Provocative, edgy, and sometimes shocking, dark art gives me all the thrills and chills. I'm not sure if I'm ready to hang it on my walls just yet... but I'm into it.
photos courtesy of Dark Art Movement/Macabre Gallery
Every year since childhood, as soon as the first harvest moon rose and the first pumpkin sprouted in the patch, I'd get ready to cover my eyes, because as much as I enjoy Halloween, I've always been a scaredy-cat when it comes to horror movies. Merely mouth the word Saw and my heart starts pounding faster than you can say "boo". But American Horror Story changed all that for me. Powerless against the allure of Evan Peters, Finn Wittrock, and Sarah Paulson... plus Jessica Lange and literally anything by Ryan Murphy, I'm all in. I started with Freak Show, worked my way back to Asylum and Murder House, and by the time I got to Coven (#obsessed) I was hooked on AHS like a street drug. Now, I'm de-sensitized, because let me tell you something people: once you learn how Elsa Mars lost her legs and Twisty the Clown got his smile, nothing can shock you.
Dark art evokes feelings that we may or may not understand - and might not like - but it's so provocative and intriguing, it's hard to look away. The movement is deeply rooted in the legacy of greats like Dali, Caravaggio, Bacon, and Bosch. When artistic expression is depicted through powerful and surreal imagery of treacherous acts, macabre scenes, even sacrilege, it makes us take pause and contemplate the dark and primal nature of humanity. A new global generation of extraordinary painters, photographers, and digital artists are taking the dark movement to the next level. And I'm about it.
Scroll down and see my picks... if you dare.
Graptopetalum/Shutter by May Heathen, 2017; acrylic on canvas (to inquire, contact artist directly)
Restless Dreams - Tribute to Silent Hill by Rodrigo Cifuentes, 2014; graphite, watercolor, and white pastel on paper
For inquiries or purchase, click links or visit: darkartmovement.com
