photo by Jon Wiederhorn
Following a week long hiatus, the Clown is back. Slipknot percussionist and artist Shawn Crahan has dusted off his picture boxes and combed through his gnarled memory to bring us some of his most striking images to date. We begin this week with "After the Show," a shot of a girl with a cigarette that's aglow with color and life. What blows us away isn't her bright blue hair, it's that rough, weatherbeaten hand with chipped black nail polish that makes us wonder if she's been working in a machine shop -- or worse. Click "more" to see the pic and read Clown's comments. Read more...
Following a week-long hiatus, we'll resume our photo guest blog with Slipknot percussionist Shawn Crahan (Clown) tomorrow, and in the months ahead we've we posting some of his most surreal, sexy, funny and disturbing pictures to date. But for now, check out the last installment of Clown photos we've posted over the past six months. Click "more" to see such stuff as screams are made of. Read more...
Here's the second of three batches of photos we've posted over the past six months from Slipknot percussionist Shawn Crahan (a.k.a. Clown) for his weekly "The Eye of a Clown" guest photo blog. Click "more" to see all of the photos and read Clown's revealing commentary. Read more...
"Glassghostboys" by Shawn Crahan
Pretty much every week for the past six months, we've posted a photo by Slipknot percussionist and creative force, Shawn Crahan (a.k.a. Clown). Some have been hypnotic, others have been disturbing, but they've all been surreal and evocative. Over the rest of the week we'll post links to everything that's gone up so far, and get ready for another six months of Clown's creations starting next week. Click "more" to see the first batch and read Crahan's comments. Read more...
photo by Jon Wiederhorn
For most of his weekly HeadbangersBlog.com photo posts, Slipknot percussionist Shawn Crahan (a.k.a. Clown) has sent us single-frame images that have been warped and manipulated either in the developing stage or in post-production. This week, however, he sent us a composite of images of fellow percussionist Chris Fehn, which was created using a digital camera's preset mode. By gauging where each of 16 equally sized frames would wind up in the image, Crahan employed mathematics, creativity and luck to create this week's striking image. Click "more" to see the picture and read Crahan's comments. Read more...
photo by Jon Wiederhorn
In magic, it's important that the hand be quicker than the eye. The opposite often applies in photography, a medium in which the mind need to anticipate what's coming up before the finger clicks on the the trigger. It's kind of like being a good athlete or surviving on the battlefield. What you see isn't enough, and can often be deceptive. To thrive, it's essential to rely on instinct, experience and an indefinable sixth sense.
In his latest submission to "The Eye of a Clown," Slipknot percussionist Shawn Crahan chooses a grisly photo to explains how a good shot sometimes comes when you least expect it, and only if you're ready when the image reveals itself. Click "more" to see "Clownhead" and read Crahan's comments. Read more...
photo by Jon Wiederhorn
Generally, Slipknot percussionist and photographer Shawn Crahan (a.k.a. Clown) shoots eccentric characters and unsettling subject matter and then uses various unconventional tools to manipulate the images into things that are even more bizarre or macabre. But for "Sister Brother Devil" Crahan used a computer plug-in called Mirror to summon the beast. Click "more" to see the photo and read Clown's comments. Read more...
photo by Jon Wiederhorn
If you love the experimental inclinations of Slipknot and their affinity for surprising listeners, you should really be familiar with Nashville, Tennessee's Today is the Day. Fronted by eccentric, individualist Steve Austin, the band has been releasing creative, jarring, acrobatic, spiritual, dissonant, disturbing and beautiful music since 1992. At one point, the group featured Mastodon drummer Brann Dailor and guitarist Bill Kelliher (on bass) and, over time, its chaotic constructions have influenced countless groups including The Dillinger Escape Plan, HORSE the Band and Between the Buried and Me.
In many ways, Austin and Slipknot percussionist Shawn Crahan (a.k.a. Clown) are kindred spirits, which is why when Crahan sat Austin down for a quick photo, he was able to capture a side of Austin that others often don't see, but which is an integral part of his being. Click "more" to see the picture and hear Clown explain more about the shot. Read more...
What, no dead goat, monstrous face or nightmarish scenario? Has Slipknot percussionist and photographer Shawn Crahan gone soft? Hardly. He's just learning to appreciate the world around him, good and bad, beautiful and hideous. Here, he strays a bit from his normal apocalyptic vision to deliver a gorgeous statue in Australia using a very narrow depth of field. Click more to see "Timeless" and read Clown's comments. Read more...
photo by Jon Wiederhorn
Minneapolis metal band American Head Charge are driven by chaos, destruction and degradation, so it made sense that when the band wanted to schedule a photo session they contacted Slipknot percussionist and photographer Shawn Crahan (a.k.a. Clown) to capture their eternal state of disrepair. And in doing so, Crahan was able to figure out what unites them and symbolically represent it in a haunting photo. Click "more" to see the pic and read Clown's comments. Read more...
