work appears at DelftBoys and in Handjobs magazine

For other articles in this series click on the A-Z label below or use the search box to find a specific artist

Monday 13 August 2012

A-Z of Fetish Artists - Rorc

 
Rorc - They met after a chat
Rorc is another artist who likes to express extremes, but in this case it's pure violence which is a little easier to get to grips with, but we start with a simple bondage image. Usually, there isn't a lot of sexual interaction in Rorc's pictures, they depict power relationships and the captor often remains dressed. This man has been tricked into being stripped and tied up and in subsequent pictures he suffers painful abuse (a recurring theme). Rorc shows real bodies, with normal muscles and organ sizes, in fact the captives are usually quite skinny-looking with visible rib cages and forgettable faces (not in this example, but see also below). In contrast the the captors are bigger, sometimes overweight and often have characterful Latin faces.

 
Rorc - He Spoke Too Much - 1
Rorc supplies a speech bubbles or other commentary to clarify the situation we are viewing, what has and what is about to happen. You will have noticed that his Spanish to English translations are a bit odd, but they are usually understandable and add immensely to the power of the pictures. They tell you Rorc is not just interested in the physical process of inflicting cruelty, but also in motivations and the effect of threats and fear on the victim (note his semi-aroused state in this example). In the sequel to this picture, the captive turns out to be a queer basher and Rorc depicts a violent attack on him in graphic detail, too unpleasant to show here. I empathise with the anger being expressed and don't disapprove of the statement, but for me it's not erotica. Interestingly Rorc makes the victim ejaculate but not the assailant.
 
Rorc - Together
In 'together' the captive is left to stew while his captor watches TV. The barbed wire restraint is a Rorc favourite but the fun is only just beginning here. At first sight Rorc's style is crude and naïve but considerable skill is apparent if you look at the careful rendering of the TV (a tricky shape in terms of perspective) and the other furniture in the room. The man slouching in the chair is nicely captured, his casual air is somewhat reminiscent of Palanca's crazy characters but without their sex appeal. The restrained captive has believable anatomy, the skinny look is not particularly alluring to me, but the detailing of his restraints and the stand he is attached to is quite remarkable considering the small scale. However, the elements of this picture don't quite gel together, a result of positioning, stylistic variations and the absence of any background or floor. This is Rorc's style and reflects his artistic interests, fair enough, but I just think 'if only...'
Rorc - Hazing
Hazing is more successful as a composition and illustrates Rorc's interest in piss humiliation rituals. These images tend to be more detached than his torture pictures where the agonised victim is a vociferous participant. This one may be based on a photograph and possibly be traced, it has that look about it. However, the result is original and it illustrates the essential simplicity of Rorc's style, the treatment of the beards is a fascinating simplification.

To find other examples of Rorc's work have a look in the GMBA2 archives (link in sidebar)

For other articles in this series click on the A-Z label below or use the search box to find a specific artist

Tuesday 7 August 2012

A-Z of Fetish Artists - Rohr

Rohr - Punk

 If Rőhm tests my sensitivities as a critic, Rohr pushes the boundaries too. This time we're talking mutilation and bloodshed but as my innocuous opening example shows he has an attractive and accessible style - unless you happen to have a phobia for rats.
 
 Rohr - Impale

This tree trunk impalement in a bleak battleground setting is more fanciful than terminal but the barbed wire is a vicious embellishment. For me the fetish power of this picture comes not from the torture but the plight of the second prisoner, desperately grovelling in the mud to avoid a similar fate. The depiction of the storm and torrential rain isn't totally successful and is a bit hackneyed I guess, but still adds tremendous atmosphere to the picture. I am much taken with Rohr's handsome and distinctively Gallic faces.

 Rohr - Marc Assain's Abduction

Like Riton and other artists, Rohr has produced a lengthy comic strip for 'Project X' magazine. It's entitled 'The Adventures of Marc Assain' and has a theme of abduction and enslavement in a Middle Eastern Harem. This extract compresses a number of fetish humiliation themes into just a few frames. The colloquial French language is a bit of an obstacle but it's worth trying to understand it if you can.

 Rohr - Marc Assain, The Cruel Sultan (detail)

The handsome Marc and the other inmates are intended for the Sultan's highly sadistic sexual pleasure which generally seems to involve much gratuitous spilling of blood (which I have edited out in this frame). Guards who try to get a piece of Marc's ass suffer death by impalement or terrible mutilation for their error.

The comic strip format disguises the horror to a degree but Rohr avoids total cartoonery so there's still a sense of realism. What little humour he depicts is distinctly macabre and tasteless. Nevertheless, in the best traditions of Hollywood horror, it skilfully constructs an sense of genuine suspense regarding Marc's fate as he is drawn into the Sultan's web.

 Rohr - Marc Assain Rescued

Marc is eventually rescued by a detachment of soldiers and his tormentors get their comeuppance, but it's nowhere near as terrible as they meted out to their victims. I like the beefcake sex in this picture, it's hard for hand artists to compete against the deluge of photographic imagery in this area but Rohr has created a nice, original image with a 'buddy' flavour here.

Rohr's drawing style is distinctive and appealing, if like me you dislike the blood and gore, it's still worth looking at his work for the atmosphere, psychological drama and cute French men.

I don't have a site reference for Rohr, but there's a selection at Delft boys.
I would welcome information about him from readers.
Have a look also in the GMBA2 archives for examples of his work (link in sidebar)

For other articles in this series click on the A-Z label below or use the search box to find a specific artist