So apparently now when you log into deviantArt using IE 8, you're prompted to upgrade to IE 10. When you upgrade to IE 10 (or Chrome or Firefox), you get a blank page when you log into deviantArt. Clearing cache and cookies and disabling add-ons doesn't help. This is a problem with the site, and the folks at deviantArt seem to have no intention of fixing this. Ever.
The good news is that you can, in fact, click on the icons on the top of the page. So it's not completely broken, just poorly run. Hooray!
Boo. :(