The Art of RW Richards - 1 Style and Fetish

RW Richards - Restrained (my title)

This remarkable image seems to sum up a man's obsession with style and fetish.

You may not recognise the artist from this picture, but you are probably familiar with RW Richards' illustrations for gay magazine articles and stories, I included one in my Introduction to the letter 'R' from the A-Z of Fetish Artists series which is devoted to 'RWR' and highlights his stylish technique and sexually ambiguous view of male attraction. That article serves as a useful preface to this piece but I've recently discovered a fetish element in his work which I was unaware of back then (2012).

This image is much simpler than RWR's 'commercial' work but it's remarkably powerful and subtly suggestive of fetish themes with a nominal 'gag' shown, pulling back the model's head. The profile of his torso tells us that his arms may well be tied back too, even though we cannot see them.

'Style' is equally evident in this picture with the sweeping curve of the torso and a nostalgic nod to the era of art deco elegance, in the detailing of the head. The obtuse references to bondage show that style (and it's discreet fellow traveller, acceptability) has triumphed over earthiness in this encounter. Which is not to say that the result is lacking, but this is a stylistic view of bondage, not a view of bondage made stylish.

  There is a mild element of gender ambiguity in the face of the character in the image above and also those referenced in my earlier article, particularly in the luxurious eyebrows and lashes and the clean rounded lines of the faces.

R W Richards - 'Dangerous Guys' Series

However, you couldn't ask for a more masculine image than this,
this 'Dangerous Guy' is rough and tough,
but Richards' depiction of him is still immensely stylish.

R W Richards - 'Allure' Series

There's an equally masculine torso at the centre of this piece,

very hairy, including a hint of pubic hair that is highly erotic,
but it's part of a very different perception of masculinity. 

As for 'Style', this image positively reeks of it,
 from the sophisticated subject matter through to the elegant technique.

You can immediately guess that Richards was deeply involved in the world of fashion.
It's reflected in the model's unusual hat accessory and his coquettish pose.
The graceful curve of his body, represented by bold and economical strokes
 is typical of fashion spread styling.

This is not a style normally associated with male models, however, and Richards takes the sexual ambiguity further by drawing attention to the man's pouted lips, blushed cheeks and made up eyes. Given Richards fashion background, his interest in this sort of crossover is not entirely surprising.
This looks like an attempt to hijack the techniques of allure traditionally used by women to hook their men.

It's a beautiful, sexy picture, but a matter of taste whether it turns you on or not. 

I usually prefer the 'Dangerous Guys' end of the scale, but that torso.......? Woof!

RW Richards - Gucci

The artist is not precious about his fashion connections or his pretty boy characters.

This young man quivers with excitement in the presence of a mere paper bag,
simply because it's by one of the "great" designers.

His nakedness seems to be a play on the fable of 'The Emperor's New Clothes'.

There's also a matching 'Prada' fan image.

RW Richards - Shoe Worship

The humour is even more biting here, with a butch-looking skinhead, inhaling (almost guiltily) the odours of a high fashion, women's shoe showing the trademark red sole of Christian Louboutin.

The device of tying the shoes over the face adds intensity to the satire of being a slave to style, but also hints at a genuine acquaintance with this sort of fetishism and an interest in domination, which (you will be glad to hear) is also applied to more straightforward gay male erotica in his output.

The minimal styling in these images is another grab from the fashion industry and there's a close precedent in the picture of a blindfolded woman by Rene Gruau, another fashion artist. He also used a 'Black and White with Red highlights' technique. Gruau's image flirts with fetish but Richards dives right in.

 

RW Richards - Boot Licking

Superficially you might feel that this is the all-male equivalent of 'Shoe Worship', but it doesn't have quite the same intensity. There's no hint of the feminine about this man but he's not excessively masculine either, despite the abundance of facial hair and streetwise headgear. His approach to the toecap seems tentative, indicative of inexperience and possibly of reluctant submission.
It lacks the sort of earthy passion that seems to simmer in the preceding image.

RW Richards - Teeth and White Underwear

 This cheeky chap has got style and masculinity, subtly accentuated by the restrained use of pink blush around the cheeks and lips and a hint of hairy chest (in fashionable grow-back mode).

Judging by the wink, the classic white underwear he's got between his teeth must be a trophy. It suggests he's a confident sexual predator, but also that he's a man attracted by the essences of other men's intimate clothing and perhaps inclined to retrieve it in an (apparently) submissive way by using his teeth.

RW Richards - Teeth and Jockstrap

This is a similar theme, but Richards completely switches stereotypes, to a more boyish and conventionally beautiful look in the model but a sportsman's jock as his trophy, a more emphatically male garment intended for rugged, sweaty situations. He's not just holding it in his mouth either, but evidently savouring the base of the pouch with a knowing look that's very different to the guilty expression of the shoe fetishist. Despite his innocent appearance, this young man clearly has a passion for earthy sexuality. Notice that both these undergarments are subtly oversized.

RW Richards - Teeth and Jockstrap

Richards' approach to erotica is usually subtle and cautious and there's an element of primness about this exchange at first sight. But it's an audaciously intimate move and if you look at what the hands are doing, RWR is clearly imagining an intensely excited, possibly a shocked recipient.

There's also a subtle earthiness in the hint of explorations between the legs and also the implied state of the sportsman's jock - since his body is gleaming with sweat (or just out of the shower) we can deduce that it's not in quite the same, pristine state as when he put it on.

The artist has adorned these two men with tokens of masculinity, the jockstrap itself, the other man's vest/singlet and the glimpses of chest and pubic hair. But there's also a hint of something more in the kneeling man's flowing head hair, dark eyelashes and fastidiously trimmed stubble. It's hard to say whether this is simply a reflection of RWR's own views on the attractiveness of 'stylish' men or if he's hinting at a submissive, supposedly 'feminine side'.  Of course, the sportsman's shaved chest (right) ostensibly a manifestation of body building culture, can also be interpreted as self-feminisation.

RW Richards - Eat my Jock

The undercurrents of domination and submission break surface in this image and you can't be in any doubt by this stage that the humorous intensity of the 'Shoe Fetishist' is a reflection of something very significant in Richards' psyche. There's significant mood change here, in that the submissive man is not necessarily the recipient of this sweaty jock by choice. It's easy to imagine tender sensibilities being shocked by forced acquaintance with another man's intimate garments, although his tormentor is no doubt insisting, in the time honoured, male fashion, that "you like that don't you?"

Even without the jock gagging, there's absolutely no doubt who is in control here. The dominator is a lushly muscled Adonis with striking, god-like features and a generous endowment that Richards has allowed to have a modest degree of arousal (an intriguingly ambiguous indicator of his motivation!). His whole demeanour emanates confidence, superiority and matter-of-fact control which the deliberate distancing from his hapless subordinate makes all the more intimidating.

The top here is exceptionally stylish, much as you might expect from RWR whilst his inclination to gender ambiguity surfaces again in the submissive man - look at his shoulders. The youthfulness of these two men imparts a sense of playfulness, which softens the forceful subject matter. 

RW Richards - Rage series #3

Suddenly we are pitched into the world of leather and role play.
It's a million miles from the catwalk but Richards does not abandon his pink highlights for this man, instead they are employed more subtly on the lips and morph into rainbow hues on the cheeks as though he's linking the image of captivity to the notion of gay freedom. There's an intensity about this image that clearly reflects strong feelings held by the artist and the title 'Rage' is equally emotive.
In the context of his other work, it's an unexpected development.

I don't think Richards was lacking in freedom in his life generally, but in the world of fashion, if there's one thing more important than style, it's" image". Fashion at the end of the day is a heterosexual business, despite the love affair with gay men and flamboyant trappings. So it's easy to imagine constraints on freedom of expression for an artist with an interest in 'dangerous' ideas.
In other words, fetish is fine but it must be strictly superficial.

This image also stands out as a striking representative of another, completely different element in RWR's art. Leaving aside the leather trappings, what is the most prominent feature of this picture? If your answer to my question is 'a gag', have another look. In this image, just like the one that opens this article, a gag is implied but not really depicted. It both cases, it's just a strap and it's not allowed to distort the man's mouth, which true gag enthusiasts would expect.

The focus of this image is actually the man's mouth itself and if you look back at the preceding pictures mouths often play a significant role in them, either having something in them or covering them (as in the shoe fetish image, which shows another non-invasive 'gag').

So what's going on here?

More in Part 2