Frank Ocean shares photo series “Glitterboy Down (Best Day Ever)” in his zine

Image of a man laying face down on a yellow tent tarp, wearing blue pants. Possibly the name sake of GBD, Glitter Boy Down Best Day Ever.

“Glitterboy Down (Best Day Ever),” Boys Don’t Cry, pp. 44–45.

In his new magazine, Boys Don’t Cry, Frank Ocean published a photographic series titled “Glitterboy Down (Best Day Ever)” featuring shots of his friends camping outside of Munich, Germany, in 2015. Notably, the piece samples a text by American neo-conceptual artist Jenny Holzer titled Truisms, an evolving list of aphorisms originally published in various forms between 1977 and 1987. Ocean appeared in his music video for “Nikes” (which debuted alongside Boys Don’t Cry) wearing a T-shirt featuring the same maxims. Additionally, the series includes a photo of Ocean’s friend smoking in a car, which he used on one of his three digital album covers for the Blonde CD contained within the zine.

Magazine scans, related artwork, and a transcript of Holzer’s text are all available below. The photoshoot’s apparel and accessories, as noted by fashion director Rita Zebdi, are listed in the image descriptions, which are visible when selecting a photo in the gallery.

Scans:

Select a photo below to view it fullscreen.

Behind the Scenes:

Outtake (pp. 40–41)

Related Artwork & Photography:

Blonde, alternate album artwork.

Blonde, Apple Music Twitter promo.

Blonde, Apple Music/iTunes promo banner.

Blonde, Apple Music/iTunes promo banner.

Blonde, Apple Music/iTunes promo banner.

“Nikes” music video, feat. T-shirt with Jenny Holzer’s “Truisms.”

Transcript:

“Truisms” by Jenny Holzer

ABUSE OF POWER COMES AS NO SURPRISE

ACTION CAUSES MORE TROUBLE THAN THOUGHT

ALL THINGS ARE DELICATELY INTERCONNECTED

AN ELITE IS INEVITABLE

ANY SURPLUS IS IMMORAL

AWFUL PUNISHMENT AWAITS REALLY BAD PEOPLE

BEING HAPPY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYTHING ELSE

BOREDOM MAKES YOU DO CRAZY THINGS

CHANGE IS VALUABLE WHEN THE OPPRESSED BECOME TYRANTS

CHILDREN ARE THE CRUELEST OF ALL

CHILDREN ARE THE HOPE OF THE FUTURE

CONFUSING YOURSELF IS A WAY TO STAY HONEST

IF YOU LIVE SIMPLY THERE IS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT

INHERITANCE MUST BE ABOLISHED

IT IS MAN’S FATE TO OUTSMART HIMSELF

IT’S BETTER TO BE NAIVE THAN JADED

IT’S CRUCIAL TO HAVE AN ACTIVE FANTASY LIFE

JUST BELIEVING SOMETHING CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN

LACK OF CHARISMA CAN BE FATAL

MONEY CREATES TASTE

MOTHERS SHOULDN’T MAKE TOO MANY SACRIFICES

MURDER HAS ITS SEXUAL SIDE

NOTHING UPSETS THE BALANCE OF GOOD AND EVIL

PEOPLE ARE BORING UNLESS THEY ARE EXTREMISTS

PEOPLE WHO GO CRAZY ARE TOO SENSITIVE

PRIVATE PROPERTY CREATED CRIME

PUSH YOURSELF TO THE LIMIT AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE

RAISE BOYS AND GIRLS THE SAME WAY

RANDOM MATING IS GOOD FOR DEBUNKING SEX MYTHS

ROMANTIC LOVE WAS INVENTED TO MANIPULATE WOMEN

SACRIFICING YOURSELF FOR A BAD CAUSE IS NOT A MORAL ACT

SALVATION CAN’T BE BOUGHT AND SOLD

SELFISHNESS IS THE MOST BASIC MOTIVATION

SELFLESSNESS IS THE HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT

SLIPPING INTO MADNESS IS GOOD FOR THE SAKE OF COMPARISON

SLOPPY THINKING GETS WORSE OVER TIME

SOMETIMES SCIENCE ADVANCES FASTER THAN IT SHOULD

THE MORE YOU KNOW THE BETTER OFF YOU ARE

THE WORLD OPERATES ACCORDING TO DISCOVERABLE LAWS

THERE ARE TOO FEW IMMUTABLE TRUTHS TODAY

THERE’S NOTHING EXCEPT WHAT YOU SENSE

TIMIDITY IS LAUGHABLE

TORTURE IS BARBARIC

TRUE FREEDOM IS FRIGHTFUL

USING FORCE TO STOP FORCE IS ABSURD

WISHING THINGS AWAY IS NOT EFFECTIVE

YOU ARE GUILELESS IN YOUR DREAMS

YOU ARE THE PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE

YOU OWE THE WORLD NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND

YOUR ACTIONS ARE POINTLESS IF NO ONE NOTICES

© 2015 Jenny Holzer, member Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

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articles, photosOdysseusMunich, GermanyBoys Don't Cry, magazines, Boys Don't Cry magazine articles, poems, Jenny Holzer, Rita Zebdi, "Nikes", "Truisms", Blonde, Odysseus