Run for Cover showcases the art of design (1)

The line between art and design traditionally has been a precarious tightrope walk for artists, as it’s difficult to work in the commercial world and retain credibility as a fine artist. Many artists now ignore the distinction, placing their work on handbags, wallpaper, salt and pepper shakers and other consumer goods. The 432 album covers on display in Run for Cover at Spruill Gallery are distributed among six different categories: History Replayed, Artist Designed, Art Inspired, Musician Designed, Typography and Georgia. To accommodate the sheer quantity of work, the gallery’s hallway has been turned into a floor-to-ceiling installation of a mishmash of covers. The Artist Designed section, in particular, demonstrates that artists turning their hands to record sleeve design is a precedent for the current crossover between art and design.

Not surprisingly, Andy Warhol is heavily represented. His earliest design here is for his Factory’s house band, The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967). The cover’s iconic yellow and black-outlined banana has become a coveted symbol in the art world. Thomas Baumgärtel, aka the “Banana sprayer,” has tagged approximately 4,000 museums and galleries around the globe with it as a seal of approval. Geometric slices of red, blue and yellow transform a straightforward portrait of Billy Squier for Warhol’s vision of the musician’s 1982 album Emotions in Motion. In 1976, Warhol drew a portrait of Paul Anka for his album The Painter. While not Warhol’s most interesting work, Anka never looked so hip as when flattened by the pop artist.

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(Photo by Colin Buttimer)