cover abstraction
DC III Mafalda Mota Pedro Cartaxana Tiago Marinho Faculdade de Belas-Artes Universidade de Lisboa 2015/16
cover abstraction
Cover Abstraction is a special edition concerning the vast and incredible work of Vaughan Oliver and Nigel Grierson, who built a partnershivp alongside the label record 4AD. This special edition comes which a surprise guest featuring the pages of the gallery book and a set of three CDs that contain very special tunes that fortunately represent the work of the partnership in question. The main purpose of this publication is to address the relationship between the designer and the photographer in the 80’s. For that matter, 23v associates the covers and the posters made by the 23 Envelope partnership for the bands Pixies, The Cocteau Twins and Dead Can Dance. This special edition also features posters built under the inspiration of the two personalities, to warm a collector’s heart.
4AD The independent british record label 4AD was founded in 1980 by the producers Ivo Watts Russell and Peter Kent in 1980. 4AD’s graphic identity has undergone considerable changes, acquiring a distinct and innovative character. This change occurred due to the employment of the graphic designer Vaughan Oliver, the first designer hired by the publisher, responsible for creating the vinyl covers and the visual identities of the bands. According to Vaughan Oliver, this partnership had an underlying intention of creating an identity, but there was never a search for a default style. The sole purpose was to adopt a conscious approach, which sought to re ect and transmit music through graphic design. Oliver’s
covers fit into the context of the covers made in the eighties and nineties, representing an innovative and experimental time in the history of british music. Deals made with other record labels allowed 4AD to have its distribution worldwide. This led to many negotiations for the label’s catalogue, like getting US distribution rights for the Pixies, Dead Can Dance, and Cocteau Twins. The current roster includes Ariel Pink, Atlas Sound, Beirut, Bon Iver, Camera Obscura, D.D Dumbo, Daughter, Deerhunter, Efterklang, Future Islands, Gang Gang Dance, Grimes, Holly Herndon, Indians, Iron & Wine, Merchandise, The National, Pixx, Purity Ring, Scott Walker, SOHN, Tim Hecker, Tune-Yards and U.S. Girls.
23 envelope Over the years, several partnerships were developed in the context of 4AD, but one in particular stands out: the 23 Envelope. This graphic and photographic approach differs from those made at that time, due to the conceptual dimension inherent to the creation of the covers. Over the years that Vaughan Oliver and Nigel Grierson worked together, they aimed at establishing a link between the musical universe and the design universe. They idealized and materialized their covers by re ecting the abstract and lyrical dimension of music, associating with an emotional component after hearing the songs, and without recourse to their lyrics. According to them, reading
the lyrics did not lead them to a viable solution: hearing the music and feeling its emotional charge was the only way for them to reach a workable solution. 23 Envelope consisted of Vaughan Oliver (graphic design and typography) and Nigel Grierson (photography). Together, they created the artwork for almost all 4AD releases until 1987. Nigel Grierson left 23 Envelope in 1988. At that time, Oliver continued to work for 4AD under the studio name v23, collaborating with Chris Bigg, Paul McMenamin, Kees Hubers, Timothy O’Donnell, Tim Vary, Adrian Philpott, Simon Larbalestier, Marc Atkins and others.
Vaughan Oliver
Vaughan Oliver, born in the South of London, in 1957, is one of the greatest (music) designers. His work is highly original and often breathtakingly beauti- ful. Best known for his work for The Pixies and Cocteau Twins on the 4AD label For someone who claims to have been uninspired by typography at college, his use of type is a joy. In its gestural expressiveness it focuses and enlivens each design with tremendous inventiveness. Oliver’s work often foregrounds dark images produced by photographers who are essential collaborators in the creative process (key names include Simon Larbalestier, Nigel Grierson and Marc Atkins). Also central to his process is a willingness to experiment and a deep engagement with the music. The result is work that is passionate, elegant and highly in uential. In 2011, Oliver was awarded an honorary Master of Arts from the University for the Creative Arts.
Nigel Grierson
Nigel Grierson studied photography and lm at the Royal College of Art. He is perhaps best known for the album sleeves he photographed and designed for 4AD under the name 23 envelope in partnership with Vaughan Oliver. These have been hailed by the likes of design historian, Catherine McDermot, and founder of Eye Magazine, Rick Poynor, as amongst the most important design of the eighties and early nineties. In 2000, after a successful career directing music videos and TV commercials in both Europe and America, Grierson gave up commercial work to pursue his own photography full time. He has had one man shows in Ja- pan and the USA and his work is in the collection of the V&A Museum.
Simon Larbalestier
Simon Larbalestier is an English pho- tographer, noted for his collaborative work with Vaughan Oliver and the design studios 23 Envelope and v23 with whom he has provided photography used on album artwork for several bands on the 4AD label. Graduating with a Master of Arts from the Royal College of Art, Lon- don in 1987, Larbalestier has described his nal degree show as a turning point. Larbalestier went on to shoot images for all the Pixies albums notably Surfer Rosa, Doolittle and Bossanova providing a distinctive and in uential imagery for the band. Larbalestier has had many solo and group exhibitions in Britain, Europe, Scandinavia and USA. His work during the 1990s and 2000s has included several landscape series of Italy, the USA and Australia and several documentary series on Thailand, Cambodia and other areas of South East Asia. Larbalestier's work is predominantly black and white with subsequent toning added in the darkroom. More recently he has been producing digital images and working with strong colour. He retains an interest in decayed textures and unusual juxtapositions of subject matter as well as "empty spaces, desolation and lone- liness".
Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins were a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. The original members were singer Elizabeth Fraser, guitarist Robin Guthrie and bassist Will Heggie, who was replaced by multi-instrumentalist Simon Raymonde in 1983. The group has earned much critical praise for its innovative, ethereal sound and the distinctive soprano vocals of Fraser, which often seemed to veer into glossolalia and mouth music. In 1997, while recording what was to have been their ninth LP, the trio disbanded over irreconcilable differences in part related to the break-up of Guthrie and Fraser. While a number of songs were partially recorded and possibly completed, the band has stated that they will likely never be nished or released in any form. In the same year Guthrie and Raymonde wrote and performed a new song in Faye Wong’s eponymous album.
The Pixies
The Pixies are an American alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Boston, Massachusetts. The group disbanded in 1993 in acrimonious circumstances, but reunited in 2004. The group currently consists of founders Black Francis (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), and David Lovering (drums). Co-founder Kim Deal (bass, backing vocals) left in 2013 and was replaced by Kim Shattuck as live bass player for a few months, then by Paz Lenchantin for the band's 2014 tour. The Pixies achieved relatively modest popularity in their home country, but were significantly more successful in the United Kingdom, mainland Europe and Israel. The group is credited with having an inuence on the alternative rock boom of the 1990s. The band's style of music contains a range of elements, including psychedelia, noise pop, hard rock, surf pop, and surf rock. Black Francis is the Pixies' primary songwriter and singer. His lyrics feature a number of offbeat subjects such as extraterrestrials, surrealism, in- cest, and biblical violence.
Dead Can Dance
Dead Can Dance is an Australian musical project formed in 1981 in Melbourne by Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry. The band relocated to London, England, in May 1982. Australian music historian Ian McFarlane described Dead Can Dance's style as "constructed soundscapes of mesmerising grandeur and solemn beauty; African polyrhythms, Gaelic folk, Gregorian chant, Middle Eastern mantras and art rock." In 1998, Dead Can Dance planned a follow-up to Spiritchaser, but the band separated before it was realized.[citation needed] One song from the recording sessions, “The Lotus Eaters�, was eventually released on the box set Dead Can Dance (1981-1998) and on the two-disc compilation Wake (2003). Gerrard teamed with Pieter Bourke (Snog, Soma) to issue Duality in April 1998. Perry released Eye of the Hunter in October 1999. Dead Can Dance reunited in 2005 and released limited-edition recordings of thirteen shows from its European tour and eight recordings from the subsequent North American tour, as well as a compilation titled Selections from Europe 2005. These concerts were recorded and released on The Show record label.
gallery
This gallery works as a compilation of the best album cover works of the former 23 Envelope (now known as v23) partnership, resembling the eighties and nineties and considering the previously presented bands.
Cocteau Twins
Pixies
Dead Can Dance
_ Aikea-Guinea, 1985 _ Twinlights, 1995 _ Echoes in a Swallow Bay, 1985 _ Garlands, 1982 _ Head Over Heels, 1983 _ Love’s Easy Tears, 1986 _ Otherness, 1995 _ Lullabies to Violaine Volume 1, 2006 _ Lullabies to Violaine Volume 2, 2007 _ Stars and Topsoil, 2000 _ Sunburst and Snowblind, 1983 _ The Pink Opaque, 1985 _ The Spangle Maker, 1984 _ Tiny Dynamite, 1985 _ Treasure, 1984 _ Victorialand, 1986 _ Peppermint Pig, 1983
_ Come On Pilgrim, 1987 _ Debaser (studio), 1997 _ Dig For Fire, 1990 _ Doolittle, 1989 _ Gigantic/River Euphrates, 1988 _ Here Comes Your Man, 1989 _ Indie City, 2014 _ Minotaur, 2007 _ Pixies at the BBC, 1998 _ Planet of Sound, 1991 _ Surfer Rosa, 1988 _ Trompe le Monde, 1991 _ Death to the Pixies, 1997 _ Wave of Mutilation, 2004 _ Bossanova, 1990
_ The Serpent’s Egg, 1988 _ Garden of the Arcane Delights, 1984 _ Spleen and Ideal, 1985 _ Aion, 1990 _ Toward the Within (live), 1994 _ Spiritchaser, 1996 _ Dead Can Dance (live), unknown _ Within a Realm of a Dying Sun, 1987 _ Into the Labyrinth, 1993 _ A Passage in Time, 1991 _ Dead Can Dance, 1984 _ Memento, 2005 _ Dead Can Dance, 2001