‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ evokes emotions of both passion and perturbation. The fact West and the phoenix looked so menacing while having sex illustrated that despite committing an act of love, they seem to be disconnected. The screwed up face, I linked to the challenges of fame. The beer in West’s hand, I associated as an escape from celebrity. Not the painting.” As I have listened to the album frequently throughout the years, the potential symbolism of the art became clearer to me. Albeit, this was much to West and Condo’s disgust, with the latter saying in an interview with New York Magazine: “The superimposition of people’s perceptions on a cartoon is shocking… What’s happening in their minds should be banned. West achieved this, as the cover art was banned in Walmart, and Apple Music pixelated the image. Thus, he told Condo he wanted the artwork to be provocative, and that he was looking for “something that will be banned”.
What was the reason to have such an outlandish album cover? Well, after the VMA debacle, West wanted to, and arguably needed, to come back with a statement. Although, some have questioned why West would go to this extent. Painting but more so in the psyche of who he is painting and who is looking at the painting – hence why he calls his work “psychological cubism”. The idea of aggression and maximalist production mixed with American pop culture, mirrors ‘My Beautiful Dark ‘One of West and Condo’s major artistic influences is Pablo Picasso’ ‘he wanted the artwork to be provocative’ He blends aesthetics that reflect Pablo Picasso with contemporary American culture, with him claiming: “I describe what I do as psychological cubism”. Known for his unique and figurative paintings, often featuring fragmented portraits and belligerent imagery. Per contra, Condo is less interested in the way we look at a
Similarities can be drawn with ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’, as Condo paints both West and the armless woman as looking directly at the viewer whilst they are having sex disconcerting the onlooker and involving them with the piece and all its elements. Picasso forces us to stare at these prostitutes who seem to look deeply disturbed, directly engaging us and making it almost impossible to look away from the naked, entangled women. It too is an oil painting, which features five female prostitutes in a brothel lying in a bed looking out towards an observer. One of West and Condo’s major artistic influences is Pablo Picasso, whose “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” is considered momentous because of how it disrupted the contemporary art scene during the early 20th century. The vibrant oil painting of an armless sphinx with wings and a polka-dotted tail straddling West is as fantastical as it is disturbing. This medley of sex and surrealism is similar to Condo’s main cover art for ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’. The cover was able to mix sex, abstract expression and a vibrant colour palette to garner attention for the album and to represent the band’s music to wondrous and rattling effect. An early example of this is Led Zeppelin’s 1973 album ‘Houses Of The Holy’, designed by the firm Hipgnosis. Nevertheless, by the 1970s, album covers began to use concept art and symbolism to exhibit greater emotion, in the hopes of generating a more profound attachment to the album. Before the late 1930s, record covers had no visual appeal – they only included the name of the record company. George Condo is an American artist Twisted Fantasy’ perfectly. We can link this idea of having no filter to the design of the album cover. In West’s mind, this album was make or break and everything had to go into it: all insecurities, all emotions, all bravado.
However, he had other plans in mind and instead dedicated his time in Hawaii to creating his magnum opus – ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’. Mentally struggling, he went on a self-imposed exile to Oahu, Hawaii, in what seemed to be his decline. (Kanye West) – George CondoĮlias Daryani Internal runner-up of National ARTiculation competitionĪfter Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMA awards, the public were outraged and it was seen as career suicide for West.
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