Roger Dean

Roger Dean
Roger Dean, DragonCon 2008.
Born	(1944-08-31) 31 August 1944 (age 67) Ashford, Kent
Nationality	English
Field	Artist, designer, architect and publisher

Roger Dean logo

Freyja's Castle (1987), showing Dean's characteristic landscapes, with organic-looking constructions.

Roger Dean (born 31 August 1944) is an English artist, designer, architect, and publisher. He is best known for his work on posters and album covers for musicians, which he began painting in the late 1960s. The covers often feature exotic, fantasy landscapes. His work has sold more than sixty million copies world-wide, and his fantasy landscapes seem to have inspired those used in the film Avatar.^[1]

Life and work

Dean was born in Ashford, Kent, but he spent most of his childhood moving around the world with his British Army father. The family returned to England in 1956 where he was educated at The Norton Knatchbull School. He later earned a National Diploma of Design from the Canterbury School of Art. In 1968, he graduated from the Royal College of Art in London. He has lived in Brighton since 1972. He worked in an art factory when he was young named " the great art of Canterbury".

Invention vs design

Beginning in the field of design, he preferred to distinguish between design (the reworking of existing models), and invention (making something new). One of his inventions was the "sea urchin chair." It was a foam chair, which, though appearing spherical, would conform to the sitter, who could obtain a seated position of varying angles. Later, he was asked to design a "landscape" of similar seating for a club belonging to Ronnie Scott.^[2] His "retreat pod" chair design was featured in the film A Clockwork Orange.

Album covers

His first album cover work was in 1968 for The Gun. He also did the artwork for Atomic Rooster's album In Hearing of... This album cover hinted at the inimitable style for which he would later become famous. In the same year Dean produced the cover for the first album by the African/Caribbean band Osibisa, which featured a hybrid insect/elephant. This was much closer to Dean's work as we came to know it and it attracted widespread attention. Later that year, he began the partnership with the progressive rock bands Yes (and Asia) for which he is best known. His first design for the band was for their album Fragile. Dean designed the now-classic Yes "bubble" logo, which first appeared on the album Close to the Edge, and continued to create covers for the band until as recently as 2011 (Fly From Here). Yes guitarist Steve Howe said, "There is a pretty tight bond between our sound and Roger's art." In addition to their album covers, Dean also contributed to his brother Martyn Dean's stage set designs for the band.^[3]

Known primarily for the dreamy, other-worldly scenes he has created for Yes, Budgie, Uriah Heep, Gentle Giant and other bands, Dean has said, "I don't really think of myself as a fantasy artist but as a landscape painter." Characteristic landscapes show graceful stone arches (as shown in Arches Mist, below) or floating islands, while many paintings show organic appearing habitats (such as shown in the cover for Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe). Though he primarily works with watercolour paints, many of his paintings make use of multiple media, including gouache, ink, enamel, crayon and collage. In addition to his cover paintings, Dean is respected for his calligraphic work, designing logos and titles to go with his paintings.

Video game art

Beginning in 1985 with the software company Psygnosis, Dean has been responsible for the cover artwork for several video games, including Shadow of the Beast, Tetris Worlds as well as a redesign of the Tetris logo.^[4]

Publishing

Three compilations of his work have been published, including Views (1975)^[2] (the success of which led him to form publishing house Paper Tiger Books), Magnetic Storm (1984),^[3] and Dragon's Dream (2008). In addition, his architectural and furniture work have been exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum and in the Royal Academy.

Album and videogame covers

Arches Mist, 1996. Another characteristic image, a moody landscape, showing fantastic natural features.

Album covers

Video game covers

• 1986 Brataccas, Mindscape Inc./Psygnosis
• 1987 Barbarian, Psygnosis
• 1987 Terrorpods, Psygnosis
• 1988 Chrono Quest, Psygnosis
• 1988 Obliterator, Psygnosis
• 1989 Shadow of the Beast, Psygnosis/Reflections
• 1989 Stryx, Psyclapse
• 1990 Infestation, Psygnosis
• 1990 Shadow of the Beast II, Psygnosis/Reflections
• 1991 Amnios, Psygnosis
• 1992 Agony, Psygnosis
• 1992 Faceball 2000, Bullet-Proof Software
• 2001 Tetris Worlds, THQ
• 2007 Tetris Splash, Tetris Online, Inc. (title screens)

Publications

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• The Flights of Icarus (ISBN 0-905895-16-9 editor, contributor). Large format colour book with numerous paintings by Dean, Martyn Dean and others. Edited by Donald Lehmkuhl, Martyn Dean and Roger Dean.
• Views (1975) (ISBN 978-0061717093) This is a large-format colour book with full page and double page images of Roger Deans works, both architectural and artistic. The text was written by Dominy Hamilton and Carla Capalbo in association with Roger Dean. The architectural section was written by Donald Lehmkuhl.
• Magnetic Storm (1984) (ISBN 978-0061717109) First published in 1984, Magnetic Storm followed in the groundbreaking footsteps of the million-selling Views. Once again employing a large format and lavish production to showcase the unique art and design of Roger Dean, this iconic book was a retrospective of the astonishing breadth of work accomplished since the publication of its predecessor. Embracing designs for record sleeves, rock stages, movie projects, architecture, games consoles, landscapes, and books, Magnetic Storm features everything from innovative aircraft livery to the Yes logo. This new edition streamlines the original format and retains the combination of concept sketches and the finished works. Featuring revised design and typography, a new foreword, and a newly finished painting that Roger supplied especially for the front cover of this edition, Magnetic Storm showcases and celebrates the art that defined an era.
• Dragon's Dream (2008) (ISBN 978-0061626975) Dragon's Dream makes up the Roger Dean trilogy. Through Views and Magnetic Storm, Roger Dean established a devoted readership, while Dragon's Dream demonstrates how his visionary work has continued to illuminate an age of digital animation, computer games, and virtual worlds. A more ambitious work than its predecessors, it celebrates Roger's work from the last twenty years. This encompasses a panoramic dreamscape of original paintings; album covers, logos, and stage designs for bands including living legends Yes as they celebrate their 40th anniversary; virtual worlds, characters, and logos for computer games companies such as Psygnosis, Bullet-Proof Software, and Tetris; and concepts and designs for both opera and animated movies. Finally, there is a review of Roger's lifelong and prophetic passion for eco-friendly architecture, featuring the visionary prototypes with which he has addressed the topical issue of sustainable living in the twenty-first century. The first published collection of Roger Dean's work in more than twenty years, Dragon's Dream celebrates the enduring vision of one of the most significant artists of our time.

References

External links

• Roger Dean's personal web site
• Information about the Floating Islands film project
• BBCi Music Interview, 2002
• UK Distribution of Roger Dean Art