The Art of Cover Art

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Framing Record Covers Within the Canon of Art

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Framing Record Covers Within the Canon of Art

Exploring the use of frames and borders inside the 12" canvas

Rachel Cabitt
Jan 17, 2023
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The concept of the frame dates back to ancient Egyptian and Greek art. They first existed as border-like shapes on pottery and partitions before the three dimensional frames that we all know today came into popularity in the 12th and 13th centuries. Just like how frames have lived within artwork of ancient relics, album covers throughout the years have experimented with borders in their composition.

Terracotta Panathenaic prize amphora ca. 530 BCE. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In 1971, British artist Nick Drake released his second album Bryter Layter. The LP may be one of the most lauded records in indie music, and the cover has had an equally profound influence on the aesthetic of many releases today. Simple at its core, the art centers around a photo of Drake candidly sitting in a darkly lit studio. The photo is framed by an oval shape with a thin orange stroke and a purple background.

Nick Drake, Bryter Layter released 1971 on Island Records. Photography and design by Nigel Waymouth.

Four years prior in 1967, Bob Dylan released John Wesley Harding with a tombstone shaped photo gracing its cover alongside Dolly Parton’s Jolene which sports a delicate ornamental frame. The negative space surrounding the frame guides the listener’s eyes to the central focal point.

Bob Dylan John Wesley Harding released 1967 on Columbia. Photography by John Berg.
Dolly Parton Jolene released 1967 on RCA Victor. Art direction by Herb Burnette, photography by Hope Powell.

With the three dimensional frame’s ubiquitous pairing with art in current times, a frame within a piece of artwork may seem ironic, or redundant, but in fact it’s harkening back to its start in ancient Greek and Egyptian art. It’s a type of easter egg that has been included in paintings for centuries since, see Johannes Vermeer and Diego Velázquez’s references to frames in their paintings. Surrealist artists aptly took advantage of turning the frame on its head, like Rene Magritte with L’Évidence éternelle and Salvador Dali with Couple with Their Heads in the Clouds. Even in modern art, creators have included the homage within their pieces, like artists Hassan Hajjaj and Oscar yi Hou.

Clockwise L to R: Rene Magritte, L’Évidence éternelle (1930); Pere Borrell del Caso, Escaping Criticism (1874); Diego Velázquez Las Meninas (1656); Johannes Vermeer The Guitar Player (1672); Oscar yi Hou, All American Boyfriend, aka: Gwei Lou, Leng Zai (2022); Hassan Hajjaj, Che Lovelace (2012); Salvador Dali, Couple with Their Heads Full of Clouds (1936)

A frame on an album cover has become an aesthetic marker of music from the turn of the 60s into 70s. Flipping through any record crate in 2023, coming across a modern release with a frame on it suggests there’s a very good chance that the music within that vinyl is influenced by that former time.

One of those artists is Azniv Korkejian, also known as Bedouine. Korkejian has used the aesthetic device of the frame on the majority of her album artworks. The design of her debut album cover reminds me of Bryter Layter. We see the singer in a contrasted anonymous space, once again framed by a pendant-like shape, much like Drake’s.

Bedouine eponymous debut album released 2017 on Spacebomb Records. Art direction and design by Travis Robertson, photography by Polly Antonia Barrowman, artwork by Robert Beatty.

Other indie artists like The Weather Station, Kurt Vile and Steve Gunn have also used the staple aesthetic to root their albums in the early days of rock and roll. See these and more framed album covers below.

Kacey Johansing No Better Time released 2020 on Night Bloom Records. Photography by Chantal Anderson, design by Miles Wintner.
The Weather Station All Of It Was Mine released 2011 on Fat Possum Records. Photography by Angela May Jackson.
Kurt Vile Bottle It In released 2018 on Matador. Photography by Mimi Raver, design by Mike Zimmerman.
Oneohtrix Point Never Age Of released 2018 on Warp Records. Cover image by Jim Shaw, design and artwork by David Rudnick and Daniel Lopatin.
Mia Joy, Spirit Tamer released 2021 on Fire Talk. Photography by Azul Galindo, design by Clare Byrne.
Steve Gunn, Nakama released 2022 on Matador. Photography by Duane Michals.
Kaina It Was A Home released 2022 on City Slang. Design by Izzi Vasquez, photography by Dennis Larance.

The Art of Cover Art is a free educational and inspirational resource. If you have $5/ month to spare it would be very helpful in furthering my research. Or, if you think a friend might enjoy this newsletter, the best way to pay it forward is by sharing!

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3 Comments
Mollie Douthit
Writes Crispie Edges
Jan 29

this is so much more interesting than a conversation about a painting being in a frame making it a sculpture. And so visually pleasing.

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Stefania Culafic
Writes Observations
Feb 16

So cool

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