Inspired by the music and imagery of Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.” American contemporary artist, George Condo, created 8 different paintings for Kanye for MBDTF, which 5 were chosen for the album: a naked sphinx straddling Kanye, a ballerina, a severed crowned Kanye head impaled by a sword, and a headless crown with a sword (which was later replaced by Def Jam for a cubist painting of a priest), and a cubist Kanye portrait. The original album art of Kanye on a couch with a beer being straddled by a naked white armless sphinx was deemed too provocative by retailers and was censored in the United States. The more popular album cover of the ballerina dancer was substituted when retailers wouldn’t sell the album with the original sphinx art. The imagery of the ballerina became a central motif for the “Runaway” short film.

“Runaway” featuring Autumn Jacobsen, photography by eRecto.