Monday, 12 October 2015

The effect of American modernism on record sleeves

As I had said before, I wanted to argue over record sleeves and one topic that I'd like to debate is whether record sleeves were more popular and prevalent when they were more desirable. I want to argue that record sleeves are important and the intermedial link exists, but did the importance disappear as time progressed, this the format loosing it's pace and modernism becoming the modern.


Though he is not to my preference; one of the most notable modernists that worked directly to influence record sleeves was Andy Warhol. Honestly, there is little more modernist in 1956 than a Be-Bop Experimental Jazz record pressed on Blue Note, encased by a Warhol illustration.
I don't know how else I could argue this album other than I'd almost a literal definition of American Modernism in that time; with the expressive illustration with a direct intermedial link to the record.

To me, the image looks like it all flows from a single link, with varying widths and a sense of freedom and 'non-perfect'ness. That's really not a word at all, but I can't think of any other way to describe it. I could be totally wrong, but why not have a listen, I think you'll find I'm not.


I wrote before about a few modernist designers, and posted work by the three favourite designers I found and hadn't heard of before; and now their influence can be seen here.

I wrote about Otto Storch's typography and the illustrations that Willam Golden commissioned and used in his editorial designs; their work, their influence and their modernist appraoches can be seen very strongly in these other two Blue Note record sleeves.
It could be argued that the Hank Mobley feel reminiscent of Bauhaus typography, and you wouldn't be wrong as I feel American Modernism echoed and lead right off where they left, and although the Lee Morgan record is photography based; the light, crossing and varying lines give a real feel of illustration like that used by William Golden and the work of Andy Warhol. 


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