Jotto - Waiting
I am a fan of Jotto's work, although much of it is pretty gruesome fare. Muscular captives are subjected to brutal tortures and Jotto does not hold back from depicting bruising and trickling blood which isn't my cup of tea but fortunately the action doesn't always get that far.
Recurring themes are the victim tied to a chair, strangulation and electro-torture.
I am a fan of Jotto's work, although much of it is pretty gruesome fare. Muscular captives are subjected to brutal tortures and Jotto does not hold back from depicting bruising and trickling blood which isn't my cup of tea but fortunately the action doesn't always get that far.
Recurring themes are the victim tied to a chair, strangulation and electro-torture.
Jotto is good at depicting electricity dancing over a victim's torso.
In this case it's the natural electrical discharge of an eel.
Jotto sometimes depicts fantasy scenarios like Alien abductions and Tarzan in captivity and this gives great opportunities for tentacle art and lab rat experiments. His 'regular' victims, however, often seem to be chosen simply for exhibiting their desirable bodies with excessively skimpy clothing. My own (Mitchell's) 'mitchmen' story lines are often even more arbitrary than this so I cannot criticise – but it's a disturbing thought process!
His men are heroically muscular and lean, every muscle and sinew is visible at times as they strain against their bonds. They have broad shoulders and very thick thighs but youthful slender waists. Jotto colours the body in a sensuous way with shading and highlights, but the musculature is so stringy and exaggerated that the end appearance is not really glamorous. Jotto's preference for longish floppy hair, however, gives the men some humanity and innocent appeal on which we can hang our sympathy in the ordeals they go through.
Jotto - Vincenzo Sleeping
His style resembles Comic Art with thick outlines and very black shadowing. This influence also shows in dramatic poses (as in the Tarzan picture above) with clenched fists and fore-shortened arms. 'Vincenzo sleeping' (immediately above) with it's dramatic shadowing and aerial viewpoint is a classic comic image. Latent menace oozes out of the picture.
Occasionally he publishes black and white pictures which resemble wood cuts.
Great, stylish fetish art which pushes the boundaries but is always sexy.
I would have expected Jotto to have a blog somewhere but I haven't been able to find one.
He does collaborate with 'Kalabro' and there is some work pasted at Kalabro's blog
He does collaborate with 'Kalabro' and there is some work pasted at Kalabro's blog
Post-script April 2011 - There is now a Jotto gallery at Telemachus site
For earlier articles in this series click on the label A-Z below.
4 comments:
DDROOOOOL! SSSSSEXXXXY!!
Thanks for profiling this intriguing artist, Mitch! I love Kalabro's stuff and their style and preoccupations are very similar. Great sample of his work too, all the more appreciated given how rare it it to find online (though I notice Patrick Fillion recently did a plug post on his blog, which has focused my gaze on Jotto's work recently).
telemachus has what seems to be the best collection of jotto's work.
Thanks for the info which I have added to the article.
Post a Comment