As a warning, some of the imagery linked here is NSFW.
As I browse through the various online art galleries that I frequent, it’s hardly uncommon that I come across adult material. And let’s be honest…some of it is pr0n. But every now and then I see another genre that I can’t tell if it’s meant to be erotic or just something else. It’s called “guro” or “ero guro” (“ero guro nansensu” being derived from the English words “erotic grotesque nonsense”) and it’s very brutally violent.
I usually skip over these images, but every once and a while I’ll take a curious peek. Lately, a few of those peeks have lead me to another shocking discovery. Now, I know that most artists out there–whether you see it or not–create mature art. Some, like Josh Lesnick, will even admit that the majority of his income comes from adult work (Slipshine), even if his labor of love (Girly) is more tame. It’s also not hard to find erotica made my manga god Masamune Shirow. But every now and then I’ll find an artist that I had no idea had such a dark side to their art.
I like to read Chugworth Academy. I even bought the first book. Apparently many in the webcomics community knew, but I’m just finding out that the series as I know it is actually it’s second incarnation. The first being more pornographic. Not only that, but Scribble Kid used to draw and post all sorts of erotica that even I would call “questionable”. It wasn’t until I recently saw some comics like this one posted on an online art gallery that I learned that side of him. At first I thought, “Yikes, this comic is kinda gruesome, but the art looks just like the style from the Chugworth Academy guy.” A google or two later, I found out that the style resemblance was more than coincidence. Now, I’m not passing judgment on him as an artist, but I certainly feel like I understand him a bit better as a person.
Another shock was when I found this guro image, with incredibly impressive pencil work. I’ve come to find out that it was done by Hiroaki Samura, famed artist of the Blade Of The Immortal manga, whose work I also admire. In fact, there’s a whole art book that collects it! Again, I was a little shocked… I can’t say I’m surprised when I find these things, but it’s always a bit of a shake-up when I identify the artist.
Most guro I’ve seen is meant to just be gross or disturbing. Often it comes off more as silly. But when I find a piece done by an artist whose work I dig, I get a sense of the emotions behind it. Kinda like the reaction you might get from an HR Giger piece. As a male, at least, I can empathize that sometimes men feel a hostile anger toward women, and pieces like the ones I’ve seen are an expression of that anger. I don’t at all condone the actual brutalization of women, but I do understand the emotions that fuel the art. Most guys have that part of them deep down that holds hostility toward women and uses sex to express dominance over someone.
Through all this, I’ve become wary of the other artists whom I admire. In the back of my mind, I’m now thinking, “Okay, which one of you fuckers am I gonna find next?” It’s like finding your friend’s porn stash…only he’s the one that shot the video.
