Roger Dean

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For the Australian politician, see Roger Dean (Australian politician).
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Freyja's Castle, 1987
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Freyja's Castle, 1987

Roger Dean (born August 31, 1944, in Ashford, Kent, England) is a contemporary British artist best known for his work on album covers, which he began painting in the late 1960s.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Dean was born in England, but spent most of his childhood moving around the world with his British Army father. The family returned to England in 1959 and he earned a National Diploma of Design from the Canterbury School of Art. In 1968, he graduated from the Royal College of Art in London. Beginning in the field of design, he preferred to distinguish between design, or the reworking of existing models, and invention, or the making of 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. [1]

His first album cover work was in 1968 for a group called Gun. In 1971, Dean produced the cover for the first album by the African/Caribbean band, Osibisa, which attracted a lot of attention to his work. Later that year, he began the partnership for which he is best known, designing his first album cover, Fragile, for the progressive rock band Yes. Dean designed the classic Yes "bubble" logo, which first appeared on the album Close to the Edge, and has created covers for the band as recently as 1999 (The Ladder). 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.[2]

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, above) or floating islands, while many paintings show organic appearing habitats (such as shown in the cover for Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, below). Though he primarily works in watercolor, 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.

Beginning in 1985 with the software company Psygnosis, Dean has been responsible for the cover artwork for several videogames, including Tetris Worlds as well as a redesign of the Tetris logo.[3]

Two compilations of his work, Views (1975)[1] and Magnetic Storm (1984)[2], have been published. In addition, his architectural and furniture work have been exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum and in the Royal Academy.

In recent years, Roger Dean has focused a great deal on his architectural ideas. He has designed both homes and sustainable villages. As a designer, Dean has developed all aspects of his homes, from construction techniques to emotional comfort and security. The design of these homes is based on his Home For Life concept, a house that is artistically beautiful and environmentally kind, but cheap and quick to build.[4]

Pathways, 1973
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Pathways, 1973

In early 2005, Dean announced plans to create a feature film titled Floating Islands. This film will be produced by Roger Dean and David Mousley. The story is based on the underlying theme depicted in the album artwork for Yes. It will feature animated 3D renderings of classic Dean images and music by Yes.

Roger travels every summer to the North East Art Rock Festival, or NEARfest, as the invited guest, and has designed the festival logo every year since 2001. He welcomes the chance to meet many of his fans in person and has signed thousands of autographs of his work.

Dean has lived in Brighton since 1972.

[edit] Selected list of works

  • 1964 Sea Urchin Chair
  • 1973 Escape
  • 1973 Arrival
  • 1973 Awakening
  • 1973 Pathways
  • 1973 Tales From Topographic Oceans
Arches Mist, 1996
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Arches Mist, 1996
  • 1974 Relayer
  • 1975 Green Castle
  • 1976 Jade Sea
  • 1980 Drama
  • 1981 Green Tower
  • 1982 Asia Dragon
  • 1983 Asia Pyramid
  • 1984 Hunting Dragon
  • 1987 Freyja’s Castle
  • 1989 Blue Desert
  • 1989 Red Desert
  • 1991 The Guardians
  • 1991 Tsunami
  • 1991 Yellow City
  • 1993 Floating Islands
  • 1993 Shadowland
  • 1994 Aria
  • 1995 Sea of Light
  • 1995 Dragon’s Garden
  • 1995? Dragon’s Garden (i) Mist/Dragon
  • 1995? Dragon’s Garden (ii) Mist
  • 1995? Dragon’s Garden (iii) Sunrise/Dragon
  • 1995? Dragon’s Garden (iv) Sunrise
  • 1996 Arches Morning
  • 1996 Arches Mist
  • 1999 The Ladder
  • 2002 Floating Jungle

[edit] Selected album covers

[edit] Osibisa

Osibisa, 1971

Woyaya, 1971

[edit] Atomic Rooster

In Hearing of Atomic Rooster, 1971

Resurrection, 2002

[edit] Yes

Fragile, 1971

Close to the Edge, 1972

Yessongs, 1973

Tales from Topographic Oceans, 1973

Relayer, 1974

Yesterdays, 1975

Drama, 1980

Yesshows, 1980

Classic Yes, 1981

Union, 1991

Yesyears, 1991

Yesstory, 1992

Keys to Ascension, 1996

Keys to Ascension 2, 1997

Open Your Eyes, 1997

Keys to Ascension Volumes 1 and 2, 1998

The Ladder, 1999

House of Yes: Live from House of Blues, 2000

Keystudio, 2001

In a Word: Yes (1969 - ), 2002

The Ultimate Yes: 35th Anniversary Collection, 2003

The Word is Live, 2005

[edit] Budgie

Squawk, 1972

Never Turn Your Back On a Friend, 1973

An Ecstasy of Fumbling: The Definitive Anthology, 1996

[edit] Uriah Heep

Demons and Wizards, 1972

The Magician's Birthday, 1972

Sea of Light, 1995

Acoustically Driven, 2001

Remasters: The Official Anthology, 2001

[edit] Greenslade

Greenslade, 1973

Bedside Manners are Extra, 1973

[edit] Steve Howe

Beginnings, 1975

The Steve Howe Album, 1979

Turbulence, 1991

Not Necessarily Acoustic, 1994

Elements, 2003

[edit] Asia

Asia, 1982

Alpha, 1983

Astra, 1985

Aria, 1994

Aura, 2001

[edit] Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe

Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, 1989

An Evening of Yes Music Plus, 1993

[edit] Rick Wakeman

Rick Wakeman's Greatest Hits, 1993

Return to the Center of the Earth, 1999

[edit] Miscellaneous

Gun by Gun, 1968

Earth and Fire by Earth and Fire, 1969

Elastic Rock by Nucleus, 1970

One Fine Morning by Lighthouse, 1970

Dedicated to You But You Weren't Listening by The Keith Tippett Group, 1971

Space Hymns by Ramases, 1971

Octopus by Gentle Giant, 1972

First Base by Babe Ruth, 1972

Spring Suite by McKendree Spring, 1973

One Live Badger by Badger, 1973

Staircase to the Day by Gravy Train, 1974

Cactus Choir by Dave Greenslade, 1976

Natural Avenue by John Lodge, 1977

Breaking Starcodes by Barry Devlin, 1983

Eat Me in St. Louis by It Bites, 1989

Symphonic Music of Yes, 1993

Tales from Yesterday, 1995

Us and Them: Symphonic Pink Floyd, 1995

Supernatural Fairy Tales: The Progressive Rock Era, 1996

Moray Eels Eat the Space Needle by Space Needle, 1997

Yes, Friends and Relatives, 1998

Ad Infinitum by Ad Infinitum, 1998

Yes Friends and Relatives Volume Two, 2000

Flattening Mountains and Creating Empires by Vermilion, 2002

The Iridium Controversy by Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, 2003

The Inconsolable Secret by Glass Hammer, 2005

[edit] Game box covers

[edit] Books

  • The Flights of Icarus (ISBN 0-905895-16-9 editor, contributor). Large format color book with numerous paintings by Dean, Martyn Dean and others. Edited by Donald Lehmkuhl, Martyn Dean and Roger Dean.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Roger Dean (1975). Views. Reissue: Pomegranate (1993): ISBN 1-56640-448-7
  2. ^ a b Roger Dean (1984). Magnetic Storm. Reissue: Pomegranate (1993): ISBN 1-56640-449-5.
  3. ^ Roger Dean's profile at MobyGames
  4. ^ Home for Life designs at the official Roger Dean website

[edit] External links

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