Satanism is a group of ideological and philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Although several historical precedents exist, the contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 1966. Prior to that time, Satanism existed primarily as the subject of accusations by various Christian groups toward perceived ideological opponents rather than a self-identity or expressed religious belief. Satanism, and the concept of Satan, has also been used by artists and entertainers for symbolic expression.
The Church of Satan is a religious organization dedicated to the religion of LaVeyan Satanism as codified in The Satanic Bible. The Church of Satan was established at the Black House in San Francisco, California, on Walpurgisnacht, April 30, 1966, by Anton Szandor LaVey, who was the church's High Priest until his death in 1997. In 2001, Peter H. Gilmore was appointed to the position of high priest, and the church's headquarters were moved to Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City.
Anton Szandor LaVey was an American author, musician, and Satanist. He was the founder of the Church of Satan and the religion of Satanism. He authored several books, including The Satanic Bible, The Satanic Rituals, The Satanic Witch, The Devil's Notebook, and Satan Speaks! In addition, he released three albums, including The Satanic Mass, Satan Takes a Holiday, and Strange Music. He played a minor on-screen role and served as technical advisor for the 1975 film The Devil's Rain and served as host and narrator for Nick Bougas' 1989 mondo film Death Scenes.
CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters CBGB were for Country, Bluegrass, Blues, Kristal's original vision, yet CBGB soon became a famed venue of punk rock and new wave bands like the Ramones, Television, Patti Smith Group, Blondie, and Talking Heads. From the early 1980s onward, CBGB was known for hardcore punk.
The Satanic Bible is a collection of essays, observations, and rituals published by Anton LaVey in 1969. It is the central religious text of LaVeyan Satanism, and is considered the foundation of its philosophy and dogma. It has been described as the most important document to influence contemporary Satanism. Though The Satanic Bible is not considered to be sacred scripture in the way that the Christian Bible is to Christianity, LaVeyan Satanists regard it as an authoritative text as it is a contemporary text that has attained for them scriptural status. It extols the virtues of exploring one's own nature and instincts. Believers have been described as "atheistic Satanists" because they believe that God and Satan are not external entities, but rather projections of an individual's own personality—benevolent and stabilizing forces in their life. There have been thirty printings of The Satanic Bible, selling over a million copies.
Boyd Blake Rice is an American composer, performance artist, author and painter. A pioneer of industrial music, Rice was one of the first artists to use a sampler, as well as the second, after John Cage, to use a turntable as an instrument.
Scott Treleaven is a Canadian artist whose work employs a variety of media including collage, film, video, drawing, photography and installation.
East Village Radio (EVR), begun in August 2003, was an Internet radio station which broadcast from a storefront studio in the East Village of Manhattan, in New York City. Originally a pirate radio station broadcasting at 88.1 MHz, the station shut down on May 23, 2014 and relaunched in conjunction with Dash Radio, June 3, 2015.
Kembra Pfahler is an American filmmaker, performance artist, visual artist, adjunct professor, rock musician, and film actress.
Theistic Satanism, otherwise referred to as religious Satanism, spiritual Satanism, or traditional Satanism, is an umbrella term for religious groups that consider Satan, the Devil, to objectively exist as a deity, supernatural entity, or spiritual being worthy of worship or reverence, whom individuals may contact and convene with, in contrast to the atheistic archetype, metaphor, or symbol found in LaVeyan Satanism. Organizations who uphold theistic Satanist beliefs most often have few adherents, are loosely affiliated or constitute themselves as independent groups and cabals, which have largely self-marginalized. Another prominent characteristic of theistic Satanism is the use of various types of magic. Most theistic Satanist groups exist in relatively new models and ideologies, many of which are independent of the Abrahamic religions.
OSGEMEOS are identical twin street artists Otavio Pandolfo and Gustavo Pandolfo. They started painting graffiti in 1987 and their work appears on streets and in galleries across the world.
The Process Church of the Final Judgment, also known as the Process Church, was a British religious group established in 1966 and disestablished in the 1970s. Its founders were the English couple Mary Ann MacLean and Robert de Grimston, who spread the group's practices across parts of the United Kingdom and United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Process Church's beliefs have been described as "a kind of neo-Gnostic theology".
Nikolas Schreck is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, film-maker and Tantric Buddhist religious teacher based in Berlin, Germany.
Zeena Galatea Schreck, known professionally by her mononymous artist name ZEENA, is a Berlin-based American visual and musical artist, author and the spiritual leader of the Sethian Liberation Movement (SLM), which she founded in 2002.
Conor Matthew Mccreedy is a contemporary artist, conservationist and collector based in Switzerland. In his work, his depiction of abstraction is linked to chaos theory. The colour blue is prominent in his works.
Klughaus Gallery is an art gallery and agency based in New York City that exhibits and represents artists with roots in graffiti and street culture.
Lena Marquise is a Russian interdisciplinary artist based in New York. She started her career in the early 2000s. She works primarily within the disciplines of performance and video art. Her works have been known to push the boundaries of ethics and morals within the context of human sexuality in order to ask the audience how they feel, and why stating, “I'm asking them to think about the piece itself rather than allowing the piece to become a spectacle.” As a professional dominatrix, she strives to reveal the different forms of sexuality apart from what is conventionally accepted. All her works are based on redefining sexuality and art, as publicly acknowledged by celebrity satirist Perez Hilton in stating on his confusion about Art, “We're not really sure how this is art, but it's awesome!” She is based in Brooklyn, New York.
The vagina and vulva have been depicted from prehistory onwards. Visual art forms representing the female genitals encompass two-dimensional and three-dimensional. As long ago as 35,000 years ago, people sculpted Venus figurines that exaggerated the abdomen, hips, breasts, thighs, or vulva. There have long been folklore traditions, such as the vagina loquens and the vagina dentata.
The Satanic Temple (TST) is a non-theistic religious organization and new religious movement that is primarily based in the United States, with additional congregations in Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Co-founded by Lucien Greaves, the organization's spokesperson, and Malcolm Jarry, the organization uses Satanic imagery to promote civil rights, egalitarianism, religious skepticism, social justice, secularism, and the separation of church and state, supporting their mission "to encourage benevolence and empathy [among all people]." The Satanic Temple has utilized religious satire, theatrical ploys, humor, and legal action in their public campaigns to "generate attention and prompt people to reevaluate fears and perceptions", and to "highlight religious hypocrisy and encroachment on religious freedom."
Lit Lounge was a nightclub in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The two-floor complex housed a concert venue, lounge, dance floor, and Fuse Gallery, an art exhibition space. Lit Lounge was noted as a major venue for New York City's hipster subculture in the mid- to late 2000s, particularly the indie rock and electroclash scene of the era.
