| Guy Peellaert | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1934-04-06)6 April 1934 Brussels, Belgium |
| Died | 17 November 2008(2008-11-17) (aged 74) Paris, France |
| Area | Cartoonist, Artist |
Notable works | The Adventures of Jodelle (1966) Diamond Dogs (1974) |
Guy Peellaert (6 April 1934 – 17 November 2008) was a Belgian artist, painter, illustrator, comic artist and photographer, most famous for the bookRock Dreams, and hisalbum covers for rock artists likeDavid Bowie (Diamond Dogs) andthe Rolling Stones (It's Only Rock 'n Roll).[1] He also designedfilm posters for films likeTaxi Driver (1976),Paris, Texas (1984), andShort Cuts (1993). The bandFrankie Goes to Hollywood took their name from Peellaert's painting, titledFrank Sinatra, which featured the headline "Frankie Goes Hollywood".
Peellaert was born into an aristocratic family, but left home at an early age. He studied fine arts inBrussels, and became heavily influenced by American and British pop culture, film noir and pulp literature, before making his debut as a decorator for theaters and comic strip artist.[2]
His style was influenced bypsychedelic art andPop Art. He moved toParis, where he worked variously in advertising, set design for the casino and theCrazy Horse nightclub, film and television. His comic strip,Les Aventures de Jodelle, was published in 1966 in the controversial French magazineHara-Kiri.[3] Theprotagonist, Jodelle, was modelled after singerSylvie Vartan.[1] A year later in 1967 he made his second pop art comic bookPravda, also prepublished in Hara Kiri. The main character of this book is based onFrancoise Hardy.
In 1973, he collaborated with British rock journalistNik Cohn on the best-selling bookRock Dreams, which reportedly sold a million copies after it was published the following year.[1] The book consisted of Peellaert's visual illustrations which celebrated and exaggerated the rebel heritage of pop music and, particularly,rock and roll, with commentary by Cohn.[4] Many of the original artworks were bought by actorJack Nicholson.[2]
After the success ofRock Dreams, Peellaert became perhaps best known for his rock album covers. He designed covers forThe Rolling Stones (It's Only Rock 'n' Roll),David Bowie (Diamond Dogs),Étienne Daho (Pour nos vies martiennes),Lio (Wandatta), and others.
He painted in a veryphotorealistic style and often usedpastel. The album cover of David Bowie'sDiamond Dogs (1974) met with controversy. The cover art features Bowie as a striking half-man, half-dog grotesque. It was controversial as the full painting clearly showed the hybrid'sgenitalia. Very few copies of this original cover made their way into circulation at the time of the album's release. According to the record-collector publicationGoldmine price guides, these albums have been among the most expensive record collectibles of all time, as high as thousands of US dollars for a single copy. The genitalia were quicklyairbrushed out for the 1974 LP's gatefold sleeve. The original, unedited artwork appeared in a double-page spread of the June 1974 issue ofCreem magazine and later appeared on several re-releases of the album.
Peellaert also created another painting for theDiamond Dogs album, which reproduces a photograph taken for the album by Terry O'Neill. It depicts Bowie in a cordobes hat, holding on to the leash of a leapingGreat Dane dog. The painting placed the scene within a skyline of skyscrapers that fit within the album's theme of a future city.
The painting was intended for the inner gatefold of theDiamond Dogs album but was rejected for the same reason as Peellaert's other painting for the album, its depiction of the Mastiff's genitalia.
Instead, in 1974, when theDiamond Dogs album was first released, it was printed as a 17.5"x32", lithographic poster, by Mainman, the production company established in 1972 by David Bowie's manager,Tony Defries. It was only available for a few years by direct sale and only through Mainman's Bowie fan club. As such, the poster is quite rare and valuable. A copy is held in the collection of the New York City'sMuseum of Modern Art (object # 177.2012).
Peellaert also designed film posters for films likeTaxi Driver (byMartin Scorsese),Short Cuts (byRobert Altman),L'argent (byRobert Bresson),Paris, Texas andWings of Desire (byWim Wenders)[1] He also designed programme titles for television shows on the French TV channelAntenne 2 in 1982.
Peellaert and Cohn collaborated again on20th-Century Dreams in 1999, with illustrations of political and world historical figures.
His work has been exhibited internationally and magazines likeLes Inrockuptibles,The Guardian andVanity Fair have praised his work.
He died at the age of 74 ofcancer.
