Wednesday, 23 February 2011

Grrrr

I'm afraid to say that you can expect to see less updates on my blog in the future; why? Because someone at my work looked over my shoulder while I was drawing at lunchtime, made an assumption about what they were looking at and complained to Human Resources that I was drawing "sexual violence".
It's an accusation I've had thrown against me before (and I'm sure I will again) and it never fails to annoy me for one simple reason; I don't draw sexual violence! I will hold my hands up proudly to drawing perverse, weird and occasionally twisted art, but all fictional parties involved in my pics are always doing so consensually; If anything it's normally the women being the instigators!
I personally think that some people (women AND men) have issues with women being portrayed as people who want weird sex and that only men have strange fantasies, which is patently not the case. When this type of person sees an image in which a woman is (for example) getting it on with a giant squid, they immediately cry "rape!" no matter how much the woman is obviously enjoying herself.
Anyway, just to prove my point, here is a collage of women crying, screaming, angry, sad and being abused...sigh :(
The upshot of this whole episode is that I can no longer draw at work, and because whoever complained did so anonymously rather than to my face I have to go around wondering who has such a twisted opinion of me.
But don't worry! I'll still be drawing and posting filthy femmes and perverted pics, just not at work :P

Rant over!
more art soon.
at

36 comments:

  1. Valonia23 February 2011 at 01:03

    Whoa, those kind of people really make me wonder; why so jealous?!
    I can't think of any other explanation for your anonymous co-worker.
    This girl likes what you're doing, keep up the good work! :)

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  2. Unknown23 February 2011 at 01:07

    It's obviously a sign of recognition.

    Keep your art going.

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  3. ElectronicRainbow - sickly sweet23 February 2011 at 01:11

    Sexual violence? Seriously?! Now, that's a load of crap!
    I as a girl have never gotten any vibe of abuse, violence directed towards women or whatsoever from your pictures. Actually, I think that most of the women you portray are depicted as being quite strong personalities.
    At times, I just don't understand how people end up with assumptions like that. But you know - there will always be people who don't like what you do and who WANT to understand it the wrong way.
    Don't let it get you down!

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  4. Unknown23 February 2011 at 01:12

    What?! Please Continue on your way and pay no attention to what they say who is envious of you!

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  5. FERNANDO SIQUIER23 February 2011 at 01:55

    Sexualidad al 100 x 100!!

    Saludos Master!!

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  6. jake gumbleton23 February 2011 at 03:00

    That really sucks Ben. People can be such tools.

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  7. KittyMeow23 February 2011 at 05:08

    MORONS! I bet it was some :religious: type or PC do-gooder.

    Sheesh.

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  8. Tony Jackson23 February 2011 at 09:55

    Sorry to hear that, it really does suck.

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  9. tom jolliffe23 February 2011 at 10:26

    that's rediculous.. don't stop the twisted awesomeness.
    HR is stupid

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  10. Mayavan Thevendra23 February 2011 at 10:31

    Grrrr indeed! That's really lousy.

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  11. JustJohn23 February 2011 at 11:04

    Some people can be real douche bags.
    Anyway, your work is inspiring and creative and in no way violent.
    And I wish upon your nosey co-worker many uncomfortable paper cuts.

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  12. Philipp23 February 2011 at 11:39

    jealous ones envy...

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  13. Matt23 February 2011 at 14:07

    That's bullshit. Sure, I'd understand if you were drawing during work hours, but if it's your lunch break you should be able to do what ever you want with your time.

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  14. Fernanda23 February 2011 at 16:29

    err People can be so damn stupid sometimes, I think that people who are alarmed by this kind of things, is because they feel self-conscious about themselves and they take refuge in prejudice against others...

    anyway, I´m a girl and I would never think of "sexual violence" looking at your work, i love it.

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  15. cosmicbaby23 February 2011 at 17:05

    all you have to do is... keep on drawing :)

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  16. Ben Newman24 February 2011 at 01:13

    thanks everyone; I appreciate the nice comments.

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  17. Dan D. Evans24 February 2011 at 01:38

    Sorry to hear that Ben don't let the bastards get ya down! Presumably you could still draw slightly less pervy things. (awesome predictive text freudian slip there - my phone suggested "less pervy thongs" :)

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  18. Martijn Gorree24 February 2011 at 01:40

    Its a shame some people can't seem to grasp the difference between fiction and reality. I wonder if they also call the police whenever someone gets murdered in a book.

    Anyhow, don't let "the man" get you down :)

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  19. Lucha Britannia24 February 2011 at 11:12

    Your work is fantastic, all the Lucha team love it, all the Resistance Gallery posse love it & the complainee is obviously a sex starved no nothing agent of the state!
    xVx

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  20. Ben Newman25 February 2011 at 00:56

    aw shucks, thanks Garry!

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  21. Emilia25 February 2011 at 06:40

    Oh please, such hypocrtes! I am a woman and there is No violence in your illustrations... incredible...
    Chiara

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  22. Sam Auciello25 February 2011 at 07:45

    I'm sad to hear that you'll be updating less. Closed mindedness is obnoxious. Good luck and keep drawing.

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  23. GOGOPEDRO25 February 2011 at 23:35

    Sorry to hear about the set back ben..
    About a year back my offices changed from one location to another. This meant I went from having a quiet secluded corner of the office to basically being right out in the open... Needless to say I feel for ya' man...I'm always a little conscious now of the people over my shoulder..

    P

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  24. Anonymous26 February 2011 at 01:27

    What a jealous idiot. You are very talented and your art ist amazing. Keep up the good work. I hope your job is not at risk.

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  25. Dana26 February 2011 at 22:50

    That should be like, a crime.
    To keep an artist from arting, damn.

    This is obviously a sign that you should start drawing crazier stuff. xD

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  26. Dr. Tūls27 February 2011 at 10:04

    I really hate it when the sheepwalkers spill over into our lives. People need to learn to keep their issues to them selves. Sounds to me like said person has a secret fetish or issue they need to work out. haha.

    Keep up the great work!

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  27. bee_low28 February 2011 at 23:52

    From pro to pro, your work is amazing. Draw what you feel. I hope that the posts still keep coming. I love your concepts and takes on them. Keep it up Ben. I hate the coworker that you are with.

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  28. Tao2 March 2011 at 03:46

    People are stupid. Your art is rad.
    And thanks for checking out my blog.
    Tao.
    decapitate animals.

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  29. ELECTRIC PICK3 March 2011 at 10:52

    Wh? Wh? Really? Wow buddy! What is it with you and mormons? You attract them or something... Not cool but then again there will always be a douche that has something to say about something they obviously don't understand! Too bad it fell on ya this time bro!! I think it's more insolence, like ... Too many people think that their personal moral code is universal! If you don't like something, sure, I can understand, but then just don't look at it! Why do you have to make it stop just because YOU don't like it!? I don't know, it's just weird to me... There's a bunch of stuff I think is way wrong on the internet for my personal taste but I still don't think they should stop posting it just because I don't like it ... I just don't have to go search for it!

    Anyways ... Hope you're not too bummed buddy! I'd be looking around the office for someone with framed pictures of cats doing cute stuff (like playing in a band, smoking in the bathroom ...) at their desk or something like that ... Accounting or maybe expenses ...


    Don't let the MAN step on ya!!!!

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  30. r0ttie4 March 2011 at 12:32

    Another girl here. Only today encountered your work. I love it. It's creative, stimulating and full of fun & energy.

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  31. Andy Council6 March 2011 at 09:16

    Hey there Ben - this is real shitty news. I come across the do gooder moral jobs worth squad a bit now and then too and they do my head in. It's amazing what people get their knickers in a knot about really and often, if they just spoke to the artist perhaps they would gain an insight as to what the work is about and learn from it. Some people need to get free.

    Keep on keeping on.

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  32. wjeera15 March 2011 at 02:20

    Well that is not right! Your work is great!

    This girl wants to see more and more.

    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5anxFI3fbbc/Sgco0YzsZfI/AAAAAAAAATQ/Cdowi3T1igo/s1600-h/bennewman_dirtysnow_small.jpg
    That piece is my favourite. Keep this up.

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  33. Nicnac16 March 2011 at 11:12

    Looks like I will be the only dissenter here. It was at work, during work hours (it doesn't matter if it was during a lunch break). The simple matter is, it's easy to believe that someone might be offended by this type of art, so 1: don't do it at work, or 2: don't let other people see it at work.
    This is akin to BROWSING this sort of thing at work. Many places will get you fired for even having this on your screen for a second.

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  34. Ben Newman17 March 2011 at 01:47

    Nicnac: While you are correct to a certain degree, I work in a computer games company, and as such I'm often called upon to draw pictures of sexy women and regularly have nude images up on my screen for anatomy study.
    My issue was not with the label "sexual" which I hold my hands up to, but with "sexual violence" which is a very different accusation in my eyes.

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  35. Panda Lemon3 June 2011 at 05:24

    Please never stop!!! I'm a woman and LOVE your beautiful, perverted, sexy ladies.
    Your work is awesome.
    And jealousy sucks!!!!
    hello from Brazil.

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  36. Ben Newman6 June 2011 at 09:11

    Thanks Panda! hello from sunny Blighty!

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