Context research
- 1. Contextual Research Final Major Project
- 2. Mark Tappin and Simon Gofton are two graphic designers who work together as a designing duo. Their portfolio includes artwork for bands such as Coldplay, The Feeling and The Rumble Strips. Established in 1997 they have remained successful through producing work for highly acclaimed clients. In a Vice interview they stated that they believe that their success comes from a deep understanding of the client and the product. This is exhibited with their work for Wild Beasts’ ‘Present Tense’ album. Capturing every song in the album with a specific image, they split the cover into 16 segments and fit every single one in a wheel shape. The full images can be seen throughout the inside of the cover. Their methods of design include taking images from libraries, other photographers or original illustrations. Out of seven Coldplay albums, Tappin Gofton have created the artwork for four, not including Mark Tappin’s solo work on the debut. The most iconic piece created in that time period is the artwork for Viva la Vida and Death and All His Friends which uses an existing painting. Liberty Leading the People was originally painted by French artist Eugène Delacroix in 1830. It depicts the July Revolution of that year, with Liberty holding the tricolour flag. The painting is now a symbol of revolution, which is why it was chosen by the designers as to match the theme of the song. According to Wikipedia, the album cover took months to complete and it was eventually formed from designs of expressive typography. Previous versions showed the title of the album over old maps and newspaper clippings, it is safe to assume that these would have conveyed a similar message. Once Delacroix’s painting was selected, ‘Viva la Vida’ was displayed over it digitally. For the Prospekt’s March EP another of the artists’ work was chosen: this time The Battle of Poitiers. During the tour of the album and the music videos, the band would wear clothing inspired by the artwork, including arm bands, often used as a symbol of recognition between (revolutionary) group members. For Mylo Xyloto, Tappin Gofton and the band were inspired by graffiti, specifically American wall art from the 1970s. This matched the similar theme of resistance but primarily contrasted against VLV’s ‘subdued’ colour palette. Bright, psychedelic colours were chosen. The colour scheme also matched the new direction that was taken with the album as it emphasised synthesized noises and sounds. There are two covers of the album, one features an original font made specifically for the album upon a graphited brick wall. The other uses the same wall but encloses it with a die-cut steel sheet, letting the colour come through. This is symbolic of the album’s theme, a story of a dystopian future ruled by a dictator with an agenda of removing all music and colour. It shows that underneath the blank, grey surface there is colour trying to come through, much to the dislike of the ruler. This takes a similar theme to VLV in this sense, which has a strong theme of rebellion. TAPPIN GOFTON Present Tense album cover designed by Tappin Gofton for the band Wild Beasts. The radial segments design is seen clearly and each image represents one of the main themes of the album. An interpretation of Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People, painted on a wall in Bethlehem.
- 3. John Squire is a musician and artist, most famous for his work in the band, the Stone Roses. Inspired from a young age, Squire created a Jackson Pollock piece for the band’s debut album. The work references the May 1968 riots in Paris and shares the name with a song in the album, Bye Bye Badman. John states that the background represents the Giant’s Causeway located in Norther Ireland where a history is shared with the band. The lemons reference the make-shift antidote of tear gas that was used against the protestors during the rioting. John Squire stated how he liked the passion of a moment in a related documentary depicting a rioter throwing a stone at the authorities. Pollock’s iconic style through action painting means that the physicality of painting is shown which is why Squire is able to capture it so well. The meaning of the art is very similar to Liberty Leading the People; the lemons are the symbol of rebellion the same way that Liberty is. It also shows the difference in power between the opposing sides, one using crude methods to combat the refined means of subduing of the other. John’s other work includes pieces such as All I Really Want which is a face mask of his partner. I especially like the meaning behind the piece as it captures a particular memory of the artist, rather than a message. It is very literal and means a lot to him which is his main reason for painting. In an interview with Aesthetica Magazine it was concluded that ‘much of the innovation in John’s work comes through his curiosity and willingness to experiment.’ Squire also uses his artwork for his solo work. His album, Time Changes Everything, features one of his pieces. An animal that he bleached and painted was used in a literal way to convey his feeling towards his past relationship with the Stone Roses. The action painting across the skull is a reference to Bye Bye Badman and his work for the Roses’ albums. He told the Guardian, “I wanted to make that connection with the Stone Roses – celebrate and bury them at the same time.” JOHN SQUIRE All I Really Want features a face mask of his partner, Sophie. The characters around it relate to the memory that the art encapsulates.
- 4. Born in Buenos Aires, Pilar Zeta is an artist, graphic designer and fashion designer. She moved to Miami at the age of 19 and began to produce album artwork for local EDM music producers. Since then she has used her ’random’ interests in Ancient Egypt, geometry, UFOs and psychedelia to create artwork for Sebo K, Jimmy Edgar and Coldplay. She notes one of her inspirations as Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis, the graphic design group behind Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of The Moon. Partnering with Jimmy Edgar, she created the cover for his single, Mercurio. In an interview with Inverted Audio, Zeta stated that her and Edgar use a recipe of ‘fun, fashion, mystic and magic’ to create all their work. The piece is in the traditional surrealist style and Zeta's inspirations can be seen clearly. The pillars, plinth and hieroglyphic-looking symbols are all taken from her love of Ancient Egypt and also invoke the mystic 'ingredient.' The fun is shown through the spectrum of psychedelic colours, and is also a nod to her interest in geometry. The mirror-like object in the centre are the magic and mystic, often a on object of both. The gold chain represents fashion. Her surrealist style can be seen across her work, such as in her work for A Head Full of Dreams, which employs a similar colour pattern. This album has a colourful theme and uses both the Flower of Life symbol and the colour spectrum for its artwork. Her interests can be seen throughout her work in almost every piece that she produces. This is partly because her clients allow her so much freedom in what she produces due to her talent, but primarily because this is the core of her work. It appears that her artwork is so talented because she has a passion for what she creates, which I must take into account during production. It would appear that Pilar is also a very confident artist. In an interview with Resident Advisor she said, ”I always send the first thing that I do. I don’t really do variations of things,” which is greatly different from artists such as Tappin Gofton, who spend months on a single project. Zeta says she spends two weeks thinking on a project before she sits down to produce it. In addition to this Zeta does not use a single medium to create her work. A mixture of scanned drawings, Photoshop and Cinema 4D work, which shows that a broader range of tools can be used to produce artwork. PILAR ZETA ‘Fun, fashion, mystic, magic’ all shown in the artwork for Mercurio. The Flower of Life symbol for A Head Full of Dreams, shown in the album’s colourful palette.
- 5. Hipgnosis, made up of Aubrey Powell and Storm Thorgerson, began in 1968 when they made an album cover for their school friends in the band, Pink Floyd. They went on to design the famous Dark Side of the Moon cover which launched their career. Inspired by the Beatle’s Sgt Pepper they saw an opportunity to create artwork that hadn’t been seen before. They brought revolutionary change to the album cover scene, no longer were they images of the band but surreal pieces of art or abstract photographs. With the cover of Elegy by The Nice came opportunity. They inflated 40 footballs and lined them in the Sahara Desert. According to Rolling Stone magazine, it represented everything that the band wanted. They chose not to photograph the band members and their risk paid off. They created an album cover that was entirely different to the norm. For DSOTM they chose an image from a physics textbook, something that was not before thought of as artistic. This referenced Floyd's light shows. Similarly, the classic 40s style in cinema of splitting the screen to show two people conversing over the phone has been transformed into art. 10cc's How Dare You is one of my favourite pieces by Hipgnosis; it is so colourful and interesting to look at. In the single frame there is so much going on with so much of a story to tell. Visually, it is packed with information and the eyes cannot take it in fast enough: the unknown people climbing out of the car, the way in which the painting's frame matches with the window. The old styling of the clothes and furniture also add to this as they differ wildly from contemporary designs. This is one of the best album artworks I have seen. For its technical qualities I also enjoy Peter Gabriel by Peter Gabriel. The artwork for this is a photo of the singer but with heavy distortions to the face and background, as though it has melted. The distortions were created during the curing process of the ink of a Polaroid. The ink was smudged and smeared around on hundreds of photos that were taken, creating disfigured portraits of Gabriel. The artwork comes from experimenting with things that are usually not experimented with which is why I like the work so much. It shows Hipgnosis have a an unmatched capacity for creativity. I believe the success of Hipgnosis’ work comes from the relationship between Powell and Thorgerson. In Rolling Stone magazine, Powell recalls many times where his partner interjected with a creative decision which always resulted in positive audience appeal. In the famous cover depicting a man on fire, the corner of the image is singed slightly, Powell could not care for this but Storm demanded it to be added, and is a detail which has been received positively. HIPGNOSIS
- 6. A Norwegian photographer and filmmaker, Sølve Sundsbø is not responsible for album artwork, bar one piece. Dazed and Confused… SØLVE SUNDSBØ