All 64 prints.
Combining my studies in design, art, and experience in an impactful class called The Beatles & The Creative Process, I made 64 3x4 inch linoleum block prints celebrating the Beatles and their creative progression/innovations. To start, I hand-drew 4 different illustrations and rendered type for 4 different song titles in InDesign. I then used carbon transfer paper to transfer the imagery/type to the blocks.
From there, I carved 8 different linoleum blocks using a series of blades (shown on left). For those who don't know, block prints kind of work like rubber stamps. Anything that's carved away won't be inked, and the prints will reveal the reverse of what the carved block looks like.
Once the blocks are carved, they are ready for printing. They are inked using a roller and block printing ink (shown above).
I chose to include "Love Me Do" because it was their first charting single that they wrote by themselves. I consider one of the first marks, if not the first, that they were doing special and different.
"Tomorrow Never Knows" is a song from the Beatles' 1966 album, Revolver. The song is of the first of their exceptionally experimental tracks, with its many tape loops and sound effects. At the time (and to this day), the song was innovative and sonically interesting.
"Strawberry Fields Forever" was a single for their album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and also appears on Magical Mystery Tour. It is what I consider to be their creative height (except for maybe "A Day In The Life"). The track is comprised of two different versions of the song (in two different keys/tempos) which George Martin heroically pieced together. Again, at the time the song was positively mindblowing and inspirational to many artists at the time.
As "Love Me Do" marked the beginning of their creative progression, "Let It Be" serves as an excellent measure of how much they grew as artists and songwriters.
Indian music/culture had a huge influence on George Harrison and the other Beatles, fueling songs like "Within You Without You," "Tomorrow Never Knows," "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)," instrumentally and/or conceptually.
This image was inspired by "Octopus's Garden," what I consider to be Ringo's creative height in terms of songwriting.
Created for the song "Rain," which marks the first instance where the Beatles used backwards recording in a song (a tool they would could continue to emplor for many songs to come). I wanted something a bit more abstract than the straightforward imagery I use in the other blocks in an effort to even things out.
For "Strawberry Fields Forever," arguably their most groundbreaking, innovative song. I aimed for a psychedelic look to mimic the feeling of the tune.
Takeaways for the capstone exhibition, printed using a gradient inking method.
7 rows/columns (due to space/Isabel limitations) of the pieces on display.
Another shot of my project (and me for scale!).
