Not until recently did I realize the connection between a few of my favorite musicians and their album covers; the connection being graphic designer Peter Saville, who was also a co-founder of Factory Records.
In 1983, Saville designed one of my favorites for Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Pictured above is the fascinating 1919 painting "Dazzle-ships in Drydock at Liverpool" by Edward Wadsworth. Wadsworth was part of the Vorticism art movement which had similarities to Cubism and Futurism in its expression of dynamism and modernity.
The title and cover art for "Dazzle Ships", OMD's fourth album (pictured below), alludes to Wadsworth's painting which depicts dazzle camouflage. Dazzle camouflage has it's own interesting history - it was used by navies during WWI and to a lesser extent during WWII to confuse enemies of the type, size, speed, and heading of ships by using complex geometric shapes in contrasting colors, interrupting and intersecting each other.
The Guardian has a nice gallery and interview with Peter Saville. You can check out some of his favorite album designs for Joy Division and New Order designs and the back-story that goes with them.
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