Cover artist Matthew Stork transforms music into images that are both striking and memorable
Artist Matthew Stork |
King Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon, kneels in shame amidst a desert landscape, his head bowed and his hand raised to block the wrathful glare of a blood-red sun. His fallen crown lies upturned nearby, as does a sacred cup looted from the Temple of Jerusalem from which he drank and thereby desecrated.
A sophisticated woman in a fur-lined coat stands smiling in front of a theater marquee that displays the title, "Yidl Mitn Fidl." Beside her sings a crooner with his arms dramatically outstretched, against a backdrop of striking colors and snatches of Yiddish song titles.
A group of Jewish pilgrims clad in black hats and cloaks steps onto the shore of a new world, the leader carrying a Torah. Behind them floats the clipper ship on which they sailed, and farther back, the American flag fills the sky, a ring of thirteen stars representing the new colonies to which these pioneers have journeyed.
These are some of the colorful visions that have thus far graced the covers of the CDs released by the Milken Archive as part of its 50-disc series.
They are the work of Los Angeles-based artist Matthew Stork, who was commissioned by the Milken Family Foundation to create the cover art for nearly all of the discs in the Milken Archive series, which are being distributed by Naxos American Classics.
Stork at work in his studio |
The task was both challenging and enjoyable for Stork, whose work has been displayed at numerous galleries and exhibitions throughout the U.S., including the prestigious Society of Illustrators Scholars Exhibition at the American Museum of Illustration in New York.
"Even though the music is of a specific category—American Jewish music—it spans a vast spectrum of time periods and musical styles," said Stork. "Part of the challenge has been trying to keep the artwork fresh and diverse. You're not going to do the same thing for classical or symphonic music as you would for traditional folk music."
However, the diversity is also what has made the project fun. "It doesn't get repetitive," he said.
Born and raised in a small farm town in Michigan, Stork received his bachelor of fine arts degree in illustration from Kendall College of Art & Design in Grand Rapids.
Stork's art has also been seen in Croatia, and is currently on consignment at the Dubrovnik House Gallery (Dubrovacka Kuca Galerija) in Dubrovnik.
He currently works for a creative design firm in Los Angeles.
Stork's process begins with reading about the music on each CD—primarily the liner notes written by Milken Archive Artistic Director Neil W. Levin. He is also given certain guidelines for the cover art from the Milken Archive staff. He then makes sketches, trying out various ideas before he selects the one that will become the cover.
"And then I jump right into painting," he said.
Stork's artwork for the Milken
Archive CD of Bruce Adolphe's music |
Some of Stork's artwork and concepts have proved more difficult than others. For the Yiddish theater collage, it took several hours to conduct additional research and collect the various visual materials involved in the painting. Stork then made a collage of these materials, over which he painted various colors and figures, such as the crooner in black and the woman in the fur coat.
Other images, such as the moon, bird and cascading guitar strings on the cover of the Bruce Adolphe CD, came to him very quickly.
"I was told that the composer wanted something involving a moonlit night. Also, the lyrics describe the singing of nightingales," said Stork. "The idea came to me right away. I did one little sketch. It took ten minutes, and then I started painting."
Stork has enjoyed the opportunity to be involved with the Milken Archive.
"It feels good to be contributing to a project of this scope," said Stork. "It's interesting for me as an artist looking in from the outside. Even though music is a different form of art, I respond to the idea of people taking an interest in preserving this music, and providing an opportunity to hear something that might never have been heard if someone hadn't taken the time to do this. I'm really proud to be involved and to help give a visual representation to something that I think is important."
