Kosh Behind the Cover - Linda Ronstadt
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31 августа 2020
We have a very special “Behind The Cover” story to share for the Linda Ronstadt Get Closer” album which won a Grammy for art direction.
There were two movements making waves in the early ‘60s in London; Pop Art, drawing on contemporary, cultural icons and Op Art, which experimented with strong, optical patterns. Enjoying graphic freedom at art school, Kosh was heavily influenced by both.
Flash forward twenty years to 1982 and the release of “Get Closer”, Linda Ronstadt’s fourth LP with Kosh again taking care of her cover art. Ever fascinated with clever optical illusions, he “borrowed” one of his wife, Marjory’s favourite dresses; “You mean my navy blue with the white polka dots?” “Yes, luv.”
Kosh was intrigued with how the simple, regimented white dots followed the folds in the fabric. He sat down with two close friends, Ron Larson, brilliant artist and collaborator, and famed rock photographer, Aaron Rapoport. They had all worked successfully together before and were keen to explore the optical possibilities of the fabric against a similar background. What if the dress was positive but the background negative? What if they were both in conflict? Sandersons’ store produced a suitable polka dot wallpaper pattern that matched the dress but was inverted. Kosh and Ron also toyed with the idea of a white polka dot dress against a white background so that Linda would “disappear” except for her face and limbs. In other words you would need to Get Closer to discern her body.(Images 1 & 2 are the mechanical s of this work) In the meantime, Aaron plotted a difficult lighting rig to make it all work. It became apparent that the dark frock against the light wallpaper was the stronger image.
Linda duly arrived in the studio and, after hair and make-up, donned the dress, a white belt with white ankle socks. The fans twirled her skirts and teased her hair and she looked sensational.
The challenge was for Aaron to photograph her in colour yet let Ron and Kosh convert the frock and background into high contrast, black and white, line art for the planned printing process (Image 3 is a test shot from Ron). Kosh had requested a special, metallic red, fifth colour pass on press. Many hours were spent preparing separations for the printer in Georgia. When Kosh arrived it was obvious that the concept had worked beautifully, as hundreds of thousands of covers thundered from the huge offset press. The album cover ultimately garnered Kosh’s second Grammy for art direction. (Image 4)
There were so many stunning shots from the photo session that choosing one for the seven inch single sleeve was a toss-up. Linda won the toss of course. (Image 5)
Unfortunately, with the arrival of the CD, the splendour of “Get Closer” and many other LP releases, with unique embossing, special inks and coatings have disappeared. “Never Mind The Bollocks, We’re The Sex Pistols” was originally printed with a day-glo, silkscreened cover. Bad Company’s “Run With The Pack” package was embossed on silver foil. Both now appear drab in their jewel boxes along with many other iconic works of art. The days of cut-outs, pop-ups, holograms and textures that enhanced the musical experience are sadly missing. However, they may well return as the 12” LP revival takes hold.
A footnote:
Marjory, noticing Linda on stage ,with Aaron Neville, still wearing The Dress said, “Do you think I’ll ever get it back?”
Kosh won his second Grammy for his art direction for the album cover of Linda Ronstadt’s “Get Closer” in September 1982. An outtake of the session shot by Aaron Rapoport became the 45 single sleeve. Kosh says “The wind machine almost blew her over. What a fabulous picture”.
An alternate version of the dress
Kosh with the dress.
From 5 years ago....during Grammy Week...a special event at the legendary Tower Records site on Sunset Blvd....a special exhibition tied into the Grammy's that featured a collection of Kosh's greatest works. Here are Kosh and his manager Bob posing in front of the collage of artwork!!
Kosh - "I had to paint every dot by hand".
An out-take from the sessions
