30 years since Cobain’s death, Constance Hansen and Russell Peacock recall their infamous Spin photoshoot, which is the subject of a new book – check out pics below
To mark the 30th anniversary of Kurt Cobain‘s death, photography duo Guzman (aka husband and wife Constance Hansen and Russell Peacock) have spoken to NME about their new book of unseen images of the late Nirvana icon.
The book Family Values takes its name from an infamous Spin magazine cover with Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love and their then-five-week-old daughter Frances Bean. Published in December 1992, it was been dubbed the ‘family values’ shoot because Kurt scrawled the phrase on Courtney’s belly.
The words had dual meaning. On one level, it was a reference to the Republican Party’s ‘family values’ drive to champion the so-called traditional family. On another, it was a response to a Vanity Fair article that had painted Cobain and Love’s drug use in such a bad light that Frances was briefly removed from their custody (they refuted the article’s depiction of them).
Of almost 100 images Guzman captured that day, only five were published in Spin. In 2021, though, they revisited the snaps for an exhibition and are now publishing the full set in a new book, Family Values: Kurt, Courtney & Frances Bean. To mark the 30th anniversary (April 5) of Kurt’s tragic death, the photographers recall meeting “a really beautiful family”.
