Clown Exposure: Before the Art

Posted on Jun 25th 2009 1:00PM by Jon Wiederhorn Comments
When Slipknot percussionist Shawn Crahan (aka Clown) isn't working with his bandmates or playing drums with his side project Dirty Little Rabbits, chances are he's either hanging out with his family or taking strange and surreal pictures of the world around him as he'd like to see it – an art he's been cultivating for the past 10 years.

When he first started out, his shots were intriguing and unsettling, but not quite ready for prime time. But over the years he has honed his skills and developed his own style, one that relies largely on his obsessions with death, sex and dreams.

He started out by taking thousands of photos with his Mamiya medium format camera and a Polaroid back, and manipulating and distorted those shots to present alternate, often frightening perspectives of reality. And while he still enjoys destroying the integrity of photos by altering the settings on his cameras, using a scanner or tweaking the settings on Photoshop, these days he often strives to capture the nightmarish qualities of true images instead of making regular images appear nightmarish.

More importantly, he's ready to share those images with Noisecreep in a weekly guest blog called 'Clown Exposure.' His first entry, 'Before the Art' is a stark black and white photo, which, at first glance, resembles an ancient Mayan stone carving of a demon or a painful Medieval torture device. As Crahan likes to say, "If you see something, it's probably there." In a way, the picture is an instrument of torture and does represent a demon, but as Crahan explains below, it's a creation of Slipknot's own device.

"I try to spend as much time as I can every record cycle studying what we do, what we are, what we're made of what we make to be.

This is Corey's newest mask, which he designed for himself. I really like the transformation this mask has gone through because it used to have a top, which was sewn on. I don't know what the story is behind it, but he took the top off and left these stitches. And when it's on, I always comment how much I like the stitches. I just feel like more of the artist is breathing out through what we are. It's almost like we just become the masks. Corey becomes this person.

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Clown Exposure: Shawn Crahan's Photography
'Before the Art' Original photograph by Slipknot percussionist Shawn Crahan.
Shawn Crahan

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So, this particular day I was really feeling it. I put it down on a black carpet and I used an 85mm lens that really lets you get in there. I really like this photo because it's moving and it reminds me of a fish. It's something that isn't what it is. And if you showed this to the outside world who didn't know anything about what we do or who we are, they might have all kinds of other explanations of what this is. And they might not even put it together that it's a mask because it's laid out horizontally.

To me, this particular experiment is all about looking at something differently than what it is, especially in a shape other than what it's made to be. And that's why I like it so much. There's so many linear ideas. The circle in the middle represents the middle of this picture, but really it's for his ear. And it coincides excellently with his eye, and the eye goes down to the mouth. It's just something a little bit stranger than the obvious. Yes, it's obvious to us and most that know us, but maybe not so obvious for everyone else."
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6 Comments

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maggot994eva

think its cool, the circle in the middle, that is for coreys ear, if you look it actually looks like theres an ear inside, looks like the top bit of an ear...

and to giz, you hate slipknot obviously, so your a dumbfuck for being here in the first place, also what are you doing with your life thats so great could it be your annoyed at the fact slipknot are doing so well, and that shawn crahan gets to do what the hell he likes whereas you have to spend your life kissing people's asses to get anywhere!

July 14 2009 at 12:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
gizoddizamn

WOW!!!just when i thought slipknot or it's maggots couldn't get any more gay. i hear it in their SINGLES and now i see it in their ART!!! hopefully i'll never have to taste it...

July 02 2009 at 9:45 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to gizoddizamn's comment
maggot994eva

why the hell are you on here then if you dont like slipknot go comment on something you do like, people are pathetic got nothing better to do except rape murder bitch and complain about everything.

July 14 2009 at 12:18 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
merky kasey

Nicely done. I've always liked black and white pictures anyway. I think color sometimes takes away from other aspects of pictures.

June 25 2009 at 11:20 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ladymaggot26

Totally awesome Clown! Keep up the great work, the Maggots are waiting for more!!! You are a TERRIFIC artist, whether its with music or photography! Thanks for sharing and twitter and everything else..

June 25 2009 at 9:39 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Blaze

I really agree with that about Corey's mask.
It just seemed like a mask with the top on.
But when he took that off and left the stitches it just made it seem better.
His mask just gives a feeling that I can't really put into words but know what it is.
It's like a mask showing no specific emotion.
There's no attempt for it to look evil, no attempt to make it look like someone else.
It is a mask that shows no emotion other than that of Corey him self's.

June 25 2009 at 9:33 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply