“What I love about vinyl is the art work. It’s the poor man’s art collection” – Noel Gallagher.
A new documentary hit Netflix today about two men who created the look of rock ‘n’ roll in the 70s and early 80s. Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis.
If you’re a fan of classic rock, it’s virtually impossible for you to not have at least one album featuring a cover by Hipgnosis. Hipngosis were an English art design group based in London, that specialized in creating artwork for musicians and bands.
Aubrey Powell and Storm Thorgerson created some of the most iconic album covers in the history of rock. Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon prism, Wish You We’re Here’s burning man, the pig floating over the Battersea Power Station on Animals. The kids climbing the Giant’s Causeway on Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy and the family gathered around The Object on Presence. Bad Company’s flying dice on Straight Shooter. Paul McCartney’s fleeing henchmen on Band on the Run. And so many, many more.
This documentary tells their story in their own words and in the words of the musical artists they worked for and with.
I clearly remember, as a high school student, studying every inch of every album cover I owned and so often noticing the design credited to “Hipgnosis”. And so many albums I owned featured the cover art but at one point I begin to wonder if I was subconsciously buying the albums for the covers and not the music.
This is their story. A fascinating documentary about fascinating and talented guys who created a lot of the art in this poor man’s art collection.
