The Pretty Reckless frontwoman Taylor Momsen recently joined a chat with Spin, where she discussed her decision to incorporate sexuality and sensuality into the cover art for her band’s album, ‘Going to Hell,’ drawing inspiration from Pink Floyd’s ‘Back’ catalog poster.
Momsen revealed that the cover image for ‘Going to Hell’ was influenced by Pink Floyd’s promotional poster, which featured six naked women with the band’s album covers painted on their backs. The singer disclosed:
“It’s kind of a homage to love, with a new take on it. Because the cross was something that I had drawn myself and come up with. I was like, ‘This is the physical representation of this record to me, this is the symbol.’ I was drawing [the cross] while we were recording the record, and I was like, ‘Well, this is the logo, this is the symbol for this record, and so let’s put it on my back and use sensuality and sexuality.'”
Determined to maintain authenticity in the cover art, Momsen and her team devoted significant effort to recreating the imagery. They meticulously painted the arrow/cross on Taylor’s back during a 16-hour photo shoot, ensuring that the final image captured the essence of their vision.
Transformation Into Album Art
The singer previously talked to Rolling Stone about the album cover in 2014 and revealed that ‘Back’ catalog was one of her favorite posters, saying:
“That came from Pink Floyd. You know that photograph of the women sitting by a pool, nude, with all the record covers painted on their backs? That’s one of my favorite posters, so I stole the idea. Then, when we cropped it for the CD, it turned into ‘E.C. Was Here,’ by Eric Clapton.”
Taken in 1996 by photographer Tony May in Putney, London, the idea was conceived by visual artist Finlay Cowen and executed by Pink Floyd’s graphic designer Storm Thorgerson. Identifying the models can be difficult, adding to the mystery surrounding the image.
