Netflix has recently released the documentary Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis, which for audiophiles indebted to the 1970s for forming their love of music was a fascinating insight into the world of these album artwork mavericks and pioneers. Formed in the late 1960s by Aubrey Powell and Storm Thorgerson, they pushed the boundaries of conventional graphic album art design, using photography and conceptual methods to create striking, thought-provoking covers and deeply decorative, creative pieces of art.
‘London was lawless in the 1960s,’ claims Hipgnosis co-founder Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell, and in some sense so was Hipgnosis. Knowing they had a huge, captivated audience for their work, they pushed boundaries, took huge creative risks and brought a new sense of daring audacity to the album artwork. They’ll always be remembered for their association with Pink Floyd, with the Dark Side of the Moon ‘Prism’ and their ‘Burning Man’ cover for Wish You Were Here going down in music and cultural history.
