Roddy Bogawa's Taken by Storm: The Art of Storm Thorgerson and Hipgnosis has been making the film festival rounds since 2011 to great critical acclaim. Its theatrical release, which coincides with a DVD release, brings the project to a production conclusion, giving fans and arts enthusiasts a chance to celebrate one of the most important accounts of Pink Floyd-related history on the big screen.
The UK premiere takes place on Friday (October 16th) at 6:30pm at the Barbican, London, and includes an introduction and discussion with Roddy, Orian, and from StormStudios, Peter Curzon. Tickets for this very special occasion are still available - having seen an early screening of the film, that aspect alone is heartily recommended, but with the Q&A with Roddy, Orian and Peter, it really makes for an event not to be missed.
It's a documentary film about one man’s artistic journey amidst technological change and its affect on image-making and our collective memory and culture. For over forty years using 12” x 12” album covers as his canvas before his untimely passing in 2013, Storm Thorgerson created some of the most iconic images in the history of rock and roll. Eschewing computer manipulation in favour of building massive sets and tableaus, staging performances and actions and “doing it for real” in what he called “mind movies” and “photo paintings”, Thorgerson deliriously and relentlessly confounded expectations of the relation of images and music, hyperrealism and the everyday, and the role of the record sleeve at the intersection of art and commerce.
Director Roddy Bogawa’s documentary features intimate interviews with Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell as musicians he’s long collaborated with including David Gilmour and Nick Mason, Robert Plant, Peter Gabriel, Graham Gouldman and Alan Parsons and never before seen footage and photographs of the production of past record covers. It was shot over a three year period and executive produced by theatre director and avid music memorabilia collector Rob Roth and acclaimed producer Orian Williams.