"God is a smoker of Havanas," Gainsbourg used to say, excusing himself for the deadly habit that turned his voice into a raspy growl. Serge Gainsbourg somehow made everything seem cool, even smoking. Gainsbourg, the child of Russian Jewish Émigrés, was celebrated and reviled as much for his r

Cool, Grotesque, In-your-face, Sexy, Smoky, Wise assy

Poe once wrote that all worldly things contain "the germ of their inevitable annihilation." Pretty cheerful stuff -- clearly this was a man obsessed with ruin and with death. His characters typically suffer from various forms of mental and physical deterioration; their minds seem to have a predilecti

Anxiety, Dark, Death, Gothic fiction, Grotesque, Intense, Lyrical, Sublime, Symbolist poetry, Violent

Seneca lived in an intemperate world, a world corrupt with violent, unruly passions. Rome in the first century A.D. was saturated with viciousness, vengeance, bloodlust, and spite. The desire for political and economic power permeated the public sphere; uncontrollable passions perverted human reason;

Classical roman, Contemplative, Grotesque, Violent, Visceral, Witty

Two big slabs -- the remains of a pair of skinned and gutted animals -- hang cheerily outside a local storefront on a sunny day. For folks who have never trained in butchery or worked as meatpackers, this sight will evoke at least some curiosity and perhaps downright disgust. The scene is particularl

Dense, Grotesque, Layered, Modern sculpture, Visceral