Influences: Nine Inch Nails

If the work of Joel-Peter Witkin molded the often disturbing and twisted characters of my artwork and Frida Kahlo influenced me in expressing myself on a very personal level then it is the the music of Nine Inch Nails signifies the intensity, rage, and often chaotic atmosphere that I try to capture style of drawings.

For those of you who aren't familiar with this hard-rock band, the band Nine Inch Nails is mostly made up of singer-songwriter, Trent Reznor. He is the main writer and man behind most of the music. He plays all kinds of different instruments and in his albums it is mostly him by himself. However, from time to time he does occasionally have different artists and musicians come in to collaborate or play certain instruments in his records. But for the most part it is Reznor whom is the mastermind behind all the music in Nine Inch Nails.

Like Joel-Peter Witkin (and even Frida Khalo), Nine Inch Nails isn't for everyone. The music can often be described as being very loud and abrasive (like chain saws and television static.) Yet, all the same it is also as whimsical as birds singing in the early morning or just as melodic as a children's choir. More often then not, all this might even take place within the same four minutes of a song.

As much as his music screams that he wants to burn the whole world down, it also whispers “love me.” It's in that balance that I try to create in my own work. It's how I perceive my drawings or when I set out to work on a design. Underneath all the anger, rage, and distorted figures of my self-portraits, my personal drawings also show you the melody and sound of a beating heart. If there is underlining message in my work, then I want it to show you a boy hardened by being an outcast, but display the maturity of man who knows how to overcome and move on. That's the melody of my art and how the music of Nine Inch Nails plays into it all.


**Originally published in Spanish in the August 10th, 2013 issue of Antesala