Posted January 23, 200916 yr From http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/r...lbum-cover.html U2 accused of copying American artist's album cover U2 have been accused of copying an obscure American electronic artist's album cover. By Ben Leach Last Updated: 10:24AM GMT 22 Jan 2009 U2 'copied' album cover http://i42.tinypic.com/5pnzpt.jpg U2's No Line On The Horizon and Taylor Dupree's Specification Fifteen The Irish rock band have chosen a design by acclaimed Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto for the sleeve of their fortcoming album No Line On The Horizon. But Taylor Deupree, a musician from New York, used the same image for his 2006 CD Specification Fifteen, a collaboration with fellow electronic artist Richard Chartier. Mr Deupree said: "OK, come on people, do some research before you release an album cover. U2's forthcoming album, No Line On The Horizon, is nearly an exact rip-off of mine and Richard Chartier's Specification Fifteen, which came out a couple of years ago. "Both covers feature a photograph by Hiroshi Sugimoto. Specification Fifteen was created directly in conjunction with Sugimoto and his retrospective at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, so before people run off about how cool the new U2 cover is, show them ours first. "Naturally, when something we have slaved over, fought for recognition over, is so easily undone by pop culture, it feels a bit cheap. What for us is one of the greatest achievements in a career thus far is simply a phonecall for U2." His claim comes just months after Coldplay were accused of plagiarising the music of guitar legend Joe Satriani for their hit Viva La Vida.
January 23, 200916 yr Author http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/u2s...heats-up-192879 U2 posts interview with designer "I think we're doing something different with Sugimoto's image, something uniquely connected with this latest body of work from U2" designer Shaughn McGrath, discussing the artwork controversy Coincidentally or not, U2 have posted an interview with Shaughn McGrath from the design team Four5One, in which the similarity between the two album covers is addressed. "We felt it was such an emotive image," says McGrath, "that there was a natural coherence with the album's themes, that suggested release. And so we set this beautiful, velvet image of Sugimoto's very simply in a white surround." What's with the 'equals' sign? According to McGrath, "It adds to the album's visual idiom. Whatever the culture and language spoken, this universal mathematical symbol is understood, and so it complements the clarity of expression in the image. What we love about the equals sign is the simplicity, the purity - like the title, No Line On The Horizon." Rip-off or not? When asked about the fact that the image of the Boden Sea had been used previously on another album cover, McGrath said, "I've just heard about that album and its cover. But I think we're doing something different with Sugimoto's image, something uniquely connected with this latest body of work from U2. "And while I'm pleased we've been able to do something that has so few brushstrokes and yet says so much, the response to the design of an album is connected with how well people connect with the album. "To give you an earlier example, the first album I worked on with U2 was Achtung Baby in 1991 - that sleeve is widely admired, but probably because the album is so great. People love that cover because they came to love the album. These things don't exist in isolation. It's all connected to the music." Personally, MusicRadar sees the use of the seascape image on U2's album cover as creative and an extension of pop art. Think for a second: Did Andy Warhol create the Campbell's soup can? Of course not. With his inventive silkscreens, did he turn the label into a work of art? Without a doubt. Did Jimmy Page invent the blues? Hardly. In Led Zeppelin did he magnify the idiom into something majestic and magnificent? You betcha. Art borrows, pushes, goes a step further. You can read the entire interview with McGrath on the U2 website. :huh:
January 25, 200916 yr http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/u2s...heats-up-192879 U2 posts interview with designer "I think we're doing something different with Sugimoto's image, something uniquely connected with this latest body of work from U2" designer Shaughn McGrath, discussing the artwork controversy Coincidentally or not, U2 have posted an interview with Shaughn McGrath from the design team Four5One, in which the similarity between the two album covers is addressed. "We felt it was such an emotive image," says McGrath, "that there was a natural coherence with the album's themes, that suggested release. And so we set this beautiful, velvet image of Sugimoto's very simply in a white surround." What's with the 'equals' sign? According to McGrath, "It adds to the album's visual idiom. Whatever the culture and language spoken, this universal mathematical symbol is understood, and so it complements the clarity of expression in the image. What we love about the equals sign is the simplicity, the purity - like the title, No Line On The Horizon." Rip-off or not? When asked about the fact that the image of the Boden Sea had been used previously on another album cover, McGrath said, "I've just heard about that album and its cover. But I think we're doing something different with Sugimoto's image, something uniquely connected with this latest body of work from U2. "And while I'm pleased we've been able to do something that has so few brushstrokes and yet says so much, the response to the design of an album is connected with how well people connect with the album. "To give you an earlier example, the first album I worked on with U2 was Achtung Baby in 1991 - that sleeve is widely admired, but probably because the album is so great. People love that cover because they came to love the album. These things don't exist in isolation. It's all connected to the music." Personally, MusicRadar sees the use of the seascape image on U2's album cover as creative and an extension of pop art. Think for a second: Did Andy Warhol create the Campbell's soup can? Of course not. With his inventive silkscreens, did he turn the label into a work of art? Without a doubt. Did Jimmy Page invent the blues? Hardly. In Led Zeppelin did he magnify the idiom into something majestic and magnificent? You betcha. Art borrows, pushes, goes a step further. You can read the entire interview with McGrath on the U2 website. :huh: Ah !!!! You have to get in to a ' conceptual ' mood to dig it Spark :D
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