COVER PHOTOGRAPHER - PETER BESTE

MONOBLOG is proud to feature his iconic photograph of Bergen musician KVITRAFN, on our Halloween cover, below.

[ Image used with permission ]

Peter is a Houston-born photographer and social documentarian, most famously known for covering two very interesting and distinct music scenes: Houston Rap, and True Norwegian Black Metal.

His unique sense of culture and geography has meant that his work has been featured regularly in international art galleries and cultural events since the early 2000's.

Hail!

'Koldbrann Horns' by Peter Beste, from True Norwegian Black Metal

PETER BESTE'S WEBSITE

PETER BESTE BOOKS AND MERCHANDISE

CHRISTOPHE SZPAJDEL - BLACK METAL'S 'LORD OF LOGOS'

''What's the point of having a band logo that you can't read?''

 - Thomas Haugen, guitarist, Emperor



Above: 'Emperor' logo, by Christophe Szpajdel

- It's a good question. Black Metal was the last great rock n roll movement to occur before the advent of the internet. Born in Scandinavia, and fed by fanzines and underground tape-trading, it was / is characterised by a certain extremist 'elitism' amongst some of its more reactionary practitioners.

However, after its tabloid-baiting inception, many key bands ( Emperor, Immortal, Cradle of Filth, et. al. ) matured musically and philosophically, and became respected members of the greater Heavy Metal pantheon, releasing acclaimed and complex albums, and playing to huge crowds around the globe.

Below: 'Wolves In The Throne Room' logo

Below: 'Northumbria' logo

Like all sub-cultures, Black Metal comes with its own set of aesthetic markers. The dress code ideally involves leather jackets, black jeans, Evil Dead / Kiss- style monochrome facepaint, spikes and bullet-belts.

Album art normally features snow-swept forest scenes, graveyards, or famous gothic art. And of course, the aforementioned 'unreadable' band logo. Let's face it, how much more 'cult' can you get?

The greatest practitioner of the 'Black Metal Logo' is Belgium-born artist Christophe Szpajdel, whose background in forestry directly informs his sinuous, organic designs. He originally bequeathed his famous 'Emperor' logo ( see top of page ) as a gift to the band while working on the fanzine, Septicore. This logo is actually marked by its distinct legibility, and perhaps goes to show that Emperor - from the very beginning - had ideas beyond the constrictions of a narrow-minded and parochial scene.

As Christophe tells MONOBLOG:

''The editor, Thierry, was in touch with Thomas Haugen ( Emperor's rhythm guitarist ‘Samoth’ ) who was playing in the death metal band EMBRYONIC, which then evolved into THOU SHALT SUFFER later on. In a letter addressed to Thierry, he mentioned starting a new band playing unholy metal of blackness and death - a band called EMPEROR - and I sort of surprised EMPEROR with a logo that shortly became their emblem.

At that time, I wouldn't have believed the Emperor logo could make me famous, and it happened when they released their legendary album IN THE NIGHTSIDE ECLIPSE exactly 20 years ago.''

Indeed, since those humble beginnings, Christophe's unique contribution to branding design has been featured in countless art gallery retrospectives, and even a deluxe design book, Lord of Logos: Designing the Metal Underground ( see links at the bottom of this page ).

Below: 'Lamentations Of The Ashen' logo

Christophe has long been a resident of the UK since the heady days of the early Black Metal scene, and aside from continuing to add to the list of 7,000 band logos that he has created over the years ( tip for artists: he charges 50% upfront for the initial rough sketch, which is non-refundable ), he tells us that 'this year I am running a very special exhibition at The Phoenix, in Exeter'. More details as soon as we get them!

Below: 'Grim' logo

CHRISTOPHE SZPAJDEL EXTRA:

FAMOUS COMPANIES RE-BRANDED, BLACK METAL-STYLE



Such has been the impact of Christophe's unique contribution to the art of the logo, that he was asked by design magazine Fast Company to put a cheeky spin on some well-known companies. Christophe explains:

''I got a fixation about PRADA since the movie THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA and to make it controversial, I did a PRADA logo just for my own pleasure. Last year I got approached by FAST COMPANY to do logos for 11 famous brands.''

MONOBLOG is sure you'll agree that it proves even Black Metallers have a sense of humour...for the full selection of Christophe's corporate logos, see link below. 

BREAKING NEWS: NEW UK EXHIBITION!

November 18 to December 31st 2014

Exeter Phoenix

Bradninch Place

Gandy Street

Exeter

EX4 3LS

tel: 01392 667 080

FAST COMPANY'S '11 FAMOUS COMPANIES REBRANDED AS BLACK METAL'

BUY 'LORD OF LOGOS' DELUXE COFFEE TABLE BOOK

CHRISTOPHE SZPAJDEL FACEBOOK

CHRISTOPHE SZPAJDEL MYSPACE

CHRISTOPHE SZPAJDEL FLICKR

BROKEN ANGELS - THE FRACTURED ART OF MARK KLINK

Above: Lucy 03

In CGI, there is a danger-zone known well to animators and designers, known as 'the uncanny valley'. It is a place whereby a representation of something human - created by modelling software and texture-mapping -  somehow doesn't quite make it, and the result has the adverse effect of looking unintentionally creepy. Scientific theory tells us that this is because the human is hard-wired to be alert to genetic mutations, disease, or disfigurement. 
Indeed there is something in these pictures that eerily recalls photographs of returned World War I veterans, whose disfigurements - inflicted by newly industrialised, mechanized warfare - were unlike anything the civilian population were accustomed to.

This is the zone in which 'glitch' artist Mark Klink works.

So how does he do it? Mark explains:

The source material I sometimes model myself using Blender or I use Makehuman. Both are open source.  Some of the heads are examples. Sometimes I download models that are available on the web. For example, the "Lucy" model comes from the Stanford 3d Scanning Repository.

Most of the time artists use conventional 3d modeling software to create and reshape their models. However, I bring the raw data of the model into a text editor or even a spreadsheet and manipulate it there. The result are effects and distortions that could not be achieved otherwise.

 

Above: GlitchHead 019



 

 

 

Above: Lucy 10

 

 

 

 

Above: GlitchHead 012

 

 

Above: Lucy 01

 

 

 

 Above: GlitchHead 14

 

 

Mark resides in Carmichael, a suburb of Sacramento, California. By day, he's a 'computer resource teacher', which he describes as 'a great job' teaching six to twelve-year-olds in the Elk Grove District how to use computers.

 

MARK KLINK DIGITAL ART FACEBOOK PAGE

 

 

ALEXI K - SLOVENIA

Six years ago, I was on a summer holiday in Slovenia. The weather during the entire first week was terrible. To give you an idea just how bad, these shots are taken on a coach trip around the Karavanken Mountains, one of Europe's longest mountain ranges. Even though our guide was mortified that the weather did not show his country in the best possible light, I reassured him that these mist-shrouded peaks were, to a Brit such as myself, utterly spectacular. 

Being a nexus of Europe, Slovenia is a thoroughly modern country with friendly, well-adjusted people and excellent infrastructure, but its imposing geology is a constant reminder of the millennial weight of history and pre-history. 

I'd never been to the interior of Europe before, so was unused to the views that greeted me. At that elevation, the forests seemed to actually breathe, and the mist behaved more like plumes of smoke in a volcanic landscape, rather than the dreary fog we get back home.

I'm including these pictures for the Halloween edition of MONOBLOG because they evoke the forboding music of Mussorgsky's 'Night On The Bare Mountain'...even though they were taken in the middle of a summer afternoon.

They also resemble the sort of cover art you'll see in the Black Metal genre, and so perfectly fit the theme of this Halloween edition. All they need is a Christophe Szpajdel logo in the corner to complete the look!

All photos, copyright Alexi K, 2008

ALEXI K - HOMAGE TO GIGER ( MK II, work in progress )

To round off this issue, I thought I'd update you on my contribution to the MONSTER CLUB show, which opens in Birmingham, UK, a week from now ( Friday November 7th ).

After a failed attempt at a Giger piece earlier this year ( which you can see by scrolling further down the blog ) , I was determined to do the great man justice.

This is the current state of the work-in-progress. It's labour-intensive, but you really have to put the hours in to get the 'Giger' look. By the time the next edition of MONOBLOG is out, we will know if I have accidentally ruined it by over-working ( very possible ), or if it's truly a fitting tribute to the mastermind that inspired ALIEN and PROMETHEUS. Come back next time to find out!

  

Below: Scene in the studio.

 

 

 

Below: The face in the centre is actually Lady Gaga!

 

 

 

ALEXI K's WEBSITE