Jim Flora
In the 1940s and 1950s, James (Jim) Flora produced a slew of jazz and classical album covers for the likes of RCA Victor and Columbia Records. Also an author and illustrator of children's books, Flora (1914-1998) is perhaps most well-known for his skewed perspective and monstrous figures. From the Jim Flora website:
Flora's album covers pulsed with angular hepcats bearing funnel-tapered noses and shark-fin chins who fingered cockeyed pianos and honked lollipop-hued horns. Yet this childlike exuberance was subverted by a tinge of the diabolic. Flora wreaked havoc with the laws of physics, conjuring flying musicians, levitating instruments, and wobbly dimensional perspectives.
Taking liberties with human anatomy, he drew bonded bodies and misshapen heads, while inking ghoulish skin tints and grafting mutant appendages. He was not averse to pigmenting jazz legends Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa like bedspread patterns. On some Flora figures, three legs and five arms were standard equipment, with spare eyeballs optional. His rarely seen fine artworks reflect the same comic yet disturbing qualities. "He was a monster," said artist and Floraphile JD King. So were many of his creations.
This citation fails to mention one hugely important Flora factoid: he's a native Ohioan. Uh-huh, that's right. An Ohioan. From Bellefontaine, OH, to be exact. Ohio births some pretty freakin' talented peeps. Not that I'm biased or anything...
I strongly encourage you all to click on over to the Jim Flora website, which dishes up a visual feast of the illustrator's work, presenting galleries, fine art prints, album covers, merchandise, and more. Oh, and there's even a link to the Jim Flora blog! I've included some of my favorite covers below, which I found in larger file sizes via the Jim Flora Art Pool on Flickr. For a complete list of Columbia and RCA albums for which Flora created covers, see his discography HERE.
June 2, 2011
Reader Comments (1)
Monstrously fantastic!