Cover artwork

Cover art it is either an artwork as illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, comic book, video game (box art), DVD, CD, videotape, or music album (album art). The art has a primarily commercial function, i.e. to promote the product it is displayed on, but can also have an aesthetic function, and may be artistically connected to the product, such as with art by the creator of the product.

Album cover art is artwork created for a music album. Iconic album cover art includes Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon, King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King, The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Abbey Road and their "White Album" among others. Albums can have cover art created by the musician, as with Joni Mitchell's Clouds, or by an associated musician, such as Bob Dylan's artwork for the cover of Music From Big Pink, by The Band, Dylan's backup band's first album. Artists known for their album cover art include Alex Steinweiss, an early pioneer in album cover art, Roger Dean, and the Hipgnosis studio. Some album art may cause controversy because of nudity, offending churches, trademark or others. There have been numerous books documenting album cover art, particularly rock and jazz album covers.Alex Steinweiss was an art director and graphic designer who brought custom artwork to record album covers and invented the first packaging for long-playing records.

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