Episode 07: Art in Horror Storytelling

This episode was recorded on August 20, 2023 and posted on September 23, 2023

Content Warning: Light vulgarity.

Introduction

• Welcome to No Bodies Episode 7
• Introductions to your Ghosts Hosts with the Most - Lonely of Lonely Horror Club and Projectile Varmint aka Suzie of Horror Movie Weekly
• Introductions to our guest - horror illustrator Bonnie Bozell
• Today’s Topic: Art in Horror Storytelling

Discussion of Art in Horror

• Our experiences with fine art and “dark” art
• Defining dark art and the tortured artist
• Why are mental health and art so intertwined, especially in horror?
• Dark art examples & recommendations from Bonnie
• Horror films that feature tortured artists
• Horror films that feature art as horror elements

Worst & Best Representations of Latin American Horror

Spoilers ahead!

Worst

• Velvet Buzzsaw (2019) - Lonely & Bonnie
• The Death Artist (1995) - Suzie 

Best

• Ghostbusters 2 (1989) - Suzie 
• Bliss (2019) - Bonnie

Suzie’s Deep Cuts 

Includes films with under 5k ratings on IMDB. 

• The Blood Spattered Bride (1972)
• The House with Laughing Windows (1976)
• The Haunting of Helena (2012)
• Malicious (2018)
• Golem (2018)

Final Thoughts

• How do you think the element of art as horror storytelling could be improved or fine tuned in the feature?

Dark Art Mentioned in this Episode

• The Papal Portraits of 1953 by Francis Bacon
• The Scream by Edvard Munch 
• Saturn Devouring His Son by Francisco Goya
• The Nightmare by Henry Fuseli
• The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch
• Girl with Death Mask (She Plays Alone) by Frida Kahlo
• The Severed Heads by Theodore Gericault
• Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette by Van Gogh
• Medusa by Caravaggio

Thank you to our guest! 

• Check out Bonnie’s art on Instagram @bbozellart and her store at https://bbozellart.bigcartel.com/

Keep Up with Your Hosts

• Check out our instagram antics and drop a follow @nobodieshorrorpodcast. 
• Projectile Varmint - catch Suzie on Horror Movie Weekly with our dear friends Jay of the Dead, Mister Waston, and Channy Dreadful. Suzie also runs the HMW Instagram @ horrormovieweekly. 
• Lonely - read more from Lonely and keep up with her filmstagram chaos @lonelyhorrorclub on Instagram and www.lonelyhorrorclub.com.

Original No Bodies Theme music by Jacob Pini. Need music? Find Jacob on Instagram at @jacob.pini for rates and tell him No Bodies sent you! 

Leave us a message at (617) 431-4322‬ and we just might answer you on the show!

Sources & Additional Reading

Dafoe, T. (2021, October 29). Why are so many contemporary horror flicks set in the art world? spoiler alert: It’s a metaphor about power. Artnet News. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/why-are-so-many-scary-movies-set-in-art-world-2026754

Eddy, C. (2019, February 5). 10 horror films that contain equally horrifying works of art. Gizmodo. https://gizmodo.com/10-horror-films-that-contain-equally-horrifying-works-o-1832198507

Grey, O. (2023, July 31). Horror movies about artists and the Art World. Ranker. https://www.ranker.com/list/horror-films-about-art/orrin-grey

Hunt, P. (2022, October 28). Art and Horror. National Galleries of Scotland. https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/features/art-and-horror

IGN. (2021, October 18). Scream 25th anniversary - exclusive “The story behind the ghostface mask” clip (Neve Campbell). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWgGsdmPE5o&ab_channel=IGN

Kayinska, O. (2022, June 21). The Dark Side of Painting: What is dark art?. Art Web List. https://artweblist.com/the-dark-side-of-painting-what-is-dark-art/#:~:text=The%20term%20%E2%80%9Cdark%20art%E2%80%9D%20covers,airy%20style%20of%20traditional%20art

Premnath, A. (2022, November 2). The significance of Horror in art. RTF | Rethinking The Future. https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/architectural-community/a8413-the-significance-of-horror-in-art/

Rae, K. (2023, January 29). 7+ horror movies about artists. Creepy Catalog. https://creepycatalog.com/horror-movies-about-artists/

Richman-Abdou, K. (2022, September 20). 13 of art history’s most horrifying masterpieces. My Modern Met. https://mymodernmet.com/scary-art/

Russo, J. D. (2014, October 28). Dead letter: The aesthetics of horror: Arts: The Harvard Crimson. Arts | The Harvard Crimson. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/10/28/arts-cover-horror-aesthetics/

Soukayna. (2019, April). Art & Horror: A Living Portfolio. Offscreen. https://offscreen.com/view/art-horror-portfolio

Stephanie. (2020, January 16). The tortured artist: An exploration of creativity and mental illness. The Pop Cult. https://thepopcult.blog/the-tortured-artist-an-exploration-of-creativity-and-mental-illness/