Art
Manson claimed in a 2004 interview with
i-D magazine to have begun his career as a
watercolor painter in 1999 when he made five-minute concept pieces and sold them to drug dealers. On September 13-14, 2002, his first show, The Golden Age of Grotesque, was held at the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions Centre.
Art in America's Max Henry likened them to the works of a "psychiatric patient given materials to use as
therapy" and said his work would never be taken seriously in a fine-art context, writing that the value was "in their celebrity, not the work".
[33] On September 14-15, 2004, Manson held a second exhibition on the first night in Paris and the second in Berlin. The show was named ‘Trismegistus’ which was also the title of the center piece of the exhibit – a large, three-headed
Christ painted onto an antique wood panel from a portable embalmers table.
Manson named his self-proclaimed
art movement Celebritarian Corporation. He has coined a
slogan for the movement: “We will sell our shadow to those who stand within it.” In 2005 he said that the Celebritarian Corporation has been "incubating for seven years" which if correct would indicate that Celebritarian Corporation, in some form, started in 1998.
[34]
Celebritarian Corporation is also the namesake of an
art gallery owned by Manson, called the
Celebritarian Corporation Gallery of Fine Art in Los Angeles for which his third exhibition was the inaugural show. From April 2-17, 2007, his recent works were on show at the Space 39 Modern & Contemporary in
Florida. 40 pieces from this show traveled to Germany's Gallery Brigitte Schenk in
Cologne to be publicly exhibited from June 28 - July 28, 2007. Manson was refused admittance to
Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral), when he was in the city to attend the opening night. This was, according to Manson, due to his makeup. Other sources gave different reasons, however.
[35]
Personal life
Manson made an appearance in the video game
Area 51 as Edgar, a
Grey Alien. His song "Cruci-Fiction In Space" is featured in a commercial for a video game,
The Darkness. His likeness is also featured on the
Celebrity Deathmatch video game for which he recorded a song for the soundtrack (2003). The song "Use your fist and not your mouth" was the credits score of the game
Cold Fear as well as
Spawn: Armageddon. Also launched, "Mansinthe," his own brand of Swiss made
absinthe, which has received mixed reviews ranging from critics who compared the drink's odor to sewage water and described the taste as being "as bad as piss"
[36] to coming second to Versinthe in an Absinthe top 5
[37] and winning a Gold medal at the 2008 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
[38] prior to his relationship with Dita Von Teese, he was in a relationship with
Michele Greenberg.
[39] He then was engaged to actress
Rose McGowan. In 2007, attention was brought to Manson's love life again when a relationship with actress
Evan Rachel Wood was made public.
[40] After media comments from Manson that he wears his signature black leather pants 24/7,
[41] animal rights group
PETA added Manson to PETA’s, ‘Worst-Dressed Celebrities of 2008’.
[42]
Marriage to Dita Von Teese
He had been a long time fan of
Dita Von Teese, and was a member of her website. They first met when he asked her to dance in one of his music videos. Though she was unable to, the two kept in contact. On his 32nd birthday, she arrived with a bottle of
absinthe,[
citation needed] and they became a couple. He proposed on March 22, 2004 and gave her a 1930s-era, 7 carats (1,400 mg), European
round-cut diamond engagement ring. On November 28, 2005, Manson and von Teese were married in a private,
non-denominational ceremony in their home. A larger ceremony was held on December 3, at Gurteen Castle, in
Kilsheelan,
County Tipperary, Ireland, the home of their friend,
Gottfried Helnwein. The wedding was officiated by
surrealist film director and comic book writer
Alejandro Jodorowsky. They reportedly exchanged vows in front of approximately 60 guests, including
Lisa Marie Presley,
Eric Szmanda,
Jessicka and
Christian Hejnal and
burlesque performer
Catherine D'lish. The bride wore a royal purple
silk taffeta gown, made by
Vivienne Westwood, a
tri-corned hat designed by Stephen Jones and a matching Mr. Pearl corset.
Moschino designed an additional wardrobe for the rest of the weekend, exclusively for Von Teese. The reception music was provided by the
retro German band Palast Orchester mit
Max Raabe. Guests were invited to participate in
skeet shooting,
archery and
falconry in the days following the wedding. The wedding pictures appeared in the March 2006 edition of
Vogue under the heading, "The Bride Wore Purple."
[43]
Divorce
On December 30, 2006 Von Teese filed for
divorce due to "irreconcilable differences."
[44] ET.com and
People claimed that Manson was having an extramarital affair with then 19-year-old actress
Evan Rachel Wood, who is to co-star in his horror film
Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll, and features in the video for his 2007 single, "
Heart-Shaped Glasses."
[45][46] The relationship was confirmed by Von Teese in an interview with the
Sunday Telegraph, "I get the impression he thinks I was unsupportive, but the truth is I wasn't supportive of his lifestyle, and someone else came along who was."
[47] Manson's
alcohol abuse and distant behavior were also cited as cause for the split.
[48] He is reportedly fighting for custody of the couple's three cats.
[49] A judgement of divorce was entered in Los Angeles Superior Court on December 27, 2007.
[50]
Lawsuits
- In 1997, former guitarist and songwriter Scott Putesky, "Daisy Berkowitz," filed suit against Manson seeking unpaid royalties for his contributions to the band's output up to that period, including the recently released Antichrist Superstar. The case was concluded in 1998, although the outcome was confidential.
- In a civil battery suit, David Diaz, a security officer from a concert in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on October 27, 2000, sued for $75,000 in a Minneapolis federal court.[51][52] The federal court jury found in Manson's favor.[53]
- In a civil suit presented by Oakland County, Michigan, Manson was charged with sexual misconduct against another security officer, Joshua Keasler, during a concert in Clarkston, Michigan, on July 30, 2001. Oakland County originally filed assault and battery and criminal sexual misconduct charges,[54] but the judge reduced the latter charge to misdemeanor disorderly conduct.[55] Manson pleaded no contest to the reduced charges, paid a $4,000 fine,[56] and later settled the lawsuit under undisclosed terms.[57]
- On April 3, 2002, Maria St. John filed in Los Angeles Superior Court accusing Manson of providing her adult daughter, Jennifer Syme, with cocaine and instructing her to drive while under the influence.[58]
- On August 2, 2007, former band member Stephen "Pogo/Madonna Wayne Gacy" Bier filed a lawsuit against Manson for unpaid "partnership proceeds," seeking $20 million in back pay. Several details from the lawsuit leaked to the press.[59][60] In November 2007, additional papers were filed saying that Manson purchased a child's skeleton and masks made of human skin. He also allegedly bought stuffed animals, such as a grizzly bear and two baboons and a collection of Nazi memorabilia.[61] In December 2007, Manson countersued, claiming that Bier failed to fulfill his duties as a bandmember to play for recordings and to promote the band.[62]
Credit: same source
