Review : Gothic Art Now
Gothic Art Now by Jasmine Becket-Griffith
Pages : 192
Genre : Art
My Rating : 
Recommended for : lovers of gothic, urban fantasy, sci-fi, horror and other strange universes
Gothic Art Now presents an extremely modern selection of dark and creepy art in a wide variety of mediums – digital painting, scultupre, etc. And what a great selection! Some were beautiful, some melancholic, and some were just plain creepy. But each of these works created reactions, and that’s what art is. Art that doesn’t create reactions is ignored and quickly forgotten.
It was an unusual selection for me; despite a strong attraction for dark and mysterious worlds, I tend to make more traditional choices when it comes to art books. These books are usually far from cheap, so I am slowly filling my shelves with my favorite but more classic themes : Renaissance, Baroque, Victorian, etc. When I found Gothic Art Now, I was extactic to discover that for 30$, I could actually afford it and eat in the same week!
I selected a few of my favorite pieces to share with you in this review, but fear not! I was really careful to choose not too scary works. Click on the images to visit the artists’ websites.
Fall by Leslie Ann O'Dell
First things first : what is gothic art exactly? In the foreword, artist Brom offers a very clear and simple description :
What is Gothic art? To me, it’s the tragic and the resplendent, the monstrous and the angelic, the ominous and the romantic. It’s this contrast of the horrible and the beautiful, whether in content or in execution, that makes a work gothic.
And well enough, Gothic Art Now does deliver this contrast in various shapes and colors. I discovered wonderful artists : some that astonished me with their talent, some that took my breath away by the strong emotions they portrayed. I couldn’t pick a favorite.
The Price of Honey, by David Bowers
The key word in Gothic Art Now was, for me, “now”. As a student of art history, I can say that oh surprise, what we study is mostly… history. Current art receives very little attention. It’s only an observation; but while I understand the past’s importance, I also enjoy discovering artists that are still alive and well. Gothic Art Now gave me that possibility, by introducing me to artists that were current, all with links to their websites! Which means that, after spending hours looking at the book, I spent even more time on the internet, admiring the complete collections of these new-to-me artists.
Red Ribbon by David Stoupakis
The book was organized in different categories : Femmes Fatales, Men in Black, Gothic Elegance, Industrial Goth, Lurking Horror, Dark Fantasy, Creepy Creations, Grim Comics. The “Creepy Creations” had a very well suited name, as did the “Lurking Horror” chapter. I loved “Femmes Fatales”, “Gothic Elegance” and Grim Comics the most. That’s just my personal preference though; I am sure fans of horror will appreciate those scary pages I flipped through faster!
All in all, there was maybe a little too much blood and not enough of the romantic for my taste; I would also have loved to read an introduction to each chapter, by an art historian, critic or artist. On the plus side, each piece was explained in a few words by the artists. These small texts didn’t take over the art though, so the “reader” is always free to make his/her own interpretation.
Conclusion : mysterious, romantic, dark, strange, creepy, and sometimes nightmarish, this book offers a varied and current selection that will take you right through the looking glass.
I didn’t know Brom was an artist. I mean, maybe it’s not the same person, but the name Brom, no other name attached, indicates it’s the same. I picked up a book by Brom at ALA called The Child Thief. I’d never heard of the book or the author, and it adds an extra dimension to his personality if he’s an artist, too.
Yes, it is the same Brom! 🙂 Take a look at his website!
http://www.bromart.com/
From what I read over there, he’s an artist who became a writer. It definitely adds an extra dimension to his personality – although I haven’t read anything he’s written yet.
I can appreciate the talent necessary to create that art, but it’s not the kind I appreciate.
I love Gothic art – anything dark, strange and creepy is totally up my alley, so this definitely sounds like something I should take a look at 😀
Those works are haunting! I’m fascinated by art, too, and if I were going back to college again, I probably would study art history. I only took two courses in college but loved them both so much, though you’re more than right — we discussed classic art and history and touched very little on anything “modern.” Thanks for sharing — very interesting!
I enjoy all types of art…I really should make my way to our Art Institute in Detroit someday!
Oh wow. Those are absolutely gorgeous. Thanks for sharing. (I especially liked the 1st and 3rd one).
I never knew about Gothic art till I read it here. Though the pictures are really dark and creepy, they have a sort of allure to it. I was really struck by the first pic, Fall by Leslie Ann O’Dell, it chills your bones, but you can’t take your eyes off it.
I got this book from our school librarian (she always helps everyone with their art topics), and at first I was apprehensive (I thought it would be full of emo stuff), but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The art in it is really beautiful (although the pig mask scared the crap out of me), but to like it I’d say you’d have to be a fan of wierd and creepy stuff. This suited my topic perfectly (distortion), especially pieces like Fall by Leslie Ann O’Dell which I chose to look into for my historical piece. Not all of it is typical gothic stuff. In fact, that’s probably the last thing that would normally come to your mind if you’d have seen these pieces elsewhere. It changed my perspective of gothic art completely (: Too bad it has to go back to the library at some point…