Nathan Pendlebury – Phil Poole Photography
In an interview with artist Nathan Pendlebury on his recent Jake Bugg commission, Getintothis’ Janaya Pickett ponders the concept of album art.
The relationships between music, art, literature and fashion have always been intimate ones. They inform and influence one another fluidly and visual art and music go hand in hand. On stage and in print musicians use visual spectacle to further express their raison d’etre. Album art can therefore be a visual representation of sound or a signifier to a purchaser to what’s on offer if they listen.
The history of album art really began in the late 1930s when Columbia Records hired Edward Steinweiss as their art director. Although there had been records with sleeve art prior to Steinweiss, it was he who really championed the validity of it as an art in itself. When the record industry really began to boom, cover art took on a life of its own as the commodification of music dictated the music fans needed something to actually possess.
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Some have argued that it was The Beatles who changed this (no, we’re not just saying that because we’re scouse). The Beatles were amongst the first bands to bridge the gap between high and low brow art in the form of the album cover.
From Beatle’s For Sale onward they began to produce album covers that were increasingly intellectual as well as adding market value. This tendency reached it zenith when Pop artist Peter Blake was commissioned to create the cover for their 1967 album Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – one of the most iconic album covers in music history.
Nowadays the album cover is a well oiled part of the marketing machine. Music and the art blend to make a grander statement. A contemporary case in point being Beyonce who in April released her second ‘visual album’ Lemonade.
We spoke to Liverpool based artist Nathan Pendlebury about his recent commission for Jake Bugg‘s latest album On My One and the relationship between music and art.
Nathan has been based in Liverpool for many years creating and exhibiting his work. He says “there’s a fundamental need … to create a bridge for which words can’t be found”.
What he means can also apply to thinkers, writers, painters, bakers, tinkers, tailors etc … The creative, whatever their ilk, finds their practice and moves forward with it, documenting the human experience, trying to express the inexpressible.
Fields of Green 2 by Nathan Pendlebury
Nathan‘s paintings are a riot of bright colour and abstraction, but still accessible and inspired by day to day experiences. One can clearly see the comparisons with Bugg‘s personal – being one of the industries ‘bright young things‘. His journey is a story that we easily fall for: of the working class lad escaping the council estate on on the back of his god given talent.
We asked Nathan how this pairing came about. “I was chosen by Jake from a selection of artists put together by London Creative agency Stylorouge, feeling that my work was right for the album. Jake and I then met, and he chose Fields of Green 2 [named after the Tom Waits song that he listened to while painting it]as the album cover.
“In addition, he commissioned two further paintings for the inside cover. The meeting and paintings were documented in videos which can be viewed on Jake‘s website and Facebook page”.
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