ALBUM COVER ART ROCKS!

Led Zeppelin's House's of the Holy gatefold album cover art by Hipgnosis

                The album cover as an art form was driven out of existence, this weekend at the University of Southern Maine and through the month of November at Space Gallery you have an opportunity to see a huge assortment of album cover art!   Here's the story: 

     Recording & reproduction of sounds in the late 20th century & 21st century was a truly dynamic time in invention.  It was the phonautographic cylinders of Leon Scott in 1857 that was then improved in 1877 by the inventor Thomas Edison into the Phonograph,  this can-like cylinder with engraved wax on the outside was the cutting edge of technology and the Edison "records" as they were called had a glory period from 1888-1915.  The evolution of recording then went flat, literally with the advent of the gramaphone recording system.  This flat shelacked rubber disc would eventually triumph over the phonographic cylinders and held a predominant position as the prefered medium for recorded sound for nearly a century.  The flat records went through many of their own changes from as small as 5 inches to 7 inches, then the ever popular 10" 78 rpm eventually going to a 12 inch 33&1/3 rpm Long Playing "LP" with approximatly 15 minutes of recording per side.  For a brief period in the mid century the RCA company released a 7 inch with a larger center hole that could have multiple discs loaded into their playing machine, the explosion of this new 45 rpm disc ruled for time, only to have the LP return and dominate the blossoming music recording industry.    The recordings now called "Albums" withstood a competive run from reel to reel tape, the tape cassette & my favorite the 8-track cartridge. It wasn't until 1988 that the tables would turn.  The compact disc surpassed the gramophone record in popularity. Many believe it was the record companies themselves that pushed the industry into the compact disc.  This new formate was much more profitable than the larger vinyl records. Record companies also deleted many vinyl titles from production and distribution, further undermining the availability of the format thus accelerated the format's decline in popularity. Many view these actions as a deliberate ploy to make consumers switch to CDs.  In spite of their flaws, such as the lack of portability, records still have enthusiastic supporters and most recently have seen increases in production & sales.

What's this all have to do with Gallery Talk? 

Santana 1969 by Lee Conklin

I personally love the 12" Album covers as a unique medium for art.  The cover photographs of bands reflect the era of their production in a way no other can portray.  The psychedelic art covers from bands like King Crimson, the artwork of "Hipgnosis" (Aubrey Powell & Storm Thorgerson) think Pink Floyd's Dark Side of Moon or Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy,  or Lee Conklin's 1st album cover for Santana are a few of my favorites.  Everyone is familiar with Mouse's work for the Grateful Dead, it became the logo of a lifestyle, the Skeleton & Roses. The Cubist works of graphic designer S.Neil Fujima on the Jazz Albums Ah uM by Mingus & Dave Brubeck's Time out are unique and accent how cool jazz was at that time. These are but a few memorable covers.  The LP cover offered medium for art to promote, protest, experiment comingle the visual & the audio into on statement. For the artists it presented an opportunity for an audience of millions to see their work.  Contrast that with the CD jewel case in it's 5 inch by 5 inch format just does not possess the ability to punch like a 12 x 12 LP or better yet a 12 x 24 gate fold LP jacket. 

Time Out Cover art by S.Neil Fujima 

There are two great forums honoring this art form.  The first is a one day event happening Saturday November 2nd.  It's the WMPG record sale and benefit. There will be Thousands of LP Albums and their cover art on display for viewing and collecting.   Not advertised as an art event, this coming together of WMPG Radio, record collectors and dealers is as huge a collection of LP art as there is anywhere in the world. It's right here in Portland Saturday from 10-3pm at the USM Sullivan Gym.

The second display of LP art has got a little twist and is presented by the folks at Space Gallery.  The LP Cover art as interpreted by Camden artist Gideon Bok.  Gideon's premise is that this cover art is a "Still Life" and he treats each cover as such in a painting that celebrates the unique moment it time in which the LP jacket was created.   His "LP as still life show" was recently in NYC and I'm excited to have it come home for good view right here where art meets the worldly and has a beer, the Space Gallery.   


               Why Go to WMPG Record Sale or the Space Gallery for some "LP" ART

Go because,  your good mind needs good art! 

The Gallery Talk is made possible by the generosity of the WMPG Radio listening community.  The blog is the text version of the art rant heard every Thursday at 7am, 5 & 9:30pm on WMPG college and community radio Broadcasting from the University of Southern Maine
90.9 , 104.1 and streaming on the web at http://www.wmpg.org/