He is known for drawing crude and explicitly graphic depictions of the S&M subculture.
Before Reddit, Pornhub, or VHS tapes, art was the main way to fantasize about gay sex. Illustrations of hyper-masculine men engaged in homoerotic activities, often wearing leather or portrayed as archetypes like police officers or bikers, became widespread in queer culture in the mid-20th century. Much of this work came from the mind and hands of artist Touko Valio Laaksonen, better known as Tom of Finland.
Unfortunately, Rex passed away at the end of March in Amsterdam, according to the Bob Mizer Foundation, a non-profit organization that preserves and promotes mid-century photography and erotic art.
“After a brief period working in the commercial art world in the 1960s, he adopted the name Rex and began drawing raw, explicitly graphic depictions of the S&M subculture that was emerging on U.S. shores in the 1970s,” according to the Foundation. “He used pen and ink, employing a small-dot technique called pointillism to create his black-and-white images of explicit gay sex between rough, muscular men in places like dark bars, dirty alleys, and seedy motels.”
Rex lived so privately that his real name and age remain unknown – it is believed he was 76 or 77 when he died – and he refused to be photographed.
By Ezatamentchy
Source: Maxima
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