'A lavish celebration of the photography that fed into the record sleeve fantasies of Aubrey Powell, Storm Thorgerson and Peter Christopherson, aka rock'n'roll design house Hipgnosis' Mojo
See InsideIn just fifteen years, Hipgnosis (Storm Thorgerson, Aubrey Po Powell and Peter Christopherson) established themselves as the most important design collective in music history. Their innovative cover art defines the albums of the biggest names of the late 1960s, 70s and early 80s: AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Peter Gabriel, The Police, Genesis, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, T. Rex, Wings, Yes and XTC, to name just a few.
Their iconic designs including Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon and Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy grace a staggering number of major releases. Their boundary-breaking conceptual approach earned them five Grammy nominations for package design, and their influence today can be seen in all creative fields from advertising to fashion.
This book is divided into two main sections: Part I, 'Imagination', tells the story behind the cover artwork from germination through to the final sleeve design, supported by a wide array of archival materials and text from Aubrey Powell. Part II, 'Realization', showcases the band portraits themselves, whether album covers or otherwise, in beautiful, large-scale reproductions. Both sections are arranged alphabetically and cross-referenced throughout.
'With a wealth of recollections and work-in-progress materials, rather than ruin the magic, Hipgnosis Portraits is further affirmation of what wondrous things these works of art remain'
Record Collector
'They made dispersive prisms sexy with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, transformed Peter Gabriel into Vitruvian Man - and Mick Jagger into a goat ... Hipgnosis turned the art of the album sleeve upside down for the biggest names in rock'
Guardian
'A lavish celebration of the photography that fed into the record sleeve fantasies of Aubrey Powell, Storm Thorgerson and Peter Christopherson, aka rock ’n’ roll design house Hipgnosis … presenting unearthed snaps and the fascinating stories behind them'
Mojo
'Many of the portraits here are technically adept – and many are previously unpublished – but their real value lies in the way they provide a portal into the enchanted world of Hipgnosis’s cover art'
Creative Review
'A time capsule of an unrepeatable decade'
Esquire
Format: PLC (with jacket)
Size: 30.5 x 25.4 cm
Extent: 288 pp
Publication date: 20 October 2014
ISBN: 9780500517635