~ Up Yer Sleeve - contextual research ~

Contextual research - 

I was given the song Moody's Mood for love by Amy Winehouse. Due to the very publicly tragic death of Amy Winehouse I felt doing contextual research into her as an artist and the history of her life would help inform my design. The song itself is full of emotion and sadness so it's appropriate to let this be a part/tone of voice for the design. I felt creating a design that was a homage to her would be appropriate and in good taste.

http://www.biography.com/people/amy-winehouse-244469 

I watched various interviews with celebrities and close friends to really get an idea of who she was as a person. I also read online biographies telling the main events that caused her life to go down such a high road and end so tragically.

At the age of 12, Winehouse was accepted into the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School, and a year later she received her first guitar. But by the age of 16, Winehouse was expelled for "not applying herself" and piercing her nose. That same year, she caught her first big break when a schoolmate and close friend, pop singer Tyler James, passed her demo tape to his label, A&R, who was searching for a jazz vocalist. The opportunity led her to a record deal with Island/Universal. 

It's clear to me Amy was always rebellious in nature - something I felt was key to represent and express through my design.

This is the cover of her debut album Frank. The artwork for the cover is really simple and personal; simply depicting her and introducing her to the world of fame by showing her face in a way.

After the release of this first album she began to gain a reputation as an unstable 'party girl'. Often showing up to sets to drunk to perform until the end. She also started a tumultuous, on-again-off-again relationship with music video assistant Blake Fielder-Civil who admitted to introducing Winehouse to hard drugs. In public, the couples' arguments often devolved into fistfights and dramatic scenes. In private, their romance centered around drugs, alcohol, physical abuse and self-harm.

This negative image continued throughout her career and unfortunately she became known for this just as much as she was for her musical talent. She went on to cancel appearances, become more and more reckless and was the focus of a lot of tabloid gossip.

Sadly, at the end of her life, Winehouse's enormous talent was overshadowed by her addiction to drugs and alcohol. The singer died tragically on July 23, 2011, at the age of 27 from accidental alcohol poisoning.

It was a fate many claimed to see coming which made it all the more tragic.

27 club - Her death at 27 brought to light a conspiracy theory that had been circling rock & roll fans discussion for a long time.

Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison all died at the age of 27 between 1969 and 1971. At the time, the coincidence gave rise to some comment, but it was not until the death of Kurt Cobain, about two and a half decades later, that the idea of a "27 Club" began to catch on in public perception.

When Amy then died at 27 also discussion turned to the conspiracy either someone else was at hand making these rock legends die at this age or it had become a trend within the community. Nethertheless it was a sad tragedy for them all and more often then not drug and alcohol related.