The Art of Imitation – How Fine Artists Have Drawn Inspiration From Album Covers

The Art of Imitation — How Fine Artists Have Drawn Inspiration From Album Covers, Part 1 of 2

By Mike Goldstein and Richard Forrest

INTRODUCTION (By Mike Goldstein)

With all of the discussions taking place regarding the advent and rapid rise of AI-generated words, music and art, it reminded me that, over the past 20-25 years, there have been similar discussions about the tools that have been created during that time to enable artists of varying degrees of capability to both express themselves in ways that they might not have been able to (or, perhaps, thought of) and explore their ideas in a more highly-productive fashion. For example, several artists I know who were originally trained to draw with pen and ink (and who, at first, were hesitant to use these new tools for fear of having their artistry questioned) have told me that computer-based hardware (pens, tablets, 3-D printers, etc.) and software (Photoshop, Illustrator, Maya, Blender and many others) have added many degrees of capability and efficiency to their day-to-day work. Draw an outline, stretch it, color it in, review, erase, substitute another color, etc., all without putting a pen to paper! Even those who consider themselves “purists” have, over time and given access to some of these newfangled tools, admitted that even when they’re committed to producing finished products using traditional methods, they find themselves doing some/all of their “ideation” prior to actually doing the work.

ACHOF Resources – Box Sets and Special/Limited-Edition Packages – An Overview

Posted February 4, 2022 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

This is the first part of a multi-part series on a part of the music-making-and-selling business that’s enjoyed a resurgence over the past several years and, at least from my point of view, is one of the best ways to see the full extent of both the creativity and marketing savvy of the people tasked with producing these products – those being what the Recording Academy has labeled “Boxed or Special or Limited-Edition Packages” (AKA “Box sets”, “enhanced packages”, “Record Store Day special releases”, “Fan Collections”, etc.).

In this initial posting, I’ll provide you with an overview of the topic, give you a little history (including some personal takes on the subject) and perhaps better-define the breadth and depth of the offerings that have come to market since the early days of the rock/pop music business. Later, I’ll describe what each of the participant’s roles are in creating these packages and then spice that section up with a number of quotes and anecdotes I’ve collected from some of the most-prolific (and awarded) players in that game.

Now sit back and relax while we begin our journey through the exciting world of “special products”…

Featured Album Cover Fan Collection – Gary Freiberg, Rock Art Picture Show

Featured Album Cover Fan Collection – Gary Freiberg, Rock Art Picture Show

 

 

 

 

 

Interviewed by Mike Goldstein, Curator, Album Cover Hall of Fame

May 2, 2014

This album cover fan collection is going to be a bit different than most of the articles in this series, mainly due to the fact that the featured participant, Gary J. Freiberg, has a unique history in the field. Gary wears a number of different record cover-related hats – he’s a vinyl preservationist, an organizer of vinyl record-related events (including Vinyl Record Day, celebrated each August 12 and now in its 13th year) and the co-inventor of the very popular Rock Art Picture Show Record Album Frame. I met Gary when I had my gallery and, based on his encyclopedic knowledge of all things album cover, I knew that he’d be an important addition to the Voting Panel of the ACHOF, which he’s been a part of since our inception in 2012.

The mission statement of the Vinyl Record Day organization – a non-profit, 501(C)3 established in 2002 – focuses on three important aspects related to the appreciation of recorded music: 1) Establishing a day, nationally-recognized, for music fans of all types to enjoy their favorite music; 2) maintaining the value, presence and growth of the vinyl record medium and 3) “Preservation of the cultural influences, the recordings and the cover art of vinyl records” and the people who produce them. With that in mind, when I asked Gary to give us a glimpse into his own collection, he suggested that, since preservation was an important aspect of his work and passion for music, it might make more sense for him to highlight some of the actual album covers (vs. art prints) he’s collected and appreciated that were created by “the father of Album Cover Art” – Alex Steinweiss. As he put it, he’s a student of the evolution of the art form, starting with Steinweiss and his covers for Columbia Records in the late 1930s (and his invention of cardboard sleeve-based packaging in 1948), and so he thought that it was important to focus our attention of the talents of the person most-credited with adding an entire new visual dimension to the promotion of recorded music. How can I argue with a premise like that?