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

The second Slipknot record for Roadrunner, 2001's Iowa, depicted a sinister looking Goat's head that effectively conveyed all of the ugliness and evil that was filtering through the band and it's entourage at the time. It's a simple image, but one that was anything but simple to capture. In this week's "The Eye of a Clown," band percussionist and photographer Shawn Crahan (a.k.a. Clown) offers an alternate cover photo and explains how he struggled to capture the right image before passing off the camera to photographer Stefan Seskis. Click "more" to see Clown's shot and read his comments. Read more...

Clown photo by Jon Wiederhorn

When we opened the file containing the image of "Droppen Down," we immediately thought of the morning of January 28, 1986 when we watched the Space Shuttle Challenger burst into dust and jagged smoke trails on national television. But the photo by Slipknot percussionist and artistic photographer Shawn Crahan (a.k.a. Clown) is more about defying death than experiencing it. Click "more" to see the image and read Crahan's comments. Read more...

Maybe looking at new photos by Slipknot percussionist Shawn Crahan (a.k.a. Clown) every week has twisted our brains. This week's submission to "The Eye of a Clown" is abstract and creepy. It kind of looks to us like an extreme close-up of an elderly woman burned to death in a fire. Cheery thought. Click "more" to see the image and read Clown's analysis. Read more...

Slipknot percussionist and artist Shawn Crahan (a.k.a. Clown) is compelled to take photos of death, and in doing so he discovers more about life. The average person could look at this picture and say, "Well, it's roadkill time for Clown again," but Crahan sees so much more in simple, brutal images than what stares back at us from inside the borders of the shot. Here, a bloody carcass symbolizes childhood, family, the destructive power of mankind and redemption. Click "more" to see the pic and read Crahan's comments.
Read more...

For this week's "Eye of a Clown" column, Slipknot percussionist and resident artist Shawn Crahan sent us a haunting image simply titled "Baby." Considering the kind of horrific, yet compelling stuff he's submitted in the past, we figured the shot might be of a discarded infant or a closeup of a newborn sobbing. We should have figured it would be something more surreal. While Crahan often roots his art in real life horror and violence, he prefers to conjure sensations of fear and dread with imagery that's off-kilter, psychedelic or just creepy as hell. And so, we present "Baby." Click "more" to see the shot and read Crahan's comments. Read more...

Before we dive into this week's photo entry by Slipknot percussionist Shawn Crahan (a.k.a. Clown), we have a public service announcement for our readers. The debut EP by Crahan's other group, Dirty Little Rabbits, Simon, can be pre-ordered alone for $5.99 or with a band t-shirt for $10.99 by clicking here. The link also contains streaming snippets of all six songs on the EP, which comes out January 27. We now return to our regularly scheduled blog.

Crahan new pic, "All of Life and Death," is abstract and kinda sinister. The image in the center is in the shape of an apple, which may be one reason why the artist refers to the shot as his rendition of "the Garden of Eden." But there's more... Much more. Click "more" to see the pic and read Clown's comments. Read more...