N O T E
I hereby declare that I do not own the rights to the original works used and altered in this project.
This is a passion project of mine intended for personal use only and is not for sale nor distribution.
It is therefore forbidden to copy or share this content without my or the original copyright owners' consent.
Credits: original NEW ORDER Power, Corruption & Lies album artwork by Peter Saville (1982).
Reproduction of A Basket of Roses by Henri Fantin-Latour (1890).
Image taken from FAC 461 'Factory Records: The Complete Graphic Album' by Matthew Robertson, published by Thames+Hudson.
(Excerpt / caption from the book)
The sleeve of Power, Corruption & Lies is an ironic juxtaposition of old and new worlds, in which a reproduction of Henri Fantin-Latour's A Basket of Roses (1890) is combined with a colour control bar indicative of 20th-century reprographics. Saville had originally set out to find an image of a Machiavellian tyrant, but found this image more suggestive. Saville had seen contemporary Dutch designer Gert Dumbar include printing marks as a graphic device, but he took the conceit further by using the colour bar as a graphic code to replace any obvious lettering on the sleeve. Each colour is a letter or number, which can be translated using the decoding device on the back cover. The idea to lift Fantin-Latour's painting came from contemporary designers who were fashioning clothes from chintz upholstery.
A reproduction of the 'code decoder' originally featured on the back cover of the album.
All colours have been meticulously reproduced in accordance with the artist's sketch.
The central colour wheel has been replaced with a coloured version of the POLSKI NOWY ŁAD logo.
Each colour (or combination of colours) represents a digit or letter of the alphabet.
In late 2021, the Polish president signed the so-called Polish New Deal Act, which came into force from the beginning of 2022. The Act introduces vast changes to the tax and health insurance contributions system. Although the Polish government announced 'historical tax cuts', entrepreneurs have started to fear for their finances under the new regulations.
While the official translation of the Polish Nowy Ład is ‘New Deal’, considering the current government’s infamous modus operandi and the true motives behind the recent tax change, the Act is far closer to that of an ‘order’ than a ‘deal’.
This is why New Order’s praised Power, Corruption & Lies (1983) album artwork has become the perfect metaphor for portraying the debilitating status quo in modern-day Poland.
Thank you.
***** ***
