The Who - Tommy - 1969
The outer cover has a sphere (Earth/Self) hanging in an endless infinite space that can never be touched – only imagined. The sphere has diamond-shaped cutouts
and an overlay of clouds and seagulls rendered with a figure-ground ambiguity.
To one side a star-spangled hand bursts from the dark background, index finger pointing forward. The record label insisted on having the band members pictured on the cover, so another version featuring small images of their faces inserted into the gaps in the central sphere was created for this purpose.
The inside cover has wall lights and a wall, symbols of domestic space – the room we all live in. The light from these lamps, however, does not fix things as in our sighted world – it shifts and changes for Tommy.
The outer cover has a sphere (Earth/Self) hanging in an endless infinite space that can never be touched – only imagined. The sphere has diamond-shaped cutouts
and an overlay of clouds and seagulls rendered with a figure-ground ambiguity.
To one side a star-spangled hand bursts from the dark background, index finger pointing forward. The record label insisted on having the band members pictured on the cover, so another version featuring small images of their faces inserted into the gaps in the central sphere was created for this purpose.
The inside cover has wall lights and a wall, symbols of domestic space – the room we all live in. The light from these lamps, however, does not fix things as in our sighted world – it shifts and changes for Tommy.