{gay} – Page 170 – { feuilleton }

Mishima’s Rite of Love and Death

Yukio Mishima’s extraordinary, little-seen 28-minute film Yûkoku aka Patriotism aka Rite of Love & Death (1966) was released on DVD earlier this year via Criterion. You can also see it now on Ubuweb.

Playwright and novelist Yukio Mishima foreshadowed his own violent suicide with this ravishing short feature, his only foray into filmmaking, yet made with the expressiveness and confidence of a true cinema artist. All prints of Patriotism (Yûkoku), which depicts the seppuku of a army officer, were destroyed after Mishima’s death in 1970, though the negative was saved, and the film resurfaced thirty-five years later. New viewers will be stunned at the depth and clarity of Mishima’s vision, as well as his graphic depictions of sex and death.

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Secret Lives of the Samurai
• Guido Reni’s Saint Sebastian
• The art of Takato Yamamoto

Mikel Marton

Mikel by Mikel.

Delectable Canadian photographer and self-proclaimed “renowned exhibitionist” Mikel Marton (aka Toxicboy) has finally moved from LiveJournal to Blogger. Looks like postings there of himself and his models will be more regular than before which is good to see. And his Toxicboy site is still active, of course.

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Tiger Lily
• Toxicboy

Sword on the rocks

More unclothed men with swords and another vintage example, shamelessly swiped from Planet Fabulon.

And while we’re on the subject of men, the Kangaroo Court Theatre Company has another new adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray (Matthew Bourne’s dance version is still touring) opening this week at the Tabard Theatre, London.

A daring musical adaptation transports Oscar Wilde’s masterpiece into our own celebrity-obsessed, gossip-driven times – complete with shallow pop stars, sex-crazed artists and sleazy journalists. Co-produced with Kangaroo Court Theatre Company, this new adaptation of Dorian Gray updates the story incorporating new technology and an original musical score.

The company’s site has a few more details. The way they’re using the picture below to promote the work I think we can guess the audience they’re going for.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The men with swords archive

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Matthew Bourne’s Dorian Gray
• John Osborne’s Dorian Gray
• Dorian Gray revisited
• The Picture of Dorian Gray I & II

The recurrent pose 21

And still they come… This variation on the Flandrin pose was recommended by Jonathan at Midian Books, for whom I designed some catalogue covers several years ago. Jonathan’s partner, Victoria Musson, took the (untitled) photo and their site features other examples of her work with a distinctly pagan quality.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The gay artists archive
• The recurrent pose archive

Phallic bibelots

Does Priapus rule the month of October? Having this lot appear in the same week makes it seems likely. The carved carnelian sealing ring above comes via Silent-Porn-Star.

Then this Vivienne Westwood pendant turned up at Fabulon.

Finally, there’s the discovery of two artists producing phallic glasswork. Paul Thomas created the pendants above while Jamie Burress is responsible for the penis table.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The gay artists archive

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Phallic worship
• The art of ejaculation