If Elden is now asking for damages, then he has every right to do so. However, the real question here is a different one, one that wasn't posed 30 years ago: Are you allowed to photograph naked children and then publish these photos? No - for today we know that many among us ogle such photos in inappropriate ways.
The internet is buzzing over this question. It would seem that Elden's lawsuit is actually a way to go after money - just like on the Nevermind cover. After all, over the past years Elden has accepted payment in exchange for letting himself be photographed - clothed - in the album cover pose. Of course this raises the question of why now. Will my son one day take me to task for the photo of him where he's grinning so sweetly while sitting on the potty? Will my daughter, who can be seen as a topless 8-year-old splashing around the lake, later accuse me of letting her childish appearance be a way for my Facebook friends to get excited?Ĭhildren naturally have the right to complain, since when they're young, they can't object to being photographed, and they can't tell their parents, "I don't want you to post that photo of me!" DW's Silke Wünschīaby Spencer Elden also couldn't object. There's intense debate about if and how one should publish pictures of their children on Facebook. When 'Nevermind' was released in 1991, Nirvana and front man Kurt Cobain (c) were hardly known Image: picture alliance/Jazz Archiv Children can't defend themselves But front man Kurt Cobain supposedly was only ready to agree to this if they covered the area with a sticker that read, "If you're offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile."īut here's the crux of the matter: I would never allege that any of those involved at the time felt feelings of sexual arousal in any form when they looked at the image. Still, the record label suggested covering up the baby's genitals.
Barely anyone was bothered by the fact that the baby's penis was visible in the photo. The members of Nirvana - then a relatively unknown band - had themselves tried to pose underwater, but the photo with the baby swimming after a dollar bill convinced them all: the band, the label, the photographer.
And so, Elden's father allowed his then 4-month-old baby to be photographed in water, resulting in one of the most famous album covers in music history. But the same sensitivity wasn't there 30 years ago. No one today would ever think of putting a naked baby on show like that.
For one, child abuse has been recognized around the world as a problem that needs to be taken seriously. That's how long Spencer Elden said he put up with being associated with the naked swimming baby on the cover of Nirvana's Nevermind album.Ī lot has changed in 30 years. The cover of Nirvana's 'Nevermind' album featured Spencer Elden Image: Geffen Records
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