This is Jean-Baptiste Mondino, but under strong influence of Pierre & Gilles, also french.

Mondino had, as with all artists, stylistic periods. But for the Lovesexy cover, as for the " Wish U Heaven" video,
his work is under strong influence of these two, who were for a year the hottest stuff in Art Direction and influenced
a lot of media (photography, advertising, music videos...).


They're obsessed with catholic iconography, and they turn every subject into an horny little angel.
That hyperrealistic quality of a renaissance affresco,
with airbrush and Photoshop to exaggerate it to icon status.
As you can see it screaming all over your screen, Pierre & Gilles are gayer than Gay-Al.


Note the keychains strings, and something that strongly resembles the SOTT / Lovesexy peace and love imagery...
Next to the crotch, well of course. But is there a male sex in there?





Notice the heavy airbrush work on the face, making it androgynous, same as Lovesexy.
And the naive "Flower Power" imagery.





The christic pose, eyes lost somewhere up in the sky....







... and that gives you :

[Edited 7/14/15 9:36am]

Please note that Jean-Baptiste Mondino is an artist of his own :










He's amongst the most respected music videos directors.

Pierre & Gilles are obsessed with catholicism, J.B. Mondino is more christian.
Notice the child figure: there's always a kid, or a reference to a kid in his videos.


He's the one behind these video masterpieces, that influenced a lot of the music video production,
and the overall look and feel of the eighties and the nineties :

















https://www.wikiwand.com/...ino#/1985

[Edited 7/14/15 10:13am]

That Sting video Russians is beautiful, beautiful piece of art

Wow, I never knew Baptiste Mondino did the "debut" album pic by Björk..????


That's a really amazing & beautiful picture as well...

The record that ended my diehard fandom.

^ why...?

My guess you are an american..

In Europe Lovesexy was loved so very much more.... what a popfunk masterpiece..

thedance said:

^ why...?

My guess you are an american..

In Europe Lovesexy was loved so very much more.... what a popfunk masterpiece..

Was it loved in Asia, the Middle East, Canada, S. American, Africa?

^ OF4S:

To answer... I have no idea,


All I no is the Lovesexy album was a failure in the US, and a succes in Germany and UK (UK #1).


(and I guess a sucess in Denmark as well?)..

thedance said:

^ why...?

My guess you are an american..

In Europe Lovesexy was loved so very much more.... what a popfunk masterpiece..

.

The cover was a problem for some...

That was what I also had in my responses.

Would one dare to carry the LP (!) in the wreckstow to the counter?

Carry it openly on the street?

Show it to their mother?

Discuss the album with friends?

OldFriends4Sale said:

thedance said:

^ OF4S:

To answer... I have no idea,


All I no is the Lovesexy album was a failure in the US, and a succes in Germany and UK (UK #1).


(and I guess a sucess in Denmark as well?)..

ah so it wasn't a success in Europe as a whole

Yeah i understand.
I think we've talked about it all before

I doubt it was the album cover

1.) Prince sorta disappeared on us for a while in the USA from 1986-1988

whereas he was in parts of Europe A LOT which falls under 'promotion'

thedoorkeeper said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Was it loved in Asia, the Middle East, Canada, S. American, Africa?

You don't get it - British LOVE LOVE LOVE the fact that Lovesexy was a hit in the UK and not in the states. Its proof that they are better fans. Its their badge of honor.

lol I get it

But he clarified it, It was EUROPE but England and 1 or 2 other countries

I need to look to see if I can find the popularity of the album in the States, state by state. Since each state is almost like it's own country

thedance said:

^ OF4S:

To answer... I have no idea,


All I no is the Lovesexy album was a failure in the US, and a succes in Germany and UK (UK #1).


(and I guess a sucess in Denmark as well?)..

How much would he love a "failure" like that today?

.

I do remember hearing the debut of "Glam Slam" on the radio (I'm in the US) and the DJ coming back after the track and saying "That's Prince with a new single, 'Glam Slam.'" Doesn't sound like the name of a song off an album named 'Lovesexy,' does it?" Uh, yeah it does.

.

Does anyone know what Lovesexy-era image was floated to radio stations with Good Love, btw? I was living outside Atlanta at the time and they had a day where the country music station DJs were on the pop station and vice versa. The country music DJs introduced "Good Love" by Prince and said "he looks like he should be called 'Queen.'"

.

Would be nice for Prince to work with an actual artist / photographer for an album cover again. The amateur hour era of Prince album covers has been pretty unbearable.

.

Lovesexy = masterpiece IMHO

He was ahead of his time...

Ego101 said:

The record that ended my diehard fandom.

The record that started my diehard fandom! Never heard anything like that before. Sunbathing with that tape in my walkman, 15 years old... totally blew my mind. Also part of the fascination was the cover, of course: That's a man that has got something to say. Free your mind from this rat race!

I was lucky enough to be given all of my local record stores promotional material for LoveSexy. I think the cover artwork was totally original at the time and remains original now - plus it got Prince a shitload of press coverage at the time that he wouldn't have got with a standard cover.

[Edited 7/14/15 6:00am]

Likewise, I got a window display! I've always liked the promo poster. The cardbaord cutout of the sleeve was great but a bit weird to have it my room, so it stays in a cupbaord.

I also have the cardboard cutouts for the Come album and the Sign Of The Times video release.

The Sign Of The Times cutout remained on display in my bedroom for years as it is so awesome. That to now is in a wardrobe

Fun fact about this cover and I've posted it many times before but if you hold the cassette cover up the the light, you can see the "YES/Heart" logo shining through from the opposite side of the liner sleeve directly superimposed over Prince's thigh...It's a perfect fit.

.

"It Leave My Name Upon My Thigh"

.

In the credits, the same heart/yes symbol appears as playing "whatever". A happy accident? Coincidence? Printer's error? I think not. I think it's an Easter Egg. Not sure if it works that way on the vinyl or CD versions.

The first thing I done when I purchase Love Sexy was tear off one of the pages inside the CD booklet and use it to cover Prince's naked ass! I didn't want to see that when I was younger, and I don't want to see it now. He could had at least used an dish rag as a towel, to cover himself up. Damn......

Scarfo said:

I didn't want to see that when I was younger, and I don't want to see it now.

.

That is what I was writing about.

Scarfo said:

The first thing I done when I purchase Love Sexy was tear off one of the pages inside the CD booklet and use it to cover Prince's naked ass! I didn't want to see that when I was younger, and I don't want to see it now. He could had at least used an dish rag as a towel, to cover himself up. Damn......

oh come on that is a bit too much. you can't see his naked parts

Too much music..

Coming out too soon..

Not high enough in Quality...

More Quality control needed...

Too much music,too soon... (yes i wrote it twice)

Music Not Memorable, or commercial enough for his stature as an artist in 1988...

Lovesexy was the lead-up to Batman and Crap Bridge...

Need i say more?

*I did see the tour (3) times though and it rocked!

thedance said:

^ why...?

My guess you are an american..

In Europe Lovesexy was loved so very much more.... what a popfunk masterpiece..

Surely Lovesexy would've sold better if this had been the cover.

[Edited 7/23/15 4:19am]

Ego101 said:

Too much music..

Coming out too soon..

Not high enough in Quality...

More Quality control needed...

Too much music,too soon... (yes i wrote it twice)

Music Not Memorable, or commercial enough for his stature as an artist in 1988...

Lovesexy was the lead-up to Batman and Crap Bridge...

Need i say more?

The commercial argument AGAIN? Really?

Prince was, is and always will be an underground artist (get over with it) which only a peculiar alignment of planets turned into a world superstar.
Oh, and also the fact that no one before him had the balls to dress and wear Little Richard's mascara lashes and popmadour's helmet
while macho-shreding the axe — except maybe for heavy metal, but that was farce, not a sexual (hence sociological) statement — and litterally, fuck the stage, with one hand grabbing the ankle to give the hip that extra pump they crave for, those Irrestistible Bitches (Prince, as any addict, has brief, harsh moments where he loathes women.
Blame a certain Sister, or something in the water).
In 1984, Eddie Van Halen plays a jumping moron in fluorescent spandex, whereas Prince simulate fellatio with his lesbian guitarist,
and sends Eddie back to guitar school.
And I hate using lesbian as an adjective, but I want to remind you of the forever-underestimated importance of Skipper.


The first Rocker Boy to question identity on a large scale (ultra-underground acts such as the "New York Dolls", or "The Rolling Stones", paved the way).
Not redefining your identity in sexual orientation, rather trying to explore and switch the roles between genders in a relationship.
Digging so deep in the unattainable, Secret Garden of the Woman, that it ultimately gave us
a shift in the popular mind. Prince freed the asses of the world, realizing Ol' George prophecy,
whether for good (almost everyone in 2015 has tried, tries or will try a threesome — Diamonds & Pearls, anyone?)
or for worse (Youporn, etc. — except maybe for when the Tamborine call gets too loud).

When Prince writes his "Wicked Woman Treats Me Bad" songs, I think he really writes and interprets them as if they were Girlsongs.
Prince tries to sum up the female interpretations of the "Insensitive Man Treats Me Bad" songs in pop.

"Why you wanna treat me so bad" is the last lyrics that would come to a hard rocker's pen,

and even if it reached the paper, such paper would get promptly tossed when picturing yourself singing this live,

to a hord of Budweiser-filled headbangers, no matter how good the riff and the hook.


The Lovesexy cover was the achievement of "If I Was Your Girlfriend".
Prince felt like he had finally mutated. Like there was no need for God to castrate him anymore ("Temptation", pt. II).
If Michael was going with the artificial approach in order to become a mutant,
Prince wanted, in a moment of epiphany, to become a 100% percent organic mutant (with endorphins).
Michael was going for a cross between a man and a child.
And no, it's not about a sexual thing, you dirty minds.
It's about the neverending pursue of your lost innocence.
Prince was going for a cross between a man and a woman.
And it's not about him taking it up the ass, you hopeless and helpless dirty, dirty minds.

This cover is the other Gemini side of the Dirty Mind cover.
That part of Prince suddenly yelled "I'm ready for commitment, but I can't really define what it would mean".

In a way, commiting to God was the easiest path for Skipper.
God is the ultimate forgiver, but a woman scorned... And he surely disappointed a lot,
judging by the grieving falsetto that opens "The Breakdown".

"Like A Prayer" owes him a great deal, if only for the intro.
Fuck, for years I thought it was Lukather or something,
one of these unbearable musicians (Africa, Rosanna... the whole Quincy's Thriller gang known as "Toto", this abomination)
that have flashes of brilliance in their career (cf. "Wait" on Jacksons "Victory", the only decent thing these studio sharks came with).


We're talking about 1988 Prince, the Blue Angel, Small Club, Bob George vs. Camille, Auerswald Model C.
A guy that, contrary to Paraoh Jackson carefully planning his next quinquennial move as if pop had to be some kind of business plan,
has the guts to make a Gospel record in 1988 (not to mention putting out records at such pace like it's the summer of 69),
basically a career-ender (for anyone else — Diamonds & Pearls, anyone?).
Who has the balls to make a crowd sing sunday church lyrics right after "Kiss",
at the acme of the Reagan Era, heralding materialism as the ultimate way of life?


"Love is God, God is Love".
And suddenly for Madonna it was time to jump the spiritual wagon too.
Turns out these crucifixes and this first name choice are not such bad ideas.
Coincidence my skinny ass, Madge.
You just took Prince's concept and turned it into something more palatable for the masses.
And you also did your catharsis, thus elevating it to your own masterpiece.
And you're the only one who paid tribute to Prince in the way you did, granting him
a whole track of a multi-platinum record for experimenting on a thing so odd that I'm still undecided about it decades later.
And having him use a whole different set of guitar pedals and amps was the smartest move.
But still.
"Like A Prayer" would never had been a single without Prince making the agonizing eighties pop shift from "Party" to "Prayer".
MC Hammer, to which subtleness is an abstract concept, ended up the debate with the litteral "Pray",
reminding all the world of how important Prince is, with just one riff amongst the thousands he invented during his career.

And now you're coming to us with "quality control" ?
Pity you weren't there at the time, Lovesexy would surely be the ultimate masterpiece
of all his career, if you only had been there (yes i wrote it twice) to advise him.

[Edited 7/23/15 4:32am]

it sounds like you want to be Prince's spiritual sex slave...

I was there.. more than you know..

Have a nice day!

bonatoc said:

Ego101 said:

Too much music..

Coming out too soon..

Not high enough in Quality...

More Quality control needed...

Too much music,too soon... (yes i wrote it twice)

Music Not Memorable, or commercial enough for his stature as an artist in 1988...

Lovesexy was the lead-up to Batman and Crap Bridge...

Need i say more?

The commercial argument AGAIN? Really?

Prince was, is and always will be an underground artist (get over with it) which only a peculiar alignment of planets turned into a world superstar.
Oh, and also the fact that no one before him had the balls to dress and wear Little Richard's mascara lashes and popmadour's helmet
while macho-shreding the axe — except maybe for heavy metal, but that was farce, not a sexual (hence sociological) statement — and litterally, fuck the stage, with one hand grabbing the ankle to give the hip that extra pump they crave for, those Irrestistible Bitches (Prince, as any addict, has brief, harsh moments where he loathes women.
Blame a certain Sister, or something in the water).
In 1984, Eddie Van Halen plays a jumping moron in fluorescent spandex, whereas Prince simulate fellatio with his lesbian guitarist,
and sends Eddie back to guitar school.
And I hate using lesbian as an adjective, but I want to remind you of the forever-underestimated importance of Skipper.


The first Rocker Boy to question identity on a large scale (ultra-underground acts such as the "New York Dolls", or "The Rolling Stones", paved the way).
Not redefining your identity in sexual orientation, rather trying to explore and switch the roles between genders in a relationship.
Digging so deep in the unattainable, Secret Garden of the Woman, that it ultimately gave us
a shift in the popular mind. Prince freed the asses of the world, realizing Ol' George prophecy,
whether for good (almost everyone in 2015 has tried, tries or will try a threesome — Diamonds & Pearls, anyone?)
or for worse (Youporn, etc. — except maybe for when the Tamborine call gets too loud).

When Prince writes his "Wicked Woman Treats Me Bad" songs, I think he really writes and interprets them as if they were Girlsongs.
Prince tries to sum up the female interpretations of the "Insensitive Man Treats Me Bad" songs in pop.

"Why you wanna treat me so bad" is the last lyrics that would come to a hard rocker's pen,

and even if it reached the paper, such paper would get promptly tossed when picturing yourself singing this live,

to a hord of Budweiser-filled headbangers, no matter how good the riff and the hook.


The Lovesexy cover was the achievement of "If I Was Your Girlfriend".
Prince felt like he had finally mutated. Like there was no need for God to castrate him anymore ("Temptation", pt. II).
If Michael was going with the artificial approach in order to become a mutant,
Prince wanted, in a moment of epiphany, to become a 100% percent organic mutant (with endorphins).
Michael was going for a cross between a man and a child.
And no, it's not about a sexual thing, you dirty minds.
It's about the neverending pursue of your lost innocence.
Prince was going for a cross between a man and a woman.
And it's not about him taking it up the ass, you hopeless and helpless dirty, dirty minds.

This cover is the other Gemini side of the Dirty Mind cover.
That part of Prince suddenly yelled "I'm ready for commitment, but I can't really define what it would mean".

In a way, commiting to God was the easiest path for Skipper.
God is the ultimate forgiver, but a woman scorned... And he surely disappointed a lot,
judging by the grieving falsetto that opens "The Breakdown".

"Like A Prayer" owes him a great deal, if only for the intro.
Fuck, for years I thought it was Lukather or something,
one of these unbearable musicians (Africa, Rosanna... the whole Quincy's Thriller gang known as "Toto", this abomination)
that have flashes of brilliance in their career (cf. "Wait" on Jacksons "Victory", the only decent thing these studio sharks came with).


We're talking about 1988 Prince, the Blue Angel, Small Club, Bob George vs. Camille, Auerswald Model C.
A guy that, contrary to Paraoh Jackson carefully planning his next quinquennial move as if pop had to be some kind of business plan,
has the guts to make a Gospel record in 1988 (not to mention putting out records at such pace like it's the summer of 69),
basically a career-ender (for anyone else — Diamonds & Pearls, anyone?).
Who has the balls to make a crowd sing sunday church lyrics right after "Kiss",
at the acme of the Reagan Era, heralding materialism as the ultimate way of life?


"Love is God, God is Love".
And suddenly for Madonna it was time to jump the spiritual wagon too.
Turns out these crucifixes and this first name choice are not such bad ideas.
Coincidence my skinny ass, Madge.
You just took Prince's concept and turned it into something more palatable for the masses.
And you also did your catharsis, thus elevating it to your own masterpiece.
And you're the only one who paid tribute to Prince in the way you did, granting him
a whole track of a multi-platinum record for experimenting on a thing so odd that I'm still undecided about it decades later.
And having him use a whole different set of guitar pedals and amps was the smartest move.
But still.
"Like A Prayer" would never had been a single without Prince making the agonizing eighties pop shift from "Party" to "Prayer".
MC Hammer, to which subtleness is an abstract concept, ended up the debate with the litteral "Pray",
reminding all the world of how important Prince is, with just one riff amongst the thousands he invented during his career.

And now you're coming to us with "quality control" ?
Pity you weren't there at the time, Lovesexy would surely be the ultimate masterpiece
of all his career, if you only had been there (yes i wrote it twice) to advise him.

[Edited 7/23/15 4:32am]

[Edited 7/23/15 21:22pm]

I've always wondered why John Lennon and Yoko Ono can do a cover like they did, (Two Virgins) that actually DID feature blatant nudity, but Prince does a cover that merely suggests nudity and it's somehow out of bounds and embarrassing to purchase? Did Beatles and Lennon fans react to 'Two Virgins' by being embarrassed to buy it?

.

I remember friends of mine that were on board with Prince circa 1999 and Purple Rain but jumped off the ship with Lovesexy ONLY because of the cover. How fucking stupid can people be? There were even a few others that took offense at the Sign O The Times (single) cover because they mistook Cat for Prince. Seriously? You guys were A-OK with the Dirty Mind cover and "Jack U Off" but Prince being birthed from a flower is more than your delicate little sensibilities can tolerate?

.

The negative reaction to the Lovesexy cover and the manner in which it impacted sales was homophobia, plain and simple. The Lovesexy period was Prince at his most androgynous and effeminite. The heavy make up, the gender bending, the lyrics to Annastesia...

.

America still wasn't ready for it, at least not from a mainstream black male musician. Look at how much Elton John, Bowie and even a metal act like Judas Priest suffered commercially when their sexuality became public. The insecurity was and still is baffling to me.

.

Speaking of metal, I used to catch a lot of shit from my friends for digging Prince because he was a "fag" and a "sissy" and all that shit. But these same people bought records by Poison, Motley Crue, Cinderella, Twisted Sister, Ratt, and, yes, The Rolling Stones (who's lead singer and rythym guitar player famously toungue kissed once on Saturday Night Live). Speaking further, and especially regarding the Stones, I always found it odd just how homophobic their audience could be to the point that they booed Prince off the stage but they somehow could still tolerate the heavy makeup, the aforementioned french kiss and Jagger's blatant androgyny, but a short black guy in bikini briefs was more than they could suffer.

.

I've never bought a record or a book just because of the cover (a magazine, maybe, because that's what lures you in) and I've never NOT bought one because of the cover either.

herb4 said:

I've always wondered why John Lennon and Yoko Ono can do a cover like they did, (Two Virgins) that actually DID feature blatant nudity, but Prince does a cover that merely suggests nudity and it's somehow out of bounds and embarrassing to purchase? Did Beatles and Lennon fans react to 'Two Virgins' by being embarrassed to buy it?

.

I remember friends of mine that were on board with Prince circa 1999 and Purple Rain but jumped off the ship with Lovesexy ONLY because of the cover. How fucking stupid can people be? There were even a few others that took offense at the Sign O The Times (single) cover because they mistook Cat for Prince. Seriously? You guys were A-OK with the Dirty Mind cover and "Jack U Off" but Prince being birthed from a flower is more than your delicate little sensibilities can tolerate?

.

The negative reaction to the Lovesexy cover and the manner in which it impacted sales was homophobia, plain and simple. The Lovesexy period was Prince at his most androgynous and effeminite. The heavy make up, the gender bending, the lyrics to Annastesia...

.

America still wasn't ready for it, at least not from a mainstream black male musician. Look at how much Elton John, Bowie and even a metal act like Judas Priest suffered commercially when their sexuality became public. The insecurity was and still is baffling to me.

.

Speaking of metal, I used to catch a lot of shit from my friends for digging Prince because he was a "fag" and a "sissy" and all that shit. But these same people bought records by Poison, Motley Crue, Cinderella, Twisted Sister, Ratt, and, yes, The Rolling Stones (who's lead singer and rythym guitar player famously toungue kissed once on Saturday Night Live). Speaking further, and especially regarding the Stones, I always found it odd just how homophobic their audience could be to the point that they booed Prince off the stage but they somehow could still tolerate the heavy makeup, the aforementioned french kiss and Jagger's blatant androgyny, but a short black guy in bikini briefs was more than they could suffer.

.

I've never bought a record or a book just because of the cover (a magazine, maybe, because that's what lures you in) and I've never NOT bought one because of the cover either.

I'm with U

I think the times might have something to do with it too
I think if this cover was released in the 70s or early 80s it might have been received much differently.
Not judging by content of character by by 'skin'

Ow come on.

We know by now that the real problem with this cover is not Prince nudity,

it's the flowers.

You know the ones. The pornographic ones.

bonatoc said: