Russell Mills talks about cover artwork for NIN in interview
Ladytron hooked us up with a rather thorough interview with Russell Mills about NIN cover artwork. Here is a an excerpt from the interview: Q: Explain how you work with musicians to create album art. Of course, this likely varies greatly between projects. But in general, what direction do you seek from an artist? And what is the ideal scenario for you in this regard? A: Naturally, this process is dependent on the individual artists, their personalities, the album in question and the ideas that each artist may bring to bear. My initial response is to the music and sound. I try to get inside the essence of the work and lock onto its prevailing mood suggestions. As with my "personal" images, paintings and assemblages, I endeavour to seep personal ideas into applied works such as album covers. The works for Nine Inch Nails on The Downward Spiral are a good example of the ideal, successful process being realized with relatively no pain. The tone of the music suggested ideas of catharsis, being into dissolution into being, both on a personal and sociological level. The lyrics, whilst tending towards that adolescent confessional rant, also referred to images of personal decay, descent and futility and yet had some spark of hope. Conversations and a meeting with Trent Reznor about the approach to the art revealed that my instincts were correct. Following these discussion, all I needed were a few key words to meditate on and to build on: attrition, decay, uncertainty, lost dreams, broken promises and temptations. The images I produced attempted to strip these subjects down to enigmatic but conceptually certain grounds, simplified metaphors. The organic prevailing over or feeding into the industrial is a common theme in my work generally and in this instance was particularly apt for the art required. Bandaging soaked in wax, paint and blood, became as a ground for sheets of man-made metal which has become paradoxically more beautiful in decay as the elements of water and air had played upon it producing the intricate colourings of rust. Added to this were insects, moths and the remnants of webs; all intricately beautiful and marvellous, even in death. These are gestural elements which invite multiple readings. All of the other complementary images produced for this album and the accompanying singles followed these ideas throughout. The whole interview can be seen here.