Tag Archives: Nick Cave

John Lennon: a true original

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After my post on Nick Cave’s sexist CD cover and the ubiquity of images pairing covered men and uncovered women, my sister reminded me of Annie Leibovitz’s famous photograph:

rolling-stone-john-lennon-and-yoko-Annie-Leibovitz

This photo of a naked John Lennon with his wife, Yoko Ono, was taken on Dec. 8, 1980, the last day of Lennon’s life.

Ono was, of course, demonized for putting some kind of spell on Lennon and then breaking up the Beatles.

John Lennon is a true artist and absolute original. This image is just one of the many ways Lennon’s talent and vision made the world a better place.

 

Clothed men, naked women: a retropsective

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I have an idea for a themed art show that could travel the museums of the world: “Clothed men, naked women: a retrospective.” How many galleries and halls do you think would overflow?

I just posted about repetitive gender imagery in “riding bitch,” where the female is shown behind the male on a bike, animal, imaginary creature etc. This sexism is persistent in depicting a fantasy world marketed to children. Amazing how the imaginary world is just as sexist as the real one, huh? Wonder how that happens…

Lynley Stace linked to one of my posts, and that’s when I saw Nick Cave’s new CD cover on her blog.

nickcave-pushtheskyaway

Stace writes:

As one woman commented on Facebook, this image is problematic because it depicts a naked woman opposite a fully-clothed man (in a suit, no less). The woman looks upset or humiliated because her face is covered and Nick Cave looks as if he’s ordering her to go to her room (i.e. he is treating her like a child).

What I would add to that comment is that the woman, judging by her youthful body, is much younger than Nick Cave. Nick Cave is currently 55 years old. That female body looks under 30. So the power is with Nick Cave in every possible respect.

 

Also, check this out. The image is getting as much traction as Cave can get out of it. Stace writes: “Also, the album cover isn’t JUST the album cover. Turns out this image is being used for general promotional advertising.”

advertising

I used to be a fan of Cave. No more. What really gets me is when you look at this image, you can feel how radical and cool Cave thinks he is.

Hey, Nick, it’s been done. Throughout history, again and again. Here’s a version from Manet:

manet

GQ:

gq

Vanity Fair:

scarlett-johansson

I could fill my entire blog with these images. Cave, you’ve lost your originality and you’re showing your 55 years. You’ve become a copy cat, a cliche, and no more an avante-garde artist than Larry Flynt was a proponent for free speech.

#NotBuyingIt

and if you agree,

Please Tweet: Nick Cave’s Push Away the Sky been there, seen that and #NotBuyingIt