Later this month, the Ritzy Picturehouse in Brixton, London, is the scene of a special screening of director Roddy Bogawa's fascinating documentary, Taken By Storm: The Art of Storm Thorgerson and Hipgnosis. The screening, on April 28th at 8:30pm, is accompanied by a Q&A with producer Orian Williams, and Rupert Truman from StormStudios. Tickets are now available to buy for the event. The film is a 15 certificate so those younger than that will not be admitted.
The film is an absorbing and affectionate look at the incredible body of work created by Storm Thorgerson and his colleagues in Hipgnosis and StormStudios. Full of archive footage, along with more recent interview material - featuring the likes of David Gilmour, Peter Gabriel, Robert Plant and more - the 85 minute film, shot over a three year period, is something that music fans of all persuasions will thoroughly enjoy. Storm's unique way of working comes across clearly, revealing the lengths he would go to, to realise his visions and ideas.
It's a documentary about one man’s artistic journey amidst technological change and its affect on image-making and our collective memory and culture. For over forty years using 12” x 12” album covers as his canvas before his untimely passing in 2013, Storm Thorgerson created some of the most iconic images in the history of rock and roll. Eschewing computer manipulation in favour of building massive sets and tableaus, staging performances and actions and “doing it for real” in what he called “mind movies” and “photo paintings”, Thorgerson deliriously and relentlessly confounded expectations of the relation of images and music, hyper-realism and the everyday, and the role of the record sleeve at the intersection of art and commerce.
The film is now available on DVD and download, and heartily recommended - as our review of the DVD release notes. The DVD is housed in a digipak with some typically excellent design work by StormStudios, honouring their friend and colleague, and can be ordered from www.TakenByStormFilm.com. If you are yet to see it, here's the trailer...
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