How To Use Art To Take Your Music To A Whole New Level

Being a musician is so much more than just making music.

One of the reasons why pop music is so powerful is that it offers a way to dabble with almost every kind of art out there: poetry, live performance, illustration, photography, video and fashion.

The best news is that although creating all this art takes a huge amount of time and effort, you don’t need to do it all yourself. Many artists collaborate with other artists to create stunning visuals, innovative videos and head-turning fashion statements.

Here are some famous examples:

Marilyn Manson + Floria Sigismondi

Marilyn Manson hooked up with Floria Sigismondi to create the cruel and crooked world of Antichrist Superstar. Floria’s unique brown-tinged imagery, bleak esthetics and strange fashion sense provided the perfect backdrop for Manson’s music.

Björk + Shoplifter

Björk’s amazing music and visuals are a result of many great collaborations with other artists. One great example of this is her collaboration with the artist called Shoplifter. It was Shoplifter who dressed Björk in the ethereal dress and plaited her hair into the intriguing “hair sculpture” creating the unique look on Björk’s Medulla album.

Björk + Shoplifter

Madonna + Jean-Paul Gaultier

The collaboration of Madonna and Gaultier is a legendary example of how two artists can unite their personal styles to create something a little larger than life. Gaultier’s style is unmatched by other designers, and his provocative corsets were the perfect accessory for Madonna. As a result Gaultier designed the iconic outfits that Madonna wore on her Blond Ambition tour.

Madonna + Gaultier

Blur + Julian Opie

Blur joined forces with Julian Opie for the cover of their Best Of album. The album cover even found its way to the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Blur + Opie

Art + Art = Amazing Art

Instead of attempting to become fashion designers, portrait painters, video directors or hair sculptors themselves, these musicians have simply joined forces with other artists to create something interesting, unique and compelling.