F L O R E N C EA N D T H E

M A C H I N EA N A L Y S I S

The use of flowers is typical of the indie genre and are constantly used throughout female indie-

artists photographs. Flowers hold connotations of innocence and

femininity, therefore making the female artist seem sweet and in

touch with her feminine side. Another example of an artist who is consistently shown with flowers

is Lana Del Rey.

The inclusion of lungs on the magazine advert holds reference to

the intensity and sheer power of the artists voice. Another reason that the

lungs may have been used as an iconic image is due to the fact that they are a vital organ needed for

breathing and therefore living. This could potentially link to the idea of life and nature, symolising Florence

and the Machine’s music and natural and ‘effortless’.

The fact that the artist is wearing the lungs around her neck as a necklace

suggests that she is proud of her vocal ability and that she is the

owner of her ability (in charge of her own voice).

Vinyl are very stereotypically linked and iconic with the indie genre and due to Florence and the Machine having ‘vinyl’ printed for release

helps to link the artist with the indie genre.

I C O N O G R A P H Y

The central positioning of the artist makes it clear to the audience that she is the main artist and is of some

importance to the act.

C H A R A C T E R

The artists facial expression appears to be very blank in this specific image; in addition to her bodily

pose looking weak and fragile. This holds link to a typical female

‘damsel in distress’ look and could suggest negative imagery towards

the female artist population, as she is presenting herself as weak, in

comparison to male artists where they typically present themselves as

strong and powerful characters.For example, Robin Thicke’s ‘Sex

Therapy’ album cover.

In this image, the artists face looks flawless and this is a stereotypical trait for artists. Many celebrities aim to look ‘perfect’ in images in

order to present themselves in the best possible light, despite the

desired look being unobtainable.

S E T T I N G

This image is taken in a studio setting, but has been adapted in

order to appear as an outdoor scene.The artist has tried to make the

advert seem like a flower garden with the use of flowers, birds and gates. The ‘at one with nature’ approach is something which is often seen with female indie artists. For example,

This type of imagery makes the female artist seem more

approachable and innocent and therefore (in terms of Florence and

the Machine) makes for a bigger surprise when listening to the

content of the album.

The use of the dark background/setting helps to create a focal point on the main artist, as well as highlighting the pale skin

tones of the artist. The colours used throughout the

image are consistent with the pale theme and therefore highlight the

idea that the artists music is somewhat dark in contrast to other

music being advertised.

T E C H N I C A L C O D E S

The serif font increases the formality of the entire advertisement and

when compared to the font of the artist, the use of the serif font seems

to hold importance.

The use of the black background and white text helps to create high

contrast between the background a foreground and therefore helps the font (in the foreground) to stand out and be memorable for the audience. Despite the simplicity of the use of colours, when used alongside the

colours in the image (pale reds, and pinks) the text seems bold and

important due to the sharpness of the contrast between the black and

white.

Artificial lighting has been used in this image in order to highlight

specific areas, such as the collar bones.

This helps to outline the figure of the artist and create the illusion

that she has prominent and protruding features which make her

seem petite.This is stereotypical of female artists, as it helps to project a

certain image onto the audience; one which makes woman jealous

and wish they looked like the artist and makes men wish they had

someone who looked like the artist, therefore being desirable and hopefully increasing the artists

popularity.