Justin Bieber's Purpose Album Cover Unveiled by Female Street Artist Retna
Justin Bieber's fresh album artwork crafted by artist Retna unveiled
Justin Bieber dropped a bombshell earlier this month with the announcement of his latest album, due out November 13th, 2015. But what makes this news interesting is the collaboration with LA-based calligraphy artist Marquis Lewis, aka Retna. The duo teamed up to create the cover for Bieber's album titled Purpose.
Bieber got the ball rolling last week with a unusual promotional strategy, unveiling a new tattoo reading "purpose" – a hinty nod to the album's title. On October 9th, he shared a collage of images on his Instagram account, revealing Retna's masterpiece. Using her signature script, Retna covered a photograph of Bieber – in all his glory – and there are even three versions: a blue version, black version, and a white version. To sharpen the anticipation, the images were hashtagged #retna, #purpose, and #5weeks, counting down the days until the album is released.
The announcement sent Bieber's fans into a frenzy over the artwork, while Retna's supporters reacted with mixed reactions.[1, 2, 4] This is not the first time Retna has worked with musicians for album covers; she previously collaborated with Mike Reese for the cover of The Carter Family Reunion album, and her work extends to brands like Nike, Helmut Lang, Louis Vuitton, and Vista Jet.[3]
The Influence of Art in the Music Industry
Speaking of collaborations, another famous singer recently tapped a contemporary artist, Roy Nachum, to create the cover for Rihanna's 8th studio album, Anti. Nachum's design grappled with the idea of blindness. The intersection between art and music in album covers is not uncommon – we recall when DFace painted Christina Aguilera's Bionic* and when Keith Haring's work became the cover of David Bowie's "Let's Dance".[5]
Despite the star power and market clout of musicians like Bieber and Rihanna, album covers still play a vital role in attracting listeners (or consumers, whichever term you prefer these days). Successful artists like Retna may just know what it takes to make a lasting impression.
About Retna (Marquis Lewis)
Limited Edition EVEN THE HEART SKIPS A BEAT (BLACK ON BLACK Edition)
40.9 x 29.5 x 0.1 Inch
$12,500
Dallas, 48 x 48 x 0.5 Inch
$89,000
Untitled
72 x 84 x 1 Inch
$105,000
Even The Heart Skips A Beat (Black on Black)
110 x 73.5 Cm
$7,300
Sign of The Minds Eye
78 x 78 Inch
$325,000
Even the heart skips a beat
43.6 x 28.8 x 0.5 Inch
$12,400
Marquis Lewis, or Retna, is a contemporary artist from LA, California, known for her intricate geometric scripts, often inspired by Egyptian and Native American traditional symbols. Her work is not part of any particular language but is intended to feel universal and understandable across cultures.[6, 7] Retna's artistic career began as a graffiti artist in Los Angeles and has since gained international recognition for her unique style.[1, 2]
Interestingly, Search results suggest that Retna collaborated with Justin Bieber on more than just the Purpose album cover, though additional details about these collaborations remain unclear.[4] Retna's work extends beyond music, with collaborations with brands like Nike, Helmut Lang, Louis Vuitton, and Vista Jet.[3]
References:
[1] https://www.artsy.net/artist/retna[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retna_(artist)[3] https://artdaily.com/news/54561/Los-angeles-based-artist-RETNA-shares-latest-artworks-at-PACE-LA[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Bieber#Discography[5] https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/feb/26/album-covers-best-worst-designs-rihanna-vinyl-digital-art[6] https://www.instagram.com/retna/[7] https://www.moma.org/artists/50627
- Justin Bieber's latest album, Purpose, features music that is both entertaining and captivating, as evident in the collaboration with the talented calligraphy artist, Retna, who created the album cover.
- The influence of art in the music industry is undeniable, and Retna, known for her intricate geometric scripts, has left a lasting impression not only with her unique style in music album covers but also with major brands like Nike, Helmut Lang, Louis Vuitton, and Vista Jet.
