Ben Kimura | |
---|---|
木村べん | |
Born | 1947 |
Died | February 18, 2003 (aged 56) |
Nationality | Japanese |
Known for | Erotic illustration |
Ben Kimura ( Japanese: 木村べん, Hepburn: Kimura Ben, 1947 – February 18, 2003) was a Japanese gay erotic artist. Kimura, along with George Takeuchi and Sadao Hasegawa, is noted by artist and historian Gengoroh Tagame as a central figure in the second wave of contemporary gay artists that emerged in Japan in the 1970s. [1]
Kimura was born in 1947. [2] He began his career in gay erotic art in 1978 as illustrator and cover artist for Barazoku, the first commercially published gay magazine in Japan; he would be a regular contributor before departing the magazine in 1989. [3] He would contribute artwork to other gay magazines throughout his career, notably Sabu , G-men, and SM-Z. [3] Kimura would also contribute artwork to the early yaoi magazines June and Allan, making him among the first gay artists to achieve crossover success with a female audience in yaoi publications. [2] [4] He was a co-founding member of Studio Kaiz, along with Naoki Tatsuya and his partner Kihira Kai. [2] [5]
Kimura's artwork was ubiquitous in gay publications in Japan in the 1970s and 1980s, with Gengoroh Tagame describing Kimura as the "face" of gay magazines in Japan. [1] [2] His works typically depict handsome, masculine men rendered in a homoerotic style that is frequently romantic and sensual, rather than explicitly pornographic. [6] Artist Kazuhide Ichikawa has described Kimura's illustrations as "soft" and "nostalgic", [7] while Tagame describes his art as featuring "sporty young men who look familiar, and not beautiful men who appear disconnected from reality." [1]
On February 18, 2003, Kimura died at the age of 56 from a pulmonary embolism. [3] A tribute edition of Tan Pan Body, a collection of his works self-published in 1997, was published shortly after his death. [2] His collected works are held by Studio Kaiz. [3]
Ben Kimura | |
---|---|
木村べん | |
Born | 1947 |
Died | February 18, 2003 (aged 56) |
Nationality | Japanese |
Known for | Erotic illustration |
Ben Kimura ( Japanese: 木村べん, Hepburn: Kimura Ben, 1947 – February 18, 2003) was a Japanese gay erotic artist. Kimura, along with George Takeuchi and Sadao Hasegawa, is noted by artist and historian Gengoroh Tagame as a central figure in the second wave of contemporary gay artists that emerged in Japan in the 1970s. [1]
Kimura was born in 1947. [2] He began his career in gay erotic art in 1978 as illustrator and cover artist for Barazoku, the first commercially published gay magazine in Japan; he would be a regular contributor before departing the magazine in 1989. [3] He would contribute artwork to other gay magazines throughout his career, notably Sabu , G-men, and SM-Z. [3] Kimura would also contribute artwork to the early yaoi magazines June and Allan, making him among the first gay artists to achieve crossover success with a female audience in yaoi publications. [2] [4] He was a co-founding member of Studio Kaiz, along with Naoki Tatsuya and his partner Kihira Kai. [2] [5]
Kimura's artwork was ubiquitous in gay publications in Japan in the 1970s and 1980s, with Gengoroh Tagame describing Kimura as the "face" of gay magazines in Japan. [1] [2] His works typically depict handsome, masculine men rendered in a homoerotic style that is frequently romantic and sensual, rather than explicitly pornographic. [6] Artist Kazuhide Ichikawa has described Kimura's illustrations as "soft" and "nostalgic", [7] while Tagame describes his art as featuring "sporty young men who look familiar, and not beautiful men who appear disconnected from reality." [1]
On February 18, 2003, Kimura died at the age of 56 from a pulmonary embolism. [3] A tribute edition of Tan Pan Body, a collection of his works self-published in 1997, was published shortly after his death. [2] His collected works are held by Studio Kaiz. [3]