Cosmic, angry, soulful, spiritual, political – twelve great soul music album covers As a music lover and into the visual arts, record sleeves have always been something I've taken a lot of interest in. I love classic soul music, and what I like about the way these are packaged, is that in a huge variety
The Danish designer Verner Panton (1926–1998) was responsible for some of the most innovative interior and furniture design of the last century. Striking organic forms, often produced in highly glossy materials and with bold, vibrant colours had a futuristically psychedelic feel. The one-piece molded Panton chair, designed in 1960 became an instant design classic and
Part three in an occasional series on film visual style in the movies I love. As far as 'ten greatest ever' – well, the ones that were on my mind when I was putting this together. The link throughout is an appreciation of production design, cinematography, or any other defining visual characteristic – it’s purely
1980s fashion illustrator Tony Viramontes Bold, beautiful and Damned, is a stunning book by Dean Rhys Morgan – a retrospective of the career of iconic fashion illustrator Tony Viramontes. To anyone with even a passing interest in fashion, Viramontes' work will be instantly recognisable. His sinewy, sexy drawings were the output of someone
More of an outdoor flavour to this post, in contrast to Part 1 which featured a lot of artificially lit interiors. There’s no particular theme, although with a Road movie and two Westerns, there are three examples of non-US directors tackling some classic American movie staples, plus three mythic characters who have had multiple films
Syd Mead designed the world I want to live in – a beautiful retro-futuristic mash up of Mid 20th Century Modern and Jetsons-style sci-fi. He is one of those talents that come only once or twice in a generation. The best of his images blend a 60′s creative optimism, with his industrial designer’s understanding of
Back in early December, the Tate Gallery’s website crashed due to huge demand placed on it by music fans trying to get tickets to the Kraftwerk shows to be held in the Turbine Hall – 8 shows on consecutive nights, each focusing on a different album from their history. With only 700-odd people allowed in
Dan Flavin's neon art Light Show, the exhibition about to open at the Hayward Gallery on the South Bank, reminded me of another exhibit there from 2006, a retrospective of the work of neon artist Dan Flavin. Flavin was a New Yorker, born in 1933, who moved from Abstract Expressionist drawings & paintings,
Gil Scott-Heron I’ve long been a fan of the late Gil Scott-Heron, and on my last birthday was lucky to receive this book from my friend Nick. It’s a memoir, both of his upbringing as a black child in the Deep South of the 1950s, and of his musical career – and uses Stevie Wonder’s
