Storm Thorgerson

Storm Elvin Thorgerson (28 February 1944 – 18 April 2013)[1] was an English graphic designer and music video director. He is best known for closely working with the group Pink Floyd through most of their career, and also created album or other art for Led Zeppelin, Phish,[2] Black Sabbath, Peter Gabriel, The Alan Parsons Project, Genesis, Yes, Muse, The Mars Volta and Ween.

Storm Thorgerson
Thorgerson in 2010
Born
Storm Elvin Thorgerson

(1944-02-28)28 February 1944
Potters Bar, Middlesex, England
Died18 April 2013(2013-04-18) (aged 69)
London, England
Known forGraphic designer, music video director

Early life

Thorgerson, who was of Norwegian descent,[3] was born in Potters Bar, Middlesex (now part of Hertfordshire), and he attended Summerhill School, Brunswick Primary School in Cambridge, and the Cambridgeshire High School for Boys with Pink Floyd founders Syd Barrett, who was in the year below him, and Roger Waters, who was in the year above him. Thorgerson and Waters played rugby together at school, while Thorgerson's mother Vanji and Waters' mother Mary were close friends.[4][5] He studied English and Philosophy at the University of Leicester, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours, before studying Film and Television at the Royal College of Art, where he graduated with a Master of Arts degree.[6][7]

He was a teenage friend of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour and best man at Gilmour's wedding to Polly Samson in 1994.[8]

Career

In 1968, along with Aubrey Powell, he founded the graphic art group Hipgnosis, and between them they designed many famous single and album covers, with Peter Christopherson joining them for their later commissions.[9] In 1983, following the dissolution of Hipgnosis, Thorgerson and Powell formed Greenback Films, producing music videos.

In the early nineties, Thorgerson inaugurated StormStudios along with Peter Curzon—a loose group of freelancers. The line up included Rupert Truman (photographer), Finlay Cowan (designer and illustrator), Daniel Abbott (designer and artist), Lee Baker (creative retoucher and designer), and Jerry Sweet (designer) along with Thorgerson's personal assistants, Laura Truman (prints), and Charlotte Barnes.

Cover of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

Perhaps Thorgerson's most famous designs are those for Pink Floyd.[10] His design for The Dark Side of the Moon has been called one of the greatest album covers of all time. Designed by Thorgerson and Hipgnosis, the artwork for the cover itself was drawn by George Hardie,[11] a designer at NTA Studios. Many of Thorgerson's designs are notable for their surreal elements. He often places objects out of their traditional contexts, especially with vast spaces around them, to give them an awkward appearance while highlighting their beauty. To quote Thorgerson, "I like photography because it is a reality medium, unlike drawing which is unreal. I like to mess with reality ... to bend reality. Some of my works beg the question [sic] of is it real or not?"[12]

Over the years, Thorgerson and his team designed and released several books about their work. The first, published in 1989, was titled Classic Album Covers of 60s.[13] The Gathering Storm – A Quartet in Several Parts was the final book Thorgerson worked on with his team and it was completed just before his death in April 2013. The book was released in September 2013 and includes album covers artwork, photographs, and anecdotes, spanning five decades from his early work with Hipgnosis through to StormStudios.

In 2013, Prog Magazine renamed its Grand Design Award after Thorgerson. It is now known as the Storm Thorgerson Grand Design Award and will be given to the designer of the year's best-packaged product. Thorgerson had won the 2012 award for his continued work with Pink Floyd.[14][15]

Health problems and death

In 2003, Thorgerson suffered a stroke, from which he was partially paralysed. He was later diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer, which he battled for several years, but which eventually led to his death in London on 18 April 2013, at the age of 69.[16] After Thorgerson's death, David Gilmour released a statement describing him as "a constant force in my life, both at work and in private, a shoulder to cry on, and a great friend". A post on the official Pink Floyd website called him a "graphic genius".[17] Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason said that he was a "tireless worker right up to the end".[18]

Works

Album cover designs (1968–2014)
For Thorgerson's work with Hipgnosis, see Hipgnosis discography

Music videos

References
  1. Sweeting, Adam (18 April 2013). "Storm Thorgerson dies aged 69: 'the best album designer in the world'". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  2. guardian.co.uk/music (18 April 2013). "Cover ups: Storm Thorgerson's iconic album artwork – in pictures". the Guardian. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  3. Storm Thorgerson on Magritte at Tate.org.uk. Retrieved 21 April 2013
  4. Graff, G (February 1998). "The Eye of the Storm". Guitar World. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  5. Turner, Tonya (18 April 2013). "Storm Thorgerson's album covers are works of art". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  6. Hough, Andrew (18 April 2013). "Storm Thorgerson: Pink Floyd album cover designer dies". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  7. Farrell, Charlie. "Storm Thorgerson – Taken by Storm". Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  8. Samson, Polly (18 April 2013). "Best man at our wedding". Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  9. The photodesigns of Hipgnosis The Goodbye look. Vermillion Hutchinson Publishing Group. 1982 ISBN 0-09-150641-7
  10. "Article on Storm Thorgerson" Archived 29 June 2009 at the Portuguese Web Archive, Q magazine, 1992
  11. The Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd's Iconic Album, BBC
  12. Taken by Storm: The Art of Storm Thorgerson, Music Box, October 2004, Volume 11, No. 10
  13. "Storm Thorgerson". Famous Graphic Designers. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  14. "Design award renamed after Storm Thorgerson". 10 August 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  15. "Storm Thorgerson Has Grand Design Award Named in His Honour". Archived from the original on 11 August 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  16. "Storm Thorgerson: Graphic designer whose art was central to the work". 19 April 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  17. "Storm Thorgerson". Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  18. "Tributes paid to Pink Floyd album artist Storm Thorgerson". BBC News. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  19. "Singles Page 8". Storm Thorgerson. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  20. Mabbett, Andy (2010). Pink Floyd – The Music and the Mystery. London: Omnibus. ISBN 978-1-84938-370-7.
  21. Sutcliffe, Phil (July 1995). "The 30 Year Technicolor Dream". Mojo Magazine. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  22. Stormsight.co.uk Archived 21 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  23. Jourgensen, Al; Wiederhorn, Jon (2013). Ministry: The Lost Gospels. Da Capo Press. p. 65.
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