Benjamin Swaim's 'Forty Guns' Drawings Published in Cinematic Format

Benjamin Swaim has released a book titled 'Forty Guns,' referencing Samuel Fuller's 1957 Western, compiling a series of ink drawings in a panoramic, cinematic format. The drawings, originally 50 x 60 cm, were created by applying ink, selectively erasing parts, and blackening the background, resulting in a controlled matte-on-gloss effect faithfully reproduced through hyperrealistic photogravure. The book features black-and-white illustrations, predominantly dark, depicting each of the forty killers in a burlesque, caricatured style reminiscent of Buster Keaton. The series includes 'David & Goliath' and 'Le Sphinx,' with absurd cowboy figures. In 'David & Goliath,' a pistolero in a plaid shirt defeats a Goliath-like character, then mockingly shows his buttocks to the severed head. 'Le Sphinx' portrays a toothed-vagina woman (following Picasso and Topor) who seduces a naive man; he shoots her and her ghosts, then fires at her corpse. The drawings will be exhibited at La Maison Rouge. The book is a co-edition with le 19 – galerie Fernand Léger.