The Art of Kamui Jack

You'll find the work of this artist under the name Kamui, Kamui-Jack or simply Jack

Jack - Cops and Robbers (?) 2002

This is probably one of his best known images, a tantalising view of an arrest scenario which as far as I know has no follow-up image, so we can only speculate what the Cops reaction is to the arousal of his captive rogue (or is he detaining a cruising, gay man?). The two men seem to be pushing against each other here, creating an 'A'-shape that is visually pleasing and also gives the scene an element of tension. He conjures up a mean look for the cop which reminds me of the work of Les Farnak, but his metro-sexual captive is a lot more attuned to modern tastes.

Kamui - Slut Games 4 (2010)

Generally Kamui's pictures are joyous celebrations of man-sex and this is a rather splendid example. It's an appropriate post-script to the heaving struggles of the men engaged in the Rugby World Cup, which has just concluded. It's part of a series, rather unattractively named 'Slut Games'. The artist actually depicted it as a soccer match (round ball!) originally, but I think the chunky physiques and blunt physicality are a natural fit for Rugby players. It's what they do!

From the team colours, it looks as if Wales are shafting England - obviously we are talking fantasy here! Notice how the legs of the two rutting sportsmen create a frame for this composition, appropriately enough it's not unlike the H shape of the goal in Rugby (or American Football). It gives their coupling a sense of solidity and of the top bearing down on the bottom.

Jack - Hooded Jailors (2001)

 Although he often depicts hard-looking men, Kamui doesn't usually venture far into the dark realms of fetish. At first sight these chunky chains and medieval executioner's hoods suggest this might be a seriously S&M work, but on closer inspection you see it's just kinky sex, with no real overtones of domination or pain. Nevertheless it is a striking composition with a satisfying simplicity and balance.  In this picture the participants form a more distinct 'H' shape but this time the sense of stability and balance it creates seems to impart immobility too, depriving the image of it's essential energy.

Jack: The Black Missa - Drake vs Demon Lust

The bondage element in this image is equally understated and appears to require a magical dimension if it is to be effective. The submissive posture of the captive works much better here and the artist underlines his plight by showing the devil towering over him and even tilting the platform against him. You have to buy into the fantasy to fully encompass the full possibilities of the power being  brandished here.

There's a good deal of fantasy and games imagery in Kamui's work, but I haven't included much of it in this review, check out the links below for more. I don't usually go for fantasy characters at all, but make an exception for 'Drake' with his spiky hair-do and aerodynamic ears. Kamui's rendering of the devil here is also refreshingly and attractively human. Hairy legs like his could become a fashion!

This is another picture with an interesting and thoughtful composition. It's broadly defined by the arching sweep of the Devil's wings which seem about to engulf the helpless Drake, who despite his muscularity seems puny and exceedingly vulnerable. That shape is echoed in the misty, Gothic arches overhead, which in our culture often symbolise the battleground between good and evil, the real world and the magical 'beyond'. Indeed bright light pours down on the scene from a window above, but the Devil's wings prevent it from reaching Drake, casting him into the shadows. At the same time this image suggests that it's Drake and the Devil who are truly in the 'real world', placed on top of a very substantial looking rock while everything else around them is vague and insubstantial.

The title of the piece explains all, we're talking temptation and lust here not S&M. This handsome devil does not force himself on his captive but seduces him into his supposedly 'wicked' ways. The realisation of the concept by Kamui is very impressive. Notice that Drake is unaroused at this point but hopefully the next frame will see him liberated from the chains of sexual repression.

Jack - Ben's Victim_07 (2010)

Domination and submission are also much in evidence here despite the over-riding sexual thrust (as it were). The title of this series hints at things we don't talk about too much in this day and age but the rest of the collection covers an eclectic mix of stereotypes most of whom look more eager to be on the back seat of Ben's car than 'Oak Tree' does above.

He's probably just realised that Ben's reached the end of his attention span.

Jack - Cock Rider (2001)

Jack also does a nice line in more conventional, figurative art. This picture looks as if it might have been adapted from a Paul Freeman 'Outback' image. The credit for the pose and dress may be mostly his, but the addition of an erection jutting out from the strong diagonal trunk-line, like a thorn on a rose stem, is both erotic and rather clever. I'm just waiting for a man to come along and use that rope to tie this sleepy hunk's wrists and feet together behind the tree, so he can feast on the rose hip.
 

Jack - Hank Murphy

I don't know who Hank Murphy is but this image speaks for itself as pure, beefcake temptation.
There's a sequel (see links below) in which the spectacular contents of his jeans pop out,
 but I prefer the focus here on his muscular torso with trimmed pubes
and the hairy grow-back (the delicious corollary of shaving) in evidence higher up.

Jack - Hitchhiker after 2 hours (2010)

This image has the same simple appeal with the added bonus of white underwear straining to contain said assets. The yellow sign is none too subtle, but the overall scenario of roadside roulette (will your number come up?) is full of possibilities for both adventure and danger,enough to stoke anybody's erotic imagination. This is the middle picture of a sequence of three, showing progressive disrobement as frustration takes hold (see links again)

Kamui Jack - Boo! (Halloween, 2010)

Another nice, simple picture with a gentle humour that seems to add an attractive personality to complement this man's already desirable body. The sheet plays a similar role to the Devil's wings in the 'Drake' picture above and plays on the same theme of seduction and capture and yet the sense of attraction is utterly different. It's a matter of personality which you prefer.

Kamui Jack - First Encounter: Chris Redfield vs Sting Ray (2011)

Remember Chris Redfield? The hunky, 'good guy', Special Agent forever falling foul of lustful creatures from another dimension. I always felt his most attractive attribute was his ability to burst his pectoral muscles out of his T-Shirts and this is one of the best depictions of it I have seen.

I don't suppose I need to comment on the phallic dimensions of this blue beast, which seems to have a genetic kinship with the traditional deities of South East Asia. Chris seems oblivious to it's awesome size and obvious power - and to the confinement threat of the containers in the background - instead striking a gung-ho pose for us. Cocky or what? Kamui plays down the usual tentacles theme giving them a logical source as a Medusa-like hair-do, but confining them to a supporting role, waving in the background.

This is one of the most polished images in this selection replete with fascinating and erotic detail. It doesn't quite have the intensity of feeling or character interaction evident in the first few images of this post - but I admit to ignorance of the unspoken forces associated with these scenes.

Kamui Jack - Lost in the Jungle

Part of a series of illustrations for a story. I picked this firstly because I like this 'Ranger' variation of Kamui's usual beefy stud. The jungle setting with it's mysterious inhabitants and unknown dangers also has it's appeal and this one hints at more specific experiences in store for the lost explorer - and he seems to be thrilled by the prospect. Yes it's an unreal sterotype, but there always an erotic tingle when we meet men who are fundamentally different to us and that's what this is all about.

Kamui Jack - Steel Inside Me (2011)

From a story in which friends, Wolverine and Colossus, get to know each other better.
The Steel bit gives this essentially sex scenario a bit of a harder edge and the series as a whole has some memorable images including the one above in which Kamui's talent for strikingly simple compositions shows itself again, this time in the evocative forked shape of a letter Y.
Great Stuff!

You will have noticed that none of these pictures is very recent. I do not know if Kamui is still actively producing art but he has a Tumblr blog which doesn't seem to have recent entries and quotes a link to a Y-gallery site which is unreachable. There are decent collections at Daddy's here and My Reading Manga

Asian Adonis

Actor He Wei

 In this post, a selection of images and extracts from a remarkable pair of films by director Scud, both starring Adonis HeWei (seen above). 'Utopians' charts a young man's sexual liberation and '30 years of Adonis' is the unconnected story of the rise and fall of a fading actor turned gigolo. The thoughtful musings on maleness are shot in an arty way with confusing flashbacks and dream sequences but they are also sexy and homo-erotic and both finish with a flourish of fetish.
.

This first image is from the opening scene of 'Utopians' which depicts a party of young men enjoying an idyllic swimming party on a boat. These are not porn films, but they feature nudity and are frankly sexual and very homoerotic. This moment where He Wei dives into the depths leaving his friends behind, symbolises him beginning the exploration of his sexuality. He Wei's guitar tattoo (visible here) plays a key part in the closing scene of the diptych.



There is plenty of sex and nudity, but although it's explicit, it's not shot in the manner of porn films and it's much more focussed on striking imagery than the mechanics of sex. The hero has an affair with a professor at his college who just happens to live in a flat with a spectacular view.



(and a dizzying infinity pool).

with a splendid view!




 This film has an unexpected conclusion when the young man's exploration of his sexuality eventually reaches the world of fetish and he submits to the whims of a woman and a man while tied to a cross.
This scene ultimately welds the two separate films together.

See the scene here:- Utopians by Scud
(please let me know if this link stops working by posting a comment)

In '30 years of Adonis' He Wei plays an actor/dancer whose career is not progressing.
Frustrated by his setbacks he decides to supplement his income by becoming a gigolo

Scud has been criticised in some quarters for producing a porn film. I suppose you might call this gratuitous nudity and it's amazingly erotic, but it's not porn and not entirely irrelevant to the context of  a failing career either - think of 'the emperor's clothes'.



The film features beautiful dream sequences which are puzzling in their detail
but obviously intended to represent explorations and new experiences.

Here, He Wei meets a notorious gangster played by Eric East
(who is a Japanese porn star, but doesn't display those skills in this film)

He recruits the inexperienced gigolo to provide sexual services for a mass orgy.

He and other sex-workers are repeatedly used by priveledged clients
in a highly stylised, pseudo-crucifixion sequence
which visually resembles the forest dreamscape seen above

There are some brutal moments in this scene, underlining the one-sided exploitation.
The gigolo doesn't even get paid for it, but he gets his revenge later



He humiliates the gangster in a fleeting but memorable scene
showing him suspended naked under a cold waterfall.

Needless to say, the gangster is very displeased by this treatment.

The gigolo later finds a path to romance and happiness in the conventional world
including a striking scene shot on an elevated platform symbolising idyllic isolation
from the cares of the world.

Life isn't like that for long of course, he resumes his acting career without success
and is eventually persuaded to return to sex work.

The job turns out to be a rerun of the red crucifixion scene.....

......with a different customer who recognises the young man's guitar tattoo.

This closing fetish scene forges an indelible connection between the two films, shot in an almost indentical way but with a chillingly different outcome the second time around 

(which is sign-posted but not shown explicitly, leaving you to imagine).

 Trailer:- 30 years of Adonis by Scud

These films are baffling but beautiful at first sight and the links and meaning only become (more) apparent in hindsight. It helps if you watch with someone else and can discuss it afterwards.

You can enjoy them anyway for their sexual frankness and surprise use of a fetish theme in a believable, real world situation, dramatising the emotions of submission and helplessness .

Scud talks about his films

Bareass Blogs No 39

Bareass Broad-shouldered Business Type

(image courtesy of Green Owl Photography)

Go to bareass No 40

 View Bareass series from No 1

Bareass Blogs No 38

Bareass Barrista on his Break

~

Go to No 39

 View Bareass series from No 1

Bareass Blogs No 37

Bareass Bedside Manner
(Bad Behaviour in the Beauty Parlour)

~

Go to No 38
  or

 View Bareass series from No 1

First Catch Your Rogue - 18 The Eccentric Professor

Mark - I've Changed My Mind

The boys heard about the story in an interview on the radio.

The Professor of History at the University, described as bookish, eccentric and absent minded,

had just found out that he was the owner of a valuable painting by Canaletto

The boys thought Canaletto was a kind of ice cream, but they knew what a fast buck was.

They just had to break his window at night and snatch the valuable painting off the wall 

They'd be able to sell it on at the Car Boot sale, before he was even up in the morning.

Unfortunately the boys didn't listen right through to the end of the interview

If they had, they'd have heard that he wasn't your average Professor of History.

He'd been a martial arts champion in the army and was still a part-time cage fighter.

His eccentricities included weight training in his basement at night, to combat insomnia.

It wasn't really the boy's fault that they got caught.
There was no alarm on the building and they didn't make a lot of noise getting in.
The radio report had even told them exactly where the painting was hung.
The weight room  was very well insulated, you couldn't hear - or be heard in there.

But it chanced in the middle of his workout, that the Professor remembered
that he needed to check a reference in the library for his lecture in the morning.

The boys were quite shocked to be confronted by a muscular man in his underpants.
They were even more surprised how he took control of the situation and of them,
using a confident, assertive manner, honed on years of taming wild students.

He made them feel mistaken not bad, just deprived of proper rearing and guidance.
He said it didn't feel right to call in the Police and unleash the power of the courts,
when a little friendly instruction might set them on the road to more fulfilling lives.

Later the boys couldn't remember quite how he persuaded them to take off their clothes
There was something about discarding preconceptions, becoming equals, man to man.
They thought preconceptions was about too many beers before sex with the girlfriend.

He said he would not turn them in but show them something special instead.
and once they were nearly naked it wasn't that easy to just turn and leave,
or to back out of the agreement which it seemed they had made without realising it.

Persuaded and intimidated by their mentor's strength and personal skills
the boys felt their best course, their only course, was to bend
and receive the traditional rebuke for youthful mistakes.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Photo-manip by 'Mark' at Jockspank

For other 'rogues' click on the label below

The Art of TooBoShoo

TooBoShoo - Discipline

This unusual image showing a bondage milking scene is drawn in the traditional Japanese manner but it's actually by a Chinese artist who calls himself TooBoShoo. (*see my footnote on names). The idea of tying a man up and relieving him of his semen pretty much sums up the bondage fetish but the ritualistic manner of the bondage here and presence of a priestly milker with respectful acolyte introduces mystical and slightly menacing overtones. 

The meaning of the title is not obvious, perhaps it's suggesting that the captive is also a member of the religious order, who has fallen from grace. He has a notably chunky build, however, which makes me wonder if he's a local villager, the blacksmith perhaps, or a passing traveller who has been detained to confess his sins! Presumably the fruit of his loins is destined for some sort of communion ceremony.

You can speculate about the technique they have used to elevate their helpless subject, is it the rope harness hitched to the tree or a devious utilisation of one of those sawn-off branch stubs we can see further up? Restraining both his arms and his legs behind the tree trunk accentuates his helplessness and also his vulnerability by opening up the front of his body. You can see the humiliation and dismay in his face.

TooBoShoo - Milk Tech

There's a similar theme here given a sci-fi twist. Despite the absence of any sort of exposed flesh there's an interesting erotic contrast between the burly donor and the clean-shaven, salivating milkman. It focuses attention on the mechanics of the ceremony and the control situation which is going on here, one that is rather more subtle than the previous example. As before the provider is restrained in an elevated position but he also is wearing a face mask. We do not know whether the mask provides a supply of performance enhancing gas or whether it is intended as a kind of breathing control device (with similar aims). 

There's a neatness and completeness about this composition which is very pleasing. If you visit the link given below you will find more explicit variations of this theme but they feature fantasy furry human/animals which aren't my bag but the erotics are worth a look.

 

TooBoShoo - Fighting

There's a touch of the fantastic in this image too with sci-fi buildings, mysterious forces in evidence and an assailant wearing barbarian, S&M-style accessories. The man he is groping though is very human and down to earth indeed, a workman type of character with muscle-masculine credentials. Those qualities makes his reduction to being another man's plaything doubly erotic.

I'm sure many of my readers will love the milking technique, jerking off inside the underwear resulting in cum-sodden material which is going to give this man an awkward and uncomfortable aftermath to deal with. Others, like him, may squirm at this earthiness. I can't say I have seen this situation depicted before, modern computer graphics can capture the translucent, wet underwear very well. Once again there's a compelling simplicity about this image.

 

TooBoShoo - Wrestling

TooBoShoo also takes his interest in men milking men into the wrestling arena, he calls it cum wrestling and it's a sport that he's made many images of. You will gather from the referee's pose in this scene, that ejaculation constitutes either a foul or a defeat. Either way, it's obviously a great embarrassment. 

There's a really good expression of energy and strength in the two wrestlers combat. I particularly like the hooked foot ploy which is preventing a defensive closing of the legs. There's potentially an even more dramatic picture if you imagine the other legs entangled in the same way and the two men toppling forward at the moment of climax. There's also some interesting portrayals in the supporting cast, who are watching around the mat. A clue to this artist's wider skills which we will see below. 

TooBoShoo - Commission

 That dynamic sense of brute forces colliding is even more evident here, supplemented by the proverbial brick wall in an image of two husky rugby players tackling each other. Even without the sexual element, this is a powerful and striking impression of a tough sport. The rugby scenario is a natural one for this artist's chunky characters and as a fan of rugby players myself, the conjunction of  shorts and muscular thighs is a delight. With the Rugby World Cup presently in progress in Japan it's also an highly appropriate image for me to include.

TooBoShoo - Santa 2018

 I know, I know it's not even Halloween yet! 

I don't usually 'do' Christmas anyway in this blog but this image is worth including in it's own right. It's has similar qualities to the previous ones, lauding masculine strength and power with a more than usually fit Santa dragging his heavy sleigh up a steep slope though deep snow. You can feel his pain! By some good fortune, the mishap that deprived him of his reindeer also destroyed most of his usual, camp, fur-trimmed outfit leaving him with just a pair of sexy, tattered, ass-clinging shorts and a bobble cap. There's some interesting presents on his sleigh if you look and the Disney-esque snowy trees are brilliant.

TooBoShoo - Christmas Eve

This depiction of Christmas is quite different and invokes some of the sentiment of Christmas domestics and home-comings in Hollywood movies like 'It's a Wonderful Life'. One of these men has been working as a Santa and it's a modest apartment, so you sense they are not wealthy. Though they are engrossed in their own mundane tasks there's a great sense of togetherness, calm and warmth as they prepare for the holiday ahead, one made extra special by the snow falling outside.  A marvellously understated expression of gay kinship and love, it's quite, quite beautiful.

TooBoShoo - 360 (degrees) Click to expand

You should be getting a sense of this artist's remarkable skills by now and this image extends it even further. At first sight it seems like some sort of medical facility but closer inspection shows that the patients are in fact restrained by chains and ropes and there's an ominous wheel on the side of one of the tables. It's mildly erotic with a particularly interesting bare top muscleman attending to the naked client on the right.

Some of the attendants here are clad in modern protective clothing, others look as if they have stepped out of a medieval pageant. Even Death seems to be here, stalking in the far background. The curious inversion of perspective creates an impression that this pseudo-medical torture chamber is a miniature world to it's inhabitants and the light of freedom and life is far away down a narrow passageway.

Whilst this artist often depicts fantastical scenes, the grey scale colouring and sombre atmosphere here communicates a more serious intent, I believe. A message that oppression never changes and it's suffocating. I'm not knowledgeable enough to truly understand how this applies to China, but I know artistic freedom there is at best a fragile one, I think it's also true of gay freedom, although ancient China was tolerant. You might like to revisit the 'Christmas Eve' picture in the light of this. Even if I don't fully understand it, credit to the artist for making his statement. Like the Russian artist Bubentkov I featured last year TooBoShoo deserves our moral support.

TooBoShoo - Kang

 It's hard to tell if this is playful, sexual frolicking or something more serious, ambiguity seems to be the continuing theme of this artists work. The mischievous cat outside and lucky cat toy inside don't help very much. The title seems to simply refer to a platform bed used in China.

It does look though as if this man is being beaten and the vegetable dildo is derogatory in intent. The implement on the right may be part of his punishment. I haven't a clue about the red rope, although internet searches throw up exotic, erotic connections.

There's a distinctive local flavour in the styling of this piece, the patterns of the bed and windows
 and the objects scattered around.

TooBoShoo - Stop You Jerk

Lastly, another great, but less serious image. I love the physique of this hunky patient (dressed only in his ankle tag!) but it's his energetic resistance that makes the image so memorable, while Doctor's calm domination is also beautifully depicted. The close-up framing gives extra emphasis to the mini-drama going on on the table, it adds sensual intimacy to the erotic message (contrast with the lesser impact of 'Kanga' above)

Literally translated by Google, the artists inscription for this picture is 
"Stop, you are a jerk, shy face
When this shameful line was shot, the face was red. . . Ah ah ah ah ah"
 I don't think that covers the speech bubble words, but you probably get the picture!.


*Note on naming and language - Google translates this artist's Chinese character name (吐蕃叔)

  rather unpromisingly as 'Uncle Tubo' and you will see the name TooBoShoo on some of his drawings (or simply TB sometimes stylised like '7b'). I have also seen the name 'TangBingLa' associated with his pictures (e.g. 'Christmas Eve' above). Google interprets it as a Chinese phrase but translates it bafflingly as 'Sugar Cake'. The artist sometimes provides English titles, sometimes Chinese ones, but the translations are frequently no less ambiguous!

TooBoShoo posts his art on the Japanese site 'pixiv', 

see more at Tangbingla@pixiv (you need to register but it's free)

You can find his weibo address there but you'll need to be a user to access it.