BenHeine on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/benheine/art/Julian-Assange-192625540BenHeine

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Julian Assange

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Prints FB G+ Twitter Blog Music © Ben Heine
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NEW: Prints of this artwork now available!

Made with thousands of "@" symbols (the common "At sign" typographic character). It took me a few days of work. I applied each character one by one and used several references for the accuracy of the portrait. Each symbol is made of a single color and tone. (I left the portrait unfinished on purpose, I think it's better this way).

"@" like "@ mbitious", "@ ctivism" and "@ ssange"... Julian is a courageous man fighting for Justice and Democracy despite many criticisms...

Julian Paul Assange is the founder, spokesperson and editor in chief of WikiLeaks (a whistleblower website and conduit for news leaks). He is also an Australian publisher, journalist, software developer and Internet activist.
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For more information about my works: info@benheine.com
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Details and making

Julian Assange - Details by BenHeine Making of - Julian Assange by BenHeine

Some other digital portraits:

Lady Gaga by BenHeine Mad Hatter - Johnny Depp by BenHeine

Michael Jackson, Text Portrait by BenHeine - Marilyn Monroe - by BenHeine
Image size
719x900px 859.08 KB
© 2011 - 2024 BenHeine
Comments114
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:star::star::star::star::star: Overall
:star::star::star::star::star: Vision
:star::star::star::star::star: Originality
:star::star::star::star::star: Technique
:star::star::star::star::star: Impact

*sigh* looking at that face reminds me of how far the movement for Internet freedom has fallen. Let me put it to in more historical terms

When Beethoven wrote his third symphony, he dedicated it to Napoleon, whom he saw as the embodiment of the values of freedom and human dignity emerging from the French Revolution, calling it "a symphony to a great man." But, when Napoleon crowned himself emperor, Beethoven was heartbroken, and renamed his work "a symphony to the memory of a great man."

I'm a man who believes it is the patriotic duty of every citizen to question the actions of their government, as stated in the American Constitution. Naturally, when I first heard about Julian Assange and his efforts to bring accountability of government for no cost, I applauded him and wished him the best of luck in his various struggles.

But, then I heard that he was planning to charge people to view leaked documents, prompting me to do something with him that I have usually don't with governmental action: I questioned his motives.

The last straw came when I took a closer look at the large quantities of documents he had posted, which some had touted as being just as incriminating as the Pentagon Papers. Unfortunately, whereas the Pentagon Papers proved the government mislead the people about the state of the Vietnam war, these documents proved almost nothing. The great exposé I had been hoping for was little more than a collection of mundane transcripts of unrelated meetings and musings. The only thing shocking about the documents was the sheer quantity of them.

It is here that I came to the conclusion that I should have come to long ago, I was being led around by the nose, we all were. I am now worried that this man, in an attempt to increase his own celebrity, may have unwittingly doomed openness and freedom on the Internet, as I have noticed the government agencies paid comparatively little attention to the openness of the Internet before he came along. I suppose this is the great danger of putting a man up on a pedestal, his words become gold to the ears of all those listening. As depressing as it may sound, I think, perhaps, the only lesson I learned form the Assange saga is that we should listen to ourselves, we're the only people we can rely on to do anything right.