Front Cover Mock Up

(front cover mock up)

(original image)

‘Ephemera’ is the title I have chosen for my magazine, the definition of it is as follows: Things that exist or are used or enjoyed for only a short time. I find chose this title as it has a deep meaning behind it, as well as being witty and original (implying that attention to a specific media is often shortly lived due to rapidly changing technology and institutions). The title is reflected in the model via the use of gestures towards a broken clock. It also seemed far more fitting than any of the others that I came up with and received the largest amount of votes in my survey (see previous posts).

My image is inspired by the vastly popular 1964 painting ‘The Son of Man’ by the Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte. His summary of the painting was as follows:

“At least it hides the face partly. Well, so you have the apparent face, the apple, hiding the visible but hidden, the face of the person. It's something that happens constantly. Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see. There is an interest in that which is hidden and which the visible does not show us. This interest can take the form of a quite intense feeling, a sort of conflict, one might say, between the visible that is hidden and the visible that is present.”

I believe that my image replicates these intense feelings of which Magritte described, thus bringing the audience a greater appreciation and vast desire to read my magazine. It also appeals to art appreciators and those whom are familiar with the pop culture, expanding the reach that my content has across various different audiences.

('The Son of Man' Painting)

I was also inspired however by the many masked musicians such as Deadmau5, Daft Punk, Slipknot and The Bloodly Beetroots (see previous posts for more information). I believe that hiding my models face is a positive feature as it allows audiences to focus purely on the music and not of that of the musicians personal identity. As well as this, it allows the person whom has their face hidden to create a new identity for themselves and allows them to truly express their feelings without ever fully revealing their physic features.

As quoted by the fictional protagonist in V for Vendetta:

“There is a face beneath this mask, but it isn't me. I'm no more that face than I am the muscles beneath it, or the bones beneath that.” 

('V for Vendetta' comic cover)