COVERS AND CULTURE

CD’S, CASSETTES,

RECORDS AND RARITIES

FALL 2024

I’m fascinated by the artistry and marketing that went into producing vintage forms of recording music. 

In 1984, analog cassettes overtook the vinyl phonograph record as the most popular music medium. By 1988, compact disc (CD) sales surpassed vinyl sales. In 1991, CD sales surpassed cassette sales. 

There’s nostalgia that comes with opening a punk rock vinyl at the record store and admiring the vibrant Pop Art within the printed sleeves. Physically touching and feeling the album art is a reminder of times before the internet. Looking through an LP collection is a great deal like looking through a family photo album. The unique labels, shiny discs and captivating cover art is true hand craftsmanship. 

I obsess over dissecting the records and pulling apart the back covers from the front covers. I break a vinyl, shattering the PVC. I use boiling water to melt a 45. I unfold the inside art of a CD and organize the printed material by color. Adhesive spray binds the album art together, collaged with advertisements from older copies of Rolling Stone magazine. The texture pops with a billboard effect. I’m fascinated by the artistry and marketing that went into producing vintage forms of recording music. 

In 1984, analog cassettes overtook the vinyl phonograph record as the most popular music medium. By 1988, compact disc (CD) sales surpassed vinyl sales. In 1991, CD sales surpassed cassette sales. 

There’s nostalgia that comes with opening a punk rock vinyl at the record store and admiring the vibrant Pop Art within the printed sleeves. Physically touching and feeling the album art is a reminder of times before the internet. Looking through an LP collection is a great deal like looking through a family photo album. The unique labels, shiny discs and captivating cover art is true hand craftsmanship. 

I obsess over dissecting the records and pulling apart the back covers from the front covers. I break a vinyl, shattering the PVC. I use boiling water to melt a 45. I unfold the inside art of a CD and organize the printed material by color. Adhesive spray binds the album art together, collaged with advertisements from older copies of Rolling Stone magazine. The texture pops with a billboard effect.