Storm Thorgerson at Public Works Gallery
Thursday, August 30th, 2012
By John Dugan
For my money, there may be no more important designer in popular music culture than Storm Thorgerson. As a found of '60s design studio Hipgnosis, he created indelible, iconic and still affecting covers using complex photo montages for Pink Floyd (Dark Side of The Moon, Animals, and Wish You Were Here), Peter Gabriel, ELO, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin (Houses of The Holy). Some of my favorite Thorgerson covers are for slightly lesser known groups such as 10cc, UFO and Caravan. More recently, he's done covers for Muse. All of his album covers (300 plus) are worth owning just to trip out to—Thorgerson is a master of the mind-bending, perfectly executed image. In September, Computers Have A Lot To Answer For, a retrospective of his photographic work hits Chicago's Public Works Gallery in Wicker Park.
He realized his vision without the aid of digital technology—which meant, for example, using hundreds of real hospital beds on a beach for a photoshoot. As Public Works Gallery says in his artist bio, "his execution of elaborate sets, intricate image composition and complex photo montage is unparalleled. Computers have a lot to answer for, and the man they answer to is Storm Thorgerson."
Storm Thorgerson – Computers Have A Lot To Answer For
September 7 — November 2
Public Works Gallery
1539 N Damen Ave, Chicago, IL 60622
Opening
Friday, September 7, 2012 – 7–10pm
RSVP
Sponsored by the AIGA Chicago
Tagged with: 10CC • Black Sabbath • Computers Have A Lot To Answer For • Genesis • Hipgnosis • openings • Pink Floyd • Storm Thorgerson • Wicker Park
2 Comments
Chris Force
August 31, 2012This show looks so bad ass, can’t wait to see it.
Carmine D'Onofrio
September 3, 2012great Cover