Slow Looking: For the Record

Thu 25 Apr 2024 - Thu 25 Apr 2024

The musician Prince poses naked, eyes looking dolefully upward, against a large flower backdrop..

Slow Looking: For the Record

Thu 25 Apr 2024 - Thu 25 Apr 2024

View five album covers from the For the Record: Photography & the Art of the Album Cover exhibition, listen to the audio descriptions and/or download the audio description transcripts below.

These audio descriptions have been produced by Eleanor Margolies.

Biography:

Eleanor Margolies is a writer and audio describer. She has a background in puppetry and theatre design, with interests in ecology and the role of the senses in performance. She audio describes in museum, theatre and dance contexts, and has led architectural tours for Open House London.

The cover of a 1968 compilation album titled ‘The Georgia Blues 1927-1933’ featuring a black and white photograph by Dorothea Lange of a group of men sitting on the porch of a general store, with the album title and an additional image superimposed on spaces in the image.

Download a transcript of the audio description for The Georgia Blues album cover here
The cover of Pink Floyd's album 'Animals' featuring a colour photo of Battersea Power Station with a large, pink inflatable pig suspended between the front two of its four, protruding, white chimneys.

Download a transcript of the audio description for Pink Floyd's album cover here
The album cover for ‘London Calling’ by The Clash combines a grainy black and white photograph of bassist Paul Simonon leaning down to smash his guitar to the stage floor with pink and green bold lettering.

Download a transcript of the audio description for The Clash's album cover here
Cover of the album cover for Grace Jones 'Island Life' featuring a full length side portrait of a tall, short-haired black woman facing left. She balances touching her right leg, folded up and behind her, with her outstretched right arm. Her right arm is stretched in front holding a microphone. She is nude but for a thin red strip of fabric across her breasts and strips of colourful fabric on her wrists, elbow and knee. The wall behind her is pale blue.

Download a transcript of the audio description for Grace Jones' album cover here
A colour image by Jean-Baptiste Mondino for the cover of Prince’s 1988 ‘Lovesexy’ album is a montage combining close up flower photography with a nude portrait of the artist, who sits on the unfolding petals of a white lily, leaning back against pillowy blooms of pale purple.

Download a transcript of the audio description for Prince's album cover here