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
“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
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
The Whore of Babylon is
portrayed in the Bible (especially in the apocalyptic books such as the Book of
Revelation) as “Mystery,
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
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
Kushner himself describes
this work in his own words…
”The Pope entering
Pandćmonium 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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