If you're planning to be in the L.A. area in August, Mr. Moyes has an upcoming exhibition, drawn from over 10 years of his work, at Hollywoodland Studios 11300 Hartland Street, North Hollywood on August 27 (6 - 11 p.m.) (www.jaymoyes.com.http://www.threshold.org).
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Here is our interview with Jay Moyes:
ALT.com: What is that one elusive thing you always try to capture in your characters or scenes?
JAY MOYES: You don’t feel the flogger or whip. There’s a certain zen that comes forth when I’m drawing. That relaxation may dull the impact I feel when I’m drawing. Personally, I believe in more subtle pain such has parachutes and clothespins. Impact devices seem more annoying than they are stimulating.
ALT.com: What are some of the exciting qualities you find in female dominance? How are these/aren't these qualities part of your art?
JAY MOYES: There’s a rebellious and independent spirit I really enjoy and look up to. When I was a kid, I got picked on a lot. There was this strange unity I felt with strong, older women. My first bond was with a Domme who had been in the punk movement in the 80’s. A lot of what appealed to me at the time was to frighten the horses and shake things up a bit. That’s why you’ll see the Mohawks in the pictures and other symbolism.
ALT.com: What types of art work influenced your style? What artists do you like currently and why?
JAY MOYES: The psychedelic style heavily influenced me long before I got kinky. You’ll see it in the lettering for old calendars and in some of the posters today. These days I am influenced more by mechanical objects than by actual art. Chica, Jesse James, and Paul Teutul are more likely to influence my artwork than current artists. However, I do find myself going back to the roots, studying artists such as Rick Griffin, Mouse, Kelly, and Robert Williams.
ALT.com: Your characters are disarming because they seem to be very cute, or benign—like the girl on the 2000 calendar cover, cute face, girl-doll legs—and then they're carrying a badass whip or an ax and dressed to dominate. What's going on with that? Are you intentionally playing with cultural expectations?
JAY MOYES: If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, what’s the point? The same goes for when we play. These Dommes are enjoying themselves. The most beautiful part of a Domme is her smile. Who’s to say it can’t be an evil smile or grin?
ALT.com: Many of your characters have bat wings. Again it's material that often draws in darkness, but in your work it becomes more about elegance. What's the association there?
JAY MOYES: It’s about elegance, darkness, and grace. There’s a certain way the wings lift up a body in a drawing. There’s a certain flow they add as well. I like to think the universe my drawings occur in defies gravity. All creatures, Domme and sub, play in the ether and are lost in the ozone. Notice there aren’t just wings though. I love flames, clouds, and chaps.
ALT.com: Are the calendars something you did on your own or did you make them for a commercial outfit? What's it like to work on a calendar project? Do you give much thought to the months, or is it basically "pick out 12 pieces."
JAY MOYES: That was very much inspired by Luna C. Sanguine, the first Domme I really bonded with. She was already doing home publishing, and it encouraged me to step forward and do print runs of the calendar. There was a serious desire to make it much more than just 12 pics and a grid for the month. Each one ran with 16 illustrations (13 months, a calendar page for the previous/post year, and the front and back cover). I combed books for special holidays, birthdays, and pagan events. Each month was drawn to complement the illustration shown. It all came together pretty well. The hardest part was getting a good deal on the printing. Eventually, the cost just became too much.
ALT.com: What kind of artifact (post cards, internet, calendar, prints) do you think is the ideal showcase for your work? Does your style change much to adapt to a medium?
JAY MOYES: That’s the irony about the work in general. Copy machines were the weapons of choice when I really got rolling. That’s why the work is mostly black and white ink. I’m still trying to find the next niche. Honestly, I don’t think the merchandise is the key. It’s the variety. On my column on AVNInsider, I rotate new images in and match them up with t-shirts available on my Café Press Site (www.cafepress.com/jaymoyes). If one thing doesn’t strike their fancy today, another might. Another angle is price. If I show up with 10 originals at $100 and 100 calendars at $10, I’m more likely to sell out the calendars (and generate more publicity) than sell one original.
ALT.com: What direction is your work taking most recently?
JAY MOYES: A lot of U-Turns. While I like to just whip out a piece (“We are slaves to the machine” took less than three hours), the challenge is there to do something more and look back on what I’ve done. The motorcycles change. I try to change the clothes, and look for new ideas.
ALT.com: You're very busy with AVN. Has this helped or hindered the progress of your work? What's it like working for the biggest name in the porn industry? Do you feel like you're in the center of the adult action? What trends are you seeing?
JAY MOYES: AVN has probably done the greatest good for my name, but the most damage to the artwork itself. There are a lot of 50-60 hour weeks. It can be months, sometimes years before I get a piece completed. It’s impossible to commit to anything in the community. People are still surprised to learn I can draw. Running drawings with my column on AVNInsider.com helps remind folks this is what I cut my teeth on.
AVN can be a very quiet place. The world may not rotate around AVN figuratively or physically, but it is in a very strategic location. There are 10 adult companies within a 15-minute bicycle ride of where I work, and a lot of people drop by. Porn star Violet Blue brought us cookies. I’ve kissed Raveness’ boots. I had to shoot Ron Jeremy’s butt for a “name those buns” piece.
In terms of trends, lack of originality is the industry’s biggest problem. If I came out with a series of one-legged albinos, at least three companies would copy the niche. There would be no thought as to whether or not the title would sell. Because of the growing leather community, my greatest fear has come true. Many companies have seen that growth, and embraced rough sex, mistaking it for BDSM. There’s no grace to the picture. They just shove some girl’s head in a toilet and make her eat cum out of someone else’s ass. Some just put women in pretty fetish outfits, and then have them do the same fucking they were doing before. The only real pioneers in this regard seem to be John Stagliano (Tristan Taormino’s Guide to Anal Sex, The Fashionistas[See our review above]) and the folks at Gwen Media. Michael Ninn and Andrew Blake also keep my hopes up, but I don’t think of them so much as BDSM. The day someone animates Michael Manning’s “The Spider Garden”, or directs “Diary of a Dominatrix”, we may have something.
ALT.com: Speaking of trends, in light of this 2257 regulation, your work (and other work in media that don't depict real humans) might start to draw more attention. Are you sensing anything like this yet?
JAY MOYES: With my artwork, it’s doubtful. However, there’s new potential in hentai, adult animation, and pre-1995 films. Arrow films has a large collection of 8mm loops that would be perfect for the internet today. For the moment, the industry is just trying to make sure things are in place before the restraining order is lifted.
ALT.com: You've been pretty vocal about the regulation in your columns. How do you see it affecting the world of LA porn? How do you see it affecting your freedom of expression in your art? Anything else you'd like to add on the subject—without rewriting your columns? :)
[To be continued...]
Next week, Moyes talks about fetish art and the law, his own D/s relationship, and other goodies.
Jay's columns can be found on www.avninsider.com, www.jaymoyes.com, and www.blackandblueusa.com. He is currently in the service of Lady Bastette, who publishes www.blackandblueusa.com, a calendar of events across the nation and beyond.