kanye west
19:26 Wednesday, 16 March 2022
Denis Forkas, a Russian artist who's known for designing metal album covers, has apparently been ripped off by Kanye West in one of the rapper's new music videos. Forkas shared his dismay for the "petty theft" in a post on his Instagram.
Forkas created the artwork featured on the cover of Behemoth's iconic 2014 album The Satanist, which actually contained Nergal's blood in the paint that was used for it. The art piece in which West used in his video for the song "Hurricane" was created by Forkas in 2017, and is titled Hortus Aureus.
"Vigilant followers drew attention to this petty theft of my 2017 piece Hortus Aureus in the latest Kanye West video, 'Hurricane,'" Forkas wrote in the caption of the post, tagging the rapper. "I’ve never been contacted by any party involved in the production – it’s just been pirated from the web and re-rendered for the video.
"Now, I doubt it was Kanye himself who authorized the underhand nonsense but still one would expect at least some measure of ethics, quality control and respect from a popular artist of his renown."
See the post, which compares the two images side-by-side, below, as well as the music video for "Hurricane" underneath.
In addition to Behemoth, Forkas has also worked with bands including Wolves In The Throne Room, Locrian and Horseback to design their albums. But, he doesn't necessarily consider himself a metalhead.
I do enjoy listening to heavy metal now and then, but I don’t think I like it enough to call myself a fan," he admitted to Heavy Music Artwork. "Heavy metal is a culture deeply rooted in mythology, religion and philosophy and those are the subjects I, too, choose to explore in my work. I’m glad there are still artists/musicians and art lovers/listeners who refuse to comply with generally low aesthetic standards of today. Talent is a great responsibility and I will do everything within my power to not betray my clients’ trust."
Kanye West - 'Hurricane'
