Art of Design - Analyzing MJ's Album Covers

What is your favorite album cover?


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MoeJack

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Art of Design

Hey guys! I just wanted to share a new series of articles on the making of Michael's album covers that I've been working on for my website artofdesignonline.com. I'll be covering all 7 album covers and plan on releasing a new article every other week. Some fans may remember that I first shared this series of articles here on the forum last year but I now have a new platform to host them. If you like what you read, please like and share with your friends :)! Also, any feedback is appreciated. I've always wanted a place to read about the making of Michael's album covers in detail and all of the references and allusions found throughout. Hopefully, this will serve that purpose for all fans as well!

-Mo


Off the Wall

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"How do you market a young, up-and-coming star as fresh talent? That’s exactly what Mike Salisbury did with his historic photoshoot of a 21-year old Michael Jackson in 1979! Find out more about how this iconic album cover came to be, and some of the subtle nods to art history peppered throughout its design."

Link: http://www.artofdesignonline.com/off-the-wall



Thriller

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"Nearly 36 years ago, the music industry would change forever. Thriller Night would become a catchphrase. As this year’s spooky Halloween festivities approach, let’s revisit the King of Pop’s iconic album cover and learn a little something about its conception from the man who shot the cover photo himself! How come Michael is wearing a bright white jacket on the cover and not the world-renowned red jacket featured in his short film? Find out all about it and more on this week’s Art of Design!"

Link: http://www.artofdesignonline.com/thriller



Bad

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"How do you follow up the world’s biggest selling album? Why, with an even bigger album ofcourse! This week on Art of Design we explore Michael Jackson’s Bad album cover and how it came to be. With anticipation brewing, the release of this album couldn’t have been any more pivotal for the King of Pop’s career. But with a record breaking five number one hits, any lingering uncertainty was finally put to rest. Who’s Bad?"

Link: http://www.artofdesignonline.com/bad



Dangerous

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“This week, 27 years ago, a musical masterpiece made its way to store shelves just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday season. With a staggering 40 million copies sold, Michael Jackson’s magnum opus, Dangerous, remains one of the biggest selling albums of all time. Adorning the album cover is a masterful painting by surreal artist Mark Ryden. This week we take a breathtaking tour through the design and conception of the artwork. Explore the cryptic nods and allusions that Ryden weaves into his masterpiece and learn a little bit about art history along the way!”

Link: http://www.artofdesignonline.com/dangerous



HIStory

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"On this week’s Art of Design, we explore one of the King of Pop’s most autobiographical works, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. Covering a wide range of themes from injustice and environmentalism to greed and abandonment, the album was gargantuan in scope and even included memorable guest appearances by The Notorious B.I.G. and Shaquille O’Neal! Inspired by a 300-foot tall Russian statue, he wanted the cover art to convey a unique sense of grandeur and mystery. It would go on to become one of the biggest selling multiple-disc albums of all time."

Link: http://www.artofdesignonline.com/history1



Blood on the Dance Floor

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"Released while trotting the globe on his HIStory World Tour, Michael Jackson’s Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix was an album comprised of eight remixes and five new tracks. It dealt with themes he hadn’t explored before on previous albums like drug addiction, infidelity, and paranoia. For the cover art, he turned to American artist Will Wilson, known for his true to life works of art. On this week’s Art of Design we explore Wilson’s fascinating oil painting which adorns the cover of the best selling remix album of all time."

Link: http://www.artofdesignonline.com/blood-on-the-dance-floor



Invincible

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"Michael Jackson’s final studio album was a labor of love. Similar to his previous material, Invincible explored various themes from love and romance to isolation and social issues. Recorded in 10 different studios, it was easily the most expensive album ever made at the time. Its unique album cover was inspired by Albert Watson’s 1992 photograph, “The Golden Boy,” but took on a life of its own as the project continued to evolve. Learn all about it on this week’s Art of Design!"

Link: http://www.artofdesignonline.com/invincible
 
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Interesting because it's been said that the cover picture was taken outside of Westlake studios. This (though I admit I scanned) makes it seem very different and more interesting.
 
Glad you like it guys! The piece I put together on 'Dangerous' was the most extensive and the original inspiration for this series since I was so fascinated by Mark Ryden's cover art and all of the references he put in to art history. You can look forward to that around the end of November to celebrate the album's 27th anniversary. In the meantime, here's a timeline for the article releases so far:

Updated!

Off the Wall: Available now!
Thriller: Available now!
Bad: Available now!
Dangerous: Available now!
History: Available now!
BOTDF: Available now!
Invincible: Available now!

Also, if you have any feedback please share!
 
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Do you know if the original photos were ever released?
The ones at Griffith Observatory?
 
I enjoyed reading your post about the "Off The Wall" shoot. Can't wait for the rest.
 
Do you know if the original photos were ever released?
The ones at Griffith Observatory?

As far as I know, that's the only photo released from the initial Griffith Park shoot, where he's leaning on the white wall.

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Why so far apart? Im ready to read em!

Well, I was trying to space them out among my other weekly articles that I post, so I felt that one every other week would be a good roll out. But I'm almost tempted to share them earlier with my friends here at MJJC :D!! I'm glad you're looking forward to it :)!! In the meantime, the Thriller article is up now!



Can't wait for the HIStory one!

That was one of my favorites (and longest) along with the Dangerous article. Hope you'll like it! In the meantime, check out Thriller :)!
 
Hey guys, I've updated the original post to include links to all the articles when they come out so they're all in one place. Feedback is appreciated :)!
 
Hey guys, I've updated the original post to include links to all the articles when they come out so they're all in one place. Feedback is appreciated :)!
Thanks & please not so far apart. I love em
 
wonderouzmj;4233163 said:
Thanks & please not so far apart. I love em

Thank you so much, I&#8217;m glad you like them :) <3!! In that case, I have no choice but to give early access to my MJJC family! How about every Tuesday starting this week a new article ;)?
 
MoeJack;4233167 said:
Thank you so much, I’m glad you like them :) <3!! In that case, I have no choice but to give early access to my MJJC family! How about every Tuesday starting this week a new article ;)?
starting 2mar!
 
Better yet, I've decided to put up all the links for my articles so that you guys can read them at your own pace :)! I hope you learn something new and that it can stimulate some discussion :)!
 
Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed reading through these articles and learned something new :)! Which album cover is your favorite? Vote above! Mine is Dangerous ;)!
 
Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed reading through these articles and learned something new :)! Which album cover is your favorite? Vote above! Mine is Dangerous ;)!

Thank you so much for sharing your hard work with us. I'm always highly interested in literary pieces that are about new and interesting topics related to Michael, or his work. "The Album Covers" is a topic that doesn't receive much attention, so this is great! My favourite album and album cover is Dangerous. I wore a T-shirt with the Dangerous cover on it today, actually.
 
Thank you so much for sharing your hard work with us. I'm always highly interested in literary pieces that are about new and interesting topics related to Michael, or his work. "The Album Covers" is a topic that doesn't receive much attention, so this is great! My favourite album and album cover is Dangerous. I wore a T-shirt with the Dangerous cover on it today, actually.

You're very welcome :)! It was a labor of love. Indeed, the original inspiration for putting these articles together was my own interest in learning about Michael's album covers, particularly Dangerous. But information was scarce and scattered across the web. I wanted a one-stop shop where fans can learn about the creation of the covers and see any behind-the-scenes images associated with making it.

For Dangerous, in particular, I loved the idea of the album being a musical journey from beginning to end and how Michael himself quoted great artists like Beethoven in his music. Likewise, I found that Mark Ryden's painting was full of so many nuances and allusions to past works beyond the obvious. I knew about the stand-outs like the Dog King, the Bird Queen, Botticelli's Birth of Venus, but I was surprised to learn about the more subtle nods to things like Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, the white elephant's association with P.T. Barnum, the many nods to Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean ride, or even the four sculpted female caryatides being inspired by the Church of St. Thomas of Canterbury in France! So it was just as enlightening for me researching all this stuff :)!

P.S. That must be an awesome T-shirt :D!
 
Trivia #1: If you look carefully at P.T. Barnum's ear you can make out a cryptic little skull. What does it mean?

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Trivia #2: If you look carefully at the dinosaur skull in the little girl's arms, you can make out the name Ryden in between its teeth. A personal touch from the artist himself, Mark Ryden.

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MoeJack;4233619 said:
Trivia #1: If you look carefully at P.T. Barnum's ear you can make out a cryptic little skull. What does it mean?

bNMdNng.jpg

It is not a cryptic little skull in his ear.

In fact, it is the skeleton of the Feejee mermaid, an object which was originally exhibited by P.T. Barnum in his shows from 1842 until the 1860s when it was destroyed in a fire.

The skeleton of the Feejee mermaid has become synonymous with P.T. Barnum&#8217;s shows, which explains the addition of that symbolism in his ear.
 
mj_frenzy;4233636 said:
It is not a cryptic little skull in his ear.

In fact, it is the skeleton of the Feejee mermaid, an object which was originally exhibited by P.T. Barnum in his shows from 1842 until the 1860s when it was destroyed in a fire.

The skeleton of the Feejee mermaid has become synonymous with P.T. Barnum&#8217;s shows, which explains the addition of that symbolism in his ear.


I see. That&#8217;s quite fascinating! Thanks for the enlightenment :).
 
There is no question that there is no MJ album cover that speaks as loud as the Dangerous cover. It tells stories, there are messages, hidden messages, and you can get lost in just studying it.

When younger I learned alot just from the cover, studying where the art came from, what specific sections mean, stories behind why/what/when/where?

While a like the other covers, the dangerous cover is a true true work of art.
 
There is no question that there is no MJ album cover that speaks as loud as the Dangerous cover. It tells stories, there are messages, hidden messages, and you can get lost in just studying it.

When younger I learned alot just from the cover, studying where the art came from, what specific sections mean, stories behind why/what/when/where?

While a like the other covers, the dangerous cover is a true true work of art.

In my eyes Dangerous is the best album cover in music history.
 
KOPV;4233854 said:
There is no question that there is no MJ album cover that speaks as loud as the Dangerous cover. It tells stories, there are messages, hidden messages, and you can get lost in just studying it.

When younger I learned alot just from the cover, studying where the art came from, what specific sections mean, stories behind why/what/when/where?

While a like the other covers, the dangerous cover is a true true work of art.

That&#8217;s exactly how I feel! Delving into the cover is as much of a musical journey as listening to the album (and watching the short films).


dam2040;4233858 said:
In my eyes Dangerous is the best album cover in music history.


I wholeheartedly agree. As a matter of fact, when I first started this project I was so fascinated by the Dangerous cover that I decided to look for other album covers that were similarly intricate. I even bought a few books on the greatest album covers of all time. And honestly, although there were many great and classic ones, nothing even came close. Even the Beatles&#8217; Sgt. Pepper album which always pops up in conversation is nowhere near as fascinating in my opinion.
 
No votes for &#8216;Off the Wall&#8217; :D? They&#8217;re all works of art ;).
 
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