Visual Culture and Visible Relations

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This week I explored visual culture and digital relations through the lense of the pop music scene. I had been noticing distinct patterns within this industry and found that through visual exploration, these trends become more and more prevelant. Through this research I sought to have a deeper understanding of the current visual climate in the music scene, as well as develop a greater sense of how branding and world-building work in tandem to enhance the listening experience. By dissecting the visual identities of contemporary pop legends I was able to employ some of the strategies and tactics they use to create my own content for an artist of lesser notoriety.

The music industry is a strong reflection of what’s going on within the culture at the time. Musicians and bands play a large role in influencing the culture through fashion and art. They often are not only making music but building a world/vibe that consists of many elements of art and design that all work together to create a cohesive visual landscape.

My first step in exploring this topic was to collect imagery that I thought conveyed a narrative pertaining to the current state of visual culture in the music industry. There was an overwhelming number of images that played with the idea of liminality as many artists were positioned in linimal spaces posed in uncomfortable or unnatural ways. Some of these spaces aren’t outright liminal, but the disconnect between the clothes they are wearing and the setting they are in is enough to create a slightly off-putting feeling that I would argue, adds to the visual intrigue.

Chappell Roan for Rolling Stone would largely be considered the most significant outlier of these photos. I think in many ways this image fits in with the rest, a strange pose in a liminal feeling space. But in many other ways, this is a stray from form. She isn’t wearing high fashion glam and is positioned in a much more natural feeling way than the rest of them are. This is also the only photo of the bunch that is outright presenting another brand to the audience through the Taco Bell cup. I think this image conveys a higher level of relatability than the rest while still having a compelling enough composition and quality to let us know that she is a person of importance and influence.

Olivia Rodrigo for The New York Times

Ethel Cain for Preacher’s Daughter

Sabrina Carpenter for Vanity Fair

Charli xcx for Billboard

Billie Eilish for Rolling Stone

Chappell Roan for Rolling Stone

In further exploring the bounds of visual culture as represented through the music industry, I decided to focus in on the more recent resurgance of the “pop diva.” I would describe a “pop diva” as an artist who’s visual identity is robust enough to sell a lifestyle, while producing quality pop tracks that fit into that aesthetic or vibe.

The pop diva is a cultural phenomenon that seems to boil down to accessability of subject matter. In many cases you can look briefly at the world-building and aesthetic that surrounds an artists and make a snap judgement on which artists music you will probably like the most. Interestingly enough, this also seems to work the other way around: If you like an artists music you may begin to develop an aesthetic preference for the style they project.

Three contemporary pop divas who have a really well defined visual identity are Charli xcx, Sabrina Carpenter, and Chappell Roan. On the right you can see a general compilation of what images they are projecting in relation with their music. It is interesting to see how distinctive these brands get, and even more compelling to note the cohesion within their coloring, styling, and messaging. In as few as four images you can get the gist of each of these artist’s visual identities.

The pop diva also has significant ties to gay culture and in particular, gay club culture. There has been a historical tendency within the queer community to idolize their favorite pop performers. In recent years, we have seen a shift in the identities of these performers as well. Many of the people I would consider to be contemperary pop divas are LGBTQ identifying, or if not, have surrounded themselves with queer people enough to understand and embrace the culture. My own personal interest in the visual identity of these artists began over the summer when I was seeing flyers for (and in many cases attending) parties at gay bars/clubs that utilize these substantial aesthetics to promote artist themed events. From a quick glance you are able to determine which artist is highlighted based on color, font choices, and even the general vibe being given off by the graphics. Examples of this phenomenon can be seen in the images to the right.

Sabrina Carpenter visual identity overview

Charli xcx visual identity overview

Chappell Roan visual identity overview

Event highlighting Sabrina Carptenter, Chappell Roan, and Billie Eilish at 3 Dollar Bill (gay bar in Brooklyn).

Another event at 3 Dollar Bill that uses color-based branding to their advantage.

brat event at Market Hotel that plays into the way Charli is releasing the featured artists on her remix album.

Sabrina Carpenter event at 3 Dollar Bill

Branding for the album brat is one of the strongest uses of color and type I have seen utilized by an artist. Simply by the color and font you immediately know that this is an event highlighting Charli xcx and her music. (Market Hotel, a gay bar in bushwick).

Chappell Roan event at 3 Dollar Bill

Sabrina Carpenter event at 3 Dollar Bill

Chappell Roan event at 3 Dollar Bill

Sabrina, Charli, and Chappell utilize their highly curated visual identities to their advantage in a variety of ways. All being artists who have acheived high levels of fame and notoriety, their visual identity becomes a key part of how they market their music and curate their stage shows. In considering a visual response to this, I thought about some more niche artists I listen to, who themselves have a well-defined visual aesthetic, but may not utilize it to their fullest in content promotion or awareness campaigns. I thought it might be interesting to create promotional content that utilizes their visual identity to it’s fullest potential. The artist I chose to do this with is Ethel Cain. Cain embraces the macabre and unsettling to create deeply compelling narratives in respect to trauma and healing. This midwestern gothic aesthetic has become a key part of her limited visual identity and through these graphics I seek to highlight the aesthetic she has built in a
way that further clarifies the persona she portrays.

Lyric study in response to the song Crush.

Through breaking down and focusing in on the specific elements of visual identity within contemporary pop icons, I have gained a deeper understanding of how an artists aesthetic drives their audience. I also discovered the use of world-building as a way of creating a metaphorical setting for an auditory experience and how with visual help, the listening experience is amplified. The outcomes of my research definitely forced me to consider the content of Ethel Cain’s work when deciding on imagery and typographic relationships. If I were to push this concept further, I would develop a more cohesive visual system and make a series of graphics with strong visual relationships. I think these first 2 studies are a good start, but there is so much to explore as far as color and content go.