Mitchell's A-Z of Fetish Artists - Oliver Frey

I wouldn’t normally have considered Oliver Frey (latterly known as Zack) to be a ‘fetish’ artist but it doesn’t seem right to disregard his iconic leather pictures which were published in the early days of free expression for gays.

Frey has always inspired me with the sense of action and drama in his pictures and he was one of the first gay artists to utilise close-ups and dramatic angles (devices acquired, I guess, from film and photography) to enhance the impact of his pictures. The tennis boy in bondage image shows an example.

 

There was always an exciting element of ‘forcefulness’ in his sexual encounters which even today might raise eyebrows if published in freely available ‘top shelf’ magazines. This approach produced a some memorable depictions of arching ecstatic bodies. Torn clothing was an inevitable by product in this scenario and a bit of a speciality for him.

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His 70’s series of Back Alley pictures in which young men are introduced to the leather scene are classic, unforgettable images and were quite unlike anything which had gone before.

Not only were they crammed with domination, leather ritual and openly sexual content (who can forget the young kneeling leather boy offering up his buttocks, bathed in light, for gloved examination?). But also in these pictures Frey conjured up the menacing atmosphere of dark mysterious alleys on a wet night a feature which makes these pictures unforgettable. Now that I am older, the youth of the novices in these pictures spoils the effect a little but these are still first rate images.




The Zackboy picture above also shows Frey’s ability to use light and colour to create drama and sexual atmosphere in a fairly simple picture.
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Frey did a number of comic stories and fetishist images pop up quite often - as in the Tennis boy bondage image above. The ‘Slaves to Lust’ story explores bondage and leather at some length but unfortunately the recipients of the training are again rather young for my personal preferences.
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It would be hard to find another artist who could match Frey’s command of movement and atmosphere in his pictures. His draughtsmanship sometimes flags, the faces become strangely distorted, particularly when he grapples with more challenging angles - which is a shame as this does limit the audience appeal of his work. But it doesn’t detract from the significance of his contribution.

For more of Oliver Frey's work go to - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Freyartworkone/ 

Sorry - it is no more