posted 1/14/22 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame
a) The long-promised first “episode” of the tour through the “Art On My Sleeves” exhibition is now up and available for viewing at your leisure. The focus of this article is on the covers featured in the section titled “All Nerve”, which shows a good number of examples of great graphic design produced over the past 50+ years and includes works by both very well-known designers/studios (George Hardie, Hipgnosis, Barney Bubbles, Vaughan Oliver and Chris Bigg of v23, etc) and some perhaps lesser-known talents whose work nonetheless is memorable and eye-catching. There’s a lot to see and learn, so why not just click on over to https://albumcoverhalloffame.wordpress.com/2022/01/14/achof-presents-the-art-on-my-sleeves-series-episode-1-all-nerve-album-cover-graphic-design/ to begin your journey?
b) Andrew Dineley, the noted designer and music writer (his columns are regularly found in the pages of Classic Pop Magazine), has spent the last year working on a series of podcasts that are a must-listen for fans of album cover imagery. Called Art of the Sleeve, Andrew has produced over two dozen episodes featuring interviews and discussions with a number of leading album art-and-image makers including Uncut Magazine’s Marc Jones, Chris Bigg, Marc Bessant, Brian Cannon, Brian Griffin, Laurence Stevens and many others. You can start your tour through Andrew’s catalog of great interviews via these links – https://open.spotify.com/show/3HXfux9Vx7cYuCJkcgifj2?si=1iDLfQEeTi-B7bNgqmW6Ww&nd=1 or https://softoctopus.co.uk/podcast/
You can subscribe to the series, and I’ll be sure to let you know whenever there’s anything new added.
c) While COVID has postponed the annual Grammy Awards event originally scheduled for later this month, the fund-raising efforts for the organization’s charitable arm – MusiCares – continues unabated, with their annual auction (hosted by the Julien’s auction house) now up and running at https://www.julienslive.com/auctions/catalog/id/383 . Music-related art fans will find several interesting items to consider, including signed, limited edition prints of art by KISS bassist Gene Simmons and songstress (and recent Kennedy Center inductee) Joni Mitchell. One item that caught my eye was Lot 21, which features a collection of over 40 singles by Depeche Mode paired with a book by noted photographer Anton Corbijn. This lot has an estimated auction value of $500 – $700, with an opening bid of just $100. In any case, I do hope that you’ll take a look and support this organization’s educational and social programs.
That’s all for now – see you in a couple of weeks with my monthly news summary. Mike G
Album Cover Hall of Fame.com 