For Inspiration? - Madonna's Inspiration For Her Art

[Alpha 1,180]

So since Madonna always had really good references...sometimes they are a bit obscure or sometimes they are very obvious. I would like this thread to be for people to post what they think or have found to be the source of her references!

Edited March 27 by RUADJAI
Updated title to not be vague (see edit history)

[Alpha 1,180]

I definitely think the mystery woman in the film Chungking Express portrayed by Brigitte Lin inspired one of the looks of Madame X

[Roy 7,613]

6 minutes ago, Alpha said:

I definitely think the mystery woman in the film Chungking Express portrayed by Brigitte Lin inspired one of the looks of Madame X

The version where she's all black and it's just her coat and hair is really cunt.

[Roy 7,613]

I don't really know much about fashion and Madonna's references to fashion but I do know that she loves to give herself a good twist to it.

[Leona Helmsley 9,418]

For sure the Kabbalah

 

 

[Leona Helmsley 9,418]

And for sure the horoscope

[Honey Little 3,996]

 

and Motown! That’s we we really love so many of her songs!

[Alpha 1,180]

The Italian film Mamma Roma was the inspiration behind the 2010 D&G shoot

[Blue Skies 1,304]

I think/I thought a lot of the Hung Up video was inspired by Saturday Night Fever 

[Alpha 1,180]

27 minutes ago, Blue Skies said:

I think/I thought a lot of the Hung Up video was inspired by Saturday Night Fever 

Most definitely!

 

[Alpha 1,180]

The inspiration behind Erotica/Sex is so vast but definitely an interesting one is Warhol. The graphic design was done by Fabien Baron who worked at that time for Interview magazine which was Andy's so they shared alot of the same aesthetic and graphics. Even the font used for Erotica's album cover and used in Sex was Warholian...it was actually based off Andy's mother! The album cover also seems to be based on Liza's cover on Interview. The font for Deeper and Deeper even seems to be a nod to Andy's design for the Velvet Undergroud's album.

[Blue Skies 1,304]

 

[chaosmen1984mk 799]

 

After the cover of the Hard Candy album that left many fans, like me, dissatisfied due to its simplicity and lack of originality, Madonna decides to surprise this time with the cover of her next album (Mdma) using a photo of her but with a special fragmentation effect or vertical lines that resulted in a unique and quite striking cover.

Curiously, 5 years earlier, an unknown Chilean artist named Sergio Lagos had released an album with a fairly similar cover. Looking at the photos, the resemblance is undeniable, so we can come to the conclusion that Madonna was inspired by this Chilean artist for the cover of her album Mdma. Because inspiration doesn't always come from world-famous artists or works. And this could be a good example of that.

[PlayPause 2,684]

48 minutes ago, chaosmen1984mk said:

 

After the cover of the Hard Candy album that left many fans, like me, dissatisfied due to its simplicity and lack of originality, Madonna decides to surprise this time with the cover of her next album (Mdma) using a photo of her but with a special fragmentation effect or vertical lines that resulted in a unique and quite striking cover.

Curiously, 5 years earlier, an unknown Chilean artist named Sergio Lagos had released an album with a fairly similar cover. Looking at the photos, the resemblance is undeniable, so we can come to the conclusion that Madonna was inspired by this Chilean artist for the cover of her album Mdma. Because inspiration doesn't always come from world-famous artists or works. And this could be a good example of that.

Give me a break. Diffraction has been around like FOREVER since photography started.

[Blue Skies 1,304]

Alexander O'Neal 1988.  Great soul singer.  I feel like how he had the bed in the middle of his show might have inspired the Like A Virgin Blonde Ambition performance.  

 

 

 

[Alpha 1,180]

5 hours ago, chaosmen1984mk said:

 

After the cover of the Hard Candy album that left many fans, like me, dissatisfied due to its simplicity and lack of originality, Madonna decides to surprise this time with the cover of her next album (Mdma) using a photo of her but with a special fragmentation effect or vertical lines that resulted in a unique and quite striking cover.

Curiously, 5 years earlier, an unknown Chilean artist named Sergio Lagos had released an album with a fairly similar cover. Looking at the photos, the resemblance is undeniable, so we can come to the conclusion that Madonna was inspired by this Chilean artist for the cover of her album Mdma. Because inspiration doesn't always come from world-famous artists or works. And this could be a good example of that.

Possibly! I wonder who that photographer was for his album cover? She couldve easily seen work of the photographer and liked it or maybe Mert did. Ironically enough I feel Kyle's album Kiss Me Once had a very similar aesthetic behind glass although not fragmented.

[Alpha 1,180]

Who could also forget the inspiration behind Hollywood's MV...photographer Guy Bourdin which led to a lawsuit by his estate

[Alpha 1,180]

Allegedly the estate decided to sue once the remix video premiered due to one scene not in the original video where she is wearing a red dress. IMO the original video is definitely more literal in use of references.

[Alpha 1,180]

Remedios Varo was a female surrealist painter and one of the many inspirations behind the Bedtime Story video!

 

[EgoRod 5,451]

13 hours ago, Alpha said:

Possibly! I wonder who that photographer was for his album cover? She couldve easily seen work of the photographer and liked it or maybe Mert did. Ironically enough I feel Kyle's album Kiss Me Once had a very similar aesthetic behind glass although not fragmented.

The photographer behind the glass idea is Erwing Blumenfeld, Mert & Marcus get heavily inspired but other great photographers.

That chilean guy use the same reference.

 

[EgoRod 5,451]

Vogue was inspired by photographers  George Hurrels and Horst P. Horst

[EgoRod 5,451]

Bedtime Stories has lots of different references.

The movie: The Colour of Pomegranates" you can see here with Vogue over it for whatever reason:

 

Paintings:

 

The Ends of the Earth (1949) by Leonor Fini

L’Amitié (1958) by Leonor Fini

Vision Roja (1984), by Leonor Fini

Naked man,1991-92) by Lucien Freud

Los Amantes, by Remedios Varo

Nacer de Nuevo (1960) by Remedios Varo

La Llamada (1961) by Remedios Varo

Creación de las Aves (1958) by Remedios Varo

The Giantess (1950), by Leonora Carrington

Diego y Yo (1949). by Frida Kahlo

 

 

[Leona Helmsley 9,418]

ciao bella from madame x 

 

take inspiration by 

a song about freedom, anti fascism......

[EgoRod 5,451]

After Fincher did Vogue without giving credit to Horst, you think Mondino will be more respectful about using Guy Bourdin's work without permission or mention.

I think he said later than it was an homage and blah blah but  it was a bit messy to do without attributing.

[xavier 4,787]