Photographer Says Kanye West Stole His KKK Photo for Album Cover
A Magnum photographer says that Kanye “Ye” West used one of his photos without permission for the cover of his upcoming 12th album.
ArtNews reports that Ye’s new album, Cuck, will feature a stolen photo captured by acclaimed photojournalist Peter van Agtmael when it releases. Ye shared earlier this month that a cropped version of the image, The wedding of two members of the KKK in a barn in rural America, will be the album cover.
The photographer tells ArtNews that he did not authorize the use of his image, and it was not properly licensed. Allegedly, neither West nor any of his representatives contacted van Agtmael. The photographer says “a legal process is underway.” However, it is unclear if the photographer is seeking monetary compensation or instead trying to prevent the use of his image altogether.
Van Agtmael captured the image as part of a 2015 series, The Modern Ku Klux Klan, for Magnum Photos. At that time, the photographer spent time in Tennessee and Maryland to document Ku Klux Klan meetings, rituals, and events, including the wedding depicted in the stolen photo.
When describing photographing the KKK, van Agtmael told Magnum Photos, “I asked those that were willing to be photographed to try and ignore the camera and not be too performative. Of course, this is impossible; people always perform for the camera no matter what you say, but at least saying it often avoids the most conspicuous kind of performance. Incidentally, I don’t mind some of the posturing. How people choose to represent themselves is at least as interesting and worthwhile as how I see them as an outsider.”
The photographer also discussed how Klan members routinely tried to bait him and incite a reaction by throwing “terrible slurs” around, but he “tended to concentrate on photographing and didn’t get drawn into too many discussions.”
It is notable that van Agtmael’s image, captured as part of a broader investigation into far-right extremism in Middle America, has been swiped by the controversial Ye, who has espoused increasingly racist views in recent years, including self-identifying as a Nazi, denying the holocaust, and praising Adolf Hitler. West has recently embraced Nazi and racist symbology, including using a swastika on a visual album cover earlier this year and co-opting the Schutzstaffel insignia for a proposed choir logo.
It is not the first time West has used a photo without permission, either, as a photographer sued West in 2023 for a similar offense. The musician also reportedly failed to pay a photographer for a $110,000 photoshoot in 2022. This is on top of alleged outbursts toward photographers.
Image credits: Original image by Peter van Agtmael for ‘Magnum Photos’
