WALLS OF SOUND
Posters honour best of music past
Neil Young: After the Gold Rush
“I have never liked the original album cover for this record. No o ence to anyone involved, of course: It was 1970, a di erent time, and certainly di erent graphic design technology,” Jud Haynes, a Newfoundland-based graphic designer and former bass player for Wintersleep, says. “I thought it would be lovely to draw the original photo where you can see Neil’s face, but take him out of the downtown New York setting and transplant him to nature, since he has always been such an advocate for the protection of our planet and its resources.” Since 2006, the Polaris Music Prize has established itself as a coveted signifier of the best Canadian-made album of each year.
In years past, the Polaris has gone to projects by the likes of Owen Pallett (a.k.a. Final Fantasy), Arcade Fire, Tanya Tagaq and Kaytranada.
But what about the trove of gold sounds that preceded the prize’s debut?
That question was answered last fall by the 2016 Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize, a special distinction for eight historic albums spanning four time periods: 1960 to 1975, 1976 to 1985, 1986 to 1995 and 1996 to 2005.
Two votes were taken for each era — one by the public, the other by Polaris’s jury of music-industry experts — to determine the best of Canada’s musical past.
The results have become the subjects of a poster series, for which eight new canvases were recently revealed.
The original posters are being given to the makers of the winning albums, although a limited number of special prints are currently available from Polaris’s online store.
Some artists weighed in on their work, the music and the process that brought these posters to life.
Mary Margaret O’Hara: Miss America
“I’m embarrassed to say that I was not familiar with Mary Margaret O’Hara’s work when I was assigned Miss America. But am I ever happy to have discovered it through this project,” says Torontobased illustrator and designer Courtney Wotherspoon. “The final image is meant to represent a portrait of O’Hara, just like this album feels like her own self-portrait, in another medium.”
Leonard Cohen: Songs of Leonard Cohen
“I had a trip planned right before I got this commission and I listened to the album the entire plane ride,” says Calgary-toBrooklyn transplant Lauren Tamaki, who is an artist, designer and occasionally art director. “I wanted to incorporate Cohen’s likeness in some way because I interpreted the album as deeply personal to the artist (and he also has an incredible face). There’s an intimate, I’m-just-staying-in-my-bedroom-please-don’t-bother-me vibe to this whole thing. Cohen mentions windows a few times on the album and I couldn’t help but think of him staring out on the street, contemplating the people below.”
Arcade Fire: Funeral
“Funeral is my favourite album from Arcade Fire, probably because it’s the first one I heard,” says Ivo Mati, a Toronto-based graphic designer and illustrator. “I had a few listens before I started sketching the idea, but my heart was set on one image that I managed to get out. Funeral is about death, family, friends, lovers — a strong sense of community that experience everything together, all the ups and downs, all the tragedies and happy moments. A dance of life.”
Blue Rodeo: 5 Days In July
“Working as an artist for as long as I have means dealing with a lot of ups and downs, and this song is a great anthem for the process,” says Carl Wiens, who draws for the likes of The New York Times, Esquire, Maclean’s and The Wall Street Journal from his home base in Belleville, Ont. “I wanted to convey the connection to the earth, the roots sensibility of the record. It was recorded in Greg Keelor’s studio on his farm, off the floor. I know that the setting was influential in the way the songs were written and recorded.”