In an interview the provocative film director Bruno Dumont once explained about his work that “The landscape is a reflection of the inner life. Since I can’t shoot the inner life, all I can shoot is the exterior but I know that when I’m filming outside, I’m filming inside. I can only really touch the inside through the mise-en-scene. So through the mise-en-scene of the outside we can explore the inside”
Most Scandalous Since de Sade
The above quote came to my mind when I was introduced to the work of Joseph Farrel (1934). The daring tableaux of this French artist (Farrel is a pseudonym), whose work is described by the columnist, actor and admirer Christophe Bier ‘as the most scandalous since that of de Sade‘, have the same starting point. Farrel’s provocative drawings are far from the clichés of SM eroticism. He portrays a nightmarish, grotesque world, where the female body undergoes a whole lot of torture using terrifying devices.
Beyond Allowable Limits
Without taboos or limits, Farrel explores an outrageous sadism where traditional values are trampled on (such as marriage and family). Social satire is never very far away. In Farrel’s universe there’s no playful SM between consenting people. Here, the humiliated and tortured women are mortified without their consent. One can find this extreme genre to be beyond the allowable limits, but since these are fantasies written down on paper, aren’t fantasies, by definition, limitless – except by the imagination?
Understand the Artist
To better understand his work and imagination we’ve to better understand the artist. Farrel has always led a secluded discreet life, with his wife. Although he was (maybe still is) a practicing sadomasochist, who frequently visited BDSM clubs in Paris, built a lot of play instruments such as paddles, crops or wooden dildo’s, his real life was nothing like the dark fantasies portrayed in his drawings. For the self-taught Farrel, drawing has always been an outlet, in which he could express a violence he didn’t want to experience in real life. For instance, he is a big fan of horror movies but can’t stand the sight of blood at the same time. Therefore, it’s important to distinguish the man and his fantasies.
Creative Power
Part of the strength of Farrel’s work is that he never drew to make a living. He produced his drawings for his own pleasure. That’s why he never sought to get out of the dying network of sex shops and didn’t regret his removal from the publisher’s world. Another element that makes his work so forceful is his creative power. The focus is on the erotic tension, the elaborate care to draw facial expressions, the significance of including a third person, a witness or contributor, who will fortify the humiliation of the victim.
Eroticism of Depravity
The compositions are set up in such a way that they evoke maximum arousal for the reader, in which Farrel attaches importance to every detail. He is absorbed in the eroticism of depravity and pain, which really has nothing seductive to it and yet can be very arousing. He then uses his dark humor as a further weapon of humiliation, cruelty and hopelessness. The most horrifying erotic cruelty seem to happen by chance, often we see elated torturers but also more subdued peeping Toms, all of them insensitive toward the pain they cause. This downplays the violence making it even more unbearable.
Impressive Nihilism
Although social commentary is not his starting point it is inherently there, because Farrel is inspired only by what surrounds him. The characters and settings are taken from direct experience. In an earlier interview Bier explains about Farrel’s motives the following, ‘He only draws to arouse himself and his audience: that’s his only concern. The only message that can be drawn from his work would be to try and confront his fantasies without the slightest fear, to go like him to the core of an idea, however frightening it may be. His nihilism is impressive, but what is truly magnificent is his creative strength to face it. He does not always come unharmed: he weeps over his drawings.’
Sex Shops
Farrel produced nine books that were, because of its strong content, mainly sold through sex shops and adult book stores in limited editions. He was most prolific in the 1980s. The titles of these can be found at the bottom of this article.
I guess that if you’ve read until this point you’re not among the easily offended and ready to explore Farrel’s work even further.
Read ‘em and weep…
Bibliography:
Obéis! Sinon (Obey! if not…) (1977)
Parfums de souffrance (Perfumes of Suffering aka.Painful Flavours) (1978)
Humiliations (1980)
Couleurs de sang (Blood color) (1982)
Douleurs Fugitives (Fugitive pain) (1983)
Le Rendez-vous de Sodomal (The meeting of Sodomal) (1984)
Les Seins Torturés (Tortured breasts) (1988)
Juex cruels (Cruel games) (1993)
Pourquai pleurent-elles? (Why are they crying?) (2012)
Front cover of the book ‘Obéis Sinon (Obey! if not…) ‘ (1977)
Front cover of the book ‘Parfums de souffrance (Painful Flavours)‘ (1978)
Front cover of the book ‘Humiliations’ (1980)
Front cover of the book ‘Couleur de Sang (Blood Color)‘ (1982)
Front cover of the book ‘Douleurs Fugitives (Fugitive pain)‘ (1983)
Front cover of the book ‘Le Rendez-Vous de Sodomal (The Meeting of Sodomal)‘ (1984)
Front cover of the book ‘Le Seins Torturés (Tortured Breasts)‘ (1988)
Front cover of the book ‘Jeux Cruels (Cruel Games)‘ (1993)
Front cover of the book ‘Pourquai pleurent-elles? (Why are they crying?)‘ (2012)
Can't get enough of Farrel's confrontational fantasies? Become a Premium member now and discover no less than 115 rare illustrations not featured on the blog and are housed in a special Taboo section
Sources: Ayzad.com, Christophe Bier, Zwiggelaar Auctions, Biblio.com, Rakuten, Eurobuch, bdewm.blogspot.com.