Aubrey Powell reveals ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ inspiration behind Led Zeppelin cover
Aubrey Powell, the graphic designer who co-founded Hipgnosis with Storm Thorgerson in 1967, has discussed his company’s role in bringing some of the most iconic imagery to the music world over the late 20th century.
Alongside Anton Corbijn, Hipgnosis changed the game for album cover designs through the 1970s, with immortal work for Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and more.
In relation to the surrealist artwork appearing on prog-rock album sleeves in the ‘70s, Variety recently discussed how some album covers appeared nonsensical, while others, like the burning man on Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here, teemed with covert implication.
“I think, like everything else, when you are working in a creative world like that as a kind of art studio, as we were, you clutch at everything you possibly can,” Powell commented. “I think Storm describes in the film how he plundered things, and he worked from his dreams too. And when you are seeking to come up with an image, whether it’s from the band or not, it doesn’t matter if it’s an image that’s gonna work”.
Powell added: “And I think Presence, with the black object for Led Zeppelin, is a perfect example of that. Why would a heavy rock band have a picture of a family sitting around a table with a black object in front of them at a boat show? Well, that was designed specifically like that by us. And Jimmy Page got it immediately when he saw that it was about power.” As Page perceived, the cover was inspired by the monoliths in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Powell and Corbijn have collaborated on a brand new documentary titled Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis. Directed by Corbijn, the movie explores the pair’s early infatuation with music and how it informed their subsequent odyssey in visual art.
Addressing the ostensibly random cow appearing on Pink Floyd’s Atom Heart Mother album cover in 1970, Corbijn picked it out as a personal favourite. “I personally always have to smile when I hear Storm talking about taking a picture of the cow for Atom Heart Mother — you know, ‘We photographed the first cow we saw, and then went back.’ Because it’s also a great cover to me. It’s one of my favourite covers,” he said.
“Yeah, me too,” Powell agreed. “Unwittingly, that is a very Dadaist cover. It’s like Duchamp’s toilet bowl. It’s all about nothing, but it’s all about something. The cow is turning around and looking at you, and you’re thinking, ‘What’s the story? What’s the narrative?’”
Watch the trailer for Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis below.
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