CoffinRust Biography

• November 2005 (The Ghost, Vol. 4)
• August 2007 (Art On You)

Conducted by Storm of Art on You Studios in August, 2007:

1) How do you personally define Dark Art?

DB: "Dark Art" generally has a reputation of empty shock value with heavy doses of petty Goth-like loathsomeness with a maturity level in "meaning" and technique of your average public high school idiot. And as such there are numerous clichés and stereotypes that go along with the term that can detract from the value of truly excellent, masterful, dark and sinister artwork. Actual Dark Art forces humanity to come face-to-face with that which terrifies them, and that's the sort of artwork I'm referring to when I say Dark Art.

2) What initially attracted you to Dark Art and what about it continues to intrigue you?

DB: An interest in the darker aspects of life has always been quite natural for me, which has always been reflected in my artwork. Why draw some sort of athlete when you could draw a hermaphroditic multi-headed beast devouring some hot naked ladies?

3) Who do you think is the "Godfather" or "Godmother" of Dark Art?

DB: I'd say religion. It is filled with diabolical imagery, torture, sorrow and loss – themes that allowed the imaginations of the artists and their audiences to run wild. When painting the Angels, Saints, Jesus or Mary, there were rules and regulations about how they should look. But with paintings of Hell and demons and torturing sinners, artists were usually able to tap into their creativity and give it a good workout! To paraphrase what I said in my last answer: Why draw a boring old Saint when you could draw a hermaphroditic multi-headed beast devouring some hot naked sinners?

4) Would you consider yourself to be a Satanic Artist? Is there a difference between Satanic Art and Dark Art, or do you think that Satanic Art is simply a subgenre of Dark Art?

DB: I absolutely consider myself a Satanic Artist. What is and what is not Satanic is definite – there is no gray area. But what is and what is not dark is up to the opinion of the creator and the audience. For example, let's say there's an art show with a very well-done, classy portrait of Anton LaVey. If the room is full of Satanists, they probably wouldn't consider it dark. Fill the room with Christians and they may think it's very dark indeed.

Satanic art doesn't necessarily have to have "dark" themes. It can, and often does, evoke happiness and joy in both the creator and viewer – regardless of whether or not the creator or viewer are even Satanists. Simply drawing a demon does not make artwork "Satanic" – it can be, and often is, much more subtle. For example, Edward Hopper's painting entitled "Girlie Show" (1941) is by far more Satanic than any artwork found on a run-of-the-mill Black Metal album. However, Satanists, including myself, often do use devilish subject matter because it's fun and aesthetically pleasing – but here again, "dark" is subjective.

5) Which Artists have influenced you in this genre? Where do your other inspirations come from?

DB: For my subject matter I often just let my imagination run wild and see what happens. And sometimes I get inspiration from dreams and nightmares, which I realize sounds mind-numbingly occultnik, but it is true. Stylistically I'm very inspired by a wide variety of artists throughout history, ranging from Bosch and Goya to Basil Gogos and Al Feldstein.

6) How do you feel Dark Art has influenced society?

DB: There is always that Pit of Fear that each generation of humans have. Dark Art's role has been to bring forth those abominations from that Pit and force humanity to shake its hand (or claw). This is most potent when it's a societal abomination that has been ignored and is suddenly brought to light. On an individual level Dark Art accomplishes a number of things, like satisfying the fact that people enjoy being scared. It can also aid people, either the artist in creating the piece or the viewer in buying it and displaying it in their home, to ritualistically exorcise and gain control over something inside of them that has deterred their happiness.

7) We see Dark Art in Fine Arts, Cinema, Television, and even reflected on popular apparel. What do you think the mainstream culture's fascination is with Dark Art?

DB: People like being scared, but they also like trying to identify with the things that scare them. Unfortunately, this has watered-down the term "Dark Art" and made it user-friendly for masses of pseudo-depressed teenagers and pathetic idiots.

8) Do you feel that Dark Art is a current movement that is as prominent as previous movements such as Surrealism, Impressionism, Cubism, etc?

DB: I don't really consider truly "Dark Art" a movement unto itself since it can be found within most any art movement throughout history, and will continue to be found well into the future. It can't really be confined to an art movement. All of those art movements mentioned have very dark works of art to their credit, and they're much darker than anything your average Mall Goth could fathom.

9) Do you think Dark Art will continue to grow and evolve?

DB: Certainly, because humans grow and evolve – but of course that doesn't necessarily mean "improving," and reminding us of this is one of the important roles of Dark Art.

10) Is there anything else you would like to personally note about Dark Art?

DB: I'd just like to tell folks who are reading this to stop looking for Dark Art on Heavy Metal album covers and Goth T-shirts – these things play their roles and serve their purpose, and they can be fun. But there is a great deal of art from throughout history that is far more dark, brooding and sinister just waiting to scare the shit out of you.