I’m starting a new art project on the gothic look and style - photographs at my art studio with professional lighting and gothic makeup, as well as wild hairstyles and dark formalwear. The lighting is a blue filter set against a white canvas, to contrast the black eye makeup and attire, while creating an ethereal mood.
My mentor for Goth Style Secrets is Mark Stoffels from Internet Marketing Centre who is great to work with as he is a veteran in the internet marketing industry, which for me created a high credibility factor. He provides structured weekly assignments and in between our conference calls, he provides email support within 24 hours. He also gives motivational tips that helps me to stay focused on the big picture of moving from being an employee to earning multiple internet income streams.
We researched the art and paintings market which is very competitive for keywords so we strategized on using my love of the Elegant Gothic Lolita (EGL) ‘cosplay’ performance art to attract targeted and relevant traffic, which would result in international exposure for my art in general.
Since I wore punk / goth / new wave styles back in the eighties, EGL was a good fit and gothic-inspired styles have been making its way back into fashion for the past few years. The gothic subculture which began in the early eighties has infiltrated mainstream society: the most recent pages of Vogue magazine includes strong gothic / fetish elements such as PVC, latex, see-through fabrics and silver. By 2008, the gothic look and style will trickle down into streetwear and I believe you soon see a new generation of “goths” who are into the scene for the aesthetics. In this photo shoot, I have three layers of sheer white foundation, black liner, eyeshadow and burgundy lipstick. I’m wearing a vintage 80s prom dress with an overbust, black lace gloves and a rhinestone ring. You can click on the image and download a larger desktop screensaver size. My new website is called Goth Style Secrets at Goth-Style-Secrets.com.
Trafalgar I
The Origins of Gothic Style
There is a lot of justified confusion about this term. It originally referred to some of the German tribes that would ultimately participate in the sacking of Rome. The term “gothic” became a synonym for uncivilised and barbaric. (The term “vandal” also comes from a German tribe name.)
In the Middle Ages, large and ominous cathedrals were built in the Ogive style. Baroque historians would later refer to the style as “gothic” to indicate that they found it unrefined and tasteless. However, the joke never got off the ground. Instead of changing popular perception of the architecture, they succeeded only in changing the popular definition of the word. People assumed “gothic” meant “dark and ominous” because that’s what the Ogive style evokes.
Next, we arrive at the macabre and mysterious literature of the late 19th century (Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, for example). The term “gothic” was extended to it because of the ominous imagery associated with the churches. This expanded its meaning further to include the macabre.
When a number of punk bands in the late 1970s and early 1980s began taking a more stark, somber, and ethereal direction, the British music press extended the term to the music, again, because of the associaton with the architecture and the literature.
The gothic term was applied to the people who listened to the music - not because of any properties they had, but just out of association. There are things that many Goths like that are not gothic (Industrial or Classical music). There are things that are gothic that many Goths dislike (vampires, interest in death). There are things that some people think are gothic that are not gothic (bands like Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails), and there are things that do not call themselves gothic even if they are considered gothic by most people (bands like Sisters of Mercy and Dead Can Dance). It’s an ambiguous label with many people using it and often have many different definitions.
Finally, gothic applies to art. Gothic paintings first appeared about 1200. The transition from Romanesque to Gothic is very imprecise and it was the beginnings of a style that is more somber, dark and emotional than the previous period. Fast-forward to the 21st century and gothic paintings have continued to flourish among the goth subculture with a preference for the darker side of life and themes of death. As Lady Eureka’s paintings represent the after-world (”Soul Journey”, Vision Quest” and “Acension” series, eBay members have used her gothic style art images to promote the Ann Rice Vampire novels online.
