Former Jane’s Addiction collaborator Casey Niccoli condemns band for erasing her contribution
Filmmaker and artist Casey Niccoli has discussed her time collaborating with Jane’s Addiction, claiming that she has never received fair recognition for her work.
During the early stages of the band’s career, Niccoli helped the band in various ways, from directing music videos, photographing the outfit, promoting gigs, picking album titles, and even helping to select their band name. Niccoli also co-created two sculptures for their album covers, with Ritual de lo Habitual being her most iconic work.
At the time, Niccoli was dating the band’s lead singer, Perry Farrell, but she asserts that her relationship with him doesn’t simply negate her artistic contributions – which she no longer believes she receives adequate credit for.
In an article for HuffPost, she wrote, “I am an artist. Not the model, not the assistant, not the ex-girlfriend or the muse. I am an artist.”
After the band shared a photo of the sculpture, which she made with Farrell, Niccoli was angered by the fact they didn’t alert her of its discovery or credit her in the post.
“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 wrote.
Niccoli also added, “It was a stark reminder of the complexities of collaboration and the invisible burdens that women carry in creative partnerships with their male counterparts.” Sadly, she felt as though she was “helpless to do anything about it.”
When the pair split, Niccoli was battling an intense drug addiction. “Desperate and homeless, 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. In return, I signed away all rights to profit from the art or any future profits related to the band,” she painfully shared.
Believing that the band, who had now broken up, weren’t going to reunite, Niccoli had no idea that in the coming years, Jane’s Addiction would massively profit from her work. “As the band’s success grew, I shrank into the depths of addiction.”
She has since recovered, raised children, and continued her career as an artist. Still, she doesn’t want her contributions from a pivotal era in her life to go unspoken and uncredited. “I am committed to advocating for my rightful place in shaping and inspiring a generation of music fans with my art ― not only for myself, but for all the women who have walked in my shoes.”
Jane’s Addiction are yet to respond to Niccoli’s comments.
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