Storm Thorgerson Explained

Storm Thorgerson
Birth Name:Storm Elvin Thorgerson
Birth Date:1944 2, df=yes
Birth Place:Potters Bar, Middlesex, England
Death Place:London, England
Years Active:1968−2013

Storm Elvin Thorgerson (28 February 1944 – 18 April 2013)[1] was an English art director 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, Black Sabbath, 10cc, the Alan Parsons Project, the Mars Volta and the Cranberries.[2]

Early life

Thorgerson, who was of Norwegian descent, was born in Potters Bar, Middlesex (now part of Hertfordshire). 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.[3] [4] 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.[5] [6]

He was a teenage friend of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour and best man at Gilmour's wedding to Polly Samson in 1994.[7]

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.[8] In 1983, following the dissolution of Hipgnosis, Thorgerson and Powell formed Greenback Films, producing music videos.In the early nineties, Thorgerson inaugurated Storm Studios 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.

Perhaps Thorgerson's most famous designs are those for Pink Floyd.[9] 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,[10] 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 of is it real or not?"[11]

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.[12] 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.[13] [14]

In 2015 a film documentary, Taken by Storm, was released on DVD and web streaming.[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 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] He is buried on the eastern side of Highgate Cemetery.

Works

Album cover designs (1968–2014)

Music videos

Books

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Adam . Sweeting . Storm Thorgerson dies aged 69: 'the best album designer in the world' . 18 April 2013 . . 18 April 2013.
  2. Web site: Cover ups: Storm Thorgerson's iconic album artwork – in pictures. guardian.co.uk/music. 18 April 2013. The Guardian. 14 December 2017.
  3. The Eye of the Storm . Guitar World . February 1998 . G . Graff . 18 April 2013.
  4. News: Tonya . Turner . Storm Thorgerson's album covers are works of art . 18 April 2013 . The Courier-Mail . 18 April 2013.
  5. News: Andrew . Hough . Storm Thorgerson: Pink Floyd album cover designer dies . 18 April 2013 . . 18 April 2013.
  6. Web site: Storm Thorgerson – Taken by Storm . 18 April 2013 . Farrell . Charlie.
  7. Web site: Best man at our wedding. Samson. Polly. 18 April 2013. 18 April 2013.
  8. The photodesigns of Hipgnosis The Goodbye look. Vermillion Hutchinson Publishing Group. 1982
  9. http://utopia.knoware.nl/users/ptr/pfloyd/interview/great.html "Article on Storm Thorgerson"
  10. https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2848386 The Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd's Iconic Album
  11. http://www.musicbox-online.com/stormart.html Taken by Storm: The Art of Storm Thorgerson
  12. Web site: Storm Thorgerson. 2017-11-08. Famous Graphic Designers.
  13. Web site: Design award renamed after Storm Thorgerson. 10 August 2013. 10 August 2013.
  14. Web site: Storm Thorgerson Has Grand Design Award Named in His Honour. 10 August 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130811012044/http://www.progrockmag.com/news/storm-thorgerson-has-grand-design-award-named-in-his-honour/. 11 August 2013. dmy-all.
  15. Web site: Taken By Storm - The Art of Storm Thorgerson and Hipgnosis . Bogawa . Roddy . 2015 . 25 Oct 2020.
  16. Web site: Storm Thorgerson: Graphic designer whose art was central to the work. . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/storm-thorgerson-graphic-designer-whose-art-was-central-to-the-work-of-pink-floyd-8580885.html . 25 May 2022 . subscription . live. 27 September 2016. 19 April 2013.
  17. Web site: Storm Thorgerson . 11 July 2014.
  18. Web site: Tributes paid to Pink Floyd album artist Storm Thorgerson . 20 April 2012. BBC News.
  19. Web site: Singles Page 8 . Storm Thorgerson. 20 April 2013.
  20. Book: Mabbett, Andy . Omnibus . 978-1-84938-370-7 . Pink Floyd – The Music and the Mystery . London . 2010 .
  21. Web site: The 30 Year Technicolor Dream. Phil. Sutcliffe. Mojo Magazine. July 1995. 23 July 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110711045614/http://www.pinkfloydfan.net/t1484-gilmour-mason-wright-30-year.html#post23744. 11 July 2011. dmy-all.
  22. http://www.stormsight.co.uk/thepleatunnel.html Stormsight.co.uk
  23. 1985 . Now Voyager . film . English.
  24. Book: Jourgensen. Al. Wiederhorn. Jon. Ministry: The Lost Gospels. registration. 2013. Da Capo Press. 65. 9780306822186.