No Speed Bumps

Hieronymous Bosch and The Gay Sensibility

Carl Jung called him 'The master of the monstrous... the discoverer of the unconscious'. His imagination is Gothic and derives from medieval manuscript grotesque margin drawings. Rather than from the Rennaissance in which he lived. His work reminds you of the surrealist Salvatore Dali. Sounds like a Trival Pursuit question! And you got it right - Hieronymous Bosch (1450-1515). He has a special place in my gay sensibility.

I was in Spain for a few months in 2003, and tracked down his 'Garden of Earthly Delights' (~1504) in the Prado, Madrid. What a blast! And Bosch had no drugs to get him here, well , that we know of.

The really super fun image below is a detail of the right panel above.

Now, what is it about this panel that nails at least one aspect of the gay sensibility?

Well, to start, there's so much great arse work going. And linked to that wild off-beat imagination. Who'd have thought of getting your flute doing that kind of double work? Wonder what it's playing? I bet 'Danny Boy' - just a guess ('Oh Danny Boy ... the pipes, the pipes are blo o o wing'). And what better way to spend a bit of time than find a hole, whiz round, squat and excrete a few gold coins into it. I just go to dance parties and swimming and browse bookshops and have a great social life - what a looser!

And then on a purely fantasy level, there's big bird in her high chair, gobbling down the guy with crows flying out of his arse. While (Dorethy-esque) she clicks her brass vase shoes. Who can't relate to this?

For gays, the nearest experience is the well-attended wild orgy - lots of bods and arses and imaginative combinations. And all the ideas and objects you can throw in. But just look at these two Belami efforts. Compared with Bosch - boring, uncreative and low-key!? Just limply dragging from one orgasm to the next.

Same old same old!