Taschen celebrates the art of the record cover in new tome

Last year, vinyl sales topped three million, the highest UK total in 25 years. So it’s fitting then, that Taschen’s latest book celebrates the records and artworks we’ve loved and re-loved over the decades.

Art Record Covers showcases an alphabetised collection of artists’ record covers from the 1950s to today. Highlighting the relationship between image-making and music production, the anthology presents 500 covers and records by visual artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Ed Ruscha and many more.

Created by art historian and writer Francesco Spampinato, the 448-page tome explores how modernism, pop art, conceptual art, postmodernism and contemporary art have all informed the art of album visuals over the years. With large spreads of images and their vital stats scrawled next to them, the book reminds us of how powerful imagery can be when directly connected to the music it’s there to illustrate. 

Featured in the book is Andy Warhol’s cover for The Velvet Underground and Nico’s eponymous debut, and Keith Haring’s illustration for Emanon’s record in 1986, as well as Salvador Dali’s butterfly of Jackie Gleason’s Lonesome Echo among many more. Within the book are interviews with Kim Gordon, Christian Marclay and Raymond Pettibon, who all touch upon the intersection of art and music. 
Art Record Covers is to be released in February 2017 by Taschen.