Rey Rey Rodriguez: Brilliant Dark Artist or Infamy Seeking Marketer?

Visual Artist Rey Rey Rodriguez is most known for his dark photography, videos, and other forms of art. Most of the content creator’s artwork focuses on displaying some form of pain. His work can be found everywhere uncensored, even though that type of content would normally receive an “R” rating if it were on films, or a “Sensitive Content Control” warning on social media. But because the content is captured artistically, the morbidness of the story within the content seems to be ignored. Viewers known for reporting unfavorable things online, news outlets, blogs, and the social media giants all give him a pass. How is this possible?

In early 2016, the popular UK magazine “Loaded” published a small article introducing Rodriguez titled, “The Wicked Beauty Within The Dark Side Of Rey Rey.”  The article states, “As a master of expressing pain, fear, and sin of all types in his works, it’s no surprise that Rey Rey has been able to make the impact he has in this avant-garde scene.” Entertainment impresario Uncle Louie wrote on wrote on his Huffington Post article about Rodriguez, “Meandering through dark places, his mind’s eye rarely blinks, for if it did, it may miss the beauty it finds in some of life’s darkest places.” Even the popular women’s entertainment and lifestyle magazine, The Frisky, ran a controversial article on the artist named, “A Darker Path to Marketing,” which describes how orchestrated rumors about his death may have been used for marketing purposes.

While news outlets are willing to use their platforms to promote Rodriguez and his work in hopes of gaining clicks, no one seems to notice or complain about the artwork that is being presented. Yes, horror films show gore, paid channels have “adult” movie sections, and we often see violence in reality shows, documentaries, and combat sports, but these forms of entertainment are labeled and understood to have content that may be disturbing to audiences, whereas Rodriguez’s work is displayed uncensored on Facebook, Twitter, Triller, and all other major platforms known for having a no nonsense policy. YouTube temporarily banned him in the past, but then allowed him to return and to continue posting the same content that got him banned. The only other slap on the wrists was a verification badge removal to his Instagram account.

Rodriguez seems to gladly accept every opportunity (whether good or bad) to promote himself. For every news article released with negative press, twice the amount is written praising him for his ability to create “beautifully evil, and macabre art.” One should ask, in a world in such a state of chaos, why would an artist focus solely on sharing such unwholesome imagery? Should the expressions of “pain, fear, and sin” or dark art in general (whether artistically captured or not) be promoted? Should platforms allow his work to be seen without at least a warning? Fourteen verified social media accounts, with over half-a-million combined followers, say yes. Celebrities, activists, athletes, politicians, and other well-known public figures that are considered role models to their fans, continue to appear in portraits, photoshoots, and other projects produced by Rodriguez.

In his social media profile photo, he stands in a dark dressing room, wearing a black suit, while holding and staring at a theater mask. The portrait is titled, “Choosing a Face for My Audience.” So, does the mask symbolize a hidden meaning within his art, or is it the personality that he shares with the world?  Could it be that he is another suffering artist, who uses dark art as a form of therapy while quietly fighting with his inner demons? Is the controversial art just part of a shockvertising gimmick? Can there possibly be an affiliation to an elite organization or a connected person supplying him with an uncensored pass? Or is Rey Rey Rodriguez just a lucky, talented artist with passion for the darker side?