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Polish Painter Who Learned To “Photograph Dreams” – His Works Will Give You Nightmares
Let us take you on a journey through the curious drawing ideas of a Polish artist, Zdzisław Beksiński, who made a name for himself with his dystopian surrealism paintings, filled with post-apocalyptic imagery and creatures that come straight out of nightmares.
The artist is no longer with us to better explain the vast roster of over 300 of his scary drawings, but he used to say: "I wish to paint in such a manner as if I were photographing dreams. And that is exactly what popped into my head when I first saw his creepy pictures. Even though they utilize recognizable everyday objects, those are paired and arranged in ways only the dream world could sustain in a single image.
These unseen combinations gave birth to mind-bending scenarios, building an anxious feeling while looking at them. The cool drawings are beautifully abstract, yet they have the power to invoke real-world references, making them even creepier. The artist's explanation? Well, it may lie in these cryptic words: "What matters is what appears in your soul, not what your eyes see and what you can name."
Now scroll down for a dose of scary monsters and demon drawings below.
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Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
Beautiful. There are no words that could describe the feeling this gives me.
This is incredible! There is something incredibly moving about this, it's beautiful.
To be with a loved one at the end of life isn’t scary to me. It’s comforting...
It's so far beyond that. I think it is beautiful.
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The more I look at these images, the more they feel like a depiction of hell, where your soul is tormented in different ways through deforming your body and forcing you to exist that way. Somehow that feels more terrifying that burning for eternity, instead you spend it tormented in a body/reality you are incapable of understanding. I think that comes from the life in the paintings, their physical existence seems impossible and horrible, but you feel that human emotion.
This reminds me of Pompeii. Like they're doomed to certain death, but are going nowhere without each other. It screams love. It's absolutely stunning.
Usually it's a mother & child starving This is family/society starving, because we let them starve, in a world of plenty
To me, this brings a whole new meaning to 'love you to death'. It's so powerful.
That's just bizarre Has anyone else ever captured something like this !
I cant find the perfect word(s) to describe this photo, I agree with Sarah, something truly is incredibly moving about this.
Sex? This is more like gas chamber in concentration camp during the WW II.
I think it's safe to say at this point that... Even if his work is good... He needs to get some help
This adds a really creepy dimension to the Graves opening up an souls going up into heaven.
This is the face referenced in the Beatles tune, "Eleanor Rigby." "Wearing the face she keeps in a jar by the door."
I love how with each painting you think you can try and figure out what is going on. But it's painted with a way to where you truly can never understand it. And are completely lost, test dumbfounded and put in a state of thought that's as eerie as any nightmarish dream you've ever experienced. He conveys so much essence of a nightmare. How does he do this?! I want to meet this guy!
I believe its safe to say that WWII played a major part in the artist's outlook of the universe. The destruction caused by the Nazis, and then the Soviets were horrible and must have had an everlasting impression on him. After all, he was only 11 when the war began, and 16 when it ended with occupation. No wonder he was so happy on the outside and so preoccupied with death and destruction in his subconscious, which found its way into his art.
This is not entirely true. He was often asked about the war's influence on his work and this is what he said in one of the interviews (rough translation from Polish): "I was 10 when the war began. I was raised on comic books, death rays and Martians so I expected that war will bring spectacular experiences. Yet, war in my opinion as a child was just a change of the officials and bad food. Then it's rather difficult to admit I'm painting the catastrophe of war that I remember from childhood. Honestly speaking, I was actually disappointed with the lack of *special effects*. That's the way I'd put it. Of course I saw the dead and I survived the longlasting front, but for children such things are like water off duck's back." (quote from his art dealer's site http://beksinski.dmochowskigallery.net/introduction.php)
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Beksinski' s work make you think. He combined beauty, horror and human fears to create something that captivates our attention and mind. The hairs on my neck went straight before I reached the end of the first page, yet I continued to the end of the list(as many of the other pandas did for sure) because there's something about these pictures' dark style that make you wish to see more no matter how terrified you are.
Beksinski was an amazing artist. He channeled his emotions through his work like depression, paranoia, fear.. Strangely, I was first introduced to his works in my Psychology class back in college and not in Humanities (which is like Art Class here), lol. Wasnt he already featured in BoredPanda before? (I remembered because I soft copied all the paintings featured)
Zdzisław Beksiński was a very interesting artist and I think he was an amazing influence to other artists. But it's always sad to realize that he had to deal with so many tragic parts in his life. Even though many said he was a kind and loving person. His works aged very well and, in my opinion, are timeless. And the thing is, I'm not even a fan of post-apocalyptic and/or nightmare artworks, but they always look incredibly stunning! Mister Beksiński did an incredible job on these works!
If Beksinski wants to re-torture himself with such unpleasant imagery, guess that's up to him. Me, have similar dreams, but do my best to leave them behind & forget them.
I think he visits every night Dante's World... but maybe are realitys of our worst nightmare's in parallels dimensions.
I could come close to painting one of those than dreaming it!
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Beksiński painted for throw out self his thougs during his ilness( he had schizophrenia and he knew it) I'm fascinated his paining very early because my father's family home are in Sanok. I remeber as one day touched his stone paint because i couldn't belive this was only paint...I very recommend to see his pieces of art which are available in old castle in Sanok! P6160039-5...b9f8f7.jpg 
There are galleries in Krakow and Sanok- if you ever visit Poland (which I highly recommend :) ). If you are realy lucky, there can be an exhibition in other city like Warsaw. Once there was even Virtual Reality show. Just imagine a stroll in a world made of his paintings... or Dali's, or other painters. Great idea!
I think these are beautiful, and also creepy. It takes a true artist to create something that truly gets under someones skin and makes them feel fear, and emotion.
I've seen the one where hes walking through the tall cliffs number 8. i like that one.
half of the people in their comments are saying either this is scaring them , or he needs to get helps x) but i don't think so , this guy is a genius , he has a perfect memory and he draws with precision , he not only artistically genius , he's a prodigy and his brain is a treasure , he should be appreciated and applauded for the work he's doing , what he paints and the ways he paints it is so unique , so unique that no one actually did this before , i love his work and i would love to see more. It's so amazing and breath taking , his dreams are so mystical and beautiful even if they're dark , but then again , darkness is what makes an artist who he truly is.
It gave me goosebumps but i enjoyed his style, its different. I think if i was able to share some of my dreams er-nightmares, hed be the only one to capture them with the horror they are...
Thank you very much for posting these. I got so impressed that I decided to book a trip and visit the exhibition in Sanok.
what kind of dreams does this guy have to get inspired for his paintings?
https://www.facebook.com/lixpen/videos/827586164060587/ https://truththeory.com/2017/04/27/polish-painter-learned-photograph-dreams-works-will-give-nightmares/ Exact same articles?
I wonder if he is channeling images that are in the collective Mind of the Polish zeitgeist. If these aren't products of his own consciousness operating at a deep level, then perhaps his vision is penetrating deeper than his own mind?
Is anyone familiar with Count Alfred Habdank Skarbek Korzybski ([kɔˈʐɨpski]; July 3, 1879 – March 1, 1950)? This is Wiki's first paragraph on him but I see some connection between him and Beksinski or at least how looking at what Korzybski says about human thought would be helpful in trying to understand Beksinski: (He) was a Polish-American independent scholar who developed a field called general semantics, which he viewed as both distinct from, and more encompassing than, the field of semantics. He argued that human knowledge of the world is limited both by the human nervous system and the languages humans have developed, and thus no one can have direct access to reality, given that the most we can know is that which is filtered through the brain's responses to reality. His best known dictum is "The map is not the territory".
I didn't see any references to Hieronymus Bosch. These are further down that same road (less traveled) but given that Bosch painted 500 years ago he is still the winner of whatever we shall call this award. Perhaps we could say that Zdzislaw Beksinski is last century's winner of the Hieronymus Bosch award.
Dint evoke much except a little gloom...yes we all have skills in our head which appear once the skin and flesh decompose. .move on feed the poor
Were they going for irony to have ONE of those require extra acknowledgement of maturity (based on the flimsiest of criteria, age)?
if these were when he was sleeping this was in the void and not just dreams .. but i see a theme.. the void doesn't have a theme it is random.. and hell like you never know what u will see there , no plot , no reason..
It's sad that this truly talented artist died in...a robery. 2 guys broke to his house, killed him and stole...about 100 dollars and vhs player. Sounds like a joke but it's true :-(
Con tanta belleza que existe a nuestro alrededor, pienso que hay que estar un poco mal espiritual y mentalmente para realizar este tipo de pintura.
If you click through these, they're all the stuff of nightmares. All is fine, until you get to image #32, which you need to click that you're over 18 to view. Click, and shock, the image shows boobs. How ridiculous can our society get?
I think this Polish painter needs to leave that Polish spirit alone for a while.
From software made blood borne and the dark souls games correct? I think I would be into something of that nature but I'm not going to buy a game I have no input on. They any good
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I still remember when I first saw an album with his paintings in the local bookstore as a young child, love him since then.
It's already in the article haha (wouldn't let me change my comment)
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Where are these "everyday objects" you mentioned the artist used on his paintings?
Car, mirror, train (?) carriage- I know of these
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OMGosh most of his work shown here is beyond horrifying to me. This man must have been tortured when he slept. To actually experience visions like these is downright anguish for the normal person to even imagine!
This work is truly spectacular. H.R. Geiger had visions on this scale. I too had nightmares that reflected the feelings that I get when contemplating this art, that is until I stopped believing is religion.
#24 is what I imagine a mistwairth from the mistborn series to look like.
You can also try gallery in Sanok. There you can find it online: http://beksinski.dmochowskigallery.net/galeria_past.php?lang=e
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Beksinski didn't scare me ;) I am deeply saddened though. While this is great for the viewer, it is different for the one who experiences this life - the one who HAD TO LIVE with it. It was a life dealt to him - so young. I love them tho - ALL the pieces, although saddened. How could one look at any of these & not be affected? Wonderful, tragic works.
a lot of these remind me of stuff that would be in the hellraiser movies.
Elon Musk is planning to connect the brain to a computer in the next 5 years. I hope he can pull this of because it would be amazing to "capture" dreams and then play it somehow.
These are great, but they're not my nightmares... They look more... Realistic than that... Less confusing, more vivid, more colourful, and sometimes they're in black and white.
Now the title is better. Thank you, Bored Panda administrators, for listening to our opinions. ♥
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I believe its safe to say that WWII played a major part in the artist's outlook of the universe. The destruction caused by the Nazis, and then the Soviets were horrible and must have had an everlasting impression on him. After all, he was only 11 when the war began, and 16 when it ended with occupation. No wonder he was so happy on the outside and so preoccupied with death and destruction in his subconscious, which found its way into his art.
This is not entirely true. He was often asked about the war's influence on his work and this is what he said in one of the interviews (rough translation from Polish): "I was 10 when the war began. I was raised on comic books, death rays and Martians so I expected that war will bring spectacular experiences. Yet, war in my opinion as a child was just a change of the officials and bad food. Then it's rather difficult to admit I'm painting the catastrophe of war that I remember from childhood. Honestly speaking, I was actually disappointed with the lack of *special effects*. That's the way I'd put it. Of course I saw the dead and I survived the longlasting front, but for children such things are like water off duck's back." (quote from his art dealer's site http://beksinski.dmochowskigallery.net/introduction.php)
Load More Replies... Beksinski' s work make you think. He combined beauty, horror and human fears to create something that captivates our attention and mind. The hairs on my neck went straight before I reached the end of the first page, yet I continued to the end of the list(as many of the other pandas did for sure) because there's something about these pictures' dark style that make you wish to see more no matter how terrified you are.
Beksinski was an amazing artist. He channeled his emotions through his work like depression, paranoia, fear.. Strangely, I was first introduced to his works in my Psychology class back in college and not in Humanities (which is like Art Class here), lol. Wasnt he already featured in BoredPanda before? (I remembered because I soft copied all the paintings featured)
Zdzisław Beksiński was a very interesting artist and I think he was an amazing influence to other artists. But it's always sad to realize that he had to deal with so many tragic parts in his life. Even though many said he was a kind and loving person. His works aged very well and, in my opinion, are timeless. And the thing is, I'm not even a fan of post-apocalyptic and/or nightmare artworks, but they always look incredibly stunning! Mister Beksiński did an incredible job on these works!
If Beksinski wants to re-torture himself with such unpleasant imagery, guess that's up to him. Me, have similar dreams, but do my best to leave them behind & forget them.
I think he visits every night Dante's World... but maybe are realitys of our worst nightmare's in parallels dimensions.
I could come close to painting one of those than dreaming it!
Load More Replies... Beksiński painted for throw out self his thougs during his ilness( he had schizophrenia and he knew it) I'm fascinated his paining very early because my father's family home are in Sanok. I remeber as one day touched his stone paint because i couldn't belive this was only paint...I very recommend to see his pieces of art which are available in old castle in Sanok! P6160039-5...b9f8f7.jpg
There are galleries in Krakow and Sanok- if you ever visit Poland (which I highly recommend :) ). If you are realy lucky, there can be an exhibition in other city like Warsaw. Once there was even Virtual Reality show. Just imagine a stroll in a world made of his paintings... or Dali's, or other painters. Great idea!
I think these are beautiful, and also creepy. It takes a true artist to create something that truly gets under someones skin and makes them feel fear, and emotion.
I've seen the one where hes walking through the tall cliffs number 8. i like that one.
half of the people in their comments are saying either this is scaring them , or he needs to get helps x) but i don't think so , this guy is a genius , he has a perfect memory and he draws with precision , he not only artistically genius , he's a prodigy and his brain is a treasure , he should be appreciated and applauded for the work he's doing , what he paints and the ways he paints it is so unique , so unique that no one actually did this before , i love his work and i would love to see more. It's so amazing and breath taking , his dreams are so mystical and beautiful even if they're dark , but then again , darkness is what makes an artist who he truly is.
It gave me goosebumps but i enjoyed his style, its different. I think if i was able to share some of my dreams er-nightmares, hed be the only one to capture them with the horror they are...
Thank you very much for posting these. I got so impressed that I decided to book a trip and visit the exhibition in Sanok.
what kind of dreams does this guy have to get inspired for his paintings?
https://www.facebook.com/lixpen/videos/827586164060587/ https://truththeory.com/2017/04/27/polish-painter-learned-photograph-dreams-works-will-give-nightmares/ Exact same articles?
I wonder if he is channeling images that are in the collective Mind of the Polish zeitgeist. If these aren't products of his own consciousness operating at a deep level, then perhaps his vision is penetrating deeper than his own mind?
Is anyone familiar with Count Alfred Habdank Skarbek Korzybski ([kɔˈʐɨpski]; July 3, 1879 – March 1, 1950)? This is Wiki's first paragraph on him but I see some connection between him and Beksinski or at least how looking at what Korzybski says about human thought would be helpful in trying to understand Beksinski: (He) was a Polish-American independent scholar who developed a field called general semantics, which he viewed as both distinct from, and more encompassing than, the field of semantics. He argued that human knowledge of the world is limited both by the human nervous system and the languages humans have developed, and thus no one can have direct access to reality, given that the most we can know is that which is filtered through the brain's responses to reality. His best known dictum is "The map is not the territory".
I didn't see any references to Hieronymus Bosch. These are further down that same road (less traveled) but given that Bosch painted 500 years ago he is still the winner of whatever we shall call this award. Perhaps we could say that Zdzislaw Beksinski is last century's winner of the Hieronymus Bosch award.
Dint evoke much except a little gloom...yes we all have skills in our head which appear once the skin and flesh decompose. .move on feed the poor
Were they going for irony to have ONE of those require extra acknowledgement of maturity (based on the flimsiest of criteria, age)?
if these were when he was sleeping this was in the void and not just dreams .. but i see a theme.. the void doesn't have a theme it is random.. and hell like you never know what u will see there , no plot , no reason..
It's sad that this truly talented artist died in...a robery. 2 guys broke to his house, killed him and stole...about 100 dollars and vhs player. Sounds like a joke but it's true :-(
Con tanta belleza que existe a nuestro alrededor, pienso que hay que estar un poco mal espiritual y mentalmente para realizar este tipo de pintura.
If you click through these, they're all the stuff of nightmares. All is fine, until you get to image #32, which you need to click that you're over 18 to view. Click, and shock, the image shows boobs. How ridiculous can our society get?
I think this Polish painter needs to leave that Polish spirit alone for a while.
From software made blood borne and the dark souls games correct? I think I would be into something of that nature but I'm not going to buy a game I have no input on. They any good
Load More Replies... I still remember when I first saw an album with his paintings in the local bookstore as a young child, love him since then.
It's already in the article haha (wouldn't let me change my comment)
Load More Replies... Where are these "everyday objects" you mentioned the artist used on his paintings?
Car, mirror, train (?) carriage- I know of these
Load More Replies... OMGosh most of his work shown here is beyond horrifying to me. This man must have been tortured when he slept. To actually experience visions like these is downright anguish for the normal person to even imagine!
This work is truly spectacular. H.R. Geiger had visions on this scale. I too had nightmares that reflected the feelings that I get when contemplating this art, that is until I stopped believing is religion.
#24 is what I imagine a mistwairth from the mistborn series to look like.
You can also try gallery in Sanok. There you can find it online: http://beksinski.dmochowskigallery.net/galeria_past.php?lang=e
Load More Replies... Beksinski didn't scare me ;) I am deeply saddened though. While this is great for the viewer, it is different for the one who experiences this life - the one who HAD TO LIVE with it. It was a life dealt to him - so young. I love them tho - ALL the pieces, although saddened. How could one look at any of these & not be affected? Wonderful, tragic works.
a lot of these remind me of stuff that would be in the hellraiser movies.
Elon Musk is planning to connect the brain to a computer in the next 5 years. I hope he can pull this of because it would be amazing to "capture" dreams and then play it somehow.
These are great, but they're not my nightmares... They look more... Realistic than that... Less confusing, more vivid, more colourful, and sometimes they're in black and white.
Now the title is better. Thank you, Bored Panda administrators, for listening to our opinions. ♥
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