Artist Profile: Nick Kushner

Web: http://www.thethirdangelsounded.com

Nick Kushner is a remarkable and controversial artist who explores the darker side of the human psyche with a solid grasp of esoteric and occult themes. It is interesting that his childhood background was in “eastern orthodoxy” as his work tends to reflect a ritual even liturgical sense and is saturated with esoteric themes, while certainly from a more heterodox perspective. Many of his philosophical thoughts and esoteric reflections are reflected in the writings on the Nachkabarett.com site which he also operates. The over arching paradigm of the work is influenced by such traditions as Thelema and the Book of the Law by Aleister Crowley, Freemasonry, alchemical and symbolism and clearly surrealism. It is also clear he has a solid grasp of western occult traditions, right and left hand path, and combines these with the iconography of various religious traditions as well as with his own personal visions and dreams. He also has a sense of the various schools of art especially surrealism, symbolism and expressionism but refuses to be locked within specific art forms or disciplines.

Kushner outlines in his own word’s his views on art and how his own journey began…” Before I was able to walk or speak there existed always a need to express and create stemming from within me, and that is what eventually led me to exactly where I am right now. Ninety percent of my skill is self trained and I am vehemently opposed to the institution of art school which I believe is predominantly bereft of individual thought and creativity (though would, half-facetiously, liked to have attended and expelled like some of my heroes in the art world). Though individual exceptions exist it was a path which I abhorred the thought of pursuing, personally. Being mostly German and Czech, my late grandfather, Walter Luckert, was an artist and German expatriate after the first World War who worked in a speakeasy during Prohibition here in America, attended as a spectator at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and later went on to begin my Mother's family and exhibit his art in galleries and one-man-shows throughout upstate New York. Both Grandfathers of mine fought on the America side of World War II while other distant relatives were both conscripted by the Nazis with others interned in concentration camps. Virtually all of my immediate relatives are artistically inclined so it's a heritage I'm very proud of, if not making me predestined for an artistic / intellectual disposition. Both of my parents were completely instrumental of my artistic inclinations as well, along with perpetual encouragement, my Mother always taught me from a young age about art history, culture and the world while my Father supplied an endless well of paper and art supplies for me to continually practice”.

“Throughout my life constant practice and creation, along with the study of art, are both what inspired and motivated me to continually draw. Many artists, poets and writers have attested that an interval of discordance and great pain were the inspirations behind some of their greatest works. Similarly I can attest to the same and believe firmly that everything happens for a reason and such cathartic and devastating occurrences are what can both give the artist inspiration but also the catalyst to take the artist to the next level of creation which is needed if he is truly creating out of his heart and Will. It isn't a necessity to continually depict pain, and quite the contrary, but instead the artist should use this catharsis as part of the painful process of personal transformation. There's something very powerful about being inflicted by such a catharsis and turning that destructive negativity into the creation of something beautiful, otherwise it's only misdirected energy which can have the potential to destroy the artist rather than be invoked by him; to create using the energy inflicted as an ultimatum of doing so or being destroyed by those malignant outside forces”

“In May 2003 came a two degree graduation with honours from the local college and throughout either schooling or any employment my art has been of my own disposition, independently of any forced creation thereof or the creation enacting the inspiration of any over me. As art is an expression of one's soul and affinities, different facets of my personality and interests have always been depicted from emotions, to the cold abstractness of space to atomic fission. At present however the progression of my work is heading in a clear and directed path as a continuation and accretement, both conceptually and visually, in the vein of my last most recent pieces Self Portrait as de Sade, Noir Angel with Butterfly Wings, Love Devouring Itself and L'Age Noir: The Birth of the Syphilitic Venus & the Death of Europe. My work has entered a new era and rebirth with the completion of these pieces and will follow as an advancement of the classicism of the Renaissance inserted with the surreal eroticism of Man Ray, Bellmer and de Sade. Both as a personal preference in the manner of creation along with a rejection of much of the bromidic fauvist ideals of the art world today.”

Nachkabarett.com

Web: http://www.nachtkabarett.com/

Nachkabarett.com is Kushner’s “philosophical” site exploring occult aspects to the work of Marilyn Manson. It is a visually stunning site which immediately grabs your attention. It has a large number of departments all aspects of Marilyn Manson’s oeuvre; if you thought Manson was simply a showman you are clearly wrong. Like Anton LaVey Manson certainly understands the value of presentation and the power of the image, but at the same time he has a deep grasp of occultism, magick and psychology. Departments on this site range from the artistic to sections on alchemy, kabbalah, magic(k) and other sections give extensive background to the nature of the images Manson uses, where they come from and while they have such a powerful resonance in the western psyche. It is quite clear Manson knows how to evoke certain cultural memories through his music/art performances and hence the controversy they engender.

At the same time it is interesting to see how Kushner unravels Manson’s music, performance and iconography and connects each to larger themes within occultism, esotericism and magick and uses them as a medium to outline his unique perspectives on the world, spirituality and life.

The Medium of the Work

Looking at Kushner’s work one notices his superior use of graphite pencil and the gradients of light and darkness. It could be argued that his focus on the use of shadows and degrees of darkness reflects his own interests as well as his medium. However, interestingly, this choice produces truly startling works which evoke a deep sense of melancholy and eroticism and hence is extremely effective. He also chooses to use blood within some of his prints, while this may seem controversial to some; it is really simply a natural expression of the desire of an artist to make unique works which blend together the subject and the object, the artist and the created and helps cement the extremely personal nature of the works created.

He also uses photography to explore unusual locations such as the State Hospital and Inebriate Asylum, the Bone Church, Skull and Bones Yale University etc. He has an eye for detail and these images are presented on his website and also available to purchase at a reasonable cost from his webstore.

It seems Kushner is equally at home with each medium he uses, whether it be sketching, photography or website imagery, he has an impressive grasp of the power of the image and this clearly shows in all of his works.

Borgia; the Pope Entering Pandeamonium

Borgia; the Pope Entering Pandeamonium is one of Kushner’s more stunning works; it combines many different levels of symbol and seems to be encoded with many meanings. The word Pandeamonium roughly translates as “all demons” and is the name invented by John Milton for the capital city of Hell. Also known “the High Capital of Satan and his Peers", built by the fallen angels at the suggestion of Mammon at the end of Book I, Paradise Lost (1667). Since Milton described it as a palace which surpasses all human palaces or cities, one could also see this in juxtaposition to the Vatican itself.

The Whore of Babylon is portrayed in the Bible (especially in the apocalyptic books such as the Book of Revelation) as “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the earth”. According to Christian biblical exegesis she represents false religion and twisted faith. Each of the Christian denominations point to the other as being the Whole of Babylon (it is most usually identified with Catholicism by Protestant sects). Early Gnostics, such as the Cathars, identified all organized Christianity with Babylon.

Babylon here is the opposite of Babalon, the sacred whore within the Thelemic esoteric system of Aleister Crowley, there Babalon represents the sacred erotic union of faith and sexuality, where all false ego and arrogance are emptied into her chalice of grace. While Babylon the fallen represents sexual suppression and twisted faith with her chalice being that of the poisoned psyche as represented by the image of the Pope and Catholicism (and perhaps, more generally, as all organized Christianity).

This interpretation is reinforced with Kushner referring to the Pope as Borgia. The Borgia pope was Alexander VI and was seen as a triumph of personal ambition since the Borgia family were akin to an early mafia and after years of manipulation found themselves able to plant one of their own in the Vatican. Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia), was considered the most corrupt of all popes, he was elected by a corrupt enclave, had four illegitimate children and placed them in positions of power to control the administration around him. The favoritism which was shown to his children and his constant addiction to luxury and wealth as well as the unscrupulous methods employed by Alexander VI and other papal officials have made Alexander's name the symbol of the misuse of religion by the Renaissance popes.

Kushner himself describes this work in his own words…

”The Pope entering Pandæmonium under the aegis of the Whore of Babylon with canvas pealing back to reveal a glimpse of the Beatific Vision of Hell. One of my most involved and symbolism referential artworks to date with nearly every element, title included, having intentional, multifaceted and deeper intricacies (from The Renaissance to Present). The Pope died April 2 2005, with photos of his corpse and funeral procession surfacing on nationwide front pages two days later on my girlfriend's birthday. To this day I futilely hold that it was my grand birthday gift to her”.

This is an especially impressive work and a very high quality art print is available of this work at:

Web: http://www.thethirdangelsounded.com/prints.php.

Having seen this print, I can assure you; it is of the highest caliber and looks stunning when framed. It is an oversized 13" by 19" vibrant white, semi gloss print reproduced on high quality paper which is water resistant, 100% acid free and 9.0 mil thick. The detail and color are extremely rich and from what I can see is very close to the original print. It is hard to show in an internet or small print image the quality of this item, however you can be assured it is very evocative.

I highly recommend Kushner’s various sites to you as offering a wide range of intelligent, artistic and thought provoking content. From dark art to reflections on Thelema, from Alchemy to photographs of mental institutions, Kushner is a unique talent and hence I suggest you visit his sites and explore them for yourself.

Artist Profile: Nick Kushner

Web: http://www.thethirdangelsounded.com

Nachtkabarett.com

Web: http://www.nachtkabarett.com

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