Stephen Kasner (April 3, 1970 – December 25, 2019) was an American multidisciplinary artist from

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, United States. Primarily a painter and illustrator but also a musician, photographer,

graphic artist A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming l ...

occultist The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mystic ...

and magician; Kasner was mainly known through his

cover artwork Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of c ...

designs for bands such as

Rotting Christ Rotting Christ is a Greek black metal band formed in 1987. They are noted for being one of the first black metal bands within this region, as well as a premier act within the European underground metal scene. They are also responsible for creat ...

, Decrepit,

Sunn O))) Sunn O))) (pronounced "sun") is an American drone metal band formed in 1998 in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. The band is known for its distinctive visual style and slow, heavy sound, which blends diverse genres including doom metal, ...

Integrity Integrity is the quality of being honest and having a consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and Honesty, truthfulness or of one's actions. Integr ...

Marduk Marduk (; cuneiform: Dingir, ᵈAMAR.UTU; Sumerian language, Sumerian: "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) is a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of Babylon who eventually rose to prominence in the 1st millennium BC. In B ...

, & Pulling Teeth among many others. His paintings have been exhibited all over the world and are noted for their

sinister Sinister commonly refers to: * Evil * Ominous Sinister may also refer to: Left side * Sinister, Latin for the direction "left" * Sinister, in heraldry, is the bearer's true left side (viewers' right side) of an escutcheon or coat of arms; see dex ...

(sometimes satanic) themes and otherworldly aesthetic; influencing a new wave of artists in the

dark Darkness is the condition resulting from a lack of illumination, or an absence of visible light. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low luminance because the hue-sensitive photoreceptor cells on the retina are ...

arts. His artwork, drawings and photographs usually reflect visions of a pre/post-apocalyptic industrial landscape and the struggle for survival contained in dreams of enlightenment. Besides working in paint, photography, and drawings Stephen Kasner also created

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

under the name Blood Fountains, where he performed on guitars, bass, and keyboards. He did album artwork for

Khlyst The Khlysts or Khlysty ( rus, Хлысты, p=xlɨˈstɨ, "whips") were an underground Spiritual Christian sect which emerged in Russia in the 17th century. The sect is traditionally said to have been founded in 1645 by Danilo Filippovich, a ...

, Lotus Eaters,

Skullflower Skullflower is a British noise rock band, formed in 1987 in London, England. Led by guitarist Matthew Bower, the band attained a cult following using a sound based on "sludgy, Black Sabbath-style riffs overlaid with feedback, fuzzed-out guitar ...

Justin Broadrick Justin Karl Michael Broadrick (born 15 August 1969) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and a founding member of the band Godflesh, one of the first bands to combine elements of extreme metal and i ...

, Subarachnoid Space and

Martin Grech Martin Grech (born 14 November 1982) is an English singer, songwriter and musician from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Career Grech released his debut album ''Open Heart Zoo'', produced by Andy Ross, in June 2002. He achieved critical acclaim f ...

, among many others. Kasner released the book ''Stephen Kasner Works: 1993 – 2006'' (Scapegoat Publishing, 2007), a lavish career retrospective with text by various artistic luminaries and collaborations with

Seldon Hunt Seldon Hunt (born 1969, in Melbourne and migrated to New York in 2006, (now residing in Brooklyn) is an artist best known for his photography and his graphic artwork (on album covers and promotional poster) for rock musicians. Hunt's photograph ...

, David D'Andrea, Dwid Hellion, Steven Leyba, and Steven Cerio. Stephen Kasner died on December 25, 2019. His longtime friend and fellow

native,

Dwid DWID (98.3 FM), on-air as 98.3 Love Radio, is a radio station owned and operated by MBC Media Group The Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC), doing business as the MBC Media Group, is a multimedia company in the Philippines. It is currently ...

, from the band

(for which Kasner had provided artwork) posted through Twitter in homage: ''"Stephen Kasner was my friend. He will be deeply missed. I hope that his artwork will remind us of his tortured brilliance and haunted vision. May his death serve as a stark reminder of how fragile we can be. To those of you who may be struggling out there, who might feel alone. You are not alone. Stay strong."''

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kasner, Stephen 20th-century American painters American male painters 21st-century American painters American male musicians American horror artists Musicians from Cleveland 1970 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American male artists American album-cover and concert-poster artists