Weird Tales is proud to present a visual-art project of epic proportions: “365 Days of Blasphemous Horrors,” a year-long, daily online series of all-new, Lovecraft-inspired artworks by the Baltimore-based mixed-media artist Steven Archer (also known as half of the musical duo Ego Likeness). The collaboration was announced Saturday evening at Balticon, the Baltimore-area science fiction convention, where attendees enjoyed a sneak peek at the first several weeks’ worth of material. Today marked the official debut of “Blasphemous Horrors” at WeirdTalesMagazine.com, where new works will be unveiled every day for the next year.
Weird Tales, the world’s first magazine of fantastic literature, was originally founded in 1923. In its early years, H.P. Lovecraft was the magazine’s creative superstar; in later years, many writers and artists have striven to build upon the horrific ideas and aesthetics that comprise Lovecraft’s popular Cthulhu Mythos. “365 Days of Blasphemous Horrors” is the first major Lovecraftian creative work presented by Weird Tales since the magazine undertook a top-to-bottom revamp in 2007.
Not only will readers of WeirdTalesMagazine.com be able to view the “Blasphemous Horrors,” they’ll have the opportunity to own the original artworks. Archer will be selling each piece (with occasional exceptions) for a flat fee to the first bidder, as detailed at the website. All the pieces in the series are a combination of oil paint, paper, graphite, acrylic paint, scotch tape, and ink. They are mounted on the inside of hardcover book covers and vary in size from 5×8 to 7×10 inches.
“An awful lot of Lovecraft fans are going to be blown away by Steven Archer’s artwork,” says Weird Tales editorial & creative director Stephen H. Segal. “There’s no lack of shiny Mythos art out there, sure — but this stuff is really different. It’s intimate, primordial. Not only does Archer have a unique visual style, his work has a passionate urgency that bleeds through every piece with a sense of mystery, pathos, and creepiness. By the time these 365 days have passed, I think the Cthulhu culture will know his name well.”
Steven Archer is an artist and musician who happens to share the same birthday as H.P. Lovecraft. When not recording songs, D.J.-ing, or producing art, he and his wife, author Donna Lynch, tour with their dark electronic rock band, Ego Likeness; their fourth album is scheduled for a 2008 release. Archer has a B.F.A. from the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC, and has shown his work at galleries and other venues along the East Coast, as well as on album covers and in magazines. He has also written and illustrated a children’s book, Luna Maris, which was published by Raw Dog Screaming Press earlier this year.
