New Gothic Art is a contemporary art movement that emphasizes darkness and horror. As Francesca Gavin puts it,
There are monsters, the grotesque, violated or mutant bodies, the divided self, ghosts, dolls, masks, skulls, disgust and the abject. These are images filled with the colour black, decay and instability. Fear is reflected on the environment, or on to the self, or on to others. Sometimes the work is nihilistic or anarchic.[1]
Boston Gothic exhibition
The style began with the "Gothic" exhibition organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, curated by Christoph Grunenberg, which took place April 24 - July 6, 1997.[2] This exhibit included work by Jake and Dinos Chapman, Mike Kelley, Gregory Crewdson, Robert Gober, Jim Hodges, Douglas Gordon, Abigail Lane, Tony Oursler, Alexis Rockman, and Cindy Sherman.[2]
Francesca Gavin's reformulation
Gavin's 2008 book Hell Bound continued to theorize the existence of the movement. She has also referred to the style as "the art of fear."[3] The term is associated with work by Banks Violette, David Noonan and Gabríela Friðriksdóttir, in particular, as well as Christian Jankowski, Marnie Weber, Boo Saville, Terence Koh, and Matthew Stone.[3] Gavin also includes Olaf Breuning, Dr Lakra, Joss McKinley, Jonathan Meese, Sue Webster, and Ricky Swallow.[4] The artists involved often take inspiration from extreme metal, hardcore punk, motorcycle clubs, pornography, slasher films, and other elements of popular culture.
References
Bibliography
- Gavin, Francesca. Hell Bound: New Gothic Art. London: Laurence King Publishing, 2008.
- Grunenberg, Christoph, ed. Gothic: Transmutations of Horror in Late Twentieth Century Art. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1997.
- Steele, Valerie and Jennifer Park, Gothic: Dark Glamour, Yale University Press and the Fashion Institute of Technology New York, 2008.