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| My favorite. Photo credit: R. Van Zandt |
Hey
art lovers, I’ve been called a lot of things during my heinous
existence, but I’ve never been called a Philistine. We’ve covered
burlesque, poetry, painting, photography, and of course music from every
unholy corner of the universe. But now I’m proud to interview the first
featured model at Mister Growl, the “wonderfully bizarre” Doctor
Delirium!
Mister Growl: For those unfamiliar, could you provide a history of your creative career?
Doctor Delirium:
Well, my creative 'career' isn't too interesting, actually. I used to
draw A LOT when I was little all the way up until I was seventeen, then
all of the sudden it just didn't interest me anymore. I still wanted to
be creative but use a different medium, so I took a cheap camera and
began taking some photos with dark weird makeup on. Eventually I got a
nice makeup kit and started putting on interesting designs and uploaded
them to my Facebook. The responses from my friends and family were
mostly "Oh, you should model!" I loved the idea, and even went to try
out a modeling school in Boston, but never went. When I moved back to
New York I began taking pictures again then uploaded them to Model
Mayhem where I met a few photographers, and after a few photoshoots I'm
now here!
Mister Growl:
I'm the sort of guy who frustrates my girlfriend by thinking any dark
color is black, so my understanding of fashion is pretty damn slim. That
said, you seem to push aside fashion photography in favor of
photography that's much more aesthetically challenging. What's your
"artist statement" when it comes to modeling and photography?
Doctor Delirium: Don't
get me wrong I'd love to get into fashion modeling for
Gothic/Industrial attire but that would never be what I want to be known
for. Now I'm not from some high end family, in fact I'm married living
in a small apartment, haha! So I use what I have, and I actually love
that about myself. I love taking something simple and making it great.
For instance, most of the stuff I used for makeup was dirt, mascara,
eyeliner, black paint/latex and fake blood! Not to mention the very very
talented photographers who have so much vision!
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| Photo credit: Doctor Delirium |
Mister Growl:
It seems your work is heavily informed by horror imagery. What are some
of your favorite horror films, or ones that have terrified you the
most?
Doctor Delirium: I usually don't watch horror movies and tend to
stay away from them, but it doesn't mean I won't watch them at all. I'm
more into supernatural films or older films with stop animation (i.e. The Thing).
When I used to draw they had that horror imagery as well, but that was
taken from influence of a lot of Jhonen Vasquez's work, who created Invader Zim and Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. As silly as this sounds Dead Silence freaked me out the most because I HATE dolls with a passion. They freak me the hell out! Ugh!
Mister Growl:
You've recently shared music from Necrophagist and Iron Maiden on your
Doctor Delirium/Wonderfully Bizarre Facebook page. Has heavy metal
informed your modeling and photography?
Doctor Delirium:
Metal is more of a interest and a passion beside my modeling, but hey, I
have wonderful fans and admirers because of that! I grew up listening
to progressive metal with my brother and it grew when I married my
husband. Metal is very diverse and maybe it has influenced me a bit, I'm
not sure.
Mister Growl: Where else do you find inspiration for your projects?
Doctor Delirium:
A number of ways and places! Sometimes it's from other talented models
and sometimes it's by watching an artistically done music video or it's
just me randomly thinking of it and annoying a few photographers about
it, haha.
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| Photo credit: Doctor Delirium |
Mister Growl: What are the challenges faced when working with a photographer for the first time?
Doctor Delirium: I can't really think of a challenge, when I meet someone I'm very open and excited and try to be as friendly as I can.
Mister Growl:
You also work extensively with your husband, who's a talented
photographer. What sort of dynamic do you both have when it comes to the
creative process?
Doctor Delirium:
Sometimes I just have the ideas in my head and he grabs whatever camera
he can find and goes to work. We take a few shots and exchange ideas
before uploading and retouching. It's not too exciting!
Mister Growl: I recently handed in lists of my favorite all-time black metal albums and the top 2013 metal albums into Decibel Magazine. What are some of your favorite albums, and if you could model for any band's merchandise, who would you choose?
Doctor Delirium:
If I could model for anyone's merchandise it would be for Cradle of
Filth. Now I like their music, but it's mostly the artistic side of
their videos and their albums I love. Dani himself seems like a very
friendly and intelligent man, and I can respect that! For my favorite
albums, I don't really have a favorite but one I have been listening to a
lot lately is Dead End Kings
by Katatonia. When listening to that I don't know whether to be happy
or sad, it just has such a beautiful and mystical sound to it.
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| Photo credit: Nate Wood |
Doctor Delirium: When collaborating on something that turns out great and I keep looking back at the photos in awe. It feels great to have a concept in your mind being brought to life!
Mister Growl: What's lined up for Doctor Delirium, and what would you like to achieve going forward?
Doctor Delirium: I'm not really sure how to answer that! I mean, I'd love recognition and to do so much more but mostly I just want to continue meeting artistic people and being creative. Sometimes I like not knowing so it's always a surprise, as corny as that sounds.
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| Photo credit: R. Van Zandt |
Many thanks to Doctor Delirium for taking time to answer some questions and kindly allowing us to share her amazing work!
Check out her modeling portfolio, which I need to inform you includes NSFW material, unless your workplace embraces fantastic, nightmarish, erotic, and grimly original photography: http://www.thewonderfullybizarre.com/
And for photographers/bands/labels looking to make their merch and promo material considerably more awesome, you can contact her with project details over here: http://www.thewonderfullybizarre.com/#!contact/czpl
And add the Doctor over on Facebook to stay current with upcoming shoots and news: https://www.facebook.com/thewonderfullybizarre
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