Goodbye Xperia Z1

Prints available on demand (info@benheine.com)

Prints available on demand (info@benheine.com)

Artists Must Do...

I quickly made this graph (personal interpretation) to show all the things I have to deal with on a daily basis as a solo artist... And I think it can be useful for those who want to learn how the system works. It usually goes from step 1 to 9. Definitely it's the art production I like the most. Some companies have a bunch of people for each of these tasks. Artists should try to manage their own business. Get a print of the above graph at this link.

© 2014 Ben Heine

Phone Call
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(See it on deviantART)

A picture I took at the Metropole Hotel in Brussels in the frame of the "Tour De France Photo". A great event!! The model on the left side, Alizée, is pregnant... Magic (thanks to Eric for making the shooting with Alizée possible). You can view some preparatory and backstage pics here below...

Models: Alizée Poulicek & Coralie Nelly
Hair Styling: Alain Spaens by Joseph
Master Makeup Artist: Avital Assayag
Fashion Design: Erika Bùs
Photography (+editing): Ben Heine
Location: Metropole Hotel

© 2012 - Ben Heine

Recent Online Publications

Daily Mail (Sept. 2011)

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Quite an amazing feature in the Daily Mail by Kerry McQueeney. You can view the full version HERE. I REALLY liked the comments Kerry wrote for each picture. It's always nice to read someone's interpretation on my work. This is the second time my creations are published in the Daily Mail. Here is the first publication (February 2011). Thank u!

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Design You Trust (2011)
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Weeklysh (2011)
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© 2011 - Ben Heine

World Cartoon Poll

5 Questions - 5 Answers
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(Source: Don Quichotte Cartoon Association)

Dear Cartoonists,

We think that "World Cartoon" is not developing well. Considering the cartoon contests ''with themes'', it is possible to come across a lot of images with similar ideas. Beside the fact that several cartoon contests have launched awards for similar works, we are also frequently facing criticisms on the very fundamentals of political cartoonism. We have prepared some questions focussing on these concerns and aiming to discuss on some important issues for cartoonists. Would you be so kind to write down some short answers to these questions so that we may do something to solve some problems we encounter today, and go ahead in our political views and artistic discipline.


5 questions:

1) How do you think we can solve the problem of "similar cartoons"? What can be done?

2) According to us, the biggest responsibles of ''similar cartoons" are jurors of the contests. We have an idea to avoid similarities in cartoons: exhibit all the entries for a contest in online galleries. This should maintain healthy results and a better variety in final cartoons. ''Don Quichotte'' has already launched this method since a long time. Do you have any different suggestions about that?

3) What is your opinion on ''Censorship"?' Should it be applied to cartoons? If yes, then what are the borders?

4) We find more and more images reaching the perfection technically speaking, we think they are almost close to the ''illustration'' process and it seems they are more dealing with plastic arts rather than with the traditional cartoon discipline which is based on very simple lines with a powerful message. What's your opinion about that?

5) What kind of structures do the cartoonists need to act in solidarity, organized as a whole against lawsuits for instance? We need your alternative suggestions in order to create a much stronger and international cartoon unity, shoulder to shoulder. Do you have any bright ideas about that?

Dear Cartoonists, as we have mentioned, your responses to these questions can greatly contribute to solve future problems among the "World Cartoon Community". We appreciate your efforts and thank you for sharing your thoughts and time for this poll.

Please send your answers at
donquichotte@donquichotte.at

Read all the answers already
sent by worldwide cartoonists

Here below are my own answers/suggestions:

1) There are often similar sources of inspiration for artists in a globalized world, but the graphic carrying out and stylized personal interpretations will always be different. I think originality and intelligence must be crucial points when it comes to judge/rate/assess a cartoon or a cartoonist.

2) Good idea to show publicly all the received submissions, so that the participating artists are aware of what has already be done for a specific contest. I think that's the best solution indeed.

3) Untill recently, I had the illusion that the web was a democratic area where people could share their ideas and exchange their views. This was an ideal of total and healthy freedom of expression's spirit. But I was quite wrong. There is a strong global "code of conduct" on the web like in the reality. It's a difficult question, because norms and dogmas are linked to culture in general. And there are as many cultures as there are coutries, languages, religions, etc... In other words, we're all shocked by different things. Before the revolution of the information and communication technologies, it wasn't a big deal, but now that everyone can access anything in just a few clicks, it makes everything more complicated.

4) I think there is a huge confusion between cartoons and illustrations even among the artists themselves. Yes, a cartoon should be simple, just a few lines with a powerful semantics/meaning. An illustration should also deliver an important message but the realization process is different, more texture, more details, more shades... close to traditional painting. May be we should make a distinction at DonQuichotte between cartoons and illustrations...?

5) I think our "DonQuichotte Cartoon Association" already represents a sort of solidarity community, but there should be a judicial branch/body to it. There should be one big international structure. There is already the FECO (at national and international levels) but in my view, it lacks of unity and popularity.

The Blessing of Communication
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2008 - Ben Heine

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The Tamed Lion
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By John Newton

A Lion, though by nature wild,
The art of man can tame;
He stands before his keeper, mild,
And gentle as a lamb.

He watches, with submissive eye,
The hand that gives him food,
As if he meant to testify
A sense of gratitude.

But man himself, who thus subdues
The fiercest beast of prey,
A nature more unfeeling shows,
And far more fierce than they.

Though by the Lord preserv'd and fed,
He proves rebellious still;
And while he eats his Maker's bread,
Resists his holy will.

Alike in vain, of grace that saves,
Or threat'ning law, he hears;
The savage scorns, blasphemes, and raves,
But neither loves nor fears.

O Saviour! how thy wondrous pow'r
By angels is proclaim'd,
When in thine own appointed hour,
They see this lion tam'd.

The love thy bleeding cross displays,
The hardest heart subdues;
Here furious lions while they gaze,
Their rage and fierceness lose.

Yet we are but renew'd in part,
The lion still remains;
Lord, drive him wholly from my heart,
Or keep him fast in chains.

(The poem appeared on puritansermons.com)

PS : The man I drew on the right is Marcin Bondarowicz

Interview with Mary Joyce
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"In the Global South,
the reality is cell phones"

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(Ben Heine © Cartoons)

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Mary Joyce is an American researcher and consultant living in Boston, USA. In June 2005, she founded Demologue.com, an online network for worldwide digital activists. This site is not active anymore but Mary now runs a new Blog, Zapboom.com which is about "digital activism from a global perspective". Mary Joyce can be contacted through her blog.

“When we in the North think "digital" we think "computer"
but this is not the reality in the global south. The
reality is cell phones. Millions of people have them.
Millions of people are using them to organize, send
messages, take video and pictures.” (Mary Joyce)

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Ben Heine: How was Demologue.com founded? How did the first members of the network meet? Which role did you play in its creation?

Mary Joyce: I founded it in June of 2005, but there were never any other members. I collaborated with different individuals on isolated projects, as you can see here, but I was the only real member of Demologue.com.

BH: Which audience does Demologue.com target?

MJ: The goal was to target the whole world. That is why I published it in 4 languages (English, French, Spanish, Arabic), but I never promoted the website, so no one ever found it. Certainly no community ever formed around it.
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BH: Is the word « demosphere » comparable to the words « cyber democracy » or « e-democracy»? Could you explain?

MJ: According to the Demosphere Manifesto, which I wrote with Paramendra Bhagat, "The demosphere is an international digital democracy network. It is a digital ecosystem of web sites, blogs, and digital citizens who would like to support democracy movements around the world." I would say that it could be a part of cyber democracy or e-democracy in that it is a network that spreads cyber/e-democracy practices

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BH: Is Demologue.com totally independent? How does it evolve financially speaking?

MJ: Actually, the financial side of Demologue.com is something I'm really proud of and something that had an impact on my later work. Basically, Demologue.com is almost free and completely self-financed by me. It costs me $20 a month for the live software hook-up that allows me to edit the site (the service is through www.homestead.com). I designed and created the site myself using Homestead's tools. All the projects I did were free because I and the collaborators volunteered their time. I also never did any fundraising for Demologue. That is the cool thing about the internet now. You can do a lot of cool things for free or almost free meaning that political activism over the internet is accessible to more and more people.

BH: One of the main goals of Demologue.com is to bring global democracy through a network of worldwide digital activists controlling their own government. Do you think this is achievable in the short term? If not, why?

MJ: Well, I think activists connecting themselves digitally is very important, but worldwide, very few people have access to the internet, thus the need for bridge activists. I do think that the internet can help spread activist practices and strengthen individual citizen campaigns, but if national transformation is going to occur, a lot of activity will occur offline.

BH: Your proposition to reach activists in the Global South, who sometimes live under autocratic governments, is to connect them with "bridge activists". How do you build and train this needed community of "bridge activists"?

MJ: Ha ha - yeah... I didn't really have a plan for training bridge activists. My idea was that some people in each country are internet savvy and that they would just step into the role of bridge activist. I don't know if this has happened or not, but I certainly can take no credit for it.

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BH: Demologue.com is growing every day, how do you recruit "bridge activists" (and hopefully local activists as well)?

MJ: I don't recruit them and Demologue.com isn't growing. Actually, it's dead.

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BH: Blogging about politics is a good way of taking part into the world's affairs, which other advantages do you find in running a personal Blog?

MJ: Blogging helps me to develop my ideas by writing them down. It forces me to think about my concerns on a daily basis. Also, it gives me an opportunity to share my concerns with the public.

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BH: What are the benefits for the demosphere community in having a Wiki site?

MJ: Wikis are a good way for a disconnected group to create something collaboratively because group members can contribute to the wiki on their own schedule.

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BH: Although some analysts say they are mainly places for entertainment, do you think that the cyber cafés (and the other public centres where a low cost Internet connection is available) are a good weapon against the digital divide in poorer countries?

MJ: Cyber cafés are incredibly important in increasing the number of people who can get online. I would guess that the vast majority of people who use the web worldwide use a shared public computer to get online, rather than having their own. Although most kids in cyber cafés do use the internet for entertainment, the possibilities for activism are there.

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BH: Don't you think that the Northern political rhetoric about the digital divide is a kind of political slogan which purpose is to force the countries of the Global South to conform their economic system to the Northern one, for example, by inciting them to buy the same Northern softwares and hardwares?

MJ: Um, that's an interesting interpretation that I've never heard before. While I do believe that the digital divide is real, I think the global south will conquer it in their own way, not the way the North did. People in India aren't going to be buying thousand-dollar desktop computers. They're going to be accessing the internet from their cell phones.

BH: We have recently heard about very cheap « generic » laptops being sold in Africa and in India. Do you think that the individual access to these computers and their potential Internet connection might be better to bridge the gap than collective access in public centres? Wouldn't it be easier for peace activists in poorer countries to work individually with these cheap laptops rather than in public centres where they often sit next to people who have no specific militant mood.

MJ: When we in the North think "digital" we think "computer" but this is not the reality in the global south. The reality is cell phones. Millions of people have them. Millions of people are using them to organize, send messages, take video and pictures. (See my "Prospects for e-Advocacy" report, which talks more about the importance of cell phones). We in the North love laptops, so we want to give them to the South, but the South is creating their own solutions. We need to follow there lead and help them do something that is sustainable and makes sense for them.

BH: My last question : How would you define the ideal digital society in a few words?

MJ: Equality of communication. Equality of information. Environmentally sustainable design. Low cost and high quality. Technology guided by the needs of people and not by trade and governments. Finally education technologies should be accessible to all.

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(Interview and portraits by Ben Heine)

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