Former Jane’s Addiction collaborator claims to have been “wiped from the history of the band”.
Casey Niccoli, alongside her former romantic partner and Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell, co-created the sculpture pictured on the cover of Jane’s Addiction’s 1990 album “Ritual De Lo Habitual”. Now, in an article for HuffPost, Niccoli reflected on working with the band and reveals she feels “helpless” for no longer receiving credit for her work.
The sculpture, which had been misplaced by the band’s management for years, was recently uncovered. Jane’s Addiction bassist Eric Avery posted an image of the band rediscovering the sculpture on Instagram, with no mention of Niccoli in the post.
In her HuffPost article, Niccoli described seeing that post as “unsettling“: “This unsettling image, of a group of men peering down at my sculpted and damaged face, has served as a catalyst for reclaiming my voice and asserting my rightful place as an essential creative force behind one of the most influential rock bands of the ’80s and ’90s.”
She continued: “When the sculpture resurfaced, no one even thought to notify me, let alone include me. Despite an influx of comments on the Instagram post asking the band to credit me, I received no response from anyone involved. Sadly, this is a recurring theme in collaborations between men and women in romantic partnerships.
“Seeing that old artwork stirred something deep within me. A tidal wave of memories came rushing in, as anger swept over my body. It was a stark reminder of the complexities of collaboration and the invisible burdens that women carry in creative partnerships with their male counterparts.”
Nicolli also outlined her other contributions to Jane’s Addiction which, according to her, include: choosing the band’s name alongside Farrell, styling Farrell for gigs, directing their music videos (one of which won an MTV Video Music Award in 1991), taking early photos of the band that were used in the inner sleeve of their second album “Nothing’s Shocking”, co-creating the sculpture on the cover of “Nothing’s Shocking”, and naming “both of these Grammy-nominated, platinum-selling albums”.
“I settled for a small sum of money out of court to compensate me for work I was never paid for ― money that barely lasted a year,” she said. “In return, I signed away all rights to profit from the art or any future profits related to the band. At that time, the band had broken up, and I was told they would never reunite. But that’s not what happened.”
Nicolli continued: “My name doesn’t get mentioned much anymore in connection to my work for Jane’s Addiction. I’ve never held ownership or rights to the art from that transformative period of my life, when my creativity flourished, producing some of my most vibrant and iconic works. While it doesn’t define me today, it remains a crucial aspect of my artistic legacy.
“I’ve never held ownership or rights to the art from that transformative period of my life, when my creativity flourished, producing some of my most vibrant and iconic works.”
