Playboy

Ana Benaroya is an American artist with a unique take on the human body. Her work typically depicts a strong, yet feminine body with some male bravado.

As she evolved as a person and an artist, her art subjects evolved with her. Drawing inspiration from Greek sculpture of the human body, comic book art, concert posters, and commercial advertising art, Benaroya’s style became more whimsical.

Benaroya talks to Playboy about her journey, her personal artistic style, how her art explores the intersection of sex and culture, and more.

How Ana Benaroya Got Started as an Artist

Playboy: How did your passion for art ignite?

Ana Benaroya: I’ve always loved art. I’ve been drawing since I was a little kid. As a little girl, I was a huge tomboy and I was obsessed with comic books. I collected action figures and would draw horses, superheroes, and athletes. I think it was just something I became interested in from the beginning. Eventually, my classmates would say things like, “Oh, you could draw that? Can you draw this for me?” And, I realized it was also a way for me to connect with people. I just became more and more interested in art.

Developing Her Style

Playboy: How did you develop your personal artistic style?

Ana Benaroya: I pretty much learned by copying from comic books and cartoons. I learned how to draw and became obsessed with the muscular superhero male body. As a kid, you’re not very self-reflective—but like looking back on that, I think I really wanted all the drawings I made to look like a boy created them. I wanted nobody to be able to guess that a girl drew it. It kind of sounds horrible, but yeah. That’s the truth. So I became very interested in what would be traditionally considered “boyish art” with a masculine aesthetic. I, myself, was genuinely interested in those types of things. So I would say it all started there.

Exploring the Intersection of Sex and Culture

Playboy: How does your art explore the intersection of sex and culture?

Ana Benaroya: Big question. Clearly, my entrance into making art was through my fascination with the human body and I feel like I’ve always identified very deeply with the figures I depict—both the masculine and feminine aspects.

I’ve started thinking more deeply about just how ubiquitous the female nude body is throughout art history, popular culture, and obviously in Playboy. And, I just started thinking if there is a way that I could depict the female body in a way that they’re not objectified, but empowered instead. I try to portray them as self-possessed, and the fact that they’re presented nude is almost a side point—it’s not the main point. I was always taking extra art lessons and I, initially, wanted to become an illustrator. I think a lot of my initial inspiration was commercial art—the printed page, posters, comics, and advertising. So, I initially worked as an illustrator, studied that, and did that for 10 years. I was very interested in art history as well, so I studied that and minored in it. But, I eventually became more involved in my own self-guided projects. And that’s when I decided to take the time to apply to grad school and officially learned more about painting, which my current focus. So, that’s kind of how I landed where I am.

Another factor, or something that I think about a lot, is the invisibility of lesbian desire. That’s an interesting challenge because, as a lesbian, I find that a lot of like the sexualized imagery of women exists for male pleasure. And so, inevitably, I digest all of that and try to find a way to create this empowered female body that is also still blurry, beautiful, and kind of even grotesque at times. So, my work deals with those two things.

Playboy: I wonder if you focused so much on wanting others to think that you were a man behind the male bodies that you were drawing as a connection to lesbianism in some capacity.

Ana Benaroya: I mean, I don’t think I thought that at the time, but yeah—I think there’s something there. Maybe not as a little kid, but certainly as I started to enter middle school and high school and I was trying to figure out who I was, for sure. I really identified with those male figures, despite also identifying as a woman. Through the drawings and paintings that I’ve made, I feel like I was able to connect with these male storylines that felt more true to who I felt as a person on the inside.