Malcolm McKesson
Malcolm McKesson (✦July 24, 1909 – †February 5, 1999) was an American outsider artist known for his ballpoint pen drawings and his erotic fiction. He was the husband of poet Madeline Mason-Manheim.
Biography
Malcolm McKesson was born in Monmouth Beach, New Jersey at the summerhouse of his wealthy New York City family. He completed the Grand Tour of Europe twice before turning eighteen, and these trips piqued his interest in art history, which he later studied at Harvard University. His grandfather died in 1924 and his eldest brother in 1927.
McKesson graduated from Harvard University in 1933 and experienced another death in 1936, this time that of his beloved sister Mary. He served as a second lieutenant during World War II, marrying poet Madeline Mason at Fort McClellan, Alabama in 1942. Upon returning to New York, he began working in the family chemical company. This he would do until 1961 when with Mason’s support he was able to retire from the business world and devote his life to his secret creation. Other than his early retirement, the couple led a conventional middle-class life in New York City, summering in the Catskills and serving on the boards of a variety of community organizations; none of their friends could ever have guessed at McKesson’s other life.
Madeline Mason died in 1990. Three years later, McKesson approached dealers at the New York Outsider Art Fair. Although he did not necessarily think of himself as an outsider, based on the other work he had seen there, he felt that there was an audience that might appreciate him.
Writing
McKesson's writing explores themes of gender identity, transvestism, and sadomasochism, all of which are developed in the semi-autobiographical erotica novella, "Matriarchy: Freedom in Bondage", his magnum opus. This book follows the sexual transformation of Harvard undergraduate Gerald Graham, who willingly subjects himself to the authority of the stern Lady Gladys. She teaches him to "curb his manly nature" by forcing him to take on the role and costume of a lady's maid named Rose. The house is a matriarchy because, as Lady Gladys explains, "in this house all things feminine are blessed, all things masculine are bound in slavery" [Note 1]. Much of Gerald's training involves elaborate sexual bondage devices. The narrative voice shifts from first person into third person as Gerald subjects himself more and more to Gladys's authority.
Matriarchy is illustrated by hundreds of detailed ballpoint drawings of vaguely-defined figures, modeled by voluptuous and androgynous masses, and taking place in dim lighting.
Matriarchy: Freedom in Bondage
- Amazon Review [Source 1]
This book is not really erotica at all, though I suspect that some readers who are interested in Victorian style femdom might fine it more physically stimulated than I did. No, instead it is a journey of one man whom after a long life finally writes down his fantasies along with accompanying drawings. The drawings are well done though I bit difficult to see -- the nature of the media I suspect. The book itself is not a novel in the sense that it is actually a story of a particular length but instead more like a short story or a draft of what could have developed into an intriguing world. As it is, the development of the characters is too quick, too short, and thus I never empathized with anyone nor truly cared what happened to them. I found that I was more interested in the man that created this book, why these fantasies, why these images, why did it take so long for him to express himself, and did he ever get that fantasy even briefly in real life.
Notes
- ↑ McKesson 1997, p. 46
Sources
Resources
- McKesson, Malcolm. (1997). Matriarchy: Freedom in Bondage. Heck Editions. ISBN 0-9638129-7-1.
- Rhodes, Colin. (2002). "Fulfillments of desire in the work of a self-taught artist: the intimate existence of Malcolm McKesson." Journal of the Association of Art Historians. 25 (5), 649-675.
External links
- McKesson's "official homepage," with essays, novel excerpts, and a photo gallery
- https://www.outsiderart.co.uk/artists/malcolm-mckesson
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