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This story, simply called 'Farm Boys', opens in a sunny field filled with gay flowers. Two Farm Boys are examining a scarecrow. Well, one of them is, I've called him Seth. The other, Tim, is keeping his distance. The scarecrow has an outer wrapping of well-worn sacking, it looks as if it's been around for a long, long time and it's very spooky. Horror movie fans will recognise the meme with relish. The pumpkins lying around on the floor confirm the worst, this has got to be Halloween.
The presence of summer flowers in Autumn might be considered another spooky element. It's probably artistic licence, designed to give that initial impression of beauty, peace and well-being.
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| 2 |
Despite his amazing muscles, Tim is unnerved by the scarecrow and wants to get away. Seth laughs and puts a reassuring, affectionate arm round his shoulder. The two friends walk off, unaware that behind them, the scarecrow seems to have reacted to them in a disturbing way.
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| 3 |
The Farm Boys hold hands as they depart, clearly they are more than just friends.
The scarecrow seems to be watching them.
We see now that it isn't secured to the support.
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| 4 |
That evening, a mysterious mist descends on the farm.
As Seth walks home, he is unaware of strange creatures emerging from it behind him.
In the distance, the scarecrow's cross is now vacant.
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| 5 |
Seth is attacked by the creatures, overwhelmed and stripped naked*.
As they carry him off, a storm breaks. Brilliant lightning sears the sky,
Torrential rain pelts Seth's naked body.
*more images at DeviantArt (link below)
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| 6 |
With the storm raging, the creatures carry Seth across the sodden field
Ahead, two scarecrow crosses are planted amongst the pumpkins.
One of them is already occupied, a naked man hangs from the cross piece.
He's tied by his wrists and ankles.
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Seth is dragged the last few yards to the crosses, where the 3rd creature awaits.
He looks up at the last minute and sees the unconscious, hooded figure already hanging there.
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| 8 |
Seth is hung on the cross next to Tim.
The rain continues to pelts down on them, cascading down their naked bodies.
Lightning flashes illuminate their glossy, neutralised muscles.
You can fill in the gaps in this tale by starting to read at Deviant Art
This tale is a splendid, gothic variation on Homoeros' favourite theme of crucifixion.
A bloodless one, which pleases me. The horror iconography is a bit random, but the scarecrow role reversal is very effective, and the outcome is still disturbingly sexy. It does seem, as if Seth and Tim are being punished for being gay, the same might also be said of the story of hitchhiker Leo in Part 1. But equally, it may simply be that these malevolent creatures hate lovers and happy people.
See the foot of this post for other scarecrows
and ominous farm settings at mitchmen.
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| 9 Medieval 43 |
The artist's interest in depicting homophobic situations is even more explicit in this series, which is simply titled 'Medieval'. A nobleman's son has been caught in 'flagrante delicto' with a wandering Player (i.e. an entertainer). No guessing who's going to be blamed for this fall from grace! A dripping dick is the smoking gun.
The Player is abused then dragged before a priest - to confess and reform, I guess. This is a great image with good composition and convincing figure interactions. The Renaissance style colouring and warm lighting in the style of Caravaggio is a very clever embellishment.
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| 10 Medieval 59 |
The Priest proves to better at exploitation than rectification, but I suppose someone has to have a pop at the handsome offender before he is despatched to his fate. He also hangs around afterwards to legitimise the sadistic proceedings that follow. The Player is spread X-fashion across a timber frame and the whips are brought out.
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| 11 Medieval 61 |
The executioner lays the whip on with ferocious energy. I can't say I enjoy the sight of blood, especially after having read about the consequences of harsh floggings in Clavering's 'Under The Lash', but this is an intensely dramatic image, made more so by the crazy angling.
The executioner's arched torso expresses a determination to inflict the maximum pain. The stiffness of the victim's physique reflects his efforts to manage and contain it. The naked man's anatomy is more compact and realistic than in older work by this artist.
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| 12 Medieval 77 |
Once the tormentors have completed the designated flogging and discharged their own interest, the victim is taken down. He's set on the floor, with a timber block under his shoulders, and they proceed to nail his arms to it. I've selected this single image to represent that process (depicted at length by Homoeros), because it illustrates the victim's horror and helplessness as he grasps what they intend to do to him. The torturers continue to show their keenness to do the job well, sitting astride him, not shying away from intimate contact with the condemned man.
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| 13 Medieval 88 |
When the grisly attachment process is complete, the block is lifted into brackets high up on a wall frame especially built to hold it. This elaborate arrangement suggests crucifixion is a regular occurrence in this particular dungeon, but it seems the perpetrators never tire of watching their victim's suffering and descent into oblivion. Unlike Leo the rambler in Part 1 of this post, there's no-one to rescue the young Player.
Fill in the picture gaps at Deviant Art starting from Medieval 01
~
There are a number of other examples of spooky scarecrows
and ominous farm settings at mitchmen:-
EdDraws (sinister happenings in a corn field)
Amalaric (scarecrow punishment in Cruel Justice)
Jotto (scarecrow conversion)
RomanAI (sinister corn fields)
Palanca (corn fields and corns)
click on the labels at the foot of the post for other related articles
~
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| 14 |
Here, it looks like the Player from 'Medieval' has got himself into more trouble.
The naked man, drunk and disorderly, is arrested and handcuffed in a modern city centre.
I suppose reincarnation might well perpetuate the terrible traumas of a previous existence.
This detention may not be without bodily consequences either, invasive maybe, but not fatal.
The moment when a man submits to capture never fails to stir me.
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| 15 |
This appears to be a very different situation where two men have emerged from an underground tunnel to discover the opening is sealed by bars. You can feel their frustration and disappointment. This may be an escape attempt that has come to naught. Maybe they didn't even suspect they had been imprisoned, but were just exploring. Now the terrible truth unfolds.
There's an echo of Gilgamesh in the idea of a labyrinthine prison.
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| 16 |
This man certainly knows he is a captive, because he's in a bare stone cellar with his hands tied.
He must have tried to escape, but thwarted now, he kneels submissively to await his fate.
The simplicity of the image gives a sense of his helplessness and abandonment.
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| 17 |
This captive is tied to an easel-like frame, as if by a man who sees himself as an artist.
A man who sees his captive as worthy of display, a canvass for his artistic talents.
However, it's a frame of tremendous size and strength, built to withstand great forces.
Neither of these ingredients bode well for the young captive.
His muscularity pleases the eye, but will be sorely tested in the coming days, sorely.
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| 18 |
The final image in this selection is another simple but powerful idea.
A naked man has been brought to his knees by another, skimpily dressed in gladiatorial accessories.
He's not restrained, nor trapped in a cell, but bought low in a vast open, deserted arena.
With his back turned, defenceless, to his antagonist, his bowed head signals total submission.
The telltale clues to this sorry state can be seen in the area below his left armpit:-
Flecks of blood and a glimpsed loop of a whip.
His strong jaw and masculine stubble underline the depths of his subjugation.
Dejection, humiliated. A great little image.
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