What are the 20 most controversial album covers of all time?
Content warning: This article contains images which some readers may find offensive.
If you're a music lover and enjoy a bit of drama, you must have heard that controversy is brewing over the artwork of Sabrina Carpenter's upcoming album 'Man's Best Friend'.
The suggestive – but hardly sexually explicit - cover features the buzzy 'Espresso' hitmaker on her knees in front of a faceless man who is pulling her hair back. And the release of the image has caused much debate.
Many argue that Carpenter's MO has always been pop-horniness, and that she has every right to express herself and her sexuality – in this case what some may perceive as a submissive kink - in any way she sees fit and crucially, without being policed or harassed; others see this image as degrading, regressive and promoting traditional gender roles.
At the end of the day, it's her album cover and can't we just let her be?
Some hyper-conservative and hyper-progressive corners of the internet clearly disagree, and the reactions have been intense – which is hardly surprising, considering sexuality has always rubbed some people up the wrong way. Plus, scandal is hardly new for musicians, as artists have sparked outrage with their album covers for decades, leading some to be censored or even banned.
From nudity to the open courting of outrage via political statements (and sometimes, downright poor taste), here are 20 provocative covers that rocked the music world and faced the most backlash.
We proceed chronologically.
A post shared by Euronews Culture (@euronewsculture)
While hardly controversial compared to some of the other covers in this list, that's a downright unfortunate title to go with this image. And isn't the one on the right an uncanny dead ringer for a young Stephen Fry? Unsettling.
It's not one of the Fab Four's most famous albums, but certainly their most notorious. Photographer Robert Whitaker took a snap of the band in white butcher's coats, surrounded by raw meat and dismembered baby dolls. Paul McCartney claimed it was a comment against the Vietnam War. US retailers were shocked and refused to stock the album, leading to it being withdrawn and reissued with a more vanilla alternative. Today, the 'Butcher cover' is available in pirated form. Those lucky enough to own an original pressing have an expensive and coveted piece of music history.
The cover for the avant-garde 'Two Virgins' captures John Lennon and Yoko Ono completely naked. It sparked outrage, leading distributors to clandestinely sell the album wrapped in brown paper bags.
At the end of the 1960s, Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker founded a supergroup with Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. They released only one album together, and to mark the occasion, they enlisted photographer Bob Seidemann. His image features a young topless girl holding a model spaceship. The image was considered deeply problematic and was promptly banned and replaced with a more classic shot of the band members.
The Stones have had several album cover controversies over the years, including 'Beggar's Banquet''s artwork which featured a graffiti covered bathroom wall. However, it's the band's ninth studio album, designed by Andy Warhol, matched with its inuendo-heavy title, which rubbed censors up the wrong way. It features a suggestive denim-clad crotch and the original pressing of the LP also had a working fly which unzipped to reveal white underwear. The cover was famously banned in Spain, which was under the fascist rule of General Franco at the time.
Photographer Eric Boman's shot of Constanze Karoli and Eveline Grunwald led many US outlets to censor the image, feeling uncomfortable with the sight of scantily clad models. Thankfully, most European distributors weren't irked by the sight of lingerie.
There's misguided and then there's what was going on in the minds of German rockers Scorpions in 1976. The album titled 'Virgin Killer' depicts a naked 10-year-old girl with broken glass covering her genitalia. The controversy led to a bump in sales, but it remains to this day one of the most censored album covers in music history. NB: Euronews Culture has decided to blur the image since this album cover has been deemed by many as child pornography.
Sex Pistols' only studio album caused plenty of pearl clutching when it was released in 1977. A record shop owner in Nottingham, UK, was arrested for displaying the records. This led to an obscenity-related court case, as he was charged for contravening the Indecent Advertisement Act 1889. The charges were eventually dropped. All because of the word 'bollocks'.
All it took was a female-led punk outfit appearing topless and covered in mud for everyone to collectively lose their minds. Considering the sheer amount of topless men on album covers, the only words that come to mind are: deal with it.
With an album title like that, it was pretty obvious that the (cheeky) cover image would cause some outrage.
There are no words.
It's one of the most famous album covers in the world but the artwork for Nirvana's grunge masterpiece proved divisive at the time of its release. It features a photo taken by Kirk Weddle of a four-month-old nude baby named Spencer Elden. Kurt Cobain refused for it to be censored, but did state that he would agree to a sticker covering the penis, reading: 'If you're offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile.' It didn't come to that. However, several decades later, Elden attempted to sue Nirvana for violating US federal child pornography protections with the image, arguing that it resulted in 'lifelong damages'. The suit was eventually dismissed.
Rap pioneer Ice Cube was no stranger to controversy, what with the headline-grabbing lyrics of N.W.A's 'Fuck Tha Police.' But with 'Death Certificate', he sparked further outrage with the image of a corpse identified as Uncle Sam.
The famous rap-metal band's debut album depicts the infamous self-immolation of Vietnamese monk Thích Quảng Đức in 1963, protesting the persecution of Buddhists by South Vietnam's US-backed government. The graphic image caused outrage. Not displeased with the situation, frontman Zach de la Rocha famously burned a US flag at Woodstock '99. The question remains: Could anyone really be surprised with a name like Rage Against The Machine?
Heavy metal has always been a genre that has courted controversy, and there are numerous album covers that have shocked over the years. For their 1994 album, titled 'Youthanasia', Megadeth wanted to comment on the fact that society was euthanizing the young. The visual depiction of this ended up being a woman hanging babies by their feet on her washing line. A bit on-the-nose, but it was enough to get everyone freaking out.
Marilyn Manson has always pushed the envelope when it comes to taste, and the controversial rocker did just that in 2000 for the album 'Holy Wood (In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death)'. The disturbing cover depicts Manson as a crucified Christ, which led US stores to ban it completely. Considering that the controversial shock rocker's intended purpose was to critique censorship and that the previous albums 'Mechanical Animals' and 'Portrait Of An American Family' also sparked moral panic, the reaction to the artwork must have delighted him.
European fans of New York rockers The Strokes were treated with the original cover of their stunning debut album, featuring a leather gloved hand on a naked hip. The US were quick to call foul, however, disapproving of the suggestive nature of the image. The band had to swap the gorgeous shot by Colin Lane – who spontaneously took a picture of his then-girlfriend after she came out of the shower. The replacement? A psychedelic but far less impactful depiction of subatomic particle tracks.
In 2001, US hip-hop group The Coup, composed of Boots Riley and DJ Pam the Funktress, wanted to make a statement about destroying capitalism. Their idea: pose in front of the World Trade Center on fire. The image was conceived prior to 9/11 and the eerie timing of the album's November release meant that they had to replace the image with a martini glass on fire. Probably for the best.
The cover for Ted Nugent's album was pulled before it hit shelves - and considering the misogynist credentials of this particular image, it might have been for the best.
The sleeve for 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' saw a painting of a naked Kanye West being straddled by a winged female monster with sharp teeth. The controversial rapper refused for the image be pulled, but the record label reached a compromise by pixelating the image in some territories.
Sabrina Carpenter's 'Man's Best Friend' is released on 29 August.
He's one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood history, considered one of the last great Movie Stars and has defied death for more than three decades in the Mission: Impossible franchise... And yet, Tom Cruise has yet to win an Oscar – despite four nominations.
Now, that Golden Baldie dearth is about to be rectified as the 62-year-old actor will finally receive an Academy Award this year.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that Cruise will get an Honorary Oscar in November to celebrate his entire career, praising Cruise for his dedication to his craft, including performing all his own stunts, and helping the film industry recover following the COVID-19 period.
Indeed, Cruise – who can currently be seen in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning - famously played a large part in kick-starting the box office during the pandemic when Top Gun: Maverick opened in late spring 2022. The sequel to the 1986 adventure went on to gross $1.5bn worldwide.
Cruise previously earned lead actor Oscar nominations for Born On The Fourth Of July and Jerry Maguire, a supporting actor nod for Magnolia, and a best picture nomination as a producer on Top Gun: Maverick.
The leading man is one of four honourees, alongside choreographer and actress Debbie Allen (Fame, Ragtime, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling), pioneering Black production designer Wynn Thomas (Do The Right Thing, Malcolm X, A Beautiful Mind), and country singer - and complete legend - Dolly Parton.
'This year's Governors Awards will celebrate four legendary individuals whose extraordinary careers and commitment to our filmmaking community continue to leave a lasting impact,' said Janet Yang, Academy President.
'The Academy's Board of Governors is honored to recognize these brilliant artists. Debbie Allen is a trailblazing choreographer and actor, whose work has captivated generations and crossed genres. Tom Cruise's incredible commitment to our filmmaking community, to the theatrical experience, and to the stunts community has inspired us all. Beloved performer Dolly Parton exemplifies the spirit of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award through her unwavering dedication to charitable efforts. And production designer Wynn Thomas has brought some of the most enduring films to life through a visionary eye and mastery of his craft.'
The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award is also an Oscar statuette and is presented to Hollywood figures renowned for 'promoting human welfare and contributing to rectifying inequities'.
Parton's charitable and philanthropic work include the Dollywood Foundation, founded in 1988. The institution champions the education of children in her home state of Tennessee. As for her literacy initiative, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, it has distributed more than 285 million books globally since 1995.
Besides her music career, Parton has starred in films like 9 to 5 and Steel Magnolias, and earned two original song Oscar nominations for '9 to 5', and 'Travelin' Thru from Transamerica' from the film Transamerica.
The four honorees will be presented with their Honorary Oscars at the Governors Awards ceremony on 16 November.
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10 hours ago
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Renowned pianist and writer Alfred Brendel dies aged 94
Alfred Brendel, a classical pianist and writer renowned for his refined playing of Beethoven and Schubert, died Tuesday at his home in London. He was 94. Born on 5 January 1931 in Moravia, now the Czech Republic, Brendel spent most of his childhood in Croatia and Austria. 'I grew up in a family that was not musically inclined, not artistically inclined and not intellectual, so I had to find out a lot of things for myself', he said in a 2012 interview for the Verbier Festival. As a child and teenager, he studied piano and composition but considered himself largely self-taught. 'I did attend master classes in Austria by Edwin Fischer and Eduard Steuermann, but I never had a regular teacher after the age of 16', he told the New York Times in 1981. 'Self-discovery is a slower process but a more natural one.' Brendel gave his first recital in Graz, Austria, in 1948 at age 17, marking the beginning of a six-decade career. Throughout his life, he became especially associated with the music of Beethoven. He recorded the composer's 32 piano sonatas three times, and he played them over a month at New York's Carnegie Hall in 1983. He repeated the sonatas again at Carnegie over three seasons in the 1990s. 'Working on Beethoven takes a lifetime; the more you study him, the more you play him, the more you discover other avenues to explore and try', he told Le Monde in 1999. He was also praised for his interpretations of Mozart, Schubert, Liszt and Haydn. He was widely regarded as a mentor and as the 'musicians' musician' by his colleagues. Brendel had lived in London since 1971. He received 10 Grammy nominations and 23 honorary degrees from universities including, Cambridge, Oxford, Yale and The Juilliard School. Brendel gave his final concert with the Vienna Philharmonic in December 2008. An amateur painter and poet in his early years, he devoted most of his retirement to writing and published several books, including a 2004 collection of poems called 'Cursing Bagels.' 'I used to live a double life', he said in a 2012 interview with the Verbier Festival. 'I'm also a literary person lecturing, giving readings of my poems and teaching.' Content warning: This article contains images which some readers may find offensive. If you're a music lover and enjoy a bit of drama, you must have heard that controversy is brewing over the artwork of Sabrina Carpenter's upcoming album 'Man's Best Friend'. The suggestive – but hardly sexually explicit - cover features the buzzy 'Espresso' hitmaker on her knees in front of a faceless man who is pulling her hair back. And the release of the image has caused much debate. Many argue that Carpenter's MO has always been pop-horniness, and that she has every right to express herself and her sexuality – in this case what some may perceive as a submissive kink - in any way she sees fit and crucially, without being policed or harassed; others see this image as degrading, regressive and promoting traditional gender roles. At the end of the day, it's her album cover and can't we just let her be? Some hyper-conservative and hyper-progressive corners of the internet clearly disagree, and the reactions have been intense – which is hardly surprising, considering sexuality has always rubbed some people up the wrong way. Plus, scandal is hardly new for musicians, as artists have sparked outrage with their album covers for decades, leading some to be censored or even banned. From nudity to the open courting of outrage via political statements (and sometimes, downright poor taste), here are 20 provocative covers that rocked the music world and faced the most backlash. We proceed chronologically. A post shared by Euronews Culture (@euronewsculture) While hardly controversial compared to some of the other covers in this list, that's a downright unfortunate title to go with this image. And isn't the one on the right an uncanny dead ringer for a young Stephen Fry? Unsettling. It's not one of the Fab Four's most famous albums, but certainly their most notorious. Photographer Robert Whitaker took a snap of the band in white butcher's coats, surrounded by raw meat and dismembered baby dolls. Paul McCartney claimed it was a comment against the Vietnam War. US retailers were shocked and refused to stock the album, leading to it being withdrawn and reissued with a more vanilla alternative. Today, the 'Butcher cover' is available in pirated form. Those lucky enough to own an original pressing have an expensive and coveted piece of music history. The cover for the avant-garde 'Two Virgins' captures John Lennon and Yoko Ono completely naked. It sparked outrage, leading distributors to clandestinely sell the album wrapped in brown paper bags. At the end of the 1960s, Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker founded a supergroup with Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. They released only one album together, and to mark the occasion, they enlisted photographer Bob Seidemann. His image features a young topless girl holding a model spaceship. The image was considered deeply problematic and was promptly banned and replaced with a more classic shot of the band members. The Stones have had several album cover controversies over the years, including 'Beggar's Banquet''s artwork which featured a graffiti covered bathroom wall. However, it's the band's ninth studio album, designed by Andy Warhol, matched with its inuendo-heavy title, which rubbed censors up the wrong way. It features a suggestive denim-clad crotch and the original pressing of the LP also had a working fly which unzipped to reveal white underwear. The cover was famously banned in Spain, which was under the fascist rule of General Franco at the time. Photographer Eric Boman's shot of Constanze Karoli and Eveline Grunwald led many US outlets to censor the image, feeling uncomfortable with the sight of scantily clad models. Thankfully, most European distributors weren't irked by the sight of lingerie. There's misguided and then there's what was going on in the minds of German rockers Scorpions in 1976. The album titled 'Virgin Killer' depicts a naked 10-year-old girl with broken glass covering her genitalia. The controversy led to a bump in sales, but it remains to this day one of the most censored album covers in music history. NB: Euronews Culture has decided to blur the image since this album cover has been deemed by many as child pornography. Sex Pistols' only studio album caused plenty of pearl clutching when it was released in 1977. A record shop owner in Nottingham, UK, was arrested for displaying the records. This led to an obscenity-related court case, as he was charged for contravening the Indecent Advertisement Act 1889. The charges were eventually dropped. All because of the word 'bollocks'. All it took was a female-led punk outfit appearing topless and covered in mud for everyone to collectively lose their minds. Considering the sheer amount of topless men on album covers, the only words that come to mind are: deal with it. With an album title like that, it was pretty obvious that the (cheeky) cover image would cause some outrage. There are no words. It's one of the most famous album covers in the world but the artwork for Nirvana's grunge masterpiece proved divisive at the time of its release. It features a photo taken by Kirk Weddle of a four-month-old nude baby named Spencer Elden. Kurt Cobain refused for it to be censored, but did state that he would agree to a sticker covering the penis, reading: 'If you're offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile.' It didn't come to that. However, several decades later, Elden attempted to sue Nirvana for violating US federal child pornography protections with the image, arguing that it resulted in 'lifelong damages'. The suit was eventually dismissed. Rap pioneer Ice Cube was no stranger to controversy, what with the headline-grabbing lyrics of N.W.A's 'Fuck Tha Police.' But with 'Death Certificate', he sparked further outrage with the image of a corpse identified as Uncle Sam. The famous rap-metal band's debut album depicts the infamous self-immolation of Vietnamese monk Thích Quảng Đức in 1963, protesting the persecution of Buddhists by South Vietnam's US-backed government. The graphic image caused outrage. Not displeased with the situation, frontman Zach de la Rocha famously burned a US flag at Woodstock '99. The question remains: Could anyone really be surprised with a name like Rage Against The Machine? Heavy metal has always been a genre that has courted controversy, and there are numerous album covers that have shocked over the years. For their 1994 album, titled 'Youthanasia', Megadeth wanted to comment on the fact that society was euthanizing the young. The visual depiction of this ended up being a woman hanging babies by their feet on her washing line. A bit on-the-nose, but it was enough to get everyone freaking out. Marilyn Manson has always pushed the envelope when it comes to taste, and the controversial rocker did just that in 2000 for the album 'Holy Wood (In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death)'. The disturbing cover depicts Manson as a crucified Christ, which led US stores to ban it completely. Considering that the controversial shock rocker's intended purpose was to critique censorship and that the previous albums 'Mechanical Animals' and 'Portrait Of An American Family' also sparked moral panic, the reaction to the artwork must have delighted him. European fans of New York rockers The Strokes were treated with the original cover of their stunning debut album, featuring a leather gloved hand on a naked hip. The US were quick to call foul, however, disapproving of the suggestive nature of the image. The band had to swap the gorgeous shot by Colin Lane – who spontaneously took a picture of his then-girlfriend after she came out of the shower. The replacement? A psychedelic but far less impactful depiction of subatomic particle tracks. In 2001, US hip-hop group The Coup, composed of Boots Riley and DJ Pam the Funktress, wanted to make a statement about destroying capitalism. Their idea: pose in front of the World Trade Center on fire. The image was conceived prior to 9/11 and the eerie timing of the album's November release meant that they had to replace the image with a martini glass on fire. Probably for the best. The cover for Ted Nugent's album was pulled before it hit shelves - and considering the misogynist credentials of this particular image, it might have been for the best. The sleeve for 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' saw a painting of a naked Kanye West being straddled by a winged female monster with sharp teeth. The controversial rapper refused for the image be pulled, but the record label reached a compromise by pixelating the image in some territories. Sabrina Carpenter's 'Man's Best Friend' is released on 29 August.
Euronews
10 hours ago
- Euronews
What are the 20 most controversial album covers of all time?
Content warning: This article contains images which some readers may find offensive. If you're a music lover and enjoy a bit of drama, you must have heard that controversy is brewing over the artwork of Sabrina Carpenter's upcoming album 'Man's Best Friend'. The suggestive – but hardly sexually explicit - cover features the buzzy 'Espresso' hitmaker on her knees in front of a faceless man who is pulling her hair back. And the release of the image has caused much debate. Many argue that Carpenter's MO has always been pop-horniness, and that she has every right to express herself and her sexuality – in this case what some may perceive as a submissive kink - in any way she sees fit and crucially, without being policed or harassed; others see this image as degrading, regressive and promoting traditional gender roles. At the end of the day, it's her album cover and can't we just let her be? Some hyper-conservative and hyper-progressive corners of the internet clearly disagree, and the reactions have been intense – which is hardly surprising, considering sexuality has always rubbed some people up the wrong way. Plus, scandal is hardly new for musicians, as artists have sparked outrage with their album covers for decades, leading some to be censored or even banned. From nudity to the open courting of outrage via political statements (and sometimes, downright poor taste), here are 20 provocative covers that rocked the music world and faced the most backlash. We proceed chronologically. A post shared by Euronews Culture (@euronewsculture) While hardly controversial compared to some of the other covers in this list, that's a downright unfortunate title to go with this image. And isn't the one on the right an uncanny dead ringer for a young Stephen Fry? Unsettling. It's not one of the Fab Four's most famous albums, but certainly their most notorious. Photographer Robert Whitaker took a snap of the band in white butcher's coats, surrounded by raw meat and dismembered baby dolls. Paul McCartney claimed it was a comment against the Vietnam War. US retailers were shocked and refused to stock the album, leading to it being withdrawn and reissued with a more vanilla alternative. Today, the 'Butcher cover' is available in pirated form. Those lucky enough to own an original pressing have an expensive and coveted piece of music history. The cover for the avant-garde 'Two Virgins' captures John Lennon and Yoko Ono completely naked. It sparked outrage, leading distributors to clandestinely sell the album wrapped in brown paper bags. At the end of the 1960s, Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker founded a supergroup with Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. They released only one album together, and to mark the occasion, they enlisted photographer Bob Seidemann. His image features a young topless girl holding a model spaceship. The image was considered deeply problematic and was promptly banned and replaced with a more classic shot of the band members. The Stones have had several album cover controversies over the years, including 'Beggar's Banquet''s artwork which featured a graffiti covered bathroom wall. However, it's the band's ninth studio album, designed by Andy Warhol, matched with its inuendo-heavy title, which rubbed censors up the wrong way. It features a suggestive denim-clad crotch and the original pressing of the LP also had a working fly which unzipped to reveal white underwear. The cover was famously banned in Spain, which was under the fascist rule of General Franco at the time. Photographer Eric Boman's shot of Constanze Karoli and Eveline Grunwald led many US outlets to censor the image, feeling uncomfortable with the sight of scantily clad models. Thankfully, most European distributors weren't irked by the sight of lingerie. There's misguided and then there's what was going on in the minds of German rockers Scorpions in 1976. The album titled 'Virgin Killer' depicts a naked 10-year-old girl with broken glass covering her genitalia. The controversy led to a bump in sales, but it remains to this day one of the most censored album covers in music history. NB: Euronews Culture has decided to blur the image since this album cover has been deemed by many as child pornography. Sex Pistols' only studio album caused plenty of pearl clutching when it was released in 1977. A record shop owner in Nottingham, UK, was arrested for displaying the records. This led to an obscenity-related court case, as he was charged for contravening the Indecent Advertisement Act 1889. The charges were eventually dropped. All because of the word 'bollocks'. All it took was a female-led punk outfit appearing topless and covered in mud for everyone to collectively lose their minds. Considering the sheer amount of topless men on album covers, the only words that come to mind are: deal with it. With an album title like that, it was pretty obvious that the (cheeky) cover image would cause some outrage. There are no words. It's one of the most famous album covers in the world but the artwork for Nirvana's grunge masterpiece proved divisive at the time of its release. It features a photo taken by Kirk Weddle of a four-month-old nude baby named Spencer Elden. Kurt Cobain refused for it to be censored, but did state that he would agree to a sticker covering the penis, reading: 'If you're offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile.' It didn't come to that. However, several decades later, Elden attempted to sue Nirvana for violating US federal child pornography protections with the image, arguing that it resulted in 'lifelong damages'. The suit was eventually dismissed. Rap pioneer Ice Cube was no stranger to controversy, what with the headline-grabbing lyrics of N.W.A's 'Fuck Tha Police.' But with 'Death Certificate', he sparked further outrage with the image of a corpse identified as Uncle Sam. The famous rap-metal band's debut album depicts the infamous self-immolation of Vietnamese monk Thích Quảng Đức in 1963, protesting the persecution of Buddhists by South Vietnam's US-backed government. The graphic image caused outrage. Not displeased with the situation, frontman Zach de la Rocha famously burned a US flag at Woodstock '99. The question remains: Could anyone really be surprised with a name like Rage Against The Machine? Heavy metal has always been a genre that has courted controversy, and there are numerous album covers that have shocked over the years. For their 1994 album, titled 'Youthanasia', Megadeth wanted to comment on the fact that society was euthanizing the young. The visual depiction of this ended up being a woman hanging babies by their feet on her washing line. A bit on-the-nose, but it was enough to get everyone freaking out. Marilyn Manson has always pushed the envelope when it comes to taste, and the controversial rocker did just that in 2000 for the album 'Holy Wood (In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death)'. The disturbing cover depicts Manson as a crucified Christ, which led US stores to ban it completely. Considering that the controversial shock rocker's intended purpose was to critique censorship and that the previous albums 'Mechanical Animals' and 'Portrait Of An American Family' also sparked moral panic, the reaction to the artwork must have delighted him. European fans of New York rockers The Strokes were treated with the original cover of their stunning debut album, featuring a leather gloved hand on a naked hip. The US were quick to call foul, however, disapproving of the suggestive nature of the image. The band had to swap the gorgeous shot by Colin Lane – who spontaneously took a picture of his then-girlfriend after she came out of the shower. The replacement? A psychedelic but far less impactful depiction of subatomic particle tracks. In 2001, US hip-hop group The Coup, composed of Boots Riley and DJ Pam the Funktress, wanted to make a statement about destroying capitalism. Their idea: pose in front of the World Trade Center on fire. The image was conceived prior to 9/11 and the eerie timing of the album's November release meant that they had to replace the image with a martini glass on fire. Probably for the best. The cover for Ted Nugent's album was pulled before it hit shelves - and considering the misogynist credentials of this particular image, it might have been for the best. The sleeve for 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' saw a painting of a naked Kanye West being straddled by a winged female monster with sharp teeth. The controversial rapper refused for the image be pulled, but the record label reached a compromise by pixelating the image in some territories. Sabrina Carpenter's 'Man's Best Friend' is released on 29 August. He's one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood history, considered one of the last great Movie Stars and has defied death for more than three decades in the Mission: Impossible franchise... And yet, Tom Cruise has yet to win an Oscar – despite four nominations. Now, that Golden Baldie dearth is about to be rectified as the 62-year-old actor will finally receive an Academy Award this year. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that Cruise will get an Honorary Oscar in November to celebrate his entire career, praising Cruise for his dedication to his craft, including performing all his own stunts, and helping the film industry recover following the COVID-19 period. Indeed, Cruise – who can currently be seen in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning - famously played a large part in kick-starting the box office during the pandemic when Top Gun: Maverick opened in late spring 2022. The sequel to the 1986 adventure went on to gross $1.5bn worldwide. Cruise previously earned lead actor Oscar nominations for Born On The Fourth Of July and Jerry Maguire, a supporting actor nod for Magnolia, and a best picture nomination as a producer on Top Gun: Maverick. The leading man is one of four honourees, alongside choreographer and actress Debbie Allen (Fame, Ragtime, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling), pioneering Black production designer Wynn Thomas (Do The Right Thing, Malcolm X, A Beautiful Mind), and country singer - and complete legend - Dolly Parton. 'This year's Governors Awards will celebrate four legendary individuals whose extraordinary careers and commitment to our filmmaking community continue to leave a lasting impact,' said Janet Yang, Academy President. 'The Academy's Board of Governors is honored to recognize these brilliant artists. Debbie Allen is a trailblazing choreographer and actor, whose work has captivated generations and crossed genres. Tom Cruise's incredible commitment to our filmmaking community, to the theatrical experience, and to the stunts community has inspired us all. Beloved performer Dolly Parton exemplifies the spirit of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award through her unwavering dedication to charitable efforts. And production designer Wynn Thomas has brought some of the most enduring films to life through a visionary eye and mastery of his craft.' The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award is also an Oscar statuette and is presented to Hollywood figures renowned for 'promoting human welfare and contributing to rectifying inequities'. Parton's charitable and philanthropic work include the Dollywood Foundation, founded in 1988. The institution champions the education of children in her home state of Tennessee. As for her literacy initiative, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, it has distributed more than 285 million books globally since 1995. Besides her music career, Parton has starred in films like 9 to 5 and Steel Magnolias, and earned two original song Oscar nominations for '9 to 5', and 'Travelin' Thru from Transamerica' from the film Transamerica. The four honorees will be presented with their Honorary Oscars at the Governors Awards ceremony on 16 November.
France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
Challenging the cowboy myth: Paris show revisits Richard Avedon's iconic 'In the American West'
Housewives, oil workers, miners, motel maids and prisoners are among the protagonists of a retrospective that celebrates 40 years of the late Richard Avedon's iconic exhibit 'In the American West', now on view at Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris. Between 1979 and 1984, Avedon took black-and-white pictures of working-class Westerners posing against a stark-white, unchanging backdrop to create powerful portraits that challenged the myth of the cowboy. Shown in Europe for the first time, the full series of portraits from the original book is displayed in 110 vintage gelatin silver prints – images marked by oil, coal and blood that shed light on a 1980s America not many are used to seeing. Avedon's pictures captured people grappling with the effects of industrial decline and economic recession during Ronald Reagan's presidency. While the Paris retrospective was not conceived as a commentary on current US politics, curator Clément Chéroux sees it as inevitable to draw parallels with the country's political state since President Donald Trump 's return to power. 'It obviously echoes today's situation, because we're also at a time when many Americans, the working class in particular, are in difficulty because of Trump's policies.' Not his first rodeo Though Avedon is best known for photographing Vogue covers and the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, Bob Dylan and Louis Armstrong, 'In the American West' is not his only work to engage with social themes. Chéroux said Avedon often used his lens to take a stand, whether photographing victims of Napalm bombs during the Vietnam War, collaborating with writer and activist James Baldwin during the civil rights movement, or exposing America's powerful elite in the 1970s through 'The Family'. So when the director of the Amon Carter Museum in Fort-Worth – known for works glorifying cowboys by painters like Frederic Remington – commissioned him to take pictures that defined the West, Avidon quickly realised his West would be somewhat different. 'I began to see that the West was no longer the West I grew up in … if it ever was,' Avedon told Chicago's WFMT radio in a 1985 interview. With his two assistants and photographer Laura Wilson, Avedon spent several summers carrying a 20 x 25 cm view camera, tripod and white backdrop across 189 cities, in 17 states of the American West. To shoot with this camera was a time-consuming process. The photographer stood under a black cloth to focus on an upside-down subject on the glass. Avedon explains in his book that his two assistants helped him work 'at surprising speed', one at the back of the camera loading the film sheets and the other at the front checking the aperture of the lens. Then, he would place himself next to the camera, which enabled him to look into the eyes of every subject – they were looking directly at him, not the lens. Because the region was so sparsely populated, he sought out places that drew crowds like rodeos, fairs and the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup in Texas, where the project's first test shoot took place in the spring of 1979. The first subject was a pouting blonde 13-year-old boy squinting his eyes as he helped his father skin a rattlesnake – a peculiar image that set the tone for what became the longest-running project of Avedon's studio career, spanning nine years including production and touring around the US. Despite photographing a total of 752 people, Avedon kept a close connection with many. He kept names, ages, professions and addresses of each subject, and sent back prints. The same care now continues in the curation, where each image is presented in the chosen 51 x 40 cm size – the one Avedon used to annotate and send for editing – way smaller than the prints that have been displayed in other retrospectives of his work. Curator Clément Chéroux explains that this was the only way to display all 110 pictures in the foundation. He said it was essential to present the complete narrative of the project, and also to create intimacy between the viewer and the subject. Capturing the 'overlooked or forgotten' Though most portraits were taken spontaneously across the West, the exhibition's most-discussed picture – the beekeeper – stands apart with its own dedicated wall. Unlike the others, it was taken in California. Avedon placed an ad searching for a willing beekeeper to pose for his project. Ronald Fischer became an icon by agreeing to be sprayed with the queen bee pheromone to attract the swarm and got paid $100. Other subjects were also remunerated though the amount remains unclear, according to the curator. The exhibition also features some of Avedon's files, including letters exchanged with a mother asking for more pictures of her late son, a drifter, and with the teenage girl on the cover of the exhibition who tells the photographer she is getting good grades in High School. 'He talked about people who are overlooked or forgotten and this is perhaps even more of an urgent issue now in the United States than it was then,' said the American finance professor Paul Mende, 64, while visiting the exhibition with his wife. 'If he did the same kind of series, he would find the same kind of person. I don't think it has changed much,' added Nadine Mende, a 63-year-old French dentist. Avedon, however, insisted that his portraits offered a subjective view of the West, shaped by his own perspective rather than any claim to objectivity. 'I don't think the West of these portraits is any more conclusive than the West of John Wayne,' said Avedon in the book the exhibition is based on. But curator Clément Chéroux suggests this may have been a way to avoid criticism for not presenting the upper-class folk of the region. 'If he had said all that was the reality, people who would've been like 'Mr. Avedon you didn't add a banker, Mr. Avedon you didn't include an engineer'. It was probably a way of protecting himself from being told 'Your America is actually fake',' said Chéroux.
