Zak Smith
Zak Smith | |
---|---|
Born | Syracuse, New York, U.S. | July 16, 1976
Nationality | American |
Education | Cooper Union, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Yale University |
Known for |
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Notable work | Girls in the Naked Girl Business |
Zak Smith (born July 16, 1976), also known as Zak Sabbath, is an American artist, role-playing game author, and adult actor.
Early life and education
Smith was born in Syracuse, New York and grew up in Washington, D.C. After receiving a BFA from Cooper Union in 1998, he studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Skowhegan, Maine and went on to receive an MFA from Yale University in 2001.
Career
Apart from his work as role-playing game author and artist Smith is also known as a hardcore porn actor.
Public collections containing Smith's art include the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Walker Art Center and Saatchi Gallery. Some of his works are shown on Artsy. Zak Smith is represented by Fredericks & Freiser Gallery in New York City.
Personal life
Smith lived and worked in Brooklyn, New York until October 2007, when he moved to Los Angeles. He was formerly in a long-term relationship with adult industry performer Mandy Morbid. Smith describes himself as an anarchist.
Sexual assault allegations
Due to allegations of abuse by several women including Morbid, Wizards of the Coast announced in February 2019 they would be removing all references to Smith from the print and digital editions of Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition. Kenneth Hite, a former RPG collaborator, apologized to the women and said he would donate the proceeds from their upcoming book to a non-profit addressing domestic violence. OneBookShelf announced it would no longer work with Smith and would donate revenue generated from existing titles with Smith to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. Smith was also banned from attending Gen Con. Smith denied the accusations and filed a defamation lawsuit against Morbid.
Bibliography
Art
- Zak Smith: Pictures of Girls (New York: Distributed Art Publishers, 2005). ISBN 978-1-933045-22-1
- Pictures Showing What Happens on Each Page of Thomas Pynchon's Novel Gravity's Rainbow (graphic representation of novel/illustration) (Portland, Oregon: Tin House Books, 2006). ISBN 0-9773127-9-8
- We Did Porn: Memoir and Drawings. (Portland, Oregon: Tin House Books, 2009). ISBN 978-0-9802436-8-0
- The Worst Breakfast (illustrator, with writer China Miéville, Akashic Books, 2016). ISBN 978-1-6177548-6-9
RPGs
- Vornheim: The Complete City Kit (Lamentations of the Flame Princess, 2011). ISBN 978-9-5259042-4-6
- A Red & Pleasant Land (Lamentations of the Flame Princess, 2014). ISBN 978-9-5259046-0-4
- Death Frost Doom (Lamentations of the Flame Princess, 2014). ISBN 978-9-5259048-3-3
- Maze of the Blue Medusa (with Patrick Stuart, Satyr Press, 2016). ISBN 978-0-9832437-5-5
- Frostbitten & Mutilated (Lamentations of the Flame Princess, 2018). ISBN 978-9-5272380-2-8
Awards
Year | Award | Category | Work |
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2011 | ENnie Awards | Honorable Mention in "Best Aid/Accessory" | Vornheim: The Complete City Kit |
Diehard GameFAN | Tabletop Gaming Award for "Best Campaign Setting" | ||
2012 | IndieCade | "Best Technology of the Year" | |
2014 | Indie RPG Awards | "Best Production" | A Red and Pleasant Land |
2015 | ENnie awards | Silver for "Best Adventure" + "Product of the Year" | |
Gold for "Best Setting" + "Best Writing" | |||
2016 | ENnie awards | Silver for "Best Cartography" + "Best Writing" | Maze of the Blue Medusa |
Gold for "Best Electronic Book" | |||
2018 | ENnie Awards | Silver for best "Art - Interior" + "Setting" + "Writing" | Frostbitten & Mutilated |
Gold for "Best Monster/Adversary" |
- 1976 births
- 20th-century American painters
- 21st-century American painters
- 21st-century American male artists
- Alt porn
- American male painters
- American male pornographic film actors
- Artists from Syracuse, New York
- Indie role-playing game designers
- Living people
- American erotic artists
- 20th-century American male artists