Thursday, 11 October 2012

Album Cover Analysis

 
As an assignment, my class and I were given the task to analyse two different artists' album covers. One relating to my chosen music genre for the music video and another completely separate.
Below is the Iron and Wine album cover:
This album cover exhibits Van Gogh's style with the delicate, vertical brush strokes and fine lines showing the variation in tone and colour. There is a man who appears to be lying in a field of grass sleeping. This creates a sense of serenity and tranquililty within the frame. He is wearing a white, open collared shirt that shows he is casual and not formal. There is an angelic and god-like feel to the picture as the grass is spread arond his head symbolizing a halo or that he is a holy figure. His beard also is connected to the stereotypical image of a god. The album cover is illustrated not photographed which appeals to Iron and Wine's target audience as it echoes his artistic taste and style. The album title: 'Our endless numbered days' as well as the artist's name: 'Iron and Wine' are both written in lower case showing a lack of effort and informality. The font is written in a serif, chalkboard form that is unmodern yet stylistic. Overall, the album cover is ornate and full of interpretations.
 

This album cover is by an alternative, soft rock band called Young Guns. This is a completely different genre and messgae. This photograph/animation is particularly gothic and sinister. There is a woman floating in mid-air fully nude with her head fully back. This might be an exorcism, spiritual healing or post-death. Her hair is faded white which signifies purity and after-life. The open, bright window is almost paralysing the figure with its natural, harmful light. There is also sexual undertones emitted from this image. This can also be interpreted as a portal to the afterlife. The edges of the frame are damaged showing that the photograph is maybe taken with a poloroid or an old fashioned camera. The band's name: 'Young Guns' is positioned in the centre of the frame in an enlarged and son-serif font. The translucent tone contributes to the eerie, ghostly feel of the image. The overall colour scheme is misty and faded with its dark purple, black, white and greys. The album name's font: 'Bones' is hand written like an artist's signature at the bottom right corner providing the viewer with a piece of art aside from an album cover.