SLIDESHOW: "We Still See the Black," at New Art Center
In nearly every generation of its existence, heavy metal has claimed, and been claimed by, the avant-garde. John Zorn was introducing jazz nerds to grindcore back in the late '80s; in the '90s, Matthew Barney consecrated Cremaster 2 with a Dave Lombardo guest spot. Here, in the 21st century, with hipster black-metal philosophers sparking epic flame wars on the Internets, we're well past the time when we have to explain that metal is art, that the metal faithful include many artists, and that metal-inspired work goes well beyond T-shirts and gig posters. Right?
Right. Named for a Candlemass song, staged in a former church, and curated by a pair of noise-loving MassArt grads, the upcoming group show "We Still See the Black" brings a thunderous charge of wrathful, subtle, beguiling, and teeming contemporary art to Newton's New Art Center beginning September 15. Although many of the 12 participants have cranked out imagery for acts from Isis and Pelican to Sunn O))) and Cryptopsy, "those references come second to a more formal rigor or overarching theme to their work," says Owen Rundquist, who co-curated the show with Alexander DeMaria (the two make art and music as Under the Same Shadow).
These are artists who, instead of observing metal from a distance, are "exposing it from within and making something that is still very much in dialogue with the music and the subculture and the people who are involved in it." Click through to the next page to see three of them:
