In response to DA's Horror and Macabre week, July 7th-11th, I have decided to dedicate my monthly news article to this event. To see more information on Horror and Macabre week visit Katerina423's journal here: katerina423.deviantart.com/jou…

The following is my response to Katerina423's question:
"Why do you create and/or enjoy Horror/Macabre Art?"

I have illustrated my answers with image features from very talented DA artists, which will help you better understand my response. These artists inspired me on a daily basis and they truly represent the Horror and Macabre community.
    
Please , and/or comment on these features as you see fit!

(Warning: These features contain mature content!)



I love watching horror movies and I have became curiously interested in these frightening topics. As a younger child I enjoyed watching things like open heart surgery on television.
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Your typical and somewhat cliche horror movies never really frightened me. I snuck out of bed to see "Alien" on the television, with Sigourney Weaver when I was a youngster. Somehow I wasn't really scared.
(And Alien remains one of my favorite films today.)

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Most people cringe, close their eyes or feel sick at the sight of exposed brains or blood. This morbid curiosity has left me somewhat desensitized when it comes to these typical topics that scare the crap out your average person.

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But just like everyone else, there are things that have an effect on me and in some way manage to scare me. I started taking darker, more disturbing images because I wanted to see what kind of effect it would have on the viewer. I wanted to play with themes that I knew your average person would feel uneasy looking at. So I gradually started working with models, building sets and finding the right props to portray these horrific themes. Partly these photo shoots are done because of my strange fascination with the dark side and partly because a lot of my models thought it would be fun to look into. And believe me, when you've got medical props, hospital gowns, wheelchairs, fake blood or live worms... it makes the photo shoot a ton of fun!
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After a couple of years of creating these photos, I have started to realize what's really behind my reason for doing it. Behind every artist and every artistic creation, is a powerful mind full of deeply buried thoughts and emotions which are often the root of inspiration. When I take a photo of a zombie, covered in blood and screaming at the camera.. I'm facing my own subconscious fear and fascination of zombies.
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And when I take a photo of a helpless victim, buried alive and screaming for her life as the worms crawl in and out of her eyes... I'm facing my own fear of the unknown, the concept of death and dying.

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I consider my photography a form of self therapy, not just self expression. My horror and macabre photography is a way for me to face my fears and confront them at the same time. And I hope in some cases, these photos will have enough of an effect on the viewer for them to be able to confront some of their fears as well.
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We are the Horror and Macabre artists of the DeviantART community and we are here to open your mind and your eyes. Come and play on the dark side. We wont bite too hard.