Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Does anyone know who picked the coverart for UYI? I assume it was Axl. Anyway, that dude on the cover was originally from the painting "The School Of Athens". So I was just wandering if it was Axl or someone else in the band that chose this and if it was said in an interview or something.  :)

(http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/2897/schoolathenscf9.jpg)

I was just thinking the other day as to what the painting was called. Im thinking of getting a new tattoo, I have thought the Illusions guy would look very good on my calf.

Its an interesting question you present. Not only 'Why that paininting?"  but also "Why pick that person?"

Why not the guy in his toga sitting on the stairs? thats just as interesting.

I'd love to know who chose the album cover.

The painting is said to describe philosophy so obviously the person who chose the coverart was a philosophy fan. Sounds like Axl would fit that description, I assume.


Here's a bigger image of it by the way:
http://britton.disted.camosun.bc.ca/goldslide/school_athens.jpg

Axl picked it after he bought it. (Or something...I'm not an art person so I'm going to guess it was a replica... :o )

Oh ok, thanks dude.  :beer:

NP. I just remembered, you can see the painting on a wall in his apartment during that Giveaway contest.

As far as I know Axl bought the painting by Mark Kostabi which was an englarged section from the painting the School of Athens.

"I bought me an illusion and I put it on the wall.."

Correct. He bought it, and then the next day had his people call Mark n' ask if he could use it.

You are correct, it was Kostabi who selected that subject for the painting, and he who painted the Illusion artwork. ?

Kostabi is (or was in the 90's) a very prominent artist in New York, but is also very controversial. ?Not necessarily for the subject matter of his artwork though. ?Many artists consider him to be a "sellout" because he is known to paint one orignial of a subject, and then hire a bunch of young "starving artists" as assistants, and have them reproduce multiple copies of his original, and sell them as his work. ?He has gotten very wealthy doing that. ?

If you do a search online of some of his work, you will see some really cool images.

Here's a link to many of his paintings.   http://www.markkostabi.com/paintings.html

I like the one "I did it Steinway".  The pianist is chained to his chair.  It reminds me a bit of how Axl may have felt while creating Chinese democracy. . .   ;D

Ha! I was thinking the same thing. The UYI thing, or just letters saying "Exit Only" on my ass.

Hahaha, I've heard someone talking about getting or having a tattoo like that.

Thank yall's for the cool info.  :beer:

Illusion is an art style to trick the eye. That is an extremely famous painting, and I cant remember who did it originally. I guess what I learned in art history classes is lost.  I believe that it is a play off from the title using the picture. 


(I am thinking it may be one of the first painting to use multiple points to create realistic piece of art.)

(http://gallery.future-i.com/illusions/pic:boat/full/opticalillusion.jpg)

Cool, thanks AdZ and AF

I learnt something new today  :peace:

why don't you go to www.gnrsource.com, click on songs n' lyrics, use your illusion, and then you look under covers info? it's all there

http://www.gnrsource.com/songinfo/uyi1.htm

Nice info and quotes.  :beer:

glad you like it :beer:

Mark Kostabi is Estonian :yes: Atleast there is a small link between Estonia and GN'R  : ok:

Thanks jazjma  :beer:

nice info....

The question why Kostabi picked those precise figures is indeed interesting. Most of the people featured in School of Athens have been recognized as various philosophers, yet these two feature in the Kostabi painting remain, infact, unknowns. The person you're referring to on the stairs is Diogenes, "lying carefree on the steps before them to show his philosophical attitude: he despised all material wealth and the lifestyle associated with it". If you look at the Kostabi pair in the original painting, what do you see? Most people next to them are attending to the debate of Plato and Aristotle. To keep it simple, Plato is pointing upwards, while Aristotle is gesturing downward; this is to portray their philosophical differences. Plato would believe in the Forms, while Aristotle put more weigth on empirical knowledge.

The Kostabi pair has one person making notes, similar to several other people in the painting. His hair appears to be swirling, yet there's no wind to be seen. One could see him caught mid-motion, setting his gaze down to the notebook in a hurry. So it's quite possible he's observing the ongoing debate. The person next to him appears not to give the event much thought, and seems rather disassociated of his environment. He's leaning on the railing, appearing to have a some sort of a leisurely position. Hence, if you consider these two figures as a pair, you might end up with the idea that the younger one is busy scribbling some thoughts down for future perusal, while the older, more seasoned one is considering him somewhat cynically; as in "use your illusions, but I doubt they'll do you much good in the long run."

That's really just my interpretation of the Kostabi painting, which I believe should be looked at in joint with School of Athens, as it is a partial reproduction.

Here's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_athens) a Wikipedia entry for School of Athens; here's (http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/SchoolAthens.htm) a character breakdown.

Just my thoughts, but I thought the phrase "Use Your Illusion" was largely in reference to the position of the scribbling character. It's almost as if he's resting on an imaginary chair, and that feeling is more pronounced than it is in School of Athens. His position, look at how his legs are, just seems very unnatural - and a very unlikely way for someone to choose to write. He almost looks off-balance.

On top of that, as far as choosing these two figures out of all the others, there are a lot of reasons i can see. Not only are they two figures that aren't clearly defined as any particular famous philosopher, but their positionings also provide a good contrast for eachother - contrast what i said above with the other figure slouching easily and disinterested. It's easy to see them as together in School of Athens, but it's also obvious they are each preoccupied in their own selves and thoughts (one actively and one passively). When you focus on them you can also see that they stand out by being almost uniquely dull. There's a lot going on in School of Athens, but the focus is still in the center, on Plato and Aristotle. When you pull out though, if you look for a spot that is almost a negative of that focus, then it's our characters in question. They're almost monochromatic, and their shades are quite similar.