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The shadowy figures that can be seen on the covers of both Old Ideas and Popular Problems are there, most likely with a reason. Who knows what they signify or who do they portray? The main figure of the shadow seems to be the same on both covers, though the shadow the figure casts differs. The shadows themselves are a focus on both covers. Has it ever been discussed what the shadows on both covers mean and was there a consencus?

Thanks for your input.

Great question but it appears no one knows. When Old Ideas came out, I always assumed it was a photographer. Now I'm wanting to know!

Thanks for answering. I had the same thing, at first with Old Ideas i figured it was the photpgrapher. But like you said, noone seems to know. And i am really curious, because with Mr. Cohen everything has been given thought.

Hello, are you familiar with this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=82&t=35307

There has been a discussion and some guesses around the time before the album got out.
The whole thread is here:

viewtopic.php?f=82&t=35307

Thanks prtti and Dennisz, it provides some information, though i feel the real answer is still out there. The bit on Mondriaan was good. It is my feeling the shadows have not been fully explained, yet.

Tentatively : maybe the shadows had just been thrown there as a substitue to make people who are athletic run after... shadows, while Mr. Cohen & his Intact Mystery still lead in peace a life in the art - for our utmost benefit ?

Who knows? Anybody knows. Not me, anyway.
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P.S. : Warning! Not for people who do not want - under any circumstances - to get dizzy and sometimes experienced discomfort - from light to ooch! - when they are turning their conscious toward the inner self, besides a lot more pleasant discorevings.

The shadows point toward the concept of "shadow" as it is understood by Carl Gustav Jung. He (helped by a squad of other scientists) made the bridge between West and East philosophies.

Shadow is whatever lay in our subconscious. Bad, but good, also. Anything that we are not aware of consciously, and are active in our subconscious.

Shadows give some hints to the conscious using the subconscious language, which is expressing itself by metaphors and images. It is to the conscious to decipher, if the person is willing to do it. First : to be aware that there is such a process. Second to be attentive to it. Third : to understand that the langage of the inconscious is not logical and to know that some valuable knowledge comes also from non-logical.

The side of Christianity obsessed whith unsane guilt (I stress guilt, and not sin, as sin just means "error" - not judgment, not punishment - but to have to support unpleasant experiences of errors are just plane consequences that go with any error. But now sin is so associated with guilt and good luck with this now in term of psychological sanity.) Besides, there is a sane guilt which is not to be thrown with the bath's water, like in "don't throw the baby with the bath's water".

Therefore, your shadow is not "your evil twin". It is just you, parts of you that you are not fully aware of.

It is said that enlighted beings have explored every inch of their inner self, they don't have shadows anymore. They are not perfect. They are not perfect. They are not perfect. They are just perfectly conscious.

Which would help them not to make so much mistakes as others do.