Spin: The Art of Record Design 

Spin invite image, design Christian Statham

GQ Editor Dylan Jones, The Horrors’ Faris Rotter and designer Peter Saville have selected some of the most iconic cover art of the last four decades to appear in Spin, the forthcoming exhibition at the Arts Gallery. A unique examination of the art of the record cover, Spin will open up an often forgotten side of the music industry, to explore the fascinating relationship between art, design and music.

The selection panel for Spin were: Dylan Jones, author of iPod Therefore I Am: A Personal Journey Through Music; Faris Rotter, who recently created album artwork for The Charlatans; and Peter Saville, who famously designed Factory Records artwork including Joy Division and New Order covers. They chose an eclectic array of albums stretching across musical genres and through four decades. All three judges studied or taught at University of the Arts London’s prestigious Colleges.

Spin will give design fans and music lovers a rare opportunity to see the original artwork which inspired some of the most iconic records covers of our time. On show will be images that were re-interpreted for album covers, through to works specially commissioned to represent an album, alongside the albums themselves.

Many of the works in this exhibition came to be era-defining images which hold intense emotional connections for millions of music fans worldwide, epitomising particular times and moods in a way unique to music culture.
http://www.arts.ac.uk/artsgallery/