As with most people, what I found cool when I was a kid was highly influenced by what my older cousins were into. As such, I had one cousin who was really into emo and nu metal bands. One summer vacation, when our families got to gather together, she brought her CD of Korn's See You on the Other Side with her. In its original jewel case, WITH the booklet still inside. I got to flip through that booklet, and I thought the album art was the coolest shit ever.
Painted by David Stoupakis, the art tells a dark fairy tale that seems like a messed up version of Alice in Wonderland. The white rabbit with the clock being the most obvious piece of inspiration. It would have been one of my first introductions to this type of creepy-cute aesthetic, and dark fantasy. Later, I'd watch Coraline when that came out. It would take years for me to learn about American McGee's Alice, a series whose art style I hold in high regard, which this album art reminds me of now.
Of course, I came up with my stories about it, infusing what I could infer from the art and what I thought would be cool. The child would be minding his business at home, when the rabbit and the horse begin to stalk him. They were there to kidnap the kid, of course, that much was clear.
They then kidnap him, bring him through a magical door into their Wonderland. Like the doors from Monsters Inc. which may have been my frame of reference. There, they want to crown him their king against his will, though looking at it now, it seems more like they want to steal his crown. I kinda like my interpretation better though, because a child being forced into the role of an adult with responsbilities, to have to worry about anything besides play and study, is scarier! AND they break his teddy bear too, contributing to this killed childhood theme!
The child is then locked into this Wonderland, the door to his home being chained up and locked. To escape, he
must find the key. The key is heavily emphasized in several of these pieces.
After exploring the rather Escherian landscape of the Wonderland, the kid manages to find the key and escape. Or perhaps us, the listeners, help him find the key, by flipping through the booklet! He gets spat out of a door high above a Victorian looking cityscape.
As a kid, I viewed the horse and the rabbit as underlings and main enforcers of a much larger threat, one that was pulling the strings from behind the scenes. A threat that the child had to fight!
I drew fanart. The kid from the cover was wearing a sort of Bruce Lee-esque jumpsuit, but red. He had two battle axes strapped to his back, and blood was dripping from them. If my parents had been more paranoid they may have sent me to a counsellor of some sort, thinking the drawing was indication of poor mental health. Fortunately for me, they managed to have the correct interpretation that I just thought it was sick as hell.
 |
| Recreated from memory |
My interpretation as an adult is... It's about child labor. I am in no way an expert on historical clothing, but that child looks Victorian to me. During the Victorian era of Great Britain, lots of children were made to work as miners and chimney sweeps. The crown is him taking on the role and responsibilities of an adult, the broken toy symbolising his childhood being ripped away. The world of adults is confusing and difficult to navigate for children, as if an Escher painting.
But then what is the Key?
Idk
sources:
Comments
Post a Comment