Representation of Artists/Genre of Music

Heavy Metal in particular as a part of the Rock/Heavy Metal genre is constantly demeaned in society with many referring to the apparent satanic thesis that seems to accompany the genre. This is also presented in many magazines that explore the genre often presenting the topic (band or member) in a negative manor in an attempt to reflect the anti-societal notion that surrounded the genre at its peak d

uring the 1980's. The genre is represented in a variety of different forms, ranging from the title of the magazine, the photography used or the very content of the magazine itself.

This photo of famous metal band 'Motorhead's lead singer Lemmy Kilmister, accentuates how the metal genre is represented in music magazines. This particular cover provides a more stereotypical view of the genre. Also generically many of the artists are presented in a negative manner in rock and metal magazines and so that is something I aim to present in my photography for my front cover.

Clothing is an essential part of any music magazine but notoriously so with rock and metal magazines. The genre's movement during the 1980's centred largely around what the artists looked like, especially in the USA with 'hair bands' as they were referred to such as Motley Crue and Poison, being the idols for many youths at the time. Said looks soon became synonymous with the bands and so whenever they appear within magazines for example the look is expected to be upheld and so synonymous items of clothing such as denim and leather attires are expected by readers and so are likely to appear in the magazine. Therefore I aim for my model to wear leather and follow the protocols that seemingly follow the clothing aspect of the genre's magazine representation.

Iconography is a massive contributor to the genre's magazine representation. Often the artists presented on the cover of magazines will adopt a certain pose that may well be synonymous with that artist. For example in the cover below we see the infamous Ozzy Osbourne sporting a pose that is easily distinguishably a part of his character and his stature within the genre. Using this iconography is effective as the reader will directly relate to the pose and it therefore allows them to appreciate that issue of the magazine, and its contents.

The contents of the magazine are also influential in the representation of the genre as a large amount of pull quotes and other quotes feature throughout many of the stories. This is particularly prominent in this genre because it is widely known that the genre consists of many eccentric artists such as Ozzy Osbourne, Axl Rose, Tommy Lee and Keith Moon, and providing a multitude of quotes is effective because it gives the reader an insight into their hectic and eccentric lifestyles further implying the importance of iconography in the representation of the rock and heavy metal in music magazines.