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Captivated
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This artist is new to me, although this image dates from as far back as 2011. It's a portrayal of bondage that is both academic in quality and erotic. Despite the rather quaint title and painterly style there's no lack of sensuality in the skin tones and shading, the pose speaks for itself.
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Blue Socks
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Ah yes, blue socks. But this proudly submissive pose seems to be the opening of a weighty bondage scene to be performed as a formal rite, one comparable with the bestowal of honours at the Palace. The supplicant offers up his own rope and considering this is presented in the style of a respectable painting, it's nice to see that he's sporting an eye catching degree of excitement in his pants as well.
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Trussed
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This image makes you twist your head in puzzlement and my first reaction was that his hands aren't tied. But if you think about it, this is quite an effective restraint as it stands provided the captive is prevented from accessing the knot. All the more so if the feet-in-the-air position is imposed on him. He looks quite a youthful man and has a impressive muscular thighs which are showcased by the pose.
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Wednesday
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The arty approach and frivolous title of this piece allows the artist to dally with a much more weighty matter. The darkly-wooded background is a powerful piece of design that imparts an atmosphere suggestive of black thoughts and isolation, but the subject himself is cast in warm colours of optimism, a state reflected also in his hopeful upward-looking pose. The unconventional noose is alarming at first, but then resolves into something like the halter tethering a slave or captive, rather than an instrument of self-destruction.
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Lock Down
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This image depicts captivities of a different, more tangible kind, the twin restraints of imprisonment and the rules that govern prisoner behaviour, which these two have been caught on the brink of transgressing. The title pre-dates the current era of 'the virus' but that connection now reinforces the sense of a dangerous environment and unfathomable governmental rules.
The foil-wrapped evidence of the prisoners intentions makes a clever contrast with the packets of 'substances' that are the normal currency of illicit prison transactions. Their half-shed prison overalls and matching institutional jock-straps symbolise the prisoners attempt to free and express their inner sexuality, but now leave them exposed as misfits, subject to the disapproval and discipline of the authorities.
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| Isolation |
There's similar issues of isolation and suppressed self in this picture. This man is not a prisoner, but he might as well be as he gazes out of his grey cell at the blue skies beyond. The lowered shorts, suggestive of secret, sexual yearnings, resemble those of boxer with their characteristic, triple waistband. They reveal a matching, chunky bottom, but that conventional portayal of manliness is offset by (barely noticeable) delicate fingers that could almost be feminine, creating an unexpected, tantalising connection with the silky fabric of the shorts.
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Adjusting the Jock
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There's desirable manliness a-plenty in this image with no confusing identity ambiguities - unless the slightly unusual choice of underwear prompts your suspicions! The upward-looking viewpoint, like that in the opening image, is supremely erotic but in the context of this private moment of adjustment, it seems relegates us to the role of Peeping Tom outsiders. however, it might equally be the wistful observation of the departure ritual being performed by last night's particularly memorable hook-up.
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Tackle
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There's more than a hint of Peeping Tom about this image too which transforms one of those blurry, snatched photographs of accidental, rugby debaggings into a feast of heaving maleness. Delicious!
The double-entrendre potential of the title is left to our imaginations.
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Coming Out
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This image features another classic, clandestine moment of sporting erotica. You don't have to be a Lycra fan to relish the sight of a swimmer's rounded buttocks being hoisted out of the pool with water cascading from them and conferring an alluring sheen to his tight-fitting trunks. For others it may be sight of gleaming, upper-body muscles, heaving with effort, that excites. This image captures both, you don't have to choose. The title is a reference to Tom Daley, the Champion diver.
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Blue Shadow
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A similar furtive, fleeting joy is celebrated here, that brief glimpse of unwittingly-exposed torso as a man stretches lazily upwards. This unguarded moment is supplemented for good measure by an unobstructed view of his traditionally styled, white underpants. This is an intimate garment normally intended to be worn but not seen and the artist has made the most of the moment, drawing out it's erotic potential by showing a revealingly moulded, protruding pouch. That's a sign that he's had them on for some time infusing them with his bodily warmth and moisture. The shaping is emphasised by stretch creases on either side and crowned with a tuft of pubic hair.
The 'shadow' in this picture is actually a mirror image. It adds artistic substance but I could not hazard a guess at what, if anything, it might signify.
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Red Shadow
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This image shows yet another example of sporting apparel with significant, sexy capabilities, the leotard. The presentation is relatively subdued, limited to nice body shaping in all the right places with the athlete adopting a formal, closed pose and letting his garment speak for itself.
This shadow too is a mirror image, well almost. It is perhaps a little more provocative. Possibly that's intended to draw out the strange vulnerability that this garment imparts to it's wearer, a sense of inviting 'touch-ability' that the arms folded safely out of the way seem to grant permission to investigate.
I can't see any thematic connection with the preceding image beyond the obvious visual linkage.
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'Joe'
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This drawing expresses furtiveness and self-expression of a more familiar kind in what looks like the traditional setting of a men's toilet. This relatively prosaic image illustrates rather well the inwardly directed nature of much of men's yearnings which forms a puzzling contrast with the outwardly directed 'lusting from afar' and the need to expose oneself which most of these images directly address. It's a peculiarity of the male psyche shared by gays and straights alike, much derided by women but seemingly inexplicable.
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The Plumber
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(I can almost hear Claudia Winkleman enunciating that title in the same downbeat tone she uses to announce 'The Judges' on 'Strictly')
If urinal (tearoom) art is a valid genre of gay art (which I suppose it ought to be) this image is a good representative. On the surface there's some thematic similarity to
Philip Swarbrick's explorations of the British, street-gay sub-culture but closer observation reveals this is actually an up-against-the-wall, solitary job, giving the image a straight twist and returning us to our Peeping Tom role. Sadly, the artist does not gratify us with more than the vaguest hint of builder's bum cleavage and his lower back looks suspiciously 'scrambled' so the exciting promise of that youthful head goes largely unfulfilled, tantalisingly so, but that dangling rag is still (inexplicably) delightfully sexy.
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The Kiss
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The intimacy of this image and the emphatically male participants confer significant erotic power on what is ostensibly a romantic picture. A nice antidote to the introspection above, it also neatly dovetails with my previous post on 'Hairy Moments'
This work illustrates the surprising ability of Van Gogh-like heavy brush strokes to match the arousing capability of smoother, shiny depictions of sensuality (as perfected by Tom of Finland). That makes for a satisfying close to this article showcasing an artist who intriguingly bridges the divide between conventional art and erotica.
(which has a matching gallery of drawings and some interesting collections of erotic photographs)
