Who am I? Who are you?

I create under the name Marcuslikesit, a moniker for the erotic facets of my artistic practice. Art, in all its forms, is a language of the body, a means of revealing and transforming the self through sensation, vulnerability, and synergistic connection. Music first awakened me to this higher truth. From an early age, sensations of sound, and the physical and emotional feelings they summon, shaped my understanding of the universal resonance—not just in the voice, but in the physical world, in objects, in touch, in the way movement and breath align. We are The Universe.

I am a classically trained operatic tenor with international credits, and have carried this dramatic, discipline into every other medium I work in—whether sculpting, designing, performing, or capturing a photo, I’m interested in finding and extending the moments of truth and beingness— transformation in the interplay of tension and release. My lineage as an artist is deeply physical; I was raised in the presence of a hereditary polymath craftsman, where I learned the language of materials, how they yield, resist, and take shape under the hand, and how they hopefully find harmony in not just, the final product, but in the process. I seek that same dialogue in everything I create, whether through rope, through music, through photography and design, or in leather, wood, metal—these are all representations and extensions of the human form itself.

The Ecstatic State

All my artistic pursuits are rooted in the belief that conditions of extreme vulnerability can open a gateway to an altered consciousness—an Ecstatic State where creative energy flows freely from the source. When we surrender to an experience fully, when we allow ourselves to be seen, bound, or exposed, we cultivate a deeper trust in ourselves and in those who hold us within their attention. And in that trust, we may find liberation.

Origins and Curiosities

I grew up in an isolated rural environment, an outlier queerdo from the start, drawn instinctively to sensation, restraint, and release. Before I even had words for what I was doing, I was tying myself—auto-bondage—along with playmates, experimenting recklessly, learning through experience. It is nothing short of a miracle that we all made it through adolescence. As I matured, my relationship with rope evolved beyond the raw urgency of youthful lust into something more refined, more intentional—a practice of deep listening, of control and surrender in equal measure.

By the late ’80s, I was deeply immersed in my singing study and playing extensively with rope, guided only by the feedback of my partners and the sensations of my own bottoming experiences. Unaware of the BDSM community or its formal techniques, I developed a style rooted in intuition—intricate, inescapable, sensual, connective. Without reference points, I created my own. I wanted bondage to feel inescapable but also comfortable and sustainable, I wanted the look of violence and lust, but also the safety and comfort of an embrace. I wanted ties that spoke the body’s natural language. I wanted ties that showed i understood what it is to be bound and that we could feel one another through one another’s experiences: a synergy of opposites

Then came the internet. I was a late adapter, but I remember the first time I saw images from Itoh Seiu and Nobuyoshi Araki load, pixel by pixel, on my dial-up connection. It felt as if someone had reached into my mind and laid my imagination bare. I realized, suddenly, that I was not alone; that others had been doing almost exactly what we had been doing. Once again, the Collective subconscious.

Philosophy

My tying is a continuous study—of sensation, of control, of the spaces where tension and release merge. I work as Service Top and (sometimes as a Dominnt Master) as a rigger and also (far too rarely) pursue experiences as a sub bottom, refining my understanding from both perspectives.

Rope is not macramé, rope is not about how it looks; it is about how it feels.

I have little patience for rigid dogmas—if a tie creates a genuine connection, if it is mutually fulfilling, if it moves us physically and emotionally, then it is a success and a joy to be grateful for. Your experience is indeed enough.

I do not believe in art for art’s sake. Art is a medium of transformation, a way to access something deeper, something wordless. Every act of creation—whether it is a photograph, a suspension, a piece of handcrafted furniture, or a performance—emerges from the same artistic source. My work is a bridge between the visceral and the sublime, between control and abandon, between tradition and discovery.

Offerings

Photography – I capture moments of vulnerability and power, working in fetish, fashion, and traditional portraiture.

Rope Suspension Performance – After performing over 30 leading roles with opera companies in America and Europe 1994-2017, and with considerable growing pains, I committed to making the original works that make my soul sing in about 2012 (after singing the title role in Faust, and making a deal with myself) Since then I’ve produced and performed works in a range of styles, from highly choreographed theatrical pieces incorporating, rope, classical singing, modern and classical dance, High concept erotic circus, featuring bullwhips and fire as well as rope, Commedia dell'arte, to raw, improvisational Shibari/Kinbaku-influenced works that explore performance as healing ceremony and ritual and connection between not just performers but explore the participation of the audience as an active part of the scene. Communion, but where the magic trick is real.

Artisanal Creation – Through MOS Atelier, I design full kinky playroom spaces, handcrafting fine accessories and furniture with a fetishistic (i might say masochistic) attention to detail, in refined leathers, woods, and metals.

Private Rope Sessions and Rope Bondage Education – See my Session Information Page or contact me directly for more information about booking private sessions. For over 10 years, I gave demos and held space for a generation of Rope enthusiasts at Ropes U in NYC, Now I prefer to offer private couples and small group workshops with a focus on the more esoteric aspects of Rope, connection, sensation, and the symbiotic dance between two people creating a context to play with bondage.

Event Production – In 2008, I created Ropes U, the first rope-specific space in NYC (and as far as i know, Ropes U was the first public rope space in America) In 2018 I became the Artistic Director and founder of the ill fated Euridice Gallery in Bed Stuy Brooklyn, have been Co-Director and Curator of The Society of Perversions, and more recently, collaborations with with the fabulous international troupe The Kinky Rabbit Club in Los Angeles.

Styling – As a prop, set, lighting, and rope stylist and consultant, I have worked with photographers such as Ellen Von Unwerth, Erik Madigan Heck, and Gail Hadani.

Connect

To book a session, or commission a piece, or explore collaboration, REACH OUT. Art happens in the space between bodies, between minds, between moments of tension and release. Step into that space, and let’s create something unforgettable.