Group Shots

I'm always intrigued by album covers that feature large groups of people as they invite you to really observe the artwork and decipher the characters. Here are 3 great examples of crowd-filled covers. 

First, The Airborne Toxic Event's All At Once album displays a black and white photograph of individuals whose eyes have been censored. Doing so prevents us from seeing their emotional state. These people could be protesting something just as much as they could be enjoying an outdoor concert. This cover is truly left open to the interpretation of anyone who sees it.

Next is Foster the People's Torches album. The illustration style and line work adds a certain quirkiness to the cover which makes you want to determine what each figure is doing. Just like All at Once, the album art is black and white with a spot colour. But despite this similarity, both albums convey an entirely different mood. 

Finally, and what I think is one of the most popular crowd scenes ever featured on an album, is The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The cover features many iconic celebrities of the 20th century such as Bob Dylan, Marilyn Monroe and Shirley Temple alongside other historic figures such as Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud. The juxtaposition of colour and greyscale images also makes for an interesting composition. Please take the time to do some research on the individuals featured on this award-winning cover as you may be surprised. Have you found Albert Einstein yet?