ALBUM COVER HALL OF FAME’S ALBUM COVER ART AND ARTIST NEWS RECAP FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER, 2016
It’s the beginning of October, 2016, with the Fall season in full force here in Chicago – leaves changing colors, the humidity taking a back seat to crisp evening temps and, for those of us new (again) to the area, the famously-frigid Winter weather looming in front of us, with only the thoughts of a hot deep-dish pizza making the prospects tolerable. If you’re either a hearty soul or someone living in warmer climes, I hope that all you’re thinking about right now is a) “how will I survive this Election season?” (don’t forget to VOTE!) and b) “what the heck is going on in the album art/artist world these day, to which I’d like to propose that you now spend a few minutes catching up on your album cover art/artist-related news which, as you all know by now, you’ll find summarized in both my weekly and monthly recaps.
In this month’s summary, you’ll see that the people that make our favorite album imagery continue to make news with their ongoing contributions to the field of album art/packaging, contributing to the ongoing stream of articles, interviews, info on museum and gallery shows and the like on a wide range of related topics. Enjoy the read and let me know if you have any questions or comments:
1) Upcoming, recently-launched and just-closed show/exhibitions –
a) London’s Museum of Brands, Packaging & Advertising will soon (on October 4th) be launching a new exhibition that’ll be a must-see for fans of punk/do-it-yourself-because-you-can’t-f**king-trust-anyone-else product marketing, promotion and advertising. Located “just around the corner from the world-famous Portobello Road Market”, the museum will host a display which they’re calling the “Graphics Of Punk” which, using a large collection of prints, posters, underground magazines, advertisements, consumer products and, most-importantly (at least to us), album cover/record sleeve images, works to illustrate how these “radical campaigns draw a visual parallel between the political climate of the time and its punk graphics aesthetics.”
In addition to the items on display, the museum will be hosting a series of talks throughout the show’s run, including one on punk-era typography by designer/author Sarah Hyndman (titled “Never Mind The Typography”, taking place Tuesday, November 15th). Writer Sarah Dawood gives us a preview of the show in this article on the Design Week web site – https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/26-september-2-october-2016/new-graphics-punk-exhibition-will-showcase-outrage-era/ with more info on visiting the museum during the show’s run (through January 29th, 2017) available on the venue’s site at
http://www.museumofbrands.com/whats-on/exhibitions/the-graphics-of-punk-4-october-to-29-january.html
The museum is the love child of consumer products/promotion guru Robert Opie, so it will be interesting to see how he and his people inter-relate this display’s unique grouping and messaging with the thousands of other items that make up their collection.
b) I’ve reported previously on the recently-launched (September 26th) graphic design/illustration exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London called “You Say You Want A Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966-1970,” but, with the show’s kick-off now past us, I wanted to share a recent article by The Guardian’s Graphic Arts writer Liz Hoggard that provides us with some additional insights and details about a number of the designers – including many well-known album cover & gig poster artists including Martin Sharp (Disraeli Gears for Cream), Mike McInnerney (Tommy for The Who) and the team of Nigel Waymouth and Michael English of Hapshash & the Coloured Coat, among many others – whose works provided the colorful, mind-blowing and sometimes head-scratching backdrop to the art, fashion and music of the era, as well as the inspiration for the punk, new wave and other scenes that’d soon follow.
The show will run through Sunday, February26, 2017, with more information nicely presented on the Museum’s web site – http://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/you-say-you-want-a-revolution-records-and-rebels-1966-70
There will be several related activities kids young and old can participate in during the show’s run, including two “Create! Graphic Design” events in October, free talks/gallery tours and a Conference & Symposium on Friday, the 4th of November which is described as an event during which participants will “explore how the social, cultural and political dynamic changes enacted in the late 1960s continue to impact on our world today and help us think about the world tomorrow. Topics will include: counter culture to cyber culture, ideology in politics, the uses of hallucinogenic drugs and environmentalism.”
Quite a way to spend a day.
c) Prog Rock imagery fans now have something to plan for – Roger Dean, creator of many of the most-memorable album covers over the past 40+ years (including those for YES, Uriah Heep, ASIA and others) is the subject of a new exhibition that opened on October 1st at the Trading Boundaries gallery space on Sheffield Green in East Sussex, U.K. that’s titled “Pathways”. According to the gallery’s press release, ” Trading Boundaries will be exhibiting original paintings, watercolours, drawings, sketches and prints, many for the first time and many of which will be for sale, including the original painting for Rick Wakeman’s ‘The Myths & Legends of King Arthur 2016’…Paintings and artwork will be on display throughout our showrooms as well as in our permanent gallery of Roger’s work here.
The show’s opening day featured sets by the the very-popular YES tribute band SEYES and, to add some further enticement, at 7PM on Saturday, October 22nd, those with an artistic bent can attend a painting workshop lead by the talented Mr. Dean himself. Tickets for that event can be purchased in advance via this link – http://www.tradingboundaries.com/collections/tickets/products/roger-dean-painting-workshop-br-saturday-22nd-october-br with more information on this show, which runs through October 30th, available on the gallery’s web site – http://www.tradingboundaries.com/pages/roger-dean-gallery
d) Director Ron Howard’s new film about the formative touring years of The Beatles, titled The Beatles: Eight Days A Week, has been earning much praise from fans and film critics, with one San Francisco-based art gallery – the San Francisco Art Exchange, well-known for their deep and impressive album art catalog – having served as a photographic consultant to the film-makers. To showcase the Beatles imagery both in the film and in their collection, the SFAE has put up an online Beatles-related photo exhibition, with most items (as well as others you won’t find online) available for purchase as fine art prints for your home. The film focuses on the four straight years of touring the band did between August, 1962 and August, 1966 during which they both perfected their song-writing/performance skills (releasing 11 studio albums in the U.S., from Please Please Me to Revolver) and their public personas via their films (Hard Day’s Night and Help!), TV appearances and constant interaction with the press, so you can be sure to find images from photographers including Robert Whitaker, Ken Regan, Jim Marshall, Terry O’Neill and others that you’ll both know well and those that will bring back fond memories.
http://www.sfae.com/index.php?pg=400137
e) I have to admit that, for the longest time, I thought that artist Ralph Steadman had contributed the artwork for Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” when, in fact, it was produced by another talented pen-and-ink-focused artist, Gerald Scarfe (please tell me that I’m not the only one who thought this). In any case, Mr. Steadman does have a nice album cover resume, having done record packaging for musical acts including Ambrosia, Nils Lofgren and Frank Zappa, as well as spoken word albums built around the witticisms of the man who is perhaps most-associated with Steadman – “gonzo” writer Hunter S. Thompson – so it’s my pleasure to announce that there’s a new career-retrospective exhibition being staged at the gallery of the Society of Illustrators in NYC.
Titled “A Retrospective: Ralph Steadman”, the show celebrates “the work and career of iconic artist Ralph Steadman. This special exhibition will cover three floors of galleries and is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for the public to view a collection of his groundbreaking pieces spanning his 50 year career.” You’ll find examples of his work that’s been used to illustrate books, magazines, films and other forms of media, including items that have appeared in Rolling Stone Magazine, The Times of London, the New York Times and many others. The Society’s site also lists a number of related events, with details available via the link –http://www.societyillustrators.org/exhibits/retrospective
f) Fans of the late David Bowie are in for a treat now that Guido Harari has launched the latest photo show at his Wall of Sound Gallery in Alba, Italy that is built around a collection of nearly 40 photos taken of Bowie by the famed Japanese photographer Maysayoshi Sukita, best known for the photos used on the covers of Bowie’s Heroes and The Next Day records. Assembled in cooperation with ONO Arte Contemporanea – who are holding their own related exhibition this month at their gallery in Bologna featuring Sukita portraits of Bowie along with Iggy Pop and Marc Bolan (http://www.onoarte.com/current-exhibition.php) – the show, according to Mr. Harari, includes “a series of portraits taken in London in 1972, in New York in 1973 and some live photographs taken in Japan in the same year. There are also iconic images and several outtakes from the 1977 Heroes shoot, some from a trip to Kyoto, Japan, in 1980 and some more recent portraits taken between 1989 and 2002 for the promotion of the Heathen album.”
Visitors to the gallery’s promo page for this show – http://www.wallofsoundgallery.com/en/heroes–C-bowie–C-sukita-e18 – can also download a PDF brochure with more info and imagery. A master photographer teaming up with a master musician/actor/trend-setter – sounds like a great reason to visit.
g) In last month’s news summary, I had shared the details about the launch of a new exhibition (running now thru October 16th at the Manhattan Beach Art Center in Manhattan Beach, CA) titled Contemporary Post Future! The Dichotomy of Design and Art – John Van Hamersveld which features a large display of the talented designers commercial and fine art works, including a 47-panel modular black and creme-colored collage/mural JVH created. In early September, I added an update that story that included some exciting new info – on Sunday 9/11, John and Alida staged a poster sale/signing where 50% of poster sales, along with a portion of sales from the exhibit, will be donated to support the MBAC. Owners of previously-unsigned JVH prints were also able to bring their works in to be signed, with pricing for this service beginning at $40 per item and going up, depending on the item.
More information on the show can be found via this link – http://www.citymb.info/city-officials/parks-and-recreation/cultural-arts/exhibition/creative-arts-center-exhibitions#ad-image-1 and, to see more of John’s work – posters, prints, photos, murals and much more, click on over to his site at http://www.post-future.com/
h) Exhibition curator Doug Sjoquist recently put together a show featuring 50+ examples of great album art in a display that was called “The Golden Age Of Album Art” which ran through September 30th at the Keys To Creativity event gallery located in the Lansing Mall in Lansing, MI. The show was built, according to the gallery’s site, as an “exploration of the many multicultural art forms that appeared on album covers from 1967 to 1983 and greatly influenced American art and culture.” The show’s organizers enhanced the display with a lecture and music, including (on September 25th) a lecture (given by the curator and co-hosted by the Capital Area Blues Society) and concert by local blues legend Thornetta Davis that served as a fund-raiser for the Society’s Artist In Residence Program. An article in the local Citypulse Magazine served to introduce the exhibition and related events – http://lansingcitypulse.com/events/view/74121/the_golden_age_of_album_art_with_doug_sjoquist.html , with more information available on the gallery’s site at http://www.keystocreativity.net/event-gallery.html
2) Artist interviews/profile articles –
a) The Guardian’s Dave Simpson recently published an article based on a pretty simple premise – ask a grouping of album cover artists, consisting of well-known names from the field both young and old(er), “what’s the best-designed album sleeve?” – and the results, as you might figure, are both quite insightful and surprising. You’ll hear from creatives who have 30+ years of well-regarded work, including Roger Dean, Vaughan Oliver, Peter Saville and others, as well as younger artists who’ve quickly built up strong reputations in the area such as Jonathan Barnbrook, Carson Ellis, Mr. Scot Sandler and several more. As is always the case with articles published in Europe, the article also introduces us to several artists who you (and I) were probably unfamiliar with, so it’s also rewarding to learn more about “fresh talent” who are making waves in the field.
I still find it fascinating that many of the covers held in the highest regard were created in the mid-late 1970s, a period that many consider one of album cover design’s “golden ages”…
b) While I like to think that our site is well-respected for the quality of the reporting and access to info and interviews with the broadest range of talent working in the album art world, I have to admit that there are several other sites who display the same passion for the subject material as I do and who are also producing fine work for fans of album art and artists. One such person is Atlanta, GA-based writer Loring Kemp, whose blog Cover Our Tracks has posted several fine interviews with music industry-focused artists since it appeared on my radar several months ago.
Just posted this past week by another contributor to that site – Lara Kristin Herndon – is an interview with veteran illustrator Bob Pepper, a man who has made quite the name for himself in all areas of illustration, producing memorable artwork for clients in the music, book, game and advertising worlds. Beginning his career in the music industry in the early 1960s creating covers for Bill Harvey at Nonesuch and Elektra Records, Pepper went on to create one of the most-memorable covers of the psychedelic era – Love’s Forever Changes, released in 1967. While that one cover might be his best-known, he went on to create several dozen others for musical acts in the classical, electronic and world music genres, so it is a real treat to hear more from the artist regarding the arc of his career, his inspirations, what sort of music he prefers (one hint – it’s complicated) and his take on how digital formats have somewhat lessened the full-on album listening experience.
http://www.coverourtracks.com/single-post/2016/09/26/Bob-Pepper—The-Cover-Our-Tracks-Interview
Eager to see more from Loring & Co. as it is released…
c) Now, why exactly didn’t the record label want Metallica’s debut album to feature a bloody, hatchet-wielding hand coming out of a toilet and the title Metal Up Your Ass? Instead, fans got a slightly-toned-down record called Kill ‘Em All that featured an image that, to those with little imagination, could simply have been the result of a mistake by an apprentice carpenter (yeah, right). With a new Metallica record – one that will be titled Hardwired – due out in a couple of months, the editors at the TeamRock site revisited the story behind the band’s first album image with the band’s drummer Lars Ulrich, who waxes nostalgic for the time they almost got to really upset the PMRC (still can’t forgive Tipper for this) – http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-09-02/the-story-behind-metallica-s-kill-em-all-album-artwork-lars-ulrich-interview
d) Yes, friends, we’re all getting old(er) – this month celebrates the 25th anniversary of the release of Nirvana’s break-through 1991 recording Nevermind which featured many hit songs and one of the most-memorable album cover images of the rock era. The band had enlisted Austin, TX-based photographer Kirk Weddle, who specialized in underwater photography, to come up with the iconic “baby in a pool” shot and, in this recent audio interview/article by the CBC’s Candy Palmater, shares his recollections of the session, along with some out-takes featuring the band cavorting in the same pool – http://www.cbc.ca/radio/q/schedule-for-tuesday-september-20-2016-1.3770140/nevermind-at-25-kirk-weddle-on-shooting-nirvana-s-iconic-album-cover-1.3770143
I had the pleasure of working with Kirk a couple of years ago on a “Featured Artist Portfolio” article for the ACHOF web site that you might want to re-visit as well – https://albumcoverhalloffame.wordpress.com/2014/02/21/featured-album-cover-artist-portfolio-kirk-weddle/ to see a broader selection of this talented photographer’s archives.
e) Fans of Pop Culture should enjoy this recently-posted article on The Undefeated site by Martenzie Johnson about sculptor/special-effects artist Diana Walczak and her work with art director David Coleman and the late Michael Jackson on the making of the album cover sculpture/image used on his 1995 follow-up to the huge-selling Dangerous record, an album titled Michael Jackson: HISTORY – Past, Present and Future, Book 1. Jackson, quite unhappy with the way that he was treated in the press and by his business partners, was determined to work from a position of strength going forward and felt that the best way to represent his power would be via his representation in a statue that would make Roman emperors jealous. And who better to create such an imposing representation than the artist who created the fantastic costumes and props for movies and theme park attractions including Judge Dredd, the Amazing Spider Man, X-Men and even the I-thought-for-sure-it-was-Annette-Benning robed torch-bearer who introduces productions from Columbia Pictures?
Learn all about the concepts, process and whatever happened to the several-hundred-pound sculpture that served as the basis for the imposing photo found on the record, with details available via the link at http://theundefeated.com/features/cover-stories-the-album-and-cd-cover-for-michael-jacksons-1995-history-past-present-and-future-book-i/
f) Tommy Bishop book release/profile article – see item in Section 4
3) Sales/Auctions –
a) Related to the article in Section 2 about Kirk Weddle’s photos from the Nevermind session, the Austin, TX gallery that displays Weddle’s work – the Modern Rocks Gallery – is offering reduced shipping charges (as low as $1!) for both domestic and international collectors who purchase one or more of the images from this special collection. To see what’s available, click on over to the gallery’s site via this link – http://www.modernrocksgallery.com/shop-nirvana-nevermind/
b) Many of you will instantly-recognize the photos – album covers, portraits and behind-the-scenes shots – of photographer James Fortune (his 1974 shot of a semi-mutilated Iggy Pop in a performance at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go that was used on the cover of Mr. Pop’s California Bleeding LP remains one of my favorites), so I was pleased to see that Modern Rocks Gallery now also counts him as one of their artists and has added his works to their permanent collection, with signed, limited-edition prints from his archive now available for sale there.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Fortune a number of years ago about “the making of” the Iggy Pop cover – http://rockpopgallery.typepad.com/rockpop_gallery_news/2007/07/cover-story—i.html As I noted back then, “beginning as a photographer for his college paper in the late ’60s, Fortune spent more than a decade photographing rock music icons like The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Doors, Paul McCartney, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, and countless others. His catalog of over 15,000 images from the tumultuous ’60s and ’70s contains shots of everything from hippie riots in Hollywood to Gene Simmons and Cher sharing an eclair.” The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum has over 150 of Fortune’s shots in their permanent collection, so I’d invite collectors looking to add something both historic and visually exciting to their collection to check out this new offering on the Modern Rocks Gallery site at http://www.modernrocksgallery.com/james-fortune-photographer
c) The spirit of Max’s Kansas City, the NYC nightclub opened in 1965 by the late Mickey Ruskin which served as an unofficial meeting place for a veritable “who’s who” of the city’s Pop Culture icons of the time, continues to live and breathe via the efforts of Mickey’s wife Yvonne and her Max’s Kansas City Foundation. The non-profit has continued on in its efforts to support those in the arts who might need help with housing, medical services and/or legal aid via one-time grants, with friends of the organization continuing their support of the organization via a series of fund-raising auction such as the one that took place (ending September 21st) with the help of Foundation partner Paddle8. Still viewable online at https://paddle8.com/auction/maxs-kansas-city/ , the recent auction included a whole host of items donated by music and art-industry stalwarts including photographer George DuBose (who donated a wonderful shot used on the cover of TooTought To Die by the Ramones; an awesome portrait byMick Rock of singer Freddie Mercury; a print of Elliott Landy’s infrared photo of Bob Dylan taken outside his home in Woodstock; a portrait by Dezo Hoffman of the late Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones; Bob Gruen’s photo tribute to Max’s KC; Roberta Bayley stunning portrait of punk icon Richard Hell and Richard Aaron’s shot of music-makers Patti Smith and Lou Reed.
Also on offer was an Alice Cooper-signed Welcome To My Nightmare litho (with art by Drew Struzan); Ramones logo designer Arturo Vega’s art print titled “Porn Is The New Rock” and a print titled 30 Years of Punk Rock by Laurence Gartel, the digital artist who taught Andy Warhol how to use a personal computer (an Amiga, in case you were wondering). Collectors were also able to bid on (as detailed on the auction site) “Kate Pierson’s outfit from the B52’s Orgasmic Tour, the Max’s banner from the tv series “Life On Mars” signed by the cast, a dress prototype designed by Tiger Morse, the high priestess of fashion, Joe Jackson’s electric piano and sax used on several of his tours and so much more.” While you might be a bit too late to participate in the auction, you can certainly lend your support to the organization’s ongoing efforts via a secure donation on their web site – http://maxskansascity.org/
4) New Print/Book Publishing –
a) Baltimore, MD-based designer/writer Darius Wilmore is going to be releasing a new book meant to illustrate just how important “the visuals” have been to the success of artists in the rap/hip-hop world, helping those making the music better-establish their unique personas and better bond with their fans. The book, titled StereoTyped: Hip-Hop’s Unsung Graphic Design Heroes, Heroines, and the Oral and Visual Histories of the Rap Record (1979-1988), will be published next year by Full Circle Press and is the print version of Wilmore’s popular blog by the same name.
Writing for The Shadow League sports site, reporter Erica Blount Danois celebrates the recent anniversary of the first Sugar Hill Gang (“Rapper’s Delight”) record with this interview in which she talks to Wilmore about that record’s famous “candy cane” logo, his time working as part of Def Jam’s marvelous in-house design studio (Drawing Board Graphic Design), the effort it has taken him to complete his book (which I can personally attest to!) and how, without mainstream TV/radio distribution, rap and hip-hop album covers served to introduce the genre to audiences world-wide.
https://www.theshadowleague.com/story/stereo-typed-a-journey-of-hip-hop-cover-art
b) I recently had the pleasure of adding a new book to the ACHOF’s Resources section that’s due out next month and which focuses on the huge array of photographic talent who have contributed to the promotion and sales of music by our favorite acts. The soon-to-be-released new album art book -titled Total Records: Photography and the Art of the Album Cover, published by photo collective Aperture – will feature over 400 covers that were built around the photo and art directing talents of esteemed artists including David Bailey, Anton Corbijn, Robert Frank, Nan Goldin, Jean-Paul Goude, Brian Griffin, Danny Lyon, Robert Mapplethorpe, Martin Parr, Irving Penn, Cindy Sherman, Pennie Smith, Andy Warhol, Albert Watson and many, many more.
The book’s editors are certainly well-credentialed to have put together such a comprehensive tome on the subject – Antoine de Beaupré is the founder of Paris bookstore/publishing house Librarie 213/Edition 213; Sam Stourdzé, the director of the well-regarded French photography festival Les Rencontres d’Arles and art/entertainment writer Serge Vincendet. It also includes text by music journalist Jacques Denis as well as an interview with photographer and music video director Jean-Baptiste Mondino (who shot the controversial cover of a naked Prince for his Lovesexy release in 1988).
There’s a travelling art show built around the book that was recently (thru October 2nd) on display at Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center’s exhibition titled “Total Records – The Great Adventure of Album Cover Photography” – more info at http://capacenter.hu/en/kiallitasok/total-records-2/ . The show opened this past June at the Center in Budapest, Hungary and will soon be moving on to two more venues, the first being a display at the C/O Berlin Foundation (from December 3, 2016–February 5, 2017) and then on to the Kunsthal Rotterdam (February 24–June 4, 2017).
c) A popular book on album cover art has just been updated – The Greatest Album Covers Of All Time, first released in 2008 produced by music writers Barry Miles and Johnny Morgan and art director Grant Scott and published by Collins & Brown – will be re-released in early October. Same name, new and updated. According to the publishers, “with the resurgence of vinyl, album cover art is as important as ever. This visually sumptuous book brings together 275 of the greatest album covers of all time. arranged chronologically, beginning in 1956. A 50-strong panel of judges—including designers, musicians, producers, and record company executives—made the final selection, and their reasons accompany the photographs. From rock ‘n’ roll to pop, R&B to jazz, punk, blues, and even folk, the covers include both classics and less well-known works, and every one made an impact, either artistically, stylistically, or culturally. Music fans will enjoy looking back at their favorites and debating the selection.” The book’s been updated to include new album covers that have tantalized our eyes during the past eight years. Look for it at your favorite book-seller on the Pavillion/Collins & Brown imprint. 272 pages, hardcover. ISBN-13: 978-1910231982
d) Having built up a strong reputation for his slightly-strange designs for indie bands including The Unawares, Boo Hag, the Transylvania Rats and Los Perdidos, artist/illustrator Tommy Bishop, after relocating from Spartanburg, SC to my most-recent stomping grounds (Portland, OR – we must have passed each other on I-80, unless of course he took I-90), returned to South Carolina the weekend of September 17th-18th to celebrate the launch party for his new kid’s book titled The Incredibly Strange ABCs. Wanting to create something for his young daughter, Bishop has designed and illustrated a book where each letter of the alphabet is represented by a character that is, if I might say, a lot less like Dr. Seuss and a lot more like Ed Roth’s “Rat Fink” (e.g., “A” features Albert Appleworm, a creature who “absolutely adores accounting”).
Writing for The State (Columbia, SC) web site, Erin Shaw’s article serves to introduce you to the artist and this event (party and reading/book-signing on Sunday, September 18th at Tapp’s Art Center) – http://www.thestate.com/entertainment/local-events/article101736597.html with up-to-the-minute details via the event’s Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/events/176405956098437/
e) While I’ve already shared information on the new Bowie-focused show now on display at photographer Guido Harari’s Wall of Sound Gallery in Italy, I also wanted to point out that Guido himself is soon to release a new, limited-edition book of photos of one of his favorite subjects, the very talented (and photogenic) singer Kate Bush (that will be titled The Kate Inside), which got its own gallery show this past month in London at the Art Bermondsey Project Space. According to the press release I received, “the show will open on Sept. 13 until Sept. 30 and will be bigger and very different from Guido’s 2014 exhibition at Snap Galleries. It will feature over 50 images, classic and unseen, available for purchase in different sizes.” The Kate Inside limited edition book will also be available and, as part of the festivities surrounding the book’s release, on September 16th there was a special Q&A event at the gallery featuring famed actor/mime (and teacher of the craft to both Mr. Bowie and Ms. Bush) Lindsay Kemp on a panel with Guido, choreographer Stewart Avon Arnold, musician Del Palmer and others.
With over 300 photos included, the hard-bound, 240-page book will be published in two signed/numbered editions – a “Regular Edition” of 1150 copies along with 350 copies of a “Deluxe Edition”, with this special version also signed by Mr. Kemp, adding more value to any collector/fan of Ms. Bush-related imagery. You can read more and order your copy of this fascinating photo collection on Harari’s site via the link at http://www.wallofsoundgallery.com/en/the-kate-inside-by-guido_harari/the-kate-inside.php
5) Other articles of interest –
a) Space – the final frontier…who’d have thought that album art would be one of the ways that Man would choose to introduce us to civilizations “out there”? Some of you will recall the “Voyager Golden Record” package that astronomer Carl Sagan, along with a team that included writers Timothy Ferris and Ann Druyan, artists Jon Lomberg and Linda Salzman Sagan and astronomer/SETI pioneer Frank Drake (who served as the technical director), assembled in order to present “strange new civilizations” with evidence of our intelligence (this was, luckily for us, before we had recordings from this year’s elections). Now, 40 years later, a trio of enterprising (sorry) entrepreneurs, including noted album cover designer Lawrence Azerrad, have teamed with Ozma Records to embark on a Kickstarter-based project that will produce, for us mortals, a package we can own and treasure that is being called the record’s 40th Anniversary Edition.
Supporting the project at the $98 level entitles you to what’s called the “Voyager Golden Record Box Set” which includes, according to the project’s Kickstarter page, a cloth-covered box with gold foil inlay, three translucent gold, heavyweight vinyl LPs in poly-lined paper sleeves, three old-style tip-on jackets (black ink and gold foil), a hardback full-color book, a 12″ x 12″ lithograph of the Voyager Golden Record cover diagram (printed in gold metallic ink on archival paper), a full-color plastic digital download card that includes all audio from the Voyager Golden Record (MP3 or FLAC formats) and, recently added, a high-quality enamel pin of the Golden Record diagram and a custom turntable slipmat featuring NASA/JPL-Caltech’s heliocentric view of the Voyager spacecrafts’ trajectories across the solar system. Supporting the project at lower levels also entitles you to items including the pin, the download card and/or the litho, so if you’d like to learn more about the project and reserve one for yourself (I did!), click on over to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ozmarecords/voyager-golden-record-40th-anniversary-edition
The folks from the record label have also posted a recent BBC interview (on Soundcloud) with the original designer of the Golden Record – Jon Lomberg – which you can listen to via this link – https://soundcloud.com/user-482195982/interview-with-jon-lomberg?
b) It’s been weeks since we’ve seen a tribute to David Bowie’s impact on the entertainment world, but after reading this recent posting by Jacob Brookman for the British Journal of Photography’s site titled “Deconstructing The Iconography Of David Bowie”, one built around his research and discussions with people there to document the musician/actor/artist’s various transformations over the years, I thought that it’d be a good way to fire up your end-of-the-week brain cells before your weekend activities thoroughly left you in mindless states. You’ll learn more from Bowie insider Mick Rock, whose book The Rise of David Bowie, 1972-1973 serves to give us a unique view of an artist just starting up the ultimately huge curve of his influence on music, fashion, sexual identity and Pop Culture in general. They were young, influential and, quite evidently, taking large quantities of banned substances but, oh the artwork they produced…
http://www.bjp-online.com/2016/09/deconstructing-the-iconography-of-david-bowie/
c) As a lead in to a promo for the newly-released edition of one of the more-comprehensive album art books available to fans of the category (i.e., The Greatest Album Covers Of All Time, produced by music writers Barry Miles and Johnny Morgan and art director Grant Scott and discussed in detail in the previous section), The Telegraph (U.K.)’s music critic, Neil McCormick, asks and attempts to answer the question “Did Digital Kill The Album Sleeve” – reminisces about stand out work over the past 60+ years in various categories, citing examples of works he liked in each (Sgt. Peppers, The Basement Tapes by Dylan & The Band, London Calling by The Clash, etc.) but then, without providing us with a “why”, he goes on to lament that ” the golden era of album art is long gone and, despite the many benefits of digital music, something important has been lost”, completing his thought by stating that “… the finest (musicians and album art producers) feed off each other to create something that could belong in a museum as much as on a turntable. And a museum, sadly, is where album cover art is heading…”
d) During the recent New York Art Book Fair in NYC, the famed Gagosian Gallery hosted a rather unique activity (for a book fair, that is) in their display space at the Museum of Modern Art’s PS1 space – a completely-operational tattoo parlor, offering specially-commissioned designs from a slate of established artists, including one each from two figures well-known in the music world – Genesis Bayer P-Orridge, whose album cover credits include Psychic TV’s Tekno Acid Beat; City Ov Paris and Cold Blue Torch for The Origin Of The Species; Prurient’s Wrapped In The Flame Of Illusion, Masked In The Clay Of Behavior and the artist’s own recording (Spatial Memory); and Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon. Music fans may not be aware of Gordon’s background in the visual arts – a graduate of LA’s Otis College of Art & Design, Gordon worked as a art writer, gallery curator and a popular fine artist, creating multi-media works that often combined visuals and live music. Books built around her work as an artist include 2005’s a personal photo collection titled Kim Gordon Chronicles Vol. 1 and 2006’s Kim Gordon Chronicles Vol. 2which featured her drawings, collages, and paintings. Gagosian hosted a show at their gallery in London of her work in 2013 called “The Show Is Over” – a fitting title considering that her band broke up in 2011 after 30 years together… Artsy’s Casey Lesser shares the details around the tattoo event in her recent article – https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-limited-edition-art-meets-skin-at-gagosian-s-tattoo-parlor
e) Previously posted as a “quickie” news update on 9/22/16 – The designer for the record packaging for one of the recent past’s most-memorably-titled albums – Evan Christ’s 2011 release Everything Is Boring & Everyone Is A F__king Liar – spoke to attendees at the Cover Club’s September 23rd get-together at the Ace Hotel in London. Graphic artist David Rudnick (not to be confused with hardcore American punk rocker David Rudnik of Kungfu Rick and Get Rad fame) lead a discussion during which, according to the event’s promo, he discussed “his experiences creating covers for labels such as Man Make Music Phantasy and Boysnoize Records, his creative process and approach to working in the industry.”
Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/events/317714025230817/?active_tab=highlights
You can learn more about Mr. Rudnick and his work on his web site at http://davidrudnick.org/
f) When the brand name for an item (e.g., Xerox or Kleenex) or activity (Googling) becomes mainstream, marketers can pat themselves on the back for having reached the pinnacle of their professions. Such is also the case with “Sleeveface”, an activity formally introduced back in 2007 by John Rostron and Carl Morris in the U.K. where participants submit photos where one key element within the shot is built around an LP cover image. The duo went on to host a popular site and publish a book of their favorite examples of creative “sleevefacing” and, nearly 10 years later, the activity continues to attract more creative types to show us their most-imaginative work.
In a recent article by Daniel Peters for the Bandwagon site, you’ll meet a DJ from Singapore named Robin Chua (AKA “KiDG”) who has created a nice portfolio of these images and, in order to inspire others to join in, released a video guide showing how you can create your own masterpieces. Unfortunately, rights restrictions make it hard/impossible for those of us in the U.S. to see the video, but the article includes a number of photos of KiDG’s work and, of course, if my readers outside the U.S. would care to share what they see in the video with us, we can all be better-informed – https://www.bandwagon.asia/articles/sleeveface-or-bringing-your-vinyl-record-sleeves-to-life
g) After attending both the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design and the Maryland Institute College of Art in the early 1970s before dropping out to pursue his musical ambitions, David Byrne’s love of art and music remained strong (after all, he teamed up with fellow RISD student Chris Frantz and others to form the Talking Heads soon after) and he played a very hands-on role in the band’s album packaging/imagery going forward, with the band winning two Grammy Awards for “Best Album Art” (although they never won a Grammy for their music!) and collections of his own artwork later being featured in books and museum/gallery exhibitions.
Byrne has also forged relationships with other notables in the art world throughout his career, so it was with great interest that I read this recent posting by editor Abigail Cain on the Artsy.com site about Byrne’s discovery of the trend-setting works by Robert Rauschenberg and then collaborating with the artist on a very special, limited-edition pressing of the band’s 1983 record Speaking In Tongues. While the retail version of the record featured a simple-yet-pleasing design by Bryne himself, one of the limited-edition (1000 copies) versions – hand-signed by both Byrne and Rauschenberg and which sold for $100 – quickly became a must-have collectible. You can read all of the details via the link –https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-the-story-behind-robert-rauschenberg-s-iconic-talking-heads-album-cover?
A recent check on Ebay finds one of these available for only $4999.00…
h) My old friend and hip-hop founding father Rocky Bucano sent out an email on September 8th that I wanted to share with you all as I am a believer in his cause (setting up an institution – the Universal Hip Hop Museum – that will provide a proper home/platform for the preservation and sharing of the history, including an impressive and impactful one in graphic design and photography, of this truly American music genre. As Rocky puts it, “this has been an amazing year for development of the Universal Hip Hop Museum because of the support of our partners, advisors, board members, staff and supporters around the world. The Universal Hip Hop Museum has moved from a grand idea, to a viable concept, and now to a real business with an important mission that has been embraced by Hip Hop pioneers, collectors, business leaders, politicians, developers etc. ”
Rocky continues – “Yesterday, Forbes Magazine published the annual “Cash Kings” list of Hip Hop’s richest artists. A special documentary Bronx To Billions – Forbes Guide To Hip Hop History was produced by Zack Greenburg and Timothy Pierson to spotlight the role of the Bronx and its Hip Hop pioneers who were instrumental in giving birth to the world’s most popular music and culture. The documentary emphasizes the importance and reasons for the establishment of a cultural institution and repository that is dedicated to documenting, preserving and celebrating the history of Hip Hop… I invite you to watch the Forbes documentary Bronx to Billions and offer your support of the Universal Hip Hop Museum with a monetary contribution and by sharing this film with other people to make them aware of the UHHM mission.”
You can watch the film online via the link – http://youtu.be/sTzy3cjj0l4 – and be sure to subscribe to the UHHM video channel. As I’ve shared with you in previous coverage of Rocky’s efforts to establish a Hip Hop museum in the Bronx, NY within the next few years (and, in the effort, help transform the area’s economy) Also according to Rocky, “several major announcements will be made next month about new partnerships and exciting development plans for the museum,” so I’ll be sure to share them as they become available. In the meantime, you can visit his site at www.uhhm.org or follow them in the Twitterverse at @uhhmuseum
i) It’s just smart marketing, if you ask me…Home lifestyle/furnishings retailer Crate & Barrel has just announced a new collection – furniture, shelving and related items – that seem perfectly-targeted a we old-timers who once had a special “listening room” where we’d shelve, protect and enjoy our vinyl LP collections. While video-focused “home theaters” have replaced the music rooms of the past, the resurgence of the popularity among some of a more-passive listening/enjoying experience can now be accommodated via this offering called, appropriately, “The Listening Room”. Not only can you buy some comfy chairs and sturdy shelving, but you can also add to your collections by selecting one of the 75 remastered vinyl records from Capital Records (from Sinatra and Garland to Sam Smith and Katy Perry) priced from $19.95 to $24.95 and play them on/through the $379.00 Orbit Turntable/pre-amp coupled to your choice of a $249.00 pair of Audioengine speakers or a $299.00 set of Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) wireless headphones. Of course, no setting would be complete without a small grouping of nicely-framed album covers and, as you might figure, C&B offers two nice frames for your 12 x 12 works of art.
I particularly like the grouping shown on http://www.crateandbarrel.com/decorating-and-accessories/turntable-accessories/1 (Beatles, Beach Boys, Nora Jones, etc.) and the nice-looking cordial set nearby (a requirement for serious listening). See more of the collection at http://www.crateandbarrel.com/special-features/music-listening-room/1
j) Nominees were just announced for the talent to be considered in one of the six categories (architecture, digital, fashion, graphics, product and transport) featured in the 9th annual Beazley Designs of the Year awards sponsored by The Design Museum in London, UK, with one of the nominees in the graphics category being designer Jonathan Barnbrook’s iridescent cover for what turned out to be the final album released by the late David Bowie, titled Blackstar.
According to the museum’s press on the nominations, the “Beazley Designs of the Year celebrates design that promotes or delivers change, enables access, extends design practice or captures the spirit of the year.”
In a year where we’re seeing corporate sponsorship re-labeling stadiums/events in ways that some would consider “not quite right” (e.g., the new name for Sox Park in Chicago becoming “Guaranteed Rate Field”, just one degree less silly than Save-On Foods Stadium in Vancouver or KFC Yum! Center in Kentucky), of course I was curious as to who “Beazley” was. It turns out to be a large, multi-faceted insurance company who, according to their CEO Andrew Horton, chose to claim naming rights to this competition “to celebrate the role that great design plays in all our lives. At Beazley, we are committed to offering beautifully designed insurance to our clients around the world.” Whoo boy.
Read more about this year’s awards in Elizabeth Roberts’ recent posting on the MailOnline.com site – http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3767120/David-Bowie-s-final-album-cover-joins-flat-pack-refugee-shelters-drinkable-book-shortlist-year-s-Design-Awards.html and, to see and learn more about all of the nominees, click on over to the museum’s site at https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/future-exhibitions/beazley-designs-of-the-year
That’s all for now – look for updates every week (typically, on a Friday) on our news feed –https://www.facebook.com/AlbumCoverHallOfFame – we’ll be back early next month with another summary for you.
All text Copyright 2016 Mike Goldstein and AlbumCoverHallofFame.com – All Rights Reserved. All of trade names mentioned in these summaries are the properties of their respective owners and are used for reference only.
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