Marilyn Manson has given fans a glimpse of his controversial new image in a series of provocative photographs. The shots, taken by renowned Austrian artist Gottfried Helnwein for the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame museum, depict the singer dressed in pseudo-Nazi regalia and clutching a gun, while a young girl looks on.

Manson and Helnwein have been working together since may 2002. These shots recently appeared on Helnwein's own website, www.helnwein.com. According to Helnwein, they "refer to and symbolise many issues from Manson's past".

“Kids and guns is a big issue in society today, especially in America,” explains Helnwein. “One aspect of these pictures refers to the Columbine High School shootings, when Manson was blamed. And now the whole country is going to war. America worships guns. Every day you hear of child abuse. There are cases with the Roman Catholic church. We’re living in a crazy society. I believe a true artist will always reflect the state society is in.”

Both Manson and Helnwein are aware that the imagery will provoke outrage.
“We’re ready for that,” says Helnwein. “He has been attacked and accused of many things by many people. In ‘Bowling for Columbine’ he said the US has bombed many thousands of people overseas and it is a different story when teenage boys shoot people in their school. Who is to blame? A musician of course! He looks crazy and strange in the eyes of society and, because of it, he has become the culprit. The rifles reflect this in some way.”

Manson has explained the concept behind the shots in a post on his official website.
“When recapturing the spirit of Weimar Berlin at its decadent, creative peak, I am not looking to go back in time or glorify anything BUT expression,” he writes. “My interest in these pages of history is a pile of scattered ransom note cut-ups meant to create an invitation to chaos and demand for style. Whatever you choose.

“I am honored to work with Gottfried,” he added, “I am too exhausted to reveal the details of our work but it is multi-media prop chaos that I know will please many and enrage more.”
As well as his collaboration with Helnwein, Manson has taken time out of from recording his new album, “The Golden Age of Grotesque”, to work on a number of other projects.

“Party Monster”, the story of infamous New York “club kid” and convicted murderer Michael Alig, as played by Macauley “Home Alone” Culkin, recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival held in Park City, Utah. In the film, co-written and directed by Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey, Manson plays a transvestite dominatrix named Christina.