DESCRIPTION:
For the second EP by New Zealand psychedelic band MOSES, eponymously entitled ‘MOSES II’, I wanted to draw upon existing depictions of their Biblical namesake and contrast iconography with some of the generative collage approaches previously explored in my work in order to reflect the psychedelic aesthetics of my client.
'Moses Leaving to Egypt' [1482 approx] by Italian Renaissance painter Pietro Perugino in the Sistine Chapel
DEVELOPMENT:
In order to depict this, the reference imagery decided upon was the Renaissance painting ‘Moses Leaving to Egypt’ by Pietro Perugino, produced in the Sistine Chapel around 1482. I found the Renaissance notion of dividing their paintings into a series of ‘episodes’ interesting and applicable to constructing an EP cover whose composition is made up of its respective single artworks.
Additionally, the bright coloration of Perugino’s work contrasts against the some of the darker narratives of the Biblical story it depicts where, in the second episode, Moses has his son Eliezer circumcised at the bequest of the angel in the centre.
[Left] Single artworks derived from the painting’s Biblical episodes. [Right] Perugino’s painting abstracted in terms of colour and form.
From this reference image, key aspects were identified in Perugino’s painting relevant to the narrative to be constructed. The painting’s form and colour system was then abstracted to allow it to act as a template for generative input.
Using Photoshop’s Content-Aware fill system, photographic media sourced from Flickr’s Commons archive were able to be assigned generatively to the areas blocked out from Perugino’s painting. The resulting narrative is not intended to reflect the existing Biblical message of Perugino’s painting, but simply use the painting as a basis for generative composition and hierarchy.
Photographic media applied to the blocked out areas abstracted from the reference imagery.
DELIVERABLES:
The final output for the release included the design of three single covers alongside the actual EP cover. The first of these singles was additionally used for the promotion of it’s single release. When combined, artworks created for each of the singles form the artwork of the EP cover, reflecting the Renaissance approach to using episodes to derive an overarching composition.
‘Keep Your Heart Beating’ single release promotional poster
‘Keep Your Heart Beating’ single artwork
‘Feel The Light’ single artwork
‘End Of The Line’ single artwork
Final ‘MOSES II’ EP cover and artwork
‘MOSES II’ EP 2016 tour poster
