Vaughan Oliver’s art was all around me growing up and it would be impossible to imagine just how much duller and less technicolourful my generation’s lives would have been without him in it. I don’t think i walked into a bedroom or a flat in the 90s without seeing his artwork (Pixies, Cocteaus, Lush, Breeders, Belly, Throwing Muses, This Mortal Coil… ) somewhere on the floor or the walls. RIP.
EDIT Jeez and I just realised that’s one of his images i have as my profile picture.
Sad news. Was a great teacher too. Best friend of mine took his Master’s class and she found him a great inspiration.
Gutted to hear this. I loved his 4AD artwork so much. I have been known to buy albums based solely on his cover art alone.
RIP Vaughan.
iconic images that totally fitted in with the 4AD aesthetic
4AD in the 80’s were absolutely fucking amazing
this is a good read:
Vaughan’s visual landscape was one of the main reasons I wanted to start a record label. It’s one of the original reasons I fully understood what a record label was.
There’s a brief interview with him in the special 4AD week DiS did // Drowned In Sound
It’s an overused term, but he was a genuine legend. I can’t think of anyone else (maybe Peter Saville?) whose work so clearly defined a label.
Hadn’t see this before, mega-interesting. Damn i wish Rapido was still on.
Yes - totally. Vaughn Oliver, Peter Saville and Tomato (the Underworld guys) were the people everyone copied on every graphic design course in the late 90s. His stuff was something else. Did feel like actual art.
I’m 100% guilty of this.
Brilliant!
Me too! And very badly. Underworld easier to copy I reckon - just needed some Letraset and a fax machine.Vaughan Oliver was just next level. Almost felt like you could reach into those images somehow.
I actually got to do some work experience at Tomato when I graduated in 2000, so got to play with some of their photo processing equipment. I made some VERY derivative stuff on there. Also got to do some work for Karl from Underworld which was a bit intimidating. But he was a lovely chap.
RIP. He did an exhibition at Primavera Sound 2004. I wish I picked up a print for a Red House Painters cover. I have had the RHP “bridge” promo poster on my wall for years.
Oh, wow. That wasn’t meant to sound like a Tomato dis. Bloody loved them. Bet that was an amazing experience.
We graduated at the same time.
Me too. Throw David Carson in there as well
I did some absolutely TERRIBLE rip offs of David Carson’s work! And Dave McKean.
I used to put Letraset on sheets of acetate, and then lay them over the paper when exposing photos in the dark room. I’d even carefully distress the type too with a scalpel to try and get that same look / feel
Oh, nice. We used to set the type with Letraset on a piece of A4, then run it through our mates Dads fax machine. If you tugged the sheet of paper as it was scanning you’d get those weird stretched letters.
Might start doing stuff like this again. So much better results than using photoshop etc
Must be due a revival. I think stuff like Ray Gun and Blah Blah Blah aged ok.