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the art lair - Horrorphile

THE ART LAIR - XII ~ Frank Frazetta

August 19th 2011 04:39

I've always been a fan of Boris Vallejo, a brilliant fantasy artist. But only recently discovered the work of Frank Frazetta, although very possibly I'd seen Frazetta's artwork at a glance and assumed it was Vallejo. I deeply admire both men's artistic imaginations immensely.

Frank Frazetta was an amazing fantasy and science fiction artist. Born in 1928, Brooklyn, NYC, he died last year aged 82. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1999. He primarily worked in oil but also watercolour, ink, and pencil. He was also a sculptor.

He was most noted for his science fantasy paintings and sketches that graced posters, paperback covers, record covers, and much of his work was featured in many different comic books and horror magazines, such as Creepy and Eerie, and other illustrative media. Most of his original work (that which hasn't been bought by private art collectors) resides in the Frank Frazetta Museum in Pennsylvania. In 2009 his Conan the Conqueror painting from 1966 was purchased for more than $1 million.

Frazetta's Conan interpretation (of which there are several significant paintings, such as The Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, and Conan the Buccaneer) was the inspiration for John Milius's big screen adaptation. He also collaborated with filmmaker Ralph Bakashi on his sword and sorcery animated feature Fire & Ice (1983).

My favourite Frazetta paintings are either the overtly horror imagery, or the suggestive erotic imagery, although frequently Frazetta combined both nightmare and sensuality to striking effect. Here then is my selection of Frazetta's fantastic phantasmogorical visions.

Frank Frazetta Beauty and the Beast 1995

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THE ART LAIR - XI ~ Joshua Hoffine

October 19th 2009 00:41

My good cinephile buddy Oscar (who hosts the excellent Sci Fi TV website) gave me the severed heads up on the superb site of artist Joshua Hoffine, a brilliant photographer who stages elaborate horror tableaux; actors (well, family members) on sets, special effects make-up, props, etc. The photos are vivid, highly stylised nightmares, many of which pull from childrens' fairy tales and the stuff of classic bad dreams.

There’s a beauty within the grotesque framework and this is exactly what Hoffine is out to achieve; “I want my photos to be pretty so that you’ll look at them longer … I believe the horror story is ultimately concerned with the imminence and randomness of death, and the implication that there is no certainty of existence. The experience of horror resides resides with this confrontation with uncertainty. Horror tells us that out belief in security is delusional, and that the monsters are all around us.”

He maintains an extensive “behind the scenes” blog on his site, and coincidentally I discovered a recent entry where he describes the process of shooting his “Elizabeth Bathory” photograph which was exhibited at the recent Rue Morgue Festival of Fear in Toronto. He also makes jewelry (only three pieces currently available). Photographic prints are available for purchase through his website.

Check out his website and complete portfolio here

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THE ART LAIR - X ~ Succubi ~ Salacious Demons

May 22nd 2009 02:09

MATURE CONTENT

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THE ART LAIR - X ~ Succubi ~ Sexy Beasts

May 22nd 2009 01:51

Succubi are the seductresses from Hell; diabolical temptresses spawned from Lilith, the mother of all demons. The word succubus was first coined in 1387 and was derived from Latin succuba meaning "strumpet", but also to describe a supernatural being. It is also gleaned from the word succubure, which means to “to lie under”.

Wikipedia relates a story about “a man in the town of Koblenz, who has been bewitched by a succubus, with whom he is forced to repeatedly fornicate, whilst in the presence of his wife. The story goes on to say that after an incredible number of such bouts, the poor man at last sinks to the floor utterly exhausted and disgusted beyond belief

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THE ART LAIR - X ~ Succubi ~ Dark Angels

May 22nd 2009 01:17

It’s been eight months since the last Art Lair post. But out of the wilderness I present a triple-whammy for the tenth exhibition: three posts all on the same subject: the succubus, or succubi (plural), one of my favourite mythological figures.

The succubus is a female demon. The male counterpart is known as an incubus. European Medieval folklore describes the succubus as a demon in the form of a beautiful woman who seduces men in their dreams, having sexual intercourse and drawing the man’s energy for their own power, often to the point where he becomes utterly exhausted, sometimes dying

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THE ART LAIR - IX

September 23rd 2008 23:59

Well, I’ll be damned! I missed my monthly descent into The Art Lair. There was no August selection, I’m afraid. The horror! The horror! Lock me in the iron maiden and throw away the key! No! Wait a minute! Not that you were probably aware of the absence, but hey, what does it matter? These bones ain’t goin’ nowhere …

So, keeping the marrow to the point, here’s a selection of fantastic drawings as white as bone and as black as midnight on a moonless night … but with a hint of crimson, ‘cos that’s the kind of twisted person I am, heh heh heh … and you relish it, I know, I know
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THE ART LAIR - VIII

July 21st 2008 02:26

I’ve had a long hard weekend. I am walking shell of man. I am in dire need of vegetable soup and mineral water. I am incapable of writing an informed and witty movie review. All I can post is something slowly emerging from the Darkness, primordial sludge, like the foul stuff oozing from my ears and clouding my bloodshot vision.

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THE ART LAIR - VII

June 25th 2008 05:06

I’m not sure if the above photo is an artistic installation, but it looks like one, so I’ve included it as my window display. I’ve got a thing for crocodiles (or is that an alligator?) … and the derriere and long legs of the female kind. But I digress …

There’s a bit more colour in this selection of art, a bit more vibrancy in the macabre. But that’s all I’m going to say. I’m not an art critic; I just compile the “exhibition” and let my readers have an oogle. That’s the best way to present art, let it speak for itself

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THE ART LAIR - VI

May 1st 2008 23:14

Are your bad dreams a little on the bland and tedious side? Do you need a little inspiration for your nightmare melting pot? Imagery that’s truly surreal, grotesque, outlandish and seductively horrendous? You’ve come to the right place … The Horrorphile’s Art Lair, a scarily fine selection of paintings, sketches, and illustrations from international artists.

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THE ART LAIR - V

March 28th 2008 23:29

If only the modern horror movie was as richly textured, boldly formed, and palpably fearsome as the art work on display here in The Art Lair, I’d be a happy little chappy!

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THE ART LAIR - IV

February 22nd 2008 01:17

A picture may paint a thousand words … But a piece of horror art cuts through flesh and bone and etches deep into the marrow an obituary of dark and bloodied brilliance. Check these dark and delicious works by talented young artists from all over the world.

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THE ART LAIR - III

December 31st 2007 03:32

It’s my last post for the year. So I thought I’d end with the next exhibition of The Art Lair. These are dark and confronting illustrations from artists from all over the world. Linger and ogle.

And have a bloody good new year

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THE ART LAIR - II

November 29th 2007 02:15

I love the way each person can interpret different things from a piece of artwork, more so than your average movie poster. As much as I love graphic design, a movie poster is, more often than not, designed to illicit an immediate and deliberate response from the viewer; basically the poster should be saying “You want to see this movie! Now!”

With a piece of artwork, whether it be an charcoal sketch, a water colour painting, an air-brushed illustration, or a metal sculpture, the intention of the artist is to create a reaction from the viewer; not necessarily a feel-good sensation, but definitely an excited one. With horror art, the artist’s intention is to create a sense of morbid fascination, unease, dread, a macabre rush of adrenalin as fear crawls up the spine, or, most effectively, a recoil, as the imagery reminds one of a recent nightmare

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THE ART LAIR - horror artwork

October 9th 2007 01:40

I was surfing with intent and came across a great site full of horror and Gothic art by a multitude of artists, most of which is actually uncredited. The site is intended for webpage designers, so many of them are quite small images for using as avatars, etc. There are numerous code generators and even a whole section for myspace junkies.

The site is a smorgasbord of horror artwork; all blood and darkness for the artiste children of the night. Most are vivid paintings, but many are digitally manipulated photographs, while others are just black and white sketches, and some images are almost endearing, in a strange, macabre kind of way

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