Bloody Art

Hermann Nitsch, by Graeme Moran.

With Halloween approaching, many of us will be smearing on bucket-loads of (fake) blood in search of that perfect ‘zombie’ look. However, for some in the art world, the use of blood is a much more frequent occurrence.
Controversial Austrian painter and performance artist Hermann Nitsch uses the real thing, either animal or human, mixed with paint to create epic, blood-stained works of art. His pieces are similar to Jackson Pollock’s famous ‘splatter paintings’, only x-rated versions that resemble the goriest of crime scenes.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: what sort of sane person would use blood to paint a picture?! But the artistic use of this grisly liquid, although somewhat strange, is actually packed with meaning and quite literally drips with symbolism.
Amongst references to dark religious rituals and sacrificial offerings, Nitsch uses blood as the perfect material to visually express violence. Everything about the gory substance suggests pain and passion, cruelty and carnage – elements which the Austrian painter attempts to channel into his work. His technique of dripping and splashing paint gives the art a primitive energy – capturing the force of violence. Nitsch’s trademark spray of crimson paint over white canvas is suggestive of violent acts – a dramatic sensation that is heightened by the use of real blood. In fact, only by using the actual substance does he succeed in giving the work its truly disturbing and violent edge.
In using blood, Nitsch is commenting upon our culture’s morbid fascination with violence, as seen on news channels, computer games and movie screens across the world. In many ways, the controversial artist is holding violence up to us, confronting us with the bloody leftovers of the violence that we consume each day.
What is more, the use of blood can be understood as a form of absolute creativity. Like many artists who use their hair, urine or semen in their work, Nitsch takes personal creativity to a whole other level. By mixing his own blood into the paint, he is literally putting a piece of himself into the work, becoming his own paint. In this sense, one could say that using this creepy substance as an artistic material is actually just an extreme exercise in creativity.
You may still be reading this thinking that the use of blood in art is a strange practice. On the other hand, you may see it as a powerful and interestingly unsettling metaphor. Either way, it cannot be denied that standing before a painting that’s splattered with gallons of real blood is a strangely unnerving experience – a sensation that you don’t often feel when walking around an art gallery…  By Graeme Moran.

Click HERE to visit Nitsch's website

Scared silly with Shelly

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein,  by Mia Bleach.

What are you doing this Halloween? Heading to an all-night Twilight themed disco, for some reason? Trick or treating? Telling ghost stories like Shelley and Byron? Well, don’t. Take off your Robert Pattinson mask, put the rotten eggs in the fridge, let your friends down and read this book. It has everything you need for a really scary All Hallows Eve: death and remorse, shame and suffering, and an eight foot monster with the mind of an infant, made of stolen body parts.

This is a tale of the bitter battle between monster and man, ultimately highlighting humanity’s inability to live up to its name: humanity’s monstrosity killing the monsters initial humanity.

Frankenstein (the ardent amateur scientist, NOT the monster, contrary to popular folly) attempts to create the ‘perfect’ being, only to regret his decision when his creation turns out to be hideously ugly. Frankenstein makes a getaway and the monster roams the mountains in the hope of forging any kind of human connection, only to be looked on by the villagers as a dentist does a toffee apple *(complete and utter horror).

The monster seeks revenge on the maker who snubbed him and murders his brother, yet somehow manages to convince him to create a female version of himself for companionship: and it is this kind of oxymoronic persuasiveness that makes Shelley’s writing so beautiful, so emblematically Romantic in style and yet often, so fantastically horrible in content.  Against a backdrop of the sublime, this author blends realism and the supernatural to provoke sympathy for the monster, despite him killing Frankenstein’s friend and wife after he abandons ‘project partner’. 

As Frankenstein attempts to transcend human limits into godlike power with his creation, the ugly monster wishes to break into society and transcend the superficial, a tragic idealism that cannot fit into what is an essentially shallow world. And if that prospect doesn’t scare you, I don’t know what will...

By Mia Bleach

Foreign Frights

Bored of the same old Hollywood horrors? Well here are 5 international gore-fests which offer more than cheap scares and bad acting,  by Simon Bland.

If you haven't seen Tomas Alfredson's Let the Right One In, the Swedish vampire film with a twist - then take this Halloween as an opportunity to drop what you're doing and find a copy. Based on a novel of the same name, it follows the unlikely friendship formed between a 12-year-old boy and the young blood sucker who moves into his apartment building. In time they help each other over come their personal problems and form a heart warming relationship - well, as heart warming as any relationship between a child and the un-dead can be. Boasting stellar performances, one kick ass scene towards its climax and no shortage of blood spurting gore, Let the Right One In is the perfect Halloween date movie.

With an abundance of modern horror choice, it's important not to forget the origins of the movie scare. So if you're feeling exceptionally cultured, why not check out the 1922 classic Nosferatu this October 31st. Thomas Hutter gets a bit more than he bargained for when he's sent to Transylvania to meet with Count Orlok. The creepy count, played by the otherwordly Max Schreck, sends chills to this day despite minimal make up effects. The climactic scene of Orlok closing in on his sleeping prey, only to be thwarted by sunrise has become an iconic image of horror cinema.
However, if you're looking for something that packs a bit more punch, then why not check out the unforgiving French film Martyrs, certainly not one for the faint of heart. Making Saw or Hostel look like kids films, director Pascal Languir's tale of a troubled girl seeking revenge quickly shifts gear into something more sinister. Imprisoned and routinely beaten, our antihero Anna is kidnapped by a group who'll stop at nothing to discover what lies beyond death. Stripping away her will to live - and her skin - Anna achieves transcendence, becoming the world's first witness to the afterlife. If you're after a challenging horror film, look no further.
Staying within the vein of horror movies that make you not want to look, yet unable to look away, Austrian director Michael Haneke's Funny Games is definitely worth a mention. Inviting two seemingly polite strangers into their home, George, Anna and son Schorschi soon discover that they want to do more than borrow some eggs. What follows is a series of sadistic games pitting the helpless family against the deranged duo. As the brutality increases, the family's chance of survival decreases, resulting in a pretty bleak outcome. A tough watch, but an interesting exploration of the horror genre's limits.
Quickly given the Hollywood remake treatment, the Spanish thriller [Rec] offers more originality and suspense than its American counterpart Quarantine. As reporter Angela begins coverage of a normal night with the local firemen; things take a turn for the abnormal. Responding to a apartment building disturbance, on arrival they discover an elderly woman infected with a bloodthirsty virus, and several panicky residents. Soon the inhabitants of the building are quarantined and must find a new exit without falling victim to their zombie-like flat mates. Watch in the dark, with the sound up!

By Simon Bland.

Having a Bal

Martyn Bal's A/W Collection, by Graeme Moran.

For many people, men’s fashion often appears to fall into two sections; one which recreates a typical male uniform (suits, shirts, trousers and ties) and blandly recycles them...nothing too exciting. Then there is the other section, the more 'experimental' side of men’s fashion. These designers put men in skirts, floral tights and man-kinis (yes, a bikini for a man, see ALEXANDER MCQUEEN...)

However, Martyn Bal’s Fall 09 collection seems to bridge these two camps, kicking men’s fashion into shape with a perfect, metal-toed biker boot. Nothing in Bal’s collection is boring, plain or recycled, yet nothing is too shocking, strange, nor down right stupid.

Having earned his stripes as Hedi Slimane’s right-hand-man at Dior Homme, Bal then moved onto Versace and Burberry, but now utilises his skills to create his own collections. Taking the essential pieces from modern man’s wardrobe - a sharp, smart suit; a killer, comfortable coat; sensible, suitable shoes, Bal then plays with the garments in such a way that his collection is not only totally wearable, but also utterly individualistic and unique… and completely desirable.

Combining a hard masculinity with a somewhat feminine flow (particularly in his typically amazing outer pieces) the collection is a perfectly cohesive and interchangeable wardrobe; a perfect dose of luxury fashion-forwardness and everyday utility.