Issue Six Editorial: Collage & The Album Cover

Lysbilde by Tom Moglu

“Collage & the Album Cover” by Benoit Depelteau

Throughout the last 50 years, album covers have been, perhaps with magazine covers, one of the most efficient ways for artists, to massively enter people’s homes. Sold by the thousands, sometimes millions of copies, few other supports have allowed such visibility and, in some cases, a stellar entry into popular culture.

Of course, one could argue, accurately, that it remains a commission, with the sole purpose of promoting a band, but still, album art has helped certain artists to develop a fruitful career. However, some cover images have contributed to the sale of phenomenal numbers of records, but often completely overshadowed their creator.

But visual artists, like their music-industry counterparts, have experienced many changes over the years, changes which considerably accelerated during the last decade.

From the warmth of the LP, and the numerous possibilities given by its size, to the imminent disappearance of the actual object, replaced by digital files, thousands of which can fit in our pocket, the artist’s work has equally evolved.

In the whole mutation process, it seems that collage has, recurrently, held a significant place. More compelling in certain times or trends, it’s true, but still a constant presence in key periods. Its momentariness and ability to cite or represent the world around us might explain, at least in part, why collage has often been used on the covers of milestone records.

Collage might also be seen, somehow, as the continuity of the style and techniques used to create album covers at the time, when graphic work was still made by cutting and arranging acetates on a simple background. The artists’ familiarity and understanding of the process might have proved helpful to experiment and expand the visual language, being able to achieve the much sought-after impact and novelty.

In this issue, here and there, we have asked some artists, to share their thoughts about collage in the process of making record album art and how they perceive the evolution of the medium.

PURCHASE ISSUE SIX | SUBSCRIBE | FACEBOOK

Image:
Lysbilde
by Tom Moglu
7″x7″
collage on card
2011