These nightmarish illustrations of cadaverous humanoids and wretched mythical beasts capture what I imagine it feels like to smoke peyote while watching The Evil Dead. Maxime André Taccardi, a.k.a The Priest of Terror, is a French artist, teacher, and Black Metal musician who often uses his own blood to paint morbid scenes that combine traditional horror motifs with anatomic abstraction.
Taccardi himself plays in a number of Black Metal bands and will often recreate band logos or make portraits of other black metal musicians, marking up posts with tags like #bleedforart and #bloodletting. In addition to conceptual artists like Hermann Nitsch and new media engineer ::vtol::, Taccardi sees blood as a vehicle for creative expression.
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When he sits down to paint, the artist cuts his wrists and presses the brush directly onto the wound, as demonstrated in the There is no God but Him music video, made for one of Taccardi’s bands, K.F.R. Taccardi says, “It is not intended to shock like some people would think, it is merely a process. The final result is as important, I see art as some sort of a ritual, a chat between spirits and mortal flesh.”
Taccardi’s work calls to mind the more frightening paintings by Spanish artist Francisco Goya, like Saturn Devouring His Son and Two Old Men. The artist studied art in college, where he wrote a thesis that focused on the concept of monstrosity and what is considered abnormal by “normal” society. Taccardi tells Creators that his goal is to create a “Gesamtkunstwerk,” a German aesthetic term used to describe artwork that synthesizes multiple art forms.
Taccardi says the translation of his paintings into sound is as important as any of his other artistic practices. In addition to his drawings and paintings, Taccardi directs his own short films and music videos. Taccardi says for the most part, the images he depicts come from his dreams. “I try to open a wound between reality and dreams. My blood paintings are symbolically linked to that idea.”
Taccardi is currently working as an art teacher at middle school outside Paris and says his goal is to eventually make art as a full time gig. We can’t help but wonder if any of kids have ever seen his work. Check out more of the artist’s work on his website, and be sure to follow him on Instagram.
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