The album cover portrays the artist in a way that references circus and gypsy culture through her provocative costume. She is depicted differently on the front and back covers - on the front she seems carefree while on the back she appears lonely and isolated. The settings of the circus on the inside and desert on the back contrast between lively and happy versus quiet and isolated, changing the narrative from happy to sad. Technical elements like lighting, filters, and composition are used to distinguish narrative parts and appeal to fans while referencing the time period of the Victorian era through props.

1. Chloe Gilmour

2. P!NK- Funhouse:the albumwasreleasedonthe 24th
October2008. The genre of the albumisPopRock with
elementsof R&B.
Narrative events:The narrative couldbe arepresentation
of the circus/carnival culture beinglessened throughout
time.The circusover time hasbecome associatedwiththe
horror genre.Forexample AmericanHorrorStory‘Freak
Show’takesplace ina carnival setting.Thishasledto the
decline initspopularitywithinrecentyears.People have
alsoboycottedcarnivalsandcircusesinthe past because
of itsassociationwiththe torture of animals.Thisdecline
inpopularitycouldbe the reasonwhyon the back she is
alone witha plainbackgroundwhichcouldbe a
representationof the disappearanceof the circus.
Howeverbecause itisabstractthe audience can’tbe sure
whatthe storyis/it isn’tas clearas the love story
portrayedonRhianna’sLouddigipak.
Character:The character isplayedbythe artist herself.
There isa female portrayal.Herattire isakin to thatof
the gypsyculture inthe past whentheywere associated
withcarnivalsandtravellingcircuses. Howeveritisa
stereotypical representationof femalesbecause itisa
provocative andsuggestivedressandmakesthe artist
lookmore sexual.There isacontrast betweenthe way
she isportrayedon the frontand the back as well ason
the inside.Onthe frontshe seemstobe carefree while
on the back she lookslonelyandisolatedandseems
somewhatscared.Onthe frontcover she isusing
indirectmode of address.Itsuggeststhatshe isn’t
interestedinthe people lookingatherwhichpresents
powerwithinher.She doesn’tcare whatshe lookslike
to otherpeople orwhatotherpeople argue she should
be,she doeswhatshe wants.The artistportraysherself
inthisway throughoutherwork.Howeveronthe back
she has a childlike expressiononherface.The audience
feel sympathyforher.Itcouldbe usedas a mechanism
to suggestthatit isokay forpeople tofeel sadonce ina
while.Intoday’ssocietypeopleare expectedtoputon
a brave face and notto expressourtroubles.Inthe past
hermusic hasbeenknowntoexpresscertainemotions
be it angeror sadnessor any otheremotion.Thisuse of
happyand sad alsolinksintoanarrative development.
Technical Codes: The typography emulates what would typically beseen on a poster advertisingthe circus. Itties in with the
theme and the narrativeof the digipak.Moreover, there is also useof high key lightingand lowkey lightingto work in contrast
with each other. Similar to Rhianna’s Loud albumit helps to distinguish between two parts of the narrative;one being a
positivepartof the story, one being the aftermath of something bad happening.There is also useof filters to make it seem as
if some of the images were taken through a pinholelens.This allows the audienceto have an idea of the time period that the
narrativecould be set in. The artistis prodomiently seen within the primary optical area,theterminal optical area and the
strong fallowarea.This is to make herself more prominent on the cover to appeal to fans. Because her leg is in the primary
optical area,leadingthrough the readinggravity towards the terminal area.It forces the audience to look down her leg before
we get to her. It is and objectiverepresentation of women, which is common within pop culture. In addition in the weak fallow
area to the strongfallowarea the title of the albumand the artistname is located.The name being in the centre means that it
is one of the firstthings the audiencewill look at,her name adds star quality to the cover.
Iconography:Onthe inside coverthere isanimage
of twoclowns,one sadand one happy.It issimilar
to the happyand sad masksusedinGreektheatre
inthe past.In additionitcouldsymbolise the
transitionof clownsonce beingasource of
entertainmenttosomethingcommonlyseenin
horror filmssuchas ‘It’.Furthermore,onthe back
coverthere isalso a gramophone andher
positionednexttoiton a circularobjectcoveredin
sheermaterial.Itseemslikeanabstractversionof a
musicbox.All the propsusedsuch as the carousel
horse and the gramophone suggestthe Victorian
era therefore givingusasense of time period.
Howeverherdresscode isa modernisedversionof
gypsydresswhichchallengesourassumptionof the
time period.
Setting:There isa contrastbetweentwodifferentsettings
portrayedonthisdigipack.A circus islively,loudand
happy.We wouldassume a successful circuswouldbe full
of life withactsandaudience creatingthe atmosphere
that issimilartoa musicevent.Howeverthe dessert is
quietandisolated.The use of these settingsdrastically
changesthe narrative fromhappyto sad. Alsobecause a
desserthasa vast horizonvoidof life itmakesherseem
more isolatedandevokessympathywithinthe audience.
It suggestsshe hasjust beenleftbehind/forgotten.