Mock up of an album cover - self portrait Hand Painted with oils

I’m sure I’m not having an isolated experience when im flicking through the record section at the op shop, predicting what will be in the pile. Barbara Streisand, Kamahl, Nana Mouskouri, Marcia Hines. The forgotten, unwanted records of our dead grandparents. There should be a record store called ‘Deseased Estate Records’ reserved for these historical artefacts. However, among the monotony of the classic pop one hit wonders & big brass bands, I am in awe. Not musically in awe, because I honestly had to stop myself from continuously buying obscure funk tunes that eventually piled up in a dusty corner, (this would become my only inheritance), instead I was in awe with the visuals of the record covers. I’d come across French beauties in knee length heels, beautifully lit, their outfits matching the backdrops. I’d picture them dancing the GOGO while singing the YEYE, & I’m transported to the set of a Godard film. There was one French beauty I really couldn’t leave behind. “Marie Laforet’s - The Best of“. She lays there in her oversized white shirt, smoking, looking directly into the camera. Very French chic. To this day I still place her at the front of my record collection, and every now and then we lock eyes & we sing “ye ye, inhale, puff, exhale, je t’aime je t’aime”.

This brings us to the forgotten art of album cover design. Whether that is a photograph or an illustration or a graphic manipulation, much like judging a book by its cover we are judging songs by their covers. I’v been deep diving into the artists behind my favourite album covers. This is how I came across Terry Pastor, a spray paint artist who happened upon making album covers for David Bowie. He did the cover art for the Ziggy Stardust album, as well as Hunky Dory. Terry’s technique is done using the traditional airbrushing technique. He collaborates with photographers by airbrushing their photos, giving them a more nuanced, pop art aesthetic. London’s Heddon street is alive with the young creative city slickers.

David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust Album designed by Terry Pastor

Another album cover that caught my eye was Willie Nelson’s ‘Always on my mind’. The cover photograph was taken by photographer Beverly Parker & then retouched by graphic designer & painter Brian Hagiwara. After a lot of research, I couldn’t pinpoint exactly how Hagiwara manipulated the photo, but if I was to guess, based on the style of the time, & what other artists were doing I’d say it was airbrushed or hand painted.

Willie Nelson’s ‘Always on my mind’ Photographed by Berverly Parker & designed by Brian Hagiwara

Another cover artist who did works for Black Sabbath, David bowie, Vertigo Records, War horse & Rod Stewart was Keith Macmillan, or ‘Keef’. He was a photographer & Designer who used infrared film to create a ‘false color’ look which gave the image a psychedelic feel to it. This was prominent at the time. My personal favourite of his works is Black Sabbath’s 1970 self titled album. The cover pictures a woman in the woods, standing in front of a house on a lake. It looks like it came straight out of 1972’s ‘The last house on the left’. The picture echoes the poem on the back cover of the album “By the lake a young girl waits, unseeing she believes herself unseen, she smiles, faintly at the distant tolling bell, and the still falling rain”. For the cover, Keef used Kodak infrared aerochrome film, giving the image its pink hue. This film unfortunately is no longer produced & color infrared is really hard to come by. This makes it truly special, encapsulating the time exactly - psychedelic, colourful, fleeting, tactile, the start of the decade of free love & satanic love.

Black Sabbath’s 1970 self titled album - photography by ‘Keef’

I’d say at this point in time my photography is influenced by these alternative methods. I’v been experimenting with using oil paints on black and white photographs. A technique that was used in 1900s, before color photography was invented. I am interested in the the historical evolution from the simple method using oils to the saturation of airbrush on photos, or the use of alternative film types, papers and developing techniques which polluted album designs throughout the 20th century. I have a love for tactile art, and being a photographer, it’s easy to get caught up in the digital age, which is why it’s so important to me to keep the tradition of old school methods.

Below is a list of my favourite album covers, to name a few:

☆ Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass- Whipped Cream and Other Delights (1965)