Unveiling the Creative Visual Direction of 50mEtHiNgS Music: A Collaboration with The Karma Creative

Hey there! I'm Sara, designer and founder of The Karma Creative and I'm thrilled to take you behind the scenes of Paul Jenner's website and share the creative journey we've embarked on together.

Collage by Sara Wright: The art talks about the murder of George Flyod, the Black Lives Matter movement, gun and gang violence as a part of youth culture

When Paul approached me to work on his website, I knew it was an opportunity to create something truly special.

It began with a very minimal brief; "I've purchased a domain and a Wix website," Paul explained. But when questioned, it became clear that Paul was unsure of any creative direction and stuck with a website that didn't reflect his music or message. He did have one technical requirement: "I need to start selling my music," but other than that, no scope of work or idea of creative direction existed.

But, there was music. Over the last four years, Paul's creativity in the studio had been flying, and he was armed with three albums' worth of songs ready to be released into the world. Paul's music, under the name 50mEtHiNg, delves into social commentary with bold and daring lyrics that challenge the status quo.

The first release, the album 'All These Things', is music in response to life over the last four years. The songs address a wide range of diverse and challenging topics, from the heartbreaking murder of Sarah Everard to the senseless violence in Ukraine and the tragic death of George Floyd. The list goes on, from the devastating impact of Covid-19 to the insidious rise of social media-induced self-harm, to the beauty and resilience of same-sex relationships, and the weighty responsibility of parenthood.

Paul gracefully shared his music with me and I listened.

An idea takes shape

Paul's music is captivating. The carefully crafted lyrics bring contentious and challenging issues from our recent history to the forefront.

It's like a newspaper headline being played out in front of you. I wanted to capture this sense of journalism within the visual communication.

So, I naturally leaned towards collage. With its DIY, craft-punk aesthetic, I felt it was the perfect medium to convey the raw energy and message of Paul's music. This approach also drew inspiration from the Dada art movement.

Collage by Sara Wright: The art talks about womens rights, abortion laws, the patriarchy and feminism

Embracing Dada: The Punk Spirit of 50mEtHiNgS' Artistic Direction

The Dada art movement emerged as a response to the absurdity of the First World War. Dada artists used collage and other unconventional techniques to comment on the absurdity of war and humanity's role in it.

Expressing nonsense, irrationality, and anti-bourgeois protest in their works, Dada art began primarily as performance art but eventually spanned visual, literary, and sound media, including collage, sound poetry, and cut-up writing. The Dadaist movement included public gatherings, demonstrations, and publication of art/literary journals; passionate coverage of art, politics, and culture were topics often discussed in a variety of media.

Paul's music highlights many of today's absurdities, from politics to culture to the human experience. And so, it seemed like a natural and logical step to draw upon the style of Dadaism in my creative direction. Thus, I crafted several collage pieces, each serving as a visual interpretation of one of Paul's songs, capturing its essence and adding depth to the overall experience.

From political satire to existential musings, each collage invites the viewer to engage with the music on a deeper level and sparks conversation about the issues at hand.

Collage by Sara Wright: The art talks about the pandemic, the covid vaccination, the strain on the NHS and children's mental health

Exploring the Future: Crafting with AI

For each collage, I carefully curated imagery and elements that resonated with the themes of the song. Some of the imagery used is directly sourced from photographs purchased under license (Image ID: 109696717, Copyright Markus Gann; Image ID: 110319227, Copyright Skypixel) from Dreamstime.com. Whereas other imagery has been created using text-to-image AI technology.

I wanted to utilise AI to create elements for the collage as I felt it helped enhance the absurdity of the experience, acting as another layer on top of the music. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) to create imagery for art is a subject that sparks conversation, challenges conventions, and, in many ways, embodies the very essence of absurdity.

At first glance, the idea of using AI to create art might seem contradictory to the DIY, punk ethos of collage. After all, collage is about cutting, pasting, and repurposing existing materials in a way that feels raw and authentic. However, the more I explored the possibilities of AI-generated imagery, the more I realised its potential to push the boundaries of collage art.

AI allows us to remix and manipulate images in ways that were previously unimaginable.

It opens up a whole new realm of creativity and possibility. But here's where the absurdity comes in: AI-generated imagery blurs the lines between human creativity and machine intelligence. It raises questions about authorship, originality, and the role of the artist in the digital age.

Can a piece of art created by an algorithm be considered truly original? And if so, what does that mean for the concept of creativity itself?

These are complex and contentious issues that artists and thinkers are grappling with as AI becomes increasingly integrated into the creative process. On one hand, AI offers endless opportunities for experimentation and innovation. On the other hand, it challenges our notions of authenticity and artistic expression.

For Paul Jenner's music, which often delves into themes of absurdity and social commentary, the use of AI-generated imagery adds another layer of complexity. It reflects the absurdity of our digital age, where technology is both a tool for creativity and a source of existential uncertainty.

In many ways, our exploration of AI in collage art mirrors the Dadaist movement of the early 20th century. Like the Dadaists, who used collage and other unconventional techniques to challenge societal norms and question the meaning of art, we're using AI to push the boundaries of what's possible and provoke thought. So, while the use of AI in collage art may seem absurd on the surface, it's also a reflection of the absurdity of our times.

It's a reminder that art has always been a reflection of the world around us, and that sometimes, the most powerful statements are the ones that challenge our expectations.

I'm incredibly proud of what we've achieved in this artistic collaboration. It's a testament to the power of art and music to provoke thought. To explore the fusion of music, art, and social commentary, head over to Paul's online shop to purchase the collages on a band tee, tote, or poster.

Thanks for reading, until next time.

Sara

www.thekarmacreative.com