CEMETERIES, FUNERALS AND DEATH
The Order of the Good Death
This order was started by a mortician in Los Angeles. She's been joined by filmmakers, poets, musicians, artists, and writers "exploring ways to prepare a death phobic culture for their inevitable mortality."
"The Order is about making death a part of your life. That means committing to staring down your death fears- whether it be your own death, the death of those you love, the pain of dying, the afterlife (or lack thereof), grief, corpses, bodily decomposition, or all of the above."
The website offers videos, essays, a blog, and info on the members. If you Like the Facebook page, you'll see something interesting that's death related from the Order every couple days.
http://www.orderofthegooddeath.com/
The Order of the Good Death on Facebook
DARK ART:
Liza Corbett
Liza Corbett, an artist in New York, uses ink, acrylic, watercolor and gouache to create her illustrations. They depict cross or sad looking women, often entwined with spiky branches or flowering plants. "Persephone" from 2012 depicts a woman in an elegant crown and headdress holding a forlorn baby with branches growing out of its body. Black butterflies flock to a skull in "The Afterlife." Two women share a heart in "The Heart Show." Which one is your favorite?
Dale Grimshaw
This London surreal artist has already had several solo shows: "Echoes and Exorcisms," "Arcana," "Heart in Darkness," and currently "Moreish." He works in oil, acrylic, and sometimes spray paint. The images are gruesome, full of despair, melting and full of blurred movement. You'll just have to check them out to see what I mean.
Lakormis
This talented artist is from Istanbul, in Turkey. His paintings and illustrations can be difficult to look at: bruised women, rat necklaces, knives through throats, severed heads. There's an Edwardian feel to the look of his style, and quite a lot here to be unsettled by.
http://lakormis.daportfolio.com/
DARK MUSIC:
The Cog is Dead
A steampunk band from Florida. The band's members portray steampunk time travellers from the year 1893. They plan to release a new album in Spring 2013.
My favorite song by them so far is The Copper War. The vocals in this song remind me of The Nails.
Ending the Vicious Cycle
This band from Texas plays post-punk gothic rock. They're going to release a new album soon, "Big Black Heart."
Ending the Vicious Cycle, on Facebook
The Soft Moon
This neo-post-punk band is from San Francisco. I love their layered sound, and I'm surprised how much I've enjoyed the four or five songs I've listened to by them. They describe their sound as "post-apocalyptic soundtrack" on Facebook.
You can listen to Into the Depths and two tracks on their website to see what they sound like. They seem to play a lot of gigs, so you'd have a good chance to check them out if you're in the US.
DARK SHOPS:
Hell Buddies
Jo Jo Cusack lives in Brighton and creates adorable zombie rag dolls. She also creates creepy crockery, such as this blood cup and saucer.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/HellBuddies
Royal Black
This shop, operating in Austria, sells stunning corsets (overbust and underbust), "corset couture" outfits, plus costumes for ladies and for gentlemen. The collections here have fanciful names, such as "Femme Royale," "Glitter, Glam and Glory," and "Enchanted Garden Collection."
They're also available to custom make clothing, but are booked up for wedding dresses for 2013 and busy until June 2013 for other custom orders. Everything here is so gorgeous! I am so incredibly impressed.
My favorite garment here is this Queen of the Night couture outfit.
Royal Black Couture Corsetry on Facebook
Suffragette Street
This New York based jewelry shop sells goth, steampunk, rocker and vintage jewelry. There are a lot of Swarovski crystals here, skulls and crosses, hearts, bats, and spiders. The vintage pieces, many from the 1980s, are quite lovely, but too colorful to go with my personal wardrobe.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/suffragettestreet
Suffragette Street on Facebook
DARK TOYS:
Macabre Darling
Amber customizes Monster High dolls to make them much spookier and cooler. Here's her Deviantart gallery with photos of her ghoulish creations. My favorite is her custom Sophia Day of the Dead doll.
http://macabredarling.deviantart.com/
DARK ZINES:
DarkestGoth Magazine
A goth magazine by DJ Gomez and Gothviking. Interesting articles include The Goth Guide to Self-Defense, Beyond Black, a review of The Dark Meadow game, and an article on Goths and RPGs.
DarkestGoth Magazine on Facebook
DarkestGoth Magazine on Twitter
--Copyright 2013 Carrie Carolin
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