Earlier this month, Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, revealed the cover of his new album Cuck: a provocative image of two Ku Klux Klan members in full regalia, locked in what appears to be a warm embrace, with one holding a bouquet of flowers.
The photograph, taken by Peter van Agtmael and titled The wedding of two members of the KKK in a barn in rural America, was used without the acclaimed photojournalist permission, he told ARTnews this week. Neither West nor his team contacted van Agtmael prior to the announcement, the photograher said, adding that it is now a “legal matter.”
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The album was originally titled “WW3” and set for release on April 3, the same day he revealed the cover art. The image West posted was slightly different than van Agtmael’s original: one of the two Klan members was made to look black, a detail only visible though the eye holes of his pointy white hood, and a white dog wearing a red cape embossed with the words “White Power” from the original photo was removed.
According to Hot New Hip Hop, fans found the name change bizarre. More bizarre was West’s explanation: “CUCK is my whole style,” he reportedly wrote. “It’s my music it’s the way I dress it’s my attitude… My sh*t is sex drugs rock n roll money politics homophobia sexual harassment and racism. I’m a walking lawsuit. I read more pornography than I read bible pages.”
Van Agtmael took the image in 2015 in Tennessee, while working on a story for the Norwegian outlet A-Magazine. While West’s Instagram post announcing the cover has been deleted, an image of the original photo next to West’s doctored version is on A-magazine’s website.
In a discussion around the practicalities of photographing such a controversial subject as the KKK, Van Agtmael, who is represented by Magnum Photos, once said that to document Klan members with any sense of authenticity, he laid some ground rules before releasing the shutter. Alongside journalist Vegas Tenold, he explained his presence and gave individuals the choice to opt out of being photographed—an option some took, and he respected. For those who agreed, he asked them to behave as naturally as possible.
“Of course, this is impossible; people always perform for the camera no matter what you say, but at least saying it often avoids the most conspicuous kind of performance,” he said in an interview on the Magnum website. In the end, he noted, even the posturing has value—it reveals how people want to be seen, which can be just as telling as how they are seen.
West did not return a request for comment.