As a fellow artist, I usually avoid laughing at others’ work, regardless of the medium it was created in.

Sometimes however, a piece of ‘art’ goes so far...too far, that one can’t help but break into a grin, if not chuckle, leaving all, non-artist and artist alike to wonder, “What on Earth were they thinking?”

One of my favorite examples of this is Voice of Fire, a 1967 acrylic on canvas painting by American artist, Barnett Newman:




Although generally subscribing to French philosopher Victor Cousin’s slogan, l’art pour l’art (Art for art’s sake), even this one went too far for me. I was especially shocked and outraged as a taxpayer, to learn that in 1989, the National Gallery of Canada paid $1.8 million to purchase Voice of Fire, which (no surprise) caused controversy across the country; Newman no doubt laughing all the way to the bank.

Getting back to album covers, although not in the same league as Voice of Fire, there’s enough out there to keep heads scratching in a completely different way, reminding this artist of some of the bad decisions he’s made over the course of his life.

Sometimes, it’s only a face, that in the way it’s presented, has one giggling. Lord knows I’m sure enough people have laughed at my own mug to reinforce the saying, “What others think about me is none of my business.”

More often than not however, it’s a combination of things...names, faces, words, leaving you laughing, but also feeling sorry for the artist(s), with a tinge of sadness, at never really knowing how good or bad their music was.







Presentation © 2025
Top photo, Voice of Fire, courtesy of Wikipedia
Bottom photo courtesy of Bad Album Covers, Facebook

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12/08/2025

Posted on 12/08/2025
Copyright © 2025 Chris Sorrenti