Clash Magazine double page spread analysis

2. Main Image- The whole of the left page of the magazine is a mid long shot of artist Mykki
Blanco. He is shown directly facing the camera in a staged pose, showing direct address to
the audience. This to make them feel involved with the article and intrigued to read on.
He is shown topless revealing multiple tattoos, he also has his jeans worn low down
allowing his underwear to be shown. This portrays quite a negative representation of
Mykki Blanco, as a young African American artist, he is shown living up to the stereotypes
surrounding this ethnicity. As he is topless with his underwear on display, he is showing an
overly sexualised representation. Furthermore, his tattoos represent an element of
rebellion as tattoos on young people are usually looked at quite negatively. The
representation also implies that he’s a rap artist due to his casual choice of outfit.
Differently to a pop artist who would be shown wearing something extravagant or
designer. However, the representation isn’t entirely negative. He is surrounded by a white
background, which has connotations of innocence, purity and peace. His facial expression
is also quite timid making him look quite vulnerable. His pose is also quite restrained
differentiating him from a stereotypical rap artist pose where they’d appear overly
confident and arrogant. Overall, the image is quite ‘stripped back’ which a sense of
minimalism. This could be to show that the article will be giving a true insight into what
being a rap artist is like, in comparison to the stereotypical rap persona that is usually
shown. This would appeal to the audience who would be interested in seeing a different
side to rap artists.

3. On the left hand side of the page, showing the main image, there is no use of captions to
inform the audience of the artist. This suggests that Mykki Blanco is a well established artist
who would be well known to the target audience of the magazine, due to their taste in music
genre. Mykki Blanco is a rap artist which suggests that the magazine is aimed at students at
university and young adults, who would generally listen to this genre of music. This particular
article may appeal more to men due to the Mykki Blanco’s music being of an alternative hip
hop genre. However, it would also appeal to a female audience who enjoy this genre.
On the right hand side of the double page spread, the headline is written in a black serif font,
which shows quite an alternative and simplistic theme, therefore appealing to a younger
audience. The headline says ‘New World Order’ which would again appeal to fans of his music
as they’d know this as the name for Mykki Blanko’s world tour. Underneath this, is a cover line
that leads into the article ‘From art to Rap with-’, this is shown a smaller serif font than the one
used in the headline. This shows the headline and the artists tour is the most important aspect
of the article. This cover line is then continued below in a bold capitalised font ‘MYKKI BLANKO’.
By having the artists name on a separate cover line it emphasises his name and popularity by
creating a build up. His name is also bold to make it clear to the audience that it his him in the
image on the left side of the page. The bylines of the article break the stereotypical conventions
of a music magazine. Instead of having the byline placed at the top or bottom of the page is in-
between the cover lines, almost interrupting them. This could be because the photographer
Kevin Amato is known for his magazine photography, which would appeal to the audience who
may want to find out more about him.

4. The article begins with a leading conventional drop cap to start the article, however not
all the columns of body text are the same height & width, and so the first one leaves a lot
of dead space, which looks quite unusual, making the page look empty/bare towards the
top. However, this could also be to maintain the stripped back and minimalistic theme to
the double page spread which as stated before, is shown in the main image. The start of the
article also consists of a pull quote, which is un-usual, as an artist in any magazine is
normally introduced to the audience by the writer, before sharing information from the
interview. Usually, pull quotes are embedded into the article. However, this construction
could be done to portray the magazine’s alternative approach and challenge conventions.
This would appeal to the target audience who would enjoy Clash magazines slightly more
niche and modern approach. On the far right side of the page, there is an un-conventional
placing of pagination which links to the web-link for the magazine, which theoretically
provides extra content for the audience. This would appeal to the audience who as part of a
technology savy age group would be able to access the magazine online or from their
smartphones.
The colour scheme of the double page spread maintains a simple look that is consistent
throughout with a white background and black typeface. This could’ve been done to keep
the focus on the artist and the content of the article itself. It shows that the target audience
would be interested in the article and not other unnecessary distractions.