The grunge movement may be over 30 years old, but the genre's most iconic band, Nirvana, continues to accumulate legions of fans the world over. Their seminal 1991 offering, Nevermind, is one of the most influential and critically lauded albums of all time. Equally iconic to the music is the album's cover, which features a naked baby swimming towards a dollar bill. That baby was Spencer Elden, who is now infuriated by the artwork.
Elden is currently filing a lawsuit against the surviving members of Nirvana, as well as the late Kurt Cobain's widow, Courtney Love. In retrospect, Elden believes that the album cover is tantamount to child pornography. But what has Elden been doing in the 30 years between his appearance on the band's album cover and his current lawsuit? Here's a timeline of Spencer Elden's life between appearing on the Nevermind cover and suing Nirvana.
8 Elden Was Just 4-Months-Old When He Appeared On The Cover Of 'Nevermind'
The enduring popularity of Nevermind means that the record continues to generate vast sums of cash for the band's surviving members. Accordingly, one would assume that Spencer Elden's parents were handsomely rewarded for allowing their 4-month-old baby to feature on the album's cover. But this was not the case. In fact, his parents were paid just $200 for the shoot.
"I was four months old and my dad was attending art school at the time... So his friend the photographer Kirk Weddle called him and said, 'Do you want to make some money today and throw your kid in the pool?' And he agreed," Elden explained to the Guardian in 2015. My parents took me down there, apparently they blew in my face to stimulate my gag reflex, dunked me in, took some pictures, and pulled me out. And that was it. They were paid $200 and went to eat tacos afterwards. No big deal."
7 He Recreated The Cover For The Album's 10th Anniversary
In 2001, a 10-year-old Elden recreated the album's cover for its 10th anniversary. "Every five years or so, somebody’s gonna call me up and ask me about Nevermind … and I’m probably gonna get some money from it," he joked to Rolling Stone in 2003. Famous last words, perhaps...
6 He Went On To Recreate It 2 More Times, And Wanted To Be Nude
Elden wasn't wrong about being asked to recreate the cover every few years. He recreated the iconic image for the 17th and 25th anniversaries. For the latter shoot, Elden wanted to be nude, but the photographer decided against it. "I said to the photographer, 'Let’s do it naked.' But he thought that would be weird, so I wore my swim shorts," Elden explained to the New York Post at the time.
5 He Worked With Street Artist Shepard Fairey
In 2008, Elden was lucky enough to work with famous street artist Shepard Fairey. On Fairey's official site, the artist wrote, "So we have a new intern, Spencer Elden who is the baby from the cover of Nirvana’s "Nevermind". Spencer is 17 now and it tuns out that he is not only a fan of Obey, but a good artist as well. He has been helping out cutting stencils and working on tee shirt ideas. I think Spencer has a bright future and if he keeps working, the next time he re-creates the “Nevermind” cover they’ll have to lure him with at least a $20 bill."
4 He Attended ArtCenter College Of Design
Following on from his stint as a child model, Elden attended the ArtCenter College Of Design, which is a private arts college in Pasadena, California. Fees for the school are pretty hefty; undergraduate tuition per term is $22,888 according to the institution's official site.
We can't help but wonder if Elden has indeed made cash from his work with Nirvana to be able to afford these fees, though it's also likely that his aforementioned work with Shepard Fairey may have helped him pay for his tuition.
3 In 2015, He Said That Being Part Of The Shoot Opened Doors For Him
As Elden explained in his 2015 profile in the Guardian, the Nirvana shoot proved highly beneficial to his future career prospects. "It is a weird thing to get my head around, being part of such a culturally iconic image. But it’s always been a positive thing and opened doors for me," he explained.
He also added that his fame helped him pick up girls: "It helps with girls, too. Sometimes girls chat me up about it more than the other way around. I don’t tell them it’s me, and my friends boast about it more than I do. I would never go up to anyone wearing a Nirvana T-shirt and say, 'Hey, that’s me.'"
2 As An Artist, He Was Angry With Nirvana For Bailing On His Art Show
Elden is now an established artist and he thought he could rely on the surviving members of Nirvana to help promote his artwork. But this was not the case. As he told GQ Australia in 2016, "I was reaching out to Nirvana to see if they wanted to be part of my art show. I was getting referred to their managers and their lawyers. Why am I still on their cover if I’m not that big of a deal?"
He went on to say, "I was trying to do an art show with the photographer who took the picture. I was asking if they wanted to put a piece of art in the f***ing thing." Clearly, this was just the beginning of Elden's burgeoning animosity towards the band.
1 In 2016, He Was Interviewed By Time Magazine And Spoke Negatively Of The 'Nevermind' Experience
By 2016, it became clear that Elden's attitude towards being part of the Nevermind shoot had darkened, as he became disillusioned with the whole experience.
"It's hard not to get upset when you hear how much money was involved. [When] I go to a baseball game and think about it: 'Man, everybody at this baseball game has probably seen my little baby penis,' I feel like I got part of my human rights revoked," he told Time Magazine. Elden's increasing anger and frustrations help shed some light as to why he is seeking legal action against Nirvana after 30 years.