We remember well when Beyonce secured a spot for photographer Tyler Mitchell to shoot her cover for Vogue, no doubt resulting in his most recent Vogue cover of soon-to-be Madame Vice President, Kamala Harris.
This week, another monumental cover hit the stands, where contemporary art meets fashion, with a collaboration between Lorna Simpson and Rihanna for Essence magazine. The interwebs are loving it! But this is not Rihanna’s first turn at centering a contemporary black artist for one of her covers. Back in 2018, the bad girl worked with Deana Lawson on a spread for Garage Magazine.
Check out these occasions where Rihanna became the art along with other works from these artists. And why not play a little Ri Ri while you’re doing it!
Simpson’s most recent work, a series of collages based on images from Ebony and Jet magazines, enshrines the beauty of archival black imagery, and served as the reference for the Essence series with Rihanna.
In 2020, Lawson was awarded the prestigious Hugo Boss Prize, only the thirteenth artist to receive the award and the first in photography. This stunning collaboration merged Lawson’s vivid staged documentary style with Rihanna’s over-the-top glamour.
