2019 was a pretty phenomenal year for Shawn “Clown” Crahan and the rest of the Slipknot boys, but what does 2020 hold in store for the percussionist? Shawn “Clown” Crahan, so what does 2020 hold in store?
Speaking with GQ, Crahan stated, “I’d love to make more books, have some gallery shows, and stuff like that. I love making our music, but now that the album’s out and it went No. 1, I need to take some time for myself and go do some other shit. Above all else, I really want to push myself to make some fascinating art this year.”
Although Shawn Crahan is most popularly known for his work with Slipknot, he’s also directed a film, a few music videos, acted in a movie, and has held his own art exhibitions in the past, that showcase off his many talents.
Further speaking about the idea of being an artist, Crahan added, “Sometimes I don’t even like to admit that I’m ‘an artist,’ because then maybe I become a cliché, and then my hunger for it leaves. It’s taken me 20 years to convince people of what the word ‘art’ truly means. I use the word very loosely since to me it represents everything.”
He continued, “I tell people that I have ‘artistic schizophrenia.’ I used to ask my mom all the time what was wrong with me. She told me that I was a renaissance man, and that I was gonna do a little bit of everything. I do three things religiously every day: I either work with music, work with photographs, or with film. And then on top of all of that I draw, I paint, I collage, I write, I direct, I produce. I harness this core of myself that I expand out to all of that, so it’s all consistent.”
“I’ve really honed in on the art of living,” adds Crahan. “Every morning I wake up, I walk outside, I look around and go: what the fuck is really going on? That’s my inspiration every day. I’m recognizing that we’re constantly living and working in other people’s art, even stuff like street curbs. That’s decades of learning and creating just to make that. My whole thing is to teach myself to appreciate anything and everything around me, and to recognize the artistic ability behind those creations. It makes my life so much more fun.”
