PS Modcom's Modernism 101 Series - Gary Gand Modernism Goes on Record: Art of the Album Cover

Long before album covers became miniature works of art, record packaging was largely functional. That changed in the mid-20th century, when visionary designers, photographers, illustrators, and art directors transformed the album cover into a powerful new visual medium. Gary Gand will trace the connections between music and design, showing how influential album covers shaped not only the way records were marketed, but also generations of graphic designers, advertisers, artists, and musicians. The lecture also looks at the continuing influence of this visual language on contemporary artists, including Shag, whose own retro-modern aesthetic draws deeply from Mid-Century graphics and popular culture—and who has designed album covers himself. Together, these images reveal how the record sleeve became an enduring canvas for Modernism. Gary Gand is a musician, preservationist, collector, documentary film-producer and expert on Mid-Century Modern design. He co-founded The Gand Band with his wife, Joan, in 2011, drawing on a musical partnership that began in high school; the group has been named Coachella Valley’s Best Band four times. A passionate guitarist and longtime record collector, Gary brings a musician’s ear and a collector’s eye to the history of album design. He is also an advocate for architectural preservation and a collector of Mid-Century furniture and art. His interests uniquely connect music, graphic design, architecture, and the visual culture of the Mid-Century Modern era.