COVER MEANING
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You are currently reading a thread in /mu/ - Music
You are currently reading a thread in /mu/ - Music
"Everything in the world is exactly the same."
Kanye when asked about the differences of his fashion and music creative process.
We already know the meaning of the album title "The life of Pablo": Kanye identifies himself with the artist during his creative process, the criminal when he is depicted by the media, and the hardworking common man in his everyday life, taking care of his house and family.
But what about the cover art?
Well, this is a graphic representation of "life". Repeating itself (not necessarily the same) day after day or maybe "era" after "era". Sometime we see some overlaps/errors in the typing. These represents the mistakes and the hard times that Kanye had to go through his life.
The picture of the wedding of his parents represents the start of this life.
"I cried writing this song."
Kanye about "Father stretch my hands".
"As I lay me down to sleep
I hear her speak to me."
Kanye, singing about his mother in "Only One".
The cover designer, Peter De Potter, has collaborated on curations of his work with such notable fashion designers, as former Dior creative director Raf Simmons.
>>62482292
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!
>>62482677
i like. good job.
omg liek so relevant
>>62482292
Go to the artists instagram page.
It doesn't mean anything. You're literally interpreting modern art bullshit, you went to all this effort to justify this crap as something truly meaningful and artistic.
Instead you just came out autistic yourself. Point and laugh everyone. Point and laugh.
>>62483362
if no one ever searches for meaning because of an assumption that there is no meaning than there will be no meaning.
>>62483554
You're doing it again. Stop.
Do you stare at a blank white wall for meaning? No. So just stop being a pretentious faggot.
lol like so post modern
so like relatable omg man life is enlightened now
kawaiii
>>62483362
>>62484362
Guess who's back. OP is back.
Hi faggot.
Primo, you replied to the wrong anon.
Secondo, drop arts. This is the point of it, trying to understand the artist feeling and intention.
If you couldn't understand this by yourself, you are probably retardted anyway.
>>62485008
pathetic
thats nice but i'm gonna change it to something that doesn't look like a 1st grader opened paint anyway
>>62485008
I don't care if it was someone else, I stand by what I said, you're a pretentious faggot.
Get your ass over to that talentless fuck Peter De Potter's instagram and you'll see what I mean.
I'm not coming from bullshit here either, Ive been doing art for ages.
This type of artist gets by on their connections and money alone, he was probably born into a rich family, got funded by daddy's money and got by with his faggot art school friends and his family's money.
His work is fucking trash and you fucks never come to the same conclusion on what it means, you all have 50 different answers to it without any semblance of crossover analysis.
it's pretty easy to spot people who have no experience with visual analysis
>>62482292
>Kanye identifies himself with the artist during his creative process
I almost vomited in my mouth
>>62484362
>Do you stare at a blank white wall for meaning?
>>62483362
that's not really modern art son
>>62485008
>artist feeling and intention
you should drop arts
>>62484362
Well, how did the wall get to be white? Whats the context?
If you hate artistic thought this much then why are you on a music board?
>>62485221
you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs just like you can't find meaning in something without offending a few unimaginative narcissists who think nothing means anything
I mean really do you seriously think kanye made a cover to an album without thinking AT ALL about what it might mean? do you really think it's completely random?
>>62485367
>>62485294
Holy fuck did you miss the point.
I mean do you literally go look at a plane of grass or at your wall in your home and look for meaning.
Do you look for meaning in things that don't have any meaning. Are you telling me that you look at just random shit in life and ask
>WELL HOW DID THE WALL GET SO WHITE
>WHY IS THE SKY SO BLUE
>WHY ARE THE CURTAINS IN MY ROOM SO BROWN
>THIS LADY SMILES IMMA COME UP WITH A WHOLE BACKSTORY FOR HER
You're on the search for something in nothing. I guarantee this cover art was made for the intents and purposes because Konway or someone working for him likes Peter De Potters art because its OH SO DIFFERENT AND LOOKS SO NICE and he has connections to Dior zomg.
Even IF this album art has meaning, it's fucking terrible. It's the most low-effort post-modern bullshit ever and people are championing this as DEEP and INTERESTING.
It's fucking trash.
>>62485458
i'm not sure you understand how contemporary 'art' functions. something like this album cover relies on the contexts to generate meaning rather than the work itself being autonomous. the idea of 'autonomous' art is really a modernist myth that hasn't been taken seriously since around the 60s. i'll tell you what is more relevant to interpreting the art work than looking at its form -- look at the covers of other rap albums and see if you can draw parallels. amateur-ness, personal photos, for example. welcome to art.
>>62485518
the low-effortness is interesting especially when it causes people like you to flip out who expect something more from artists. it is a form of critique.
>>62485518
>I mean do you literally go look at a plane of grass or at your wall in your home and look for meaning.
>Do you look for meaning in things that don't have any meaning.
>Are you telling me that you look at just random shit in life and ask
>>THIS LADY SMILES IMMA COME UP WITH A WHOLE BACKSTORY FOR HER
yes.
WHO CARES
IT LOOKS COOL
KANYE THOUGHT IT LOOKED COOL
>>62485602
Because theres people infinitely more talented and thought-provoking in their work who get paid fucking peanuts compared to this trust-funded kid.
How can you not see that? It's so obvious in his work that his low-effortness of his modern art is a mirror to his life. He's never had to work hard for anything in his life and put hard work & effort it. It was handed to him. It's like artist who partake is Dadaism, the artwork is already there for them, all they do is fuck with it to turn it into something else they want. Its low effort.
>>62485659
Cos he's a simple-minded emotional man
>>62485640
Die.
>>62485602
>it is a form of critique.
I mean, are you saying it's critiquing the expectations that people have for album covers? Because that is pretty lame critique
>>62485518
>Holy fuck did you miss the point.
how did I miss the point? The Wall is literally an argument against your case. Minimal art that on the surface means nothing, but when you understand THE CONTEXT i.e. LISTEN TO THE ALBUM, you then understand its meaning
>>62485680
yes the art does say a lot about the modes of artistic production and the status of art and artists of the society in which it was made! you get it now!
yes, dadaism was anti-art! you get it now!
>>62485694
no i said artists not album covers
>>62485559
ok sure but i defend anyone's right to look for autonomous meaning regardless of how ridiculous it might be. you have the right to disagree with their opinion but not to say that they should not express it
>>62483362
> Go to the artists instagram page.
and it's all gay porn
>>62485779
yeah i never said anything that contradicts this
>>62485717
I wasn't even talking about album covers, I was talking about mundane, meaningless everyday things.
>>62485743
I got it the moment I saw it. Like I've said, if meaning is there. It's still a shit piece of art in context of the artist who made it itself.
I don't believe in it, it has zero soul to me and it comes from a place of being disingenuous & vapid.
>>62485694
maybe it's critiquing the expectation of complex meanings being portrayed in album covers. 95% of album covers are high concept and high effort and lavishly designed. this cover might be a front against that expectation
I think the cover falls in line with Kanye's aesthetic generally speaking.
He has frequently spoken about how he believes that objects that are physically perfect are non-artistic, and when they're imbued with some sort of imperfection, they become "art."
You see examples of this aesthetic in his fashion work; in which, for example, a sweater will be given a number of small tears and holes in order to imbue it with Kanye's artistic sensibility.
I believe that the principle of this album cover was to have the words "The Life of Pablo" filling the page, but in order to fulfill Kanye's artistic sensibility, the text was corrupted or overlapped in a number of instances.
>>62485824
art never had soul. contemporary art is just honest about itself. look at the cover for yeezus -- you can't get any more honest than that
effort doesn't determine how great a piece of art is
>>62485803
well the other guy did and if you are that guy then yes you are
>>62485845
i wonder if anyone here actually prefers the album art from like graduation
>>62485824
>I wasn't even talking about album covers, I was talking about mundane, meaningless everyday things.
how do you think we started that argument? lol
>>62485518
>do look for meaning in things that don't have any meaning
Yeah it's called creativity. Why are people so quick to demonize things for being "edgy" or "pretentious" and such? It's really just unimaginative people who have comforted themselves with the role of critic, those who can't create but deem themselves intellectual enough to judge.
>>62485893
well it looks better from afar but i like this kind of art because it is different and thought provoking
that makes me sound pretentious but it is true to how i feel
>>62485863 Today I found out there are sane people on 4chan.
>>62485942
Yep, you got it pal. Because I've never made it art before. Never. Not like I do it everyday or nothing!
>>62485906
The argument changed.
>>62485863
True, but I still have every right to say that its meanings don't go anywhere beyond the conscious thought and its explicit meanings, if it had any to be intended by, and if reflected upon by the artist who made it may take away or give more meaning to the piece.
In the case of Peter De Potter, it takes away. Heavily. Yeezus' album cover had more meaning than this shit and it was more honest. If I look at a piece of art and in 5 seconds I get the whole story and how it was made, well then that experience wasn't very fun was it? I didn't get much out of it intellectually or emotionally.
>>62486072
Making art isn't the only facet of creativity
>>62486094
Art's a broad term, covering a wide range of subjects and activities. So what exactly do you mean by that?
>>62486072
yeah you do have that right but you'd be missing a large chunk of why it is relevant to its time. it says a lot about our expectations of art, the distribution of art, the state of music and its distribution, etc... like what is the point in putting so much effort into album art for a product most people will only ever own digitally and will barely be seen. it is better these days to have some sort of work that acknowledges how work is accessed and do respond to that directly, like having something that stands out, is legible and understandable on a small screen (note the colour), and causes this much discussion online
this is personally why i find it interesting at least intellectually. the inclusion of a photo so personal as his parents wedding (which would otherwise not be seen) is the human, emotional side
he is honest about his art and himself, and that makes people mad
You the type of nigga to find meaning in harsh noise.
>>62486284
I think people just think it looks like shit regardless of its meaning.
>>62486317
yep that's basically the point
>>62486118
Is creative thought classified as art?
>>62486388
it depends on the context
>>62486284
I get what your saying and I've seen art like this before and even studied it for ages, and I've even like dadaist art pieces given its context, meaning and its approach.
In regards to what it says about our expectations of art, its distribution and the state of music. Honestly it says very little, nothing more than a sentence in your head, and it comes off extremely negative. And I'm a depressive fuck, and even this is cynical and jaded.
It speaks to a consumerist culture in a way where it says "I don't want to talk, and you don't want to think. So let's keep it short because our attention spans are about as long as a tweet."
Meanwhile, it leaves people who desire substantive art forms and pieces out in the cold because it leans towards itself not having that discussion. It only breeds negative discussion about how little it cares about its audience and with how music is distributed and how easily people want to understand anything is insulting people's intelligence, but really, it isn't because people are that stupid. Like this album cover is more comfortable with not being seen at all because it knows its own worth. Which is nothing, my problem is people are ascribing worth to artwork that is actually demanding not to have any worth attached to it. They're looking for something that simply doesn't wanna be seen if you take into context all the things you just listed.
The only part of it where things get deep is the wedding photo, but even then I don't know if that was Kanye's input or not, if he specifically picked that photo or the artist picked it. There's a disconnect between the personal side of it and the artist, and considering how simple its process is, i'd understand it more and believe it more emotionally if Kanye himself made it but he didn't. A trust fund kid did. It doesn't connect with me, maybe that's the point, but it reeks of no soul.
good one OP, I'm taking this as fact from now on
>>62486561
well the issue isn't the art itself but what capitalism, globalisation, mass communication, consumer culture, digitisation, has done to the state of art. art is different now and yeah sure you can make deep and meaningful art, but no one wants art that is deep and meaningful. they want art that looks good. conversely, you can make art that embraces the modes of production, distribution and display. you can make a work that won't be seen by pirates or consumers whose primary focus on getting an album is to listen to the music rather than look at the art. cds are small compared to vinyl, so are itunes images -- of course when the album is shown on itunes it will show the background cover of the album which conveniently is one solid colour that isn't used much in other albums. it stands out in its own way. this is 'the efficiency of capitalist production and distribution'
>>62486561
also, would you agree that kanye is a distant artist? that's what i get from the inclusion of the wedding photo. yes it has no soul, but i think that is the point. he is alienated and aloof despite the personal nature of the image, but also in this sense he is honest. he is honest about himself and where he comes from, and he is honest about how he feels as a contemporary artist and musician. i also think he is honest about his relationship to his current family
>>62486836
Its one of the few things I like Kanye about he'll say things he believes, although sometimes I doubt those things when it comes around that time to drop an album. Personally I feel that's all social marketing, like BILL COSBY INNOCENT and shit.
But he's an emotional guy, a bit too emotional. I don't think he's all that smart and he lets his emotions get the best of him alot when he goes off in public. But at least I know where he's coming from like most of the time.
>>62486695
It's done alot of bad I'd say. Its why so many people are critical of modern art because capitalism and the price tag gets in the way of making something worthwhile and thinking more about how it'll look nice in a cushy 2 million dollar apartment that fits the drab white walls. Art is different now, I agree for the worse. The best pieces aren't even being sold or at least not for much and its a very underground world where people pour alot of themselves into making something good rather than whats actually getting sold which is what just aesthetically looks good anywhere. I don't think embracing it subverts itself from the awareness of its production, distribution and display. More so submits itself to the world it lives in, it's very group mentality in that sense in just following the money/herd.
I think its quite sad that capitalism is so ingrained now for decades that it's attached itself into how art is made nowadays. It's almost dystopian in how its surveyed and appreciated. You either go with the flow or go unseen and that mindset parallels the music industry in a lot of ways. Artists need to learn that they have more control than they realize.
