The Golden Age of Grotesque (art exhibition)
From MansonWiki, the Marilyn Manson encyclopedia
The Golden Age of Grotesque was Marilyn Manson's first art exhibition, held at the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions Center. The most expensive paintings on sale were priced at $100,000, while the cheapest ones were those of ex-fianceé Rose McGowan. Paintings exhibited included works completed by as early as 1998, and Manson's "Grey" period, up to early 2002. This exhibition spanned from September 13, 2002 until September 14, 2002.
Exhibited artworks[edit]
Reception[edit]
The critical reaction to The Golden Age of Grotesque, Manson's inaugural exhibition, was mixed but remained fairly positive:
- "As you'd expect, Marilyn's pictures are typically dark and yet surprisingly rich in color and texture."
- —Yahoo.com
- "I get the feeling these are therapeutic images. They remind me of the paintings drawn by psychiatric patients, when they're given art materials to use as therapy. There, you see a lot of demons, and in Manson's work I see in it a little bit of those demons, too. He's got a very dark take on life. They might sell for thousands of dollars, but that's because people associate fame with a worth. People would come to see his show probably in droves, but his work would never be taken seriously in a fine-art context. The value is in their celebrity, but not in the work."
- —Max Henry, Art in America
- "I have to admit, I liked them more than I thought I would. Some of them are naive in a way, but some of them are beautiful, quite brilliant. They seem very detached, a little bit sorrowful. They definitely aren't about happiness. If you saw these paintings without his name, you'd take a second look. But I don't think his work will stand up to the kind of scrutiny that's going to happen if he shows them in a gallery."
- —Patrick Li, art editor for Self Service
- "I think they're very heartfelt. They remind me a little of Egon Schiele, but he's definitely bringing in his own Marilyn Manson thing, which is nice to see."
- —Camille Rose Garcia, artist
- "Perhaps the most shocking thing about the paintings is how incredibly proficient they are. This is not just a celebrity capitalizing on a hobby."
- —MTV News