Art Record Covers. 45th Ed. (45th Edition)

Art Record Covers. 45th Ed. (45th Edition) – Multilingual Edition

Since the emergence of modernism, visual art and music have shared a deep and evolving creative relationship. From Luigi Russolo’s 1913 Futurist manifesto The Art of Noise to Marcel Duchamp’s experimental Rotoreliefs, the 20th century marked a fertile exchange between sound and image, composition and performance.

Art Record Covers is Francesco Spampinato’s authoritative anthology exploring this intersection through 450 artist-designed record covers spanning from the 1950s to the present day. The book examines how movements such as modernism, Pop Art, Conceptual Art, postmodernism, and contemporary art practices have shaped album cover design, transforming records into powerful visual statements that frame and enhance the listening experience.

The collection features works by influential artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Banksy, Salvador Dalí, and many others. Highlights include Basquiat’s raw visual language for his Tartown label, Banksy’s iconic graffiti artwork for Blur, and Dalí’s surreal butterfly imagery for Jackie Gleason’s Lonesome Echo. Each entry is accompanied by in-depth analysis and detailed fact sheets listing the artist, performer, album title, record label, year of release, and background on the original artwork.

Adding further depth are exclusive interviews with prominent figures such as Tauba Auerbach, Shepard Fairey, Kim Gordon, Christian Marclay, Albert Oehlen, and Raymond Pettibon, offering personal insight into the collaborative process between visual artists and musicians.

Both a scholarly reference and a visually rich celebration, Art Record Covers is an essential volume for art historians, designers, collectors, musicians, and anyone interested in the cultural dialogue between sound and image.

About the Author

Francesco Spampinato is a writer and historian specializing in contemporary art and visual culture. He holds degrees from the University of Bologna and Columbia University, and a PhD from Sorbonne Nouvelle University. Formerly an adjunct professor at the Rhode Island School of Design, he is currently a senior assistant professor at the University of Bologna. His research focuses on the relationship between contemporary art, media, and everyday life.

Julius Wiedemann studied graphic design and marketing and worked as an art editor in Tokyo before joining TASCHEN in 2001. He is the editor of several acclaimed titles, including the Illustration Now! and Record Covers series, as well as books on infographics, advertising, and visual culture.