People often expect me to be a guy in a gimp suit, dribbling

Here at Bizarre, we can still remember the moment when a piece of Ben Newman’s twisted art first appeared in the office.

The magazine team was sifting through the hundreds of entries we’d received for Bizarre’s 2008 art competition, and our hearts leapt when Ben’s homage to Little Red Riding Hood flashed up on our screens; a young, feisty Red Riding Hood was smiling defiantly at the viewer, audaciously lifting her skirt as an enormous, slobbering wolf leered over her shoulder, easing her white knickers down her thighs.

And while the image wasn’t explicit and didn’t feature any of the diseased genitalia that’s so common in our Readers’ Art section, Ben’s fairy tale fantasy crackled with depravity, naughtiness, and was just plain wrong. It was unlike anything else we’d seen in the world of British alternative art.

Not surprisingly, Ben went on to win Bizarre’s 2008 art competition, and his work has appeared regularly in the magazine ever since; whether it be his warped portraits of Team Bizarre for our editor’s letter page, or his licentious pictures of cowboys with huge hands fondling slave girls as part of our educational feature on how to train a human pony (see Bizarre 168).

But now it’s time for Ben’s work to take centre stage, as we celebrate one of the UK’s most fascinating, confrontational and downright dirty artists. Ladies and gents, gird your loins, because it’s time to meet the man behind the filth…

BEN NEWMAN INTERVIEW

Hey, Ben! Most Bizarre readers know you through your grotty pictures, but we’d like you to tell us a little more about yourself…

I’m 35, and I grew up in Hackney, north London. My mum was a teacher and my dad was a financial advisor. I’ve got a sister, Ruth, who’s a year older than me and she’s an author (check out her book, Twisted Wing, on Amazon). My parents separated when I was quite young, and my dad died a couple of years ago.

I’ve been drawing since I was little, and both my parents were supportive of my art. I studied art at A-level and at college, but I generally felt like I was teaching myself. I don’t want to downplay the influence of my art teachers, it’s more that I’ve always been critical of my own stuff, and I’ve strived to improve and learn off my own bat. I lived in Bournemouth when I was at college, then in Nottingham for a few years, and now I live in Oxford.

Have you always drawn kinky pictures?

I’ve got an awful memory, and I barely remember anything before the age of 12 or 13. My family are always telling me what I did when I was younger, but I can’t remember any of it! One thing I do remember is that I used to love drawing gory pictures – things like zombies and people getting their arms cut off; not in a weird, sociopathic way, more in a Peter Jackson style, with outrageous, silly gore. I’ve always drawn sexy women, but I didn’t draw full-on kink until a few years ago, when I decided to just draw whatever I wanted.

Where do your ideas come from?

All sorts of places – looking out of the window of a bus, early morning cartoons, dreams, good books, films, people-watching. Some of my best ideas come when I’m daydreaming, and I’m halfway between being asleep and awake, although I’ve had some fucking awful ideas at those times as well! At other times I’ll decide what I’m going to do draw – Tinker Bell from Peter Pan, for example – and then I’ll think about various situations she could be in until I come up with a good idea. It’s only at this stage that things start to get kinky – but once I start drawing, I’m too busy trying to make a good image to get turned on by it!

A lot of your work is based on famous fiction such as The Wizard Of Oz. Do you see filth in everything you watch on TV?

Ha-ha! Not really. But when I’m watching something, it can often give me a starting point, and then I’ll think around the subject a little more to come up with an idea I like. When I draw something rude based on existing fiction, it’s normally something that’s seeped into my unconscious – maybe something that I’d seen a lot of as a kid. I generally don’t draw rude versions of stuff unless it’s been sitting in my head for a while, percolating.

Your art looks like it’s painted, but it’s all done digitally. Have you always worked that way?

I started using computers when I got a job as a videogame artist. Some people think that digital art is all about manipulating photos and there’s no real artistic skill involved, but digital painting isn’t that different from traditional painting; you’re still working with a brush, it’s just electronic rather than bristly.

But I’m making my way back into ‘proper’ painting now. Although I don’t think a painting and a high-quality digital print are that far apart, finishing an oil painting is more satisfying than producing a digital image. For me, the computer is just a tool, like a set of pencils or a paintbrush; even when I’m painting in oils, I usually sketch the rough versions on my computer first. Which artists do you rate? Loads – far too many to mention!

Buying art books is one of my few addictions, and I’ve got an ever-expanding collection that’s threatening to take over my house. The first art that I remember looking at and thinking, “Wow, that’s what I want to do” was Simon Bisely’s Sláine comic. My current favourites are Shaun Tan and Milo Manara, and I love Jenny Saville – looking at her paintings leaves me with a combination of awe and depression, because I know I’ll never paint anything half as good as her.

We’ve seen you at the Bizarre Ball a few times. Do you go to lots of fetish parties for inspiration?

No, I’m lazy and a bit of a homebody! I’d rather be watching weird films with my wife than going out partying. Although I love events such as the Bizarre Ball, I’m too idle to make the effort to get dressed up; although seeing all the sexy outfits is always worth it! People make assumptions about me from what I draw. When folk meet me for the first time, they often expect a guy in a gimp suit, dribbling on himself. But I’m more of a jeans and a hoodie sort of person. My pictures are much kinkier than my day-to-day life, and I think most people are disappointed when they meet me!

Here at Bizarre, we had complaints when we printed your picture of two inbred hillbilly boys groping their sister. Do you get a secret thrill if your artwork pisses someone off?

No, it makes me a bit sad – sad that there are still people out there who have such repressed views about the wonderful smorgasbord that is sexuality! The hillbilly painting you mentioned was a strange one. While I was drawing it, I felt like I was skating a fine line between what I wanted to express (naughty and a bit wrong, but basically consensual and fun) and something that was horrible and rapey. A few slight changes to the characters’ expressions and it would’ve been a different picture. Given the number of complaints I got about that one, I don’t know how successful I was, though!

I don’t intentionally try to shock – I just draw what’s on my mind. It’s weird seeing who gets offended; it’s not always the people you think it might be. I was at an art fair recently, and a guy with tattoos and dreadlocks was really offended by my stuff. But then, 10 minutes later, a businesswoman on her lunch-break bought two of my rudest prints! I think when people get upset about my pictures it says more about them than it does about me.

The thing that really bugs me is when people say my pictures contain ‘sexual violence’, because it immediately shows they’re not really looking at my drawings at all. The women in my pictures are always the instigators or willing participants. There’s no violence in my work – it’s all in the mind of the viewer. I always draw strong women who know what they want, and are going out and getting it. If anyone is a victim in my pieces it’s the poor, drooling saps who are being led to do exactly what the women want. Sexually powerful women don’t have to be drawn grinding their high heels into a slave’s back.

How far will you go in your art?

I’m normally not very graphic in my work, and there aren’t a lot of pink bits on display. I do draw ruder stuff occasionally, but I feel like that crosses the line into porn. I like porn, but I’d rather have my art up on a wall than under someone’s bed!

My standard answer to the question, “What won’t you do?” is children and animals… but, really, it’s just kids. I’ve drawn my fair share of werewolves and tentacle beasts! I’m not interested in drawing kiddie stuff. People have told me that some of my women look young, but that’s just the type of face I like – rounded, with plump lips and large eyes. But in my head they’re definitely all over 18! If they look younger, that’s down to my poor drawing rather than intention.

Do you ever shock yourself?

No. Thinking about stuff that’s breaking taboos appeals to me – not because of some weird social freedom thing, but just because it’s naughty!

What’s your naughtiest picture?

The hillbilly picture was probably one of my more extreme drawings. I’ve also done a drawing called ‘Eeny Meeny’; it’s an office girl surrounded by her homemade ‘toys’ that she uses to relieve her boredom. It’s not immediately apparent what’s going on in that picture, and I’ve seen a lot of people double take when they look at it!

You’ve got a lot of tattoos. Are they related to your love of art?

My tattoos don’t have a deep meaning, I just think they look cool! I love seeing tattoos on other people, especially women. I’ve got a few different ones; a big, abstract block-lined piece that goes up my arm and across my back, a zombie vs cheerleader scene by the awesome tattooist Electric Pick on my leg, and then a couple of other bits and pieces.

My wife and I got matching tattoos of jigsaw pieces on our ankles last week – they’re cheesy, but I love them! I’m always up for getting more tattoos, but the opportunity doesn’t present itself very often. If one of my friends was a tattooist I’d be completely covered by now!

Where would you like your art to take you?

I’m not proactive in getting work, and I generally wait for it to come to me. I’m happy drawing for my own sake, though, so it’s not a problem.

SEE MORE:
Drool over more of Ben’s work at Bennewmanart.blogspot.com