Björn Gooßes

(Germany)
Contact: info@killustrations.com
Websites: Killustrations
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“Humanity itself as an inexhaustible cornucopia of absurdities”

artscum.org: Your impressive work exudes a somewhat different style than the one usually cultivated in this magazine. Your stark creations stem more from the metal genre, or to be more specific, the death metal genre. Naturally, the stylistic devices there are rather dark and pessimistic. How would you describe a picture that’s meant to appear “evil” to the viewer? 

Björn: Thank you for the invitation and the warm welcome! Oh, I don’t even know if I ever intended for one of my pictures to appear so specifically “evil.” And even though I originally come more or less from the death metal scene myself, I don’t really have much to do with it anymore, as my personal tastes are much broader. I also never wanted to limit my art to this sub-subgenre. A harmonious symbiosis often exists due to related stylistic devices, I’ll gladly admit that! My motifs are indeed often quite dark, macabre, pessimistic to the point of nihilistic, morbid… But art is a wonderful outlet for that. My inner sunshine doesn’t need such an outlet – my inner darkness does. And if I can then inspire people – all the better! I don’t really think too much about the artistic means I use to convey one of the aforementioned qualities. It just happens. It’s already inside me and just wants to get out. Simply “pretty” pictures are usually boring anyway. Therefore, with this single, two-dimensional image, I ideally try to tell a story that, in conjunction with what is depicted, then plays out in the viewer and perhaps triggers a feeling of unease, but perhaps something completely different. The main thing is that it touches them emotionally in some way.

artscum.org: Old topic: Can an artist make a living from their art? You do a lot of commissions for metal bands and festivals. What commission has impressed you the most so far, and is there a dream artist (dead or alive) you’d love to capture your imagination for?!

Björn: Luckily, I’ve actually been able to make a living from it since I decided to make a living exclusively from my art. That was almost 20 years ago, man, man! I certainly won’t get rich from it, and as an artist of my stature, you don’t really have much money in the bank either, but I’m getting by. And I’m very grateful to be able to take this privileged path! “Booking” may sound terribly service-oriented, but yes, if anyone is interested in collaborating, just get in touch! I’m interested in a wide variety of projects and like to think outside the box—both stylistically and content-wise. Besides the usual suspects like bands, festivals, or labels, over the years I’ve also worked with writers, directors, clothing labels, NGOs, and many more from over 30 countries, and a connection to heavy guitar music is absolutely not a requirement. I just have to feel a connection to the project in some way and, above all, a sense of the graphic concept. It doesn’t matter whether it’s mine or my counterpart’s. Often, fruitful creative discussions arise beforehand, which sometimes result in a really interesting concept that none of the people involved would have come up with on their own. This kind of collaboration is ideal, because I don’t work for people, I work with them. Over the years, I’ve even had the opportunity to work for some truly great bands. Not in the sense of “big bands,” but in the sense that they mean a lot to me, like Undertow, for example. Having a few really renowned acts on my resume certainly wouldn’t hurt, but an emotional, maybe even personal connection is ultimately more valuable to me. A collaboration like this is currently in the pipeline, for example, but I can’t say anything specific. One of the greatest compliments, of course, is when certain collaborations develop into a kind of “regular customer relationship.” There are quite a few of those, and I’m really grateful for that. And now, just to randomly name a few artists I’d like to work with: Agnes Obel, The Tea Party, The Vintage Caravan, Kalandra, Soen, Kellermensch, Brutus… but of course, I could go on and on with this list! I’ll leave out the obvious “classic bands,” very few of which unfortunately still exist (at least in their entirety).

artscum.org: A great project of yours is “Art Against Crap,” to offer something creative to counter the backward, boring Nazi brood. Are you doing a bit of advertising, and are there any reactions from the right-wing, silly camp yet?

Björn: My works aren’t explicitly political. Indirectly, though, they probably are, because they simply can’t be separated from me as a person, and as part of society, I’m naturally also a political person—and with a clear stance on many things. Hence, the idea of ​​simply making a statement independent of my paintings. I could expand the list considerably, for example, to include sexist, classist, ableist, speciesist bullshit, and so on. But the three I’ve mentioned so far were simply a bit more catchy for now. The reactions are 99% positive, which is certainly also due to the fact that people often move within their own bubble. Concrete negative reactions have been extremely rare so far. Only one person has personally expressed their displeasure at a recent exhibition. But I can deal with that. Anyway, it originally started with this “meme,” and now there are shirts, girlie shirts, hoodies, zippers, mugs, bags, and other such things. If you’re up for taking a firm stance, doing something good, and supporting a small artist at the same time, feel free to check out www.kunstgegenkackscheisse.de!

artscum.org: The world seems to become more and more a violent, unkind place. Greed and egoism seems to be the only impulse of any change. Did mankind still have the chance to build a peaceful, sustainable world for every living and feeling being or would it be better if somebody dispose everything in the sewer of the evolutionary failure?

Rudolf: Wow, that’s a tough one. Every day, the tides within me battle in this regard. Between optimistic highs and pessimistic lows, the waves sometimes surge high, and the current pulls you far out… I’m torn, but even though I, as a human being, generally want to maintain a basic level of hope and confidence because there are incredibly great people capable of achieving wonderful things, I believe humanity as a whole is doomed. The planet would certainly be much better off without us, I believe. Flora and fauna would finally be able to breathe in peace and freedom again without humans. No other creature seems to me to work against its own instinct for self-preservation as much as Homo sapiens. One would therefore actually have to deny the existence of “sapiens.” This probably brings things full circle, as this is precisely a recurring theme in my work. Humanity itself as an inexhaustible cornucopia of absurdities, so to speak.