The art of NoBeast
Jun 16, 2007
It’s not every day you get to post graphic demon porn but this is such a day so consider yourself duly warned about the content. I’ve no idea who NoBeast is since no one seems to know. Given what’s being depicted here—among other things, a rare gay take on the unique Japanese tentacle rape fetish—the anonymity might be understandable but the quality of the drawing is certainly good enough for the artist to reveal his or herself publicly. This may be the work of a moonlighting commercial artist unwilling to compromise their day job. Who knows?
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33 comments or trackbacks
#1 posted by Nathalie
Jun 16th, 2007
Strange fantasies, but indeed the drawings are really good.
#2 posted by Wiley
Jun 16th, 2007
Not too sure about the last one with the pencil, but I do really dig the rest of them, though I certainly don’t envy any of those boys in the pictures. Then again, I almost never envy anyone being victimized in pictures I like, I simply like seeing it happen. If Zorn ever brought Naked City back together, I would absolutely not be surprised if he used this artist’s work in his usually elaborate album art.
#3 posted by John
Jun 16th, 2007
These pictures have that dubious ambivalence you get in the Japanese work where most of the “victims” (if they are victims) seem like willing participants. I’d say these are willing, for the most part. Not sure about the first one, though.
I’d forgotten about Zorn using this kind of art. I think the original Naked City album must have been one of the first places I saw anything like this, that stuff was pretty unknown in the west before the web came along.
#4 posted by Nathalie
Jun 16th, 2007
Indeed, they are reminiscent of certain Japanese prints. I have one somewhere involving a girl with an octopus that is very similar to these. And either partner did not seem particularly thrilled by the action either, that I remember.
#5 posted by John
Jun 16th, 2007
The octopus sex thing is a very curious Japanese invention that’s been a round for a long time. In recent years it’s evolved into scenarios with demons or alien beings or whatever. And many younger artists are imitating the manga/anime style so there’s even more cross-pollination going on, as these pictures demonstrate. (This assumes that NoBeast isn’t Japanese, of course.)
#6 posted by Wiley
Jun 16th, 2007
Most of the of the really intense mangas on Naked City albums were done by Suehiro Maruo, who is one of the best as far as I am concerned, though I can’t read Japanese so I am undoubtedly missing out on a lot of them. I typed in a search of your artist and found nothing, where on earth did you run across this badass NoBeast?
#7 posted by Martin Jones
Jun 16th, 2007
I assume the seed (excuse the pun) of all this comes from Hokusai’s The Amorous Octopus? Then let us not forget the gentle eroticism of Harry Clarke’s homage Ophelia/Lobster – not a penetration in sight!
#8 posted by John
Jun 17th, 2007
Wiley: these were found by accident after I saw a picture on the blog of someone I know then followed a link in the comments.
Martin: yes, Hokusai seems to be the first with the tentacles and his picture is rather more explicit than anything you’d see in western art at that time outside porn. Funny that people look askance at pictures like that yet western painting is full of similar scenarios with all those variations on Leda and the Swan, Ganymede and the Eagle, Europa and the Bull, et al.
#9 posted by Wiley
Jun 18th, 2007
An octopus just scares most more than a swan I guess. I agree they do seem willing, I just see them assuming a submissive victim’s role in the intimacy, I’d say I see eye to eye on a few things Bataille wrote, not to mention the penetrating members are huge and abrasive looking.
#10 posted by sebastiane
Oct 25th, 2007
very interesting, where did you find them please? where i can find more of this artist, it seems nothing really available on web.thnks
#11 posted by John
Oct 25th, 2007
Hi Sebastiane. These were all from this page and I’ve just noticed that the individual picture links I’d made weren’t working so that’s now been corrected. Some of the other pictures on that page look like they’re by a different artist although given the scarcity of information it’s hard to say for certain. As I mention above, I’ve not come across any other NoBeast work elsewhere.
#12 posted by sebastiane
Nov 1st, 2007
thank you
#13 posted by ruinedkuria
Nov 11th, 2008
thank you; i’ve been searching for such a long time for nobeast’s artwork. they used to be on y-gallery
#14 posted by seneschal
Apr 20th, 2009
His email was listed as being from russia, I sort of assume that he had to go into their mandatory military service and didn’t want things still posted when he did. Things aren’t friendly for gays in the russian military.
#15 posted by Steve
May 31st, 2009
Found some posted at a russian forum (linked).
#16 posted by lianna diabolique
Jun 26th, 2009
Absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful. Gloriam Satane!
#17 posted by jack
Jun 27th, 2009
What is it that makes these pictures so exciting? Tentacle attack pics are nothing new, of course, but what’s new here is the superb draftsmanship. The victims are lovingly depicted, heightening our excitement at seeing them attacked and overwhelmed.
Thanks so much for sharing these thrilling pictures.
#18 posted by Jack
Jun 28th, 2009
Tentacled aliens attack a group of beautiful young boys. It’s a total hands-down victory. The unarmed boys haven’t got a chance. They scream in anguish as tentacles envelop them, crush them, and lap up their blood. Not one of them survives.
#19 posted by Cat
Aug 20th, 2009
Such gorgeous art, wonderful linework he (?) has there. But unfortunately, none of the links appear to be working, and the links to the pics you posted now have “forbidden” when the new page appears. Do you have a working link somewhere? Or is anonib completely down? Thank you for your time!
#20 posted by John
Aug 21st, 2009
Hi Cat. Yes, that image board vanished for good. I guessed it might–these things are often temporary–so I downloaded the larger versions as a precaution. I’ve now amended the links so you can see them in full hosted here. I hope NoBeast, whoever he or she may be, doesn’t mind.
#21 posted by Cat
Aug 21st, 2009
Thanks, John! This person’s work is technically outstanding, obviously professional, it’s a shame they seem to have disappeared. I did a bit more searching, they had a y!gallery page, but have deleted everything, several years ago by the looks of things. The only journal entry says “thanks for being nice to me”, or something to that effect. Another bit of information I found on another site wondered if they might be an artist called nonhuman on deviantart. Styles are similar, but it’s hard to say. Anyway, I appreciate your getting back to me, thank you!
#22 posted by Scott
May 3rd, 2010
John would you know if there are any pics other than the ones posted above? Nobeast i (Was?) a great artist.
#23 posted by John
May 3rd, 2010
Hi Scott. To date these remain the only pictures I’ve seen from the elusive NoBeast.
#24 posted by Futalova
Jun 22nd, 2010
I’d love to have THAT bed.
#25 posted by Sara
Aug 29th, 2010
I understand he might want privacy, but honestly, its a shame he is on hiding… I just found today his work and its wonderfull.
We’re in 2010, homosexuality its a normal thing, nothing we need to worry about. Those people who joke about gays don’t have a say in the matter, they don’t know that happiness is more than just an “classic” couple of man and woman, its with who we find it.
I loved the white snake demon, it just toke my breath away…
Whoever he is, if he ever makes his own site, I will be his instant fan!
#26 posted by umrokku
Feb 11th, 2012
i find his/her work to be really well done even if some og them are really strange i just wish i could find more of these unless these are the only ones published by this artist
#27 posted by scarabin
Mar 23rd, 2012
has anyone found any more of his work?
yum.
#28 posted by angryfairy
Aug 3rd, 2012
other works http://www.radikal.ru/USERS/258ff049f7864943a2361ae6e1b6861a/nobeast–nohuman?pg=1
#29 posted by John
Aug 3rd, 2012
Thanks, but I’m not seeing any new NoBeast work there. All the other pictures are by an artist called Nohuman who had a deviantART account that’s now deleted. See here. The Nohuman pictures can be identified with their spiky ideogram signature, something that isn’t present on the NoBeast pictures.
While the names are similar and there are some stylistic similarities this doesn’t immediately prove that they’re the same artist. It’s possible that the same artist was working under different names, of course, but that’s just speculation. deviantART is filled with artists imitating each other’s stylistic tics, and those of established artists. This quasi-Japanese illustration style is a common one that owes something to artists such as Yoshitaka Amano.
This quibbling may seem like labouring over a minor point but the web is terrible for misattributing artwork so I’m loathe to add to the syndrome. People who dump pictures onto image boards or Tumblrs seldom care to check their attributions. I care about this since I like NoBeast’s work and would still like to see more of it, if any exists.
#30 posted by Analguy
Nov 3rd, 2012
Very nice, Id very much like to be taken by the demon in the 2nd pic. Ive always dreamed with being sodomized abusively. Too the point of tears and screams and to know it will continue tormenting me with his cruel phallus with no regard for my pain.
#31 posted by raymond figueroa
Jan 14th, 2013
hello, would be like the gay artist archive smile thanks fgrrymnd_p@aol.com
#32 posted by Cat
Jan 14th, 2013
Replying to John’s post above, I’m pretty sure it IS the same artist, there are enough pictures of his art to see the evolution in styles (especially the one with the bloody heart, it’s like right in between those two styles), and there are a few Russian sites that have a whole lot of pictures by him, all taken from a single defunct – and empty – manga gallery. He apparently did sculpture as well, just gorgeous.
But what really worries me more than anything is that he might be dead, you know? Being gay in Russia is a dangerous, dangerous thing, I can only hope that somehow he managed to get out and is living quietly elsewhere, maybe doing something completely different. What magical, stunning art, and what a tragedy too. The more I look at his art the sadder I feel.
#33 posted by Oks
Mar 24th, 2013
Don’t worry, Cat, he’s fine. He’s a mistery here (in Russia) aswell, (or atleast he is to me), so im not sure about drawings, but he definitely is alive and busy making dolls these days, new models appear on exhibitions, and his list of works is being updated pretty often. See for yourself: http://kukly.ru/nonhuman/galery.php