It's been 12 months since I discovered who this man was; although when I was working as a music buyer in Sydney I was, unbeknownst to me familiar with his work. Unfortunately as the saying goes"all good things must come to an end", and Jim Flora is no longer with us, however his work lives on and inspires many of us admirers. In a nutshell Jim Flora (1914-1998) has been long admired for his boisterous 1940's-1950's record cover illustrations and later a series of best selling children's books.
Flora has been rediscovered by Irwin Chusid and Barbara Economon who together with the family's blessing has trawled through the Flora archives and published three volumes of Jim Flora's art work. (I have them all!) Jim Flora was responsible for making the humble record cover a piece of art, using it as a canvas for advertising, and as a result people began to buy albums based purely on the look of the cover, not the music within. 50 years later Flora's album covers are collector's items, commanding big money at auction. Why do I like his work? With a limited colour pallet, Flora's art jumps off the page and commands your attention, he uses simple shapes, sharp angles contrasted with curves, and although colourful and what you think is joyous and happy, can in some instances have a more sinister content.
Good to see you up and running Liz, and as usual you are handling it like a champ. Can't wait to check out more from you.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Better late than never (I 'spose!)
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