Instadeath : Knight, Death, and the Devil
7:00 AMInstadeath
Knight, Death, and the Devil
Curated by Alex McDonald
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| Albrecht Durer, Knight, Death, and the Devil, 1513 |
*Curator’s Note: The paintings
within this collection were taken by the author to be the artwork for the album covers of a fictional metal band called Instadeath. The following are
Instadeath’s linear notes for their second album, 1513 A.D.
Lead Vocals, Lead Bass Guitar-Jacques Padavona
Lead Guitar, Backup Vocals-Tony Koontz
Rhythm Guitar, Backup Vocals-Johnny “Bloody”
Valentine
Drums, And Nothing Else-Jackie Sack
Produced by Instadeath and Bob Frost
Instadeath would like
to thank: their loving families who did nothing in particular except kick them
out of the house as soon as they turned 18 (except for Sack’s Mom, who would
always let the band crash in her basement and was happy to provide Oreos and V8
Juice), a group of young, angry people who continue to buy Instadeath albums,
and Danzig for making the greatest album of all time, Lucifuge (1990).
Finally, Instadeath
would like to thank Albrecht Durer and his estate for allowing Knight, Death, and the Devil to fall
into the public domain. It would not have been possible for the band to use
this image otherwise. Koontz would like to add that he appreciates Durer for
starting the crazy German tradition. Koontz, being a community college dropout and having more
experience in academia than his band mates, theorizes German folklore and Protestantism
are the primary influences for Durer’s work. In fact, Durer balances the two in
Knight, Death, and the Devil.
Death, holding an hour
glass, lurks to the Knight’s left. Death does not resemble the stereotypical
scythe wielding grim reaper or ghostly angel of death. Instead, he looks like
the reanimated remains of a German lord. Notice also Death’s gaze. He looks
directly at a sickly, biped boar named Satan. These are Christian figures
morphed to resemble the creatures of old German fairy tales.
Now please turn your
attention to the Knight because he seems doomed. A village lies beyond the
mountains. Whether the Knight has just left the village or is heading towards
the village one cannot say, but it does not matter. Durer has placed large rocks
in between the Knight and the village, compositionally cutting him off from
safety. Then Death and the Devil are on each side of the Knight, creating barriers
that trap him in the foreground of the painting. Also notice Death’s horse
leaning his head towards the ground. This cuts off the Knight’s horse from
running away. Instead of painting a cage, Durer created a composition that was a
cage.
So, when you listen to 1513 A.D. feel trapped. Koontz is
semi-educated and knows his paintings. Maybe you do, maybe you don’t, but all
in all the riffs and power chords of 1513
A.D. were made to imprison your soul.
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