Art Bob 3 - Games and Puzzles

Art Bob - Unknown Title

We're missing the title of this image and without it the intent is far from clear. These men in a locker room seem to be playing dice, but why? Apart from the foreground figure everyone is already naked, not surprising in a locker room, but it seems to rule out gambling for clothes. Perhaps, some other forfeit is in play - or is there a prize for the winner? Perhaps the one staring us in the face?

 

There's a faint hint of a spanking for the kneeling guy and the intertwining of the leftmost pair is slightly suggestive too. The head and reaching arm lined up with the lower regions of the man in the foreground might also be significant, but it's all very obscure.  

 

Though muscular, the characters in this drawing are not Art Bob's best creations, you can't help thinking that the foreground figure might be a better bet, if only we could see more of him. Ah, well!

 

Art Bob - Low Score

 There's a similar mystery around this image - even with the title. Another locker room, this time one for golfers who are not normally a subject for homoerotic imagery. However, golfing terminology has much to offer. Here for example it appears a round of 'threesomes' has just finished. 

 

The hairy hunk in the foreground is studying his scorecard, and his face seems to be flushed. It's presumably him who has got the low score, which would make him the winner, but he doesn't look very happy about it. The slender pencil held between his drooping fingers, certainly doesn't suggest any other form of excitement either. 

 

By contrast, behind him, his companions already look as if they are shaping up to celebrate the 19th hole with some inappropriate activity. The one on the right looks very smug about it, his face a nicely drawn detail. He seems to be lending the blond a satisfying hand already. The phallic golf clubs give us corroboration of what's afoot. The blond's one is upright in his hand (not a driver, I might observe, if that's not overthinking it), whereas a bagful of irons (two at least!) lurks at his opposite number's rear.

 

There's a level of maturity in all three men in this picture, faces and physiques, that gives it a less playful, more intense atmosphere than Art-Bob's usual fare, but what exactly the storyline is, I cannot discover.

 

 

Art Bob - Four Alarm Fire

It's the title of this one that is bemusing, but on the surface, it's more clear what is happening. Firemen are being aroused from their slumbers to tackle a fire. This image predates the modern rise of firefighters to the level of erotic icons (gay and straight). 

 

The slightly guilty looking face in the top bunk may point to a hidden erotic agenda, his hand seems to be resting on the head of the chap below, while the bedpost seems to be betraying mischief that hasn't yet had time to dissipate.

 

The foreground figure, hastily buckling up his jeans may also reflect an interruption. Be that as it may, he is a delicious creation, lightly erotic and nicely observed. The treatment of his jeans is so casual, yet so right. The man putting on his socks is also interesting, with nice vest detail, but why is he wearing gloves? 

 

The character raising the alarm is a more conventional Art Bob type, more caricatured but oddly separated from the others. His underpants feature the artist's favoured chequer pattern and some weighty-looking contents which will not see action until the fire has been put out. 

 

Art Bob - Evening Clean-Up

Art Bob captures the simplest of homoerotic torments here. A man watches his buddy as he unselfconsciously cleans his lower regions with flies gaping open, after a hard day's work on the farm. On one level, it's an image that simply expresses admiration for working men, but the artist has added other telling detail.

 

There's the discomforted look of the watcher and the bulge in his jeans. He delicately wipes (hides?) his face as if embarrassed. The water dripping from the bowl suggests an elevated level of erotic intensity, but the drip that seems to be falling from his friend's groin and running down his thigh creates the impression that he likes being watched and admired. It's plainly just an illusion.

 

Art Bob - Down on the Farm

This piece hardly needs the title, which seems like another commonplace, seemingly apt phrase chosen by the artist yet not quite matching what we see. I suppose the double entendre was too good to ignore. In any other context, we might imagine 'going down' is about to be enacted, but the astonishing involvement of the cow and cat diverts our thoughts into a very different direction. It seems incredibly daring but not entirely attractive. The idyllic scene outside seems like another world. 

 

The drawing of the figures is of a high standard, I particularly like the realistic gap at the back of the milker's jeans. Neat. Much of this artist's work suggests involvement with the world of fashion. 

 

Art Bob - Hero Worship

There's a tremendous energy in this picture caught by what seems like hasty sketching. The interlocking curves of the cowboy and his steed beautifully reflect their engagement and struggle, their determination to ride and not be ridden. Tom of Finland also tried to capture this 'man v beast' scenario in a intense sketch, which as far as I know, was never completed.

 

Both artists seem to have recognised a relationship to sexual power in man's attempts to control mighty beasts, which encompasses Bull Fighting as well as Rodeo riding. The rider's backward arching body communicates sexual appeal directly to us, and also to the onlooking cowboy in Art Bob's image above, as the intense shading of his groin implies. Unfortunately the reproduction process has faded his jeans to invisibility, which diminishes his contribution to the image. 

Forward thrusting groins like this figure regularly in this artist's work. There are some others, heavily disguised examples, in Part 2 of this article. I've added a more obvious one below, aptly named 'Horse Play', but it would be remiss to leave the subject of farms without mentioning one of Art Bob's best and most innocent of images.

 

 

Art Bob - Hay Antics

Two young men playfully grapple in the hayloft. It's a nostalgic musing on the truly innocent joys of youth in an idyllic environment, far from the pressures and sordid reality of town living. A scene recounted in many a tale of 'coming of age'.

 

The stalks of hay delicately held between the blond's fingers suggest he has provoked this 'attack' by tickling his buddy.  It's clearly a game his friend is happy to play and you can sense the mutual affection that underpins it. The characterisation of the two lads is at the realistic end of Art Bob's scale with no hint of boyish silliness or unmanly panic. This is the real thing. 

 

There's a pitchfork in the background which might be seen as signalling lurking erotic intent, danger even, but it's hard to see this picture as anything else but a spontaneous expression of friendship which might lead to a stolen kiss and the liberation of a deeper love between the two buddies.

 

Art Bob - Horse Play

This picture has similarities to the art of Spartacus and is not unrelated to the Hayloft image. It's innocent youthful fun on the surface, a study of males at play. Like the rodeo image previously it has a tremendous sense of movement and physical endeavour. The figures have a balance which seems to connect to the artist's interest in ballet which I noted in Part 2 of this article. 

There's balance too in the mirroring poses of the two 'carriers'. It results in the overlapping of their lower bodies, which are one side-step away from direct erotic contact. If the carriers are removed from the image altogether, the two remaining characters are aligned for an even more intimate engagement.

That hidden, erotic subtext derives an extra twist from the characterisations of the two 'teams' which are totally different. The two on the right look playful and innocent, their opposite numbers look older, more serious and distinctly calculating. One of the 'innocents' looks out to us soulfully, as if he's suddenly realised this contest is not what he thought it would be. A discovery no less dramatic than the one that the Hayloft wrestlers might be on the verge of making. 

 

Art Bob - Hang On Man, We’re Cutting Out!

In this image, the artist takes that encounter between innocence and experience further. The fantasy of bikers leading astray 'healthy', young men was a popular theme for gay artists around this time, notably explored by Etienne's Surfer and Bikers images in 'Road Kings' and also by Tom of Finland. 

 The rapid sketching technique seen in 'Rodeo' feeds the comedy here as well as the sense of movement and urgency. The artist hints more explicitly at the logical destiny of the arching body and thrusting pelvis, although it seems an improbable result in terms of the stereotyping of these particular two characters and the physical situation they are in. By intention or accident, the sketching has also created the (more predictable) impression that the pillion rider has a rocket up his backside. 

Unfortunately, in this image, virtually all the background detail is lost, save for a gesticulating arm far behind them, which perhaps implies these two have been up to some mischief.

 

Art Bob -2 a.m. Daddy

Many of Art Bob's images seem to reference heterosexual life, often to illustrate the peculiar attractiveness of straight men to gays and the rivalry between gay men and women for the hand of their beau. '2 a.m. Daddy', however, is a completely unvarnished and somewhat puzzling example of married life. 

I suppose we must view this scene in the context of an era when probably the majority of gay men chose to marry women in order to avoid persecution and live a 'normal' life. That decision was probably influenced in may cases by the relentless, popular characterisation of gay men as effeminate and degenerate. That wasn't how they viewed themselves, of course, but they knew no better.

Art Bob may be representing one such man, wondering how different his life might have been, what else he might have been getting up to at 2 o'clock in the morning. The depiction of the two children is an impressive example of the artist's capabilities as an illustrator.

Art Bob - The Hour Of Decision 

A straight outlook is more directly implied in this image, by the photo on top of the dresser and by the obvious desire of the man getting dressed to please his date, who seems to be the person in the photo and watching him. 

He has a voluptuous physique and there's an erotic, masculine kinkiness in the bow tie coupled with his nudity (somewhat clichéd and devalued to gays, these days, by commercial, heterosexual exploitation). The artist may be hinting at conflicting inner feelings by presenting him with a choice between conventional black and jazzy stripes. Does he mean a choice between being dull and straight and being a more imaginative gay? This was the double life led by many men.

The contrast between his overall nudity and chunky shoes and socks adds even more pungency to his simmering erotic appeal. In addition, the open drawer with its trailing tie, in matching stripes, note, suggests an inner excitement suggestive of his true orientation. Very clever.

 

Art Bob - That's Not Music! That's My Brother

According to the Physique Pictorial caption this is a phone call to his girlfriend, but I suppose we might imagine that's just his cover story. Otherwise, this is strictly neutral territory with no hint of anything more between these two men than commonplace, sibling rivalry and a weak play on a phrase that predates the Hollies 1969 hit 'He ain't heavy He's my brother' by over 50 years. 

The guy on the phone is appealing enough, with a physique, one of Art Bob's best, delicately detailed with light hair. Except for what we can see of his groin, that is. Notice the flecks of shaving foam on his pecs and belly, titillating us with the thought that this straight guy has an awareness of his body image which wasn't at all normal in the 1950s. His younger brother's dress with tight jeans and bare, muscular top suggests similar, promising traits! 

The 1950s retro decor, complete with cheese plant and 'moderne' lightshade is a delight.

  

Art Bob - Detour

Three images by Art Bob, which I have presented in the past, also feature heterosexual themes. In 'Detour' it injects that frustrating but irresistible allure of 'essence of straight' into a situation rife with homoerotic desire. (Follow the links in this section for more commentary).

 

Art Bob - We're Waiting

 

'We're Waiting', is a more comical play on conflicting desires in a mixed erotic triangle. It features strip poker and a secret gay who is one of that predatory breed who believe they will always get their man. Surprisingly often they did, annoyingly, but their chances were enhanced by the prevalence of men living double lives or in mistaken marriages. Nobody here cares about the woman's feelings.

 

Art Bob - Pick-Up

'Pick Up' gently mocks the artifice of women that suffer under a similar illusion, largely based on their self-presentation skills and female artifice, as represented by the dropped handkerchief (or knickers). It's a world I suspect Art Bob was very familiar with in his day job. In this case we can see it's pure delusion.

I have resorted to a magazine cover for this example, it's over-cropped at the sides but is the only copy I have which, for once, shows the background detail as it was meant to be seen. Note the philosophical comment in the magazine title on the bottom row.

~ 

Read this series from Part 1 

I am mulling a Part 4 for this series, watch this space!

Bareass Blogs No 90

BareAss Bridal Suite

 Go to Bareass No 91 

For other Bareass boys click on the label below 

or start reading at Bareass No 1 and follow the links

 

Milking Factory 26

Nickaloo - Milking Parlour 3

 Farmers looking for diversification opportunities have discovered the milking factory phenomenon.

The draining of young farm hands has long been an early morning ritual at many farms as a means of ensuring their sustained focus and productivity out in the fields. Until now, however, the produce has usually been discarded or used to fertilise vegetable plots. Now it has been realised that they have been throwing away a valuable product. 

 

Many farms have introduced hourly milking sessions for those hands who can manage it. The extraction process used to be done manually, often by the foreman, but marketing the product means quality must be impeccable and that requires mechanical drainage. With commercial draining equipment for men commanding prices comparable with dairy devices, many cash strapped farms have cleverly improvised designs of their own from old abandoned pumps and slurry machinery.  

 

 

Nickaloo - Milking Parlour 1

 

Such has been the success of this innovation that farms have been drawing in extra labour, unemployed youths from the surrounding villages, most of who are delighted to be paid for exercising their favourite vice. As are their mothers, tired of having them under their feet and discovering soggy laundry every morning. There's some kudos doing this job too as the farm milking sessions have become spectator sports for the other farm hands. This has unwittingly caused a different sort of productivity problem for the foreman, who has to chase them back to their work.

 

~

 

Nickaloo posts at DeviantArt

 

~ 

 

 This is Milking Factory No 26, go to Milking Factory 27 

(link pending)

 

Click on the 'Milking Factory' label below 

for all other posts on the subject at mitchmen blog

 

You can also start at Milking Factory No 1 and follow the links 

Click the 'milking' label for all posts with milking imagery.

The Art of Miloinvinculis

Miloinvinculis - Alien Hive

 I've been trailing a series of video clips by this artist in recent weeks (see Pirate Punishments). These show the (still developing) power of AI to create memorable, homoerotic film scenes which mainstream moviemakers dare not make, bringing niche gay fantasies to life, but without resorting to messy smut. This image is a good example, a still from a clip invoking the power of wetness and dripping 'substance', to underline the vulnerability of a chunky soldier who has somehow got himself stranded in an 'Alien Hive'. 

All the stills presented here come from clips, which you can view at the link given at the foot of this article. Most are quite brief, but add a bit extra to the story and often have a twist, right at the end. 

The old sixties film 'Mysterious Island' has a brief sequence in which a scantily clad cast-away is trapped by a giant bee in his honeycomb. Unlike the unfortunate above, he (a) is not tied up, (b) has a girl with him and (c) escapes almost immediately by melting the wax seal with a fire. Don't ask where he got the firewood and match from! Despite these shortcomings, I found that scene exciting (and frustrating!) when I stumbled on it. (I referenced this it previously here, in an article about the Art of Siproites, which features a giant scorpion chasing the hero into a similar, but botanical trap).   

The outcome of the 'Alien Hive' isn't specified by the artist (like all the best horror movies), 
but escape doesn't seem to be on the agenda.

 

Miloinvinculis - Bed Bondage 3

 Men tied to beds and struggling to escape are not an uncommon sight in our corner of the gay universe. AI to date has shown very limited power to depict bondage convincingly or capture the struggling effect. The spread eagle position is less of a challenge, but what the artist has done here is to provide a hunky subject and a stimulating, secondary predicament for him, wide open before a door, which is going to open at some point. To admit his captor, perhaps, who has been away, getting rid of a nosy cop. Home Alone should have been more like this! 

 

 

Nice Mistake (Video clip)

 

There's definitely a 'Home Alone' feel about this man's situation. His night visitor is so excited about the opportunity thrown up by his 'nice mistake', that he seems to overlook the logistical obstacles to taking full advantage of it. But, who can blame him for his over-eagerness? Fortunately, it appears that his hunky prey is too intimidated by his villainous appearance and aggression to offer any serious resistance. 

 

(Subscribers to the 'Follow Me' feed must vist the site to see the video content of this article, I'm afraid) 

 

 

Miloinvinculis - Caleb

'Caleb' is one of this artist's longer clips. We see him tied up in a van on his way to an uncertain fate. There's a lengthy bondage struggle in which the captive's body twists and turns, showing his heaving chest and the undulations and distortions of his muscles to great erotic effect. It's more effective in that respect than most of the real life bondage clips I've seen, where the models (understandably) usually lack any desire to escape, let alone the self awareness and flamboyance to act out a genuine escape attempt. Caleb's struggle is brought to an abrupt end when his captor returns with a taser (above), but it's fascinating and sexy while it lasts.

 

Miloinvinculis - At The Stake

 This is a great bondage image, with the neck restraint a fitting humiliation for such a big man. I won't go into the exact nature of his predicament, but there's a clue in the background. The resulting video clip is amazing, but graphic, so be warned.

 

Miloinvinculis - Captured POW's

The strength of this piece is the subtle plot development that happens in your mind as you look at it. The two, hyper-real hunks grab the eye immediately, men with faces, muscles and body hair to die for. Their dog tags and hands on their heads indicate they are POW's, but the handcuffs suggest that they are rather special prisoners. We can see that for ourselves, of course. 

 

There's something exciting about two buddies, who are in captivity together. Their identical underwear (sober black but pleasingly scanty) amplifies that sensation. Are their garments Government issue - or have they been provided by their captors, having relieved them of their uniforms?

Whichever the case, they are not soldiers any more. Just a names and numbers. 

These boys seem to be sitting on a mattress, not quite big enough to be a bed. Then you realise that the mattress is inside a metal box, and they are sitting on the front edge. The box is just big enough to accommodate them both, if not in comfort exactly. Their facial expressions suggest they have just discovered they are about to be sealed inside it. Prime specimens about to be transported to ......
Well, you can decide that!  

There is a video clip for this piece, but it doesn't add an awful lot to the snapshot.

 

Miloinvinculis - Bull Barn Milking 2

Industrial Milking is a popular topic at this blog, and 'Milo' makes an interesting contribution to the imagery of the technology with this piece. The exact mechanics of extraction look a bit sketchy, though. One senses this is more a prank on the side than part of a serious industrial enterprise. 

One man doesn't make a milking factory, no matter how productive he appears to be!

 

 

Miloinvinculis - Bull Barn Milking1

In this gentleman's case, the picture cropping draws a veil over the extraction mechanism, but you get the impression that it's more push than pull - unless there's some very clever gadgetry inside his trunks! That would account for his strained expression, of course. 

Nevertheless, these two donors would be more than acceptable recruits to the factory line. I could see this man's torso getting a good deal of personal attention from the staff. 

Such is the fate of 'Mark' in the next video mini clip....

 

Mark 1 Extra (video clip)
 

In the clip above, the very muscular Mark is seen struggling with his restraints until one of his minders descends on him and distracts him by proceeding to worship his pulsating body. The characterisation of the captor for me is worth the watch, with mighty shoulders and giant arm muscles, he's bursting out of his tight, white vest/tank top (see below).

 

 

bod

Mark's Body is Worshipped

Mark also has a starring role in a longer, mini-epic (9 mins) with similar imagery, but darker content. It's a tougher watch, but the outcome has a surprise twist that's worth waiting for. 

 

Miloinvinculis - Electro 5

This handsome pair of hunks get starring roles in one of Milo's most ambitious projects to date. Their predicament is a great 'getting to know you' situation - even for military buddies. There's a lengthy clip which shows them torn between attempts to pull apart and lapses into mutual consolation. Their grim dance is conducted with visibly indrawn breaths, heaving chests, aborted kisses and (occasionally) pulsating briefs before a sort of consummation is finally realised. 

However, the dark side to this artist's work surfaces when it turns out that the buddies romancing is just one aspect to their predicament, as implied by the title and, less obviously, by the metallic briefs they are dressed in. Separate clips show them being interrupted every time they show desire, with graphic electrical effects, body convulsions and even their bulges making responses.

 

 The 'US Water Sports Team' video (above) is one of my favourites, a little gem with lurking menace. It makes a decent stab (by AI standards) at showing a swimmer being tied up. That's a process that conventional films usually pass over entirely or else show in excruciating detail, fumbles and all. 

 

Creating an AI image or video doesn't involve actors, but the AI engine can be just as much of a diva, with ideas and boundaries of its own that can only be circumvented by patient repetition or trickery. 

 ~

For more, visit Miloinvinculis at Deviant Art

See also my posts - Staked out 

 the Sailor Punishment series and  

The Strange Disappearance of Patrol 27 

all here at mitchmen 

AI Art by hongd542 - Part 3

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Meet The Spartans by Moosemind (AI)

A collection of images by Moosemind with a Roman/Greek/Spartan theme.
I have strung them together with a narrative of my own that is pure mitchmen.
It tells the untrue story of the renowned Spartan Army. 

The Shaming of the Spartans

1

In Sparta, lovers are parting,

 

"Farewell, my love, the Army is assembled.

Today I must march on Throbos*".

 

*A city about 10 leagues from Troy, it was reputed to be the home 

of some of the greatest treasures of the Trojan Empire. 

With an equally renowned, lively nightlife. 

 

 

2

The Army departed from Sparta to the accompaniment of fireworks and celebrations.

Proudly, they bared their weaponry in the traditional way, for which the city was famed. 

 

2

 

The Spartan army stopped off in Homos on the way, to replenish their provisions.

There, the second in command was interrupted, while pillaging one of the locals.

 

"Sire, you must come quickly! 

The Throbbers have sent emissaries!"

 

The General was informed and hastily made himself decent to receive the delegation,

but he was mindful that all Trojans would be still be seething 

from the humiliation they had recently suffered at the hands of other Greeks.

'It will take more than a Trojan Horse to catch me out', he resolved.

 

 

2

Wary of such trickery, the Spartans took no chances with the Ambassador,

They stripped him naked and tied him hands and feet.

 

"Sire, we have come in peace, our only desire is to serve you", he protested.

It was true, he had not come bearing gifts. Instead, his gifts were bared.

 

The General was impressed by the hunky Ambassador.

And turned on by his submissiveness in bondage

He sent him to his personal tent for a private meeting of minds.

 

 

A more relaxed atmosphere spread through the camp.

The emissaries were soon mingling with the ordinary soldiers

and quickly made many friends with their openness.

 "See, I bring a peace offering, for anyone that wants it"

 

 

That evening, to the dismay of sceptics amongst the Spartan officers,

the emissaries produced multiple emissions throughout the camp.

Including groans from the luxurious Commander's quarters.

 

 

The commanders were rudely wakened the next morning by an Aide de Camp.

 

"Infamy General! It's infamy!" he declared, (camply, as custom dictated).

"The Trojan emissaries have infiltrated the entire army during the night,

and they have stolen all our clothes and weapons!

All I have left is my dagger, which I always keep well hidden".

 

"I fear, I too was infiltrated last night", the Officer replied, 

"It was my first time, and it was bloody brilliant!".

 

"I’ll tell the General, But without our weapons, we cannot go on. 

Sound the withdrawal! Everyone withdraw!"

 

 

And so the long march home of the demoralised Army began. 

It was embarrassing returning naked through the same villages that had feted them.

But, unhindered by possessions or clothes, they made good progress. 

 

Their officers rallied their men and kept them going.

"Courage lads! Once we're through the next pass, we'll be safe!

I'll buy you all a beer, when we're back in Sparta"! 

But the Throbbers had taken a shortcut and reached the pass before them.

 It was no good, they were trapped.

 

 

And so the proud Spartan army, in its entirety,

passed into captivity without a blow being struck.

300 blow jobs had brought 'The 300' to their knees.

 

 

 

They entered Throbos, not as conquerors, 

but as humbled, angry prisoners.

 

 

 

The Spartan General voluntarily offered himself to the King of Throbos,

hoping to spare his men the worst of the Throbbers' revenge.

He was taken to the city square and punished severely, like a common criminal.

 

 

Other Officers had also bravely identified themselves

A few with impressive-looking credentials were picked out by the King personally.

To be held in his personal household as hostages and for ransom.

He made them pay a humiliating price for their mistake. Nightly.

 

The rest shared the fate of the ordinary soldiers..... 

 

"Citizens of Throbos! Behold the proud sons of Sparta!"

 

"Three hundred of them dared to challenge us, but confronted by real men,  

they meekly surrendered without a fight, without a stitch on.

We, in Throbos, do not make prisoners of cowardly hooligans like these.

To pay for their pillaging, they must be sold to the highest bidders.

Citizens! Get out your purses! "

 

 

The captive, young Spartan soldiers were horrified.

"They can't do this to us, Sir, can they?" they pleaded with their Sergeant,

"We didn't do any pillaging, well, not much anyway".

 

"I'm afraid they can" the wise old hand told them.

"There's a convention on the treatment of Prisoners of War,

but we don't count as POWs, because we didn't even have weapons.

Legally, we're just tourists, an anti-social gang of foreign louts".

 

The once proud fighters, realised they had no choice.

Engulfed with shame, they hung their heads, 

It was an agreeable gesture to on-lookers, who increased their bids.

 

One by one, they went under the hammer

 and were led away by new masters. 

 

Sold into slavery, the Spartan boys were dispersed far and wide.

 

In Egypt :- "I am bored with this Spartan vassal, bring me my whip!"

 

 

 

In Rome:- "Get up, dog!"

 

"Tonight you will serve me in my bedchamber

and, by Jupiter, you will regret your insolence!"

 

 

In Britannia, a young conscript, toiled in the fields, 

still naked as he had been the day he was captured.

Far from home, parted from his lover,

his only rest and solace was a nightly dose of the farmer's lust.

 

~

 

Such was the disgrace of the Spartan Army, defeated by deception.

Not by a Trojan horse, but by a crack squad of Trojan whores. 

See also: Roman Prisoners of war by 'Gay-Roman-Fantasy'

 

More Moosemind and link next time