Stones In Exile - the art discussion and connecting dots

Lets connect some dots, shall we? With the recent reissue of the Stones' Exile On Main Street, and the release of the Exile documentary, there's been a lot of talk about the album, the "new" tracks, the musicians...everything except the artwork. For me, the artwork has always been fascinating, and added hugely to my perception of it, and the Stones themselves, for a long time. In case anyone else is interested, I wanted to point the way to a few articles & links that discuss & display the art for this landmark album. After all, designer John Van Hamersveld used previously published work by legendary artists in their own right - photographers Diane Arbus and Robert Frank (the director of Cocksucker Blues). The images above & below are courtesy of Van Hamersveld's site. I definitely recommend a visit.



I suggest reading the following:

About the artwork at RockPopGallery: "...when the buying public took their first look at the design and imagery of the sprawling record cover, most people admitted that they didn’t “get it”. Having just soaked in Warhol’s ultimately-iconic "cover with a zipper" for Sticky Fingers, fans should have been ready for anything, but John Van Hamersveld’s designs seemed to confound them..." Continued here.

On a personal note, Godlis discusses his take on the album, Diane Arbus, Robert Frank, and the beginning of his own serious journey into photography: "With the Stones re-release of Exile on Main Street this week, I've found myself thinking about how closely tied in this album is with my own relationship to the medium of photography. In the summer of 1971, the Rolling Stones were down in the south of France, recording the basic tracks for Exile. That same summer - on July 26,1971 - Diane Arbus took her own life in her apartment at Westbeth in New York City. Within months of her tragic death - "late fall of 1971" - plans were already underway for a book and a retrospective show at the Museum of Modern Art. This according to Neil Selkirk, who personally made all the prints for the exhibition at Diane Arbus' own darkroom on 29 Charles Street in the West Village (His fascinating essay that is the centerpiece in the "Diane Arbus Revelations" catalog is must reading)." Continued here.