Phonograph record labels are cool. Drawing and painting phonograph record labels, a new obsession. It can start with the music (or not). The aesthetic of a label can drive the process. The rest is just work, like all other studio activity.
I was still living in New York city when Andy Warhol passed away. I had not yet started probing art, but I remember the profound impact his passing had on the city.
Andy was a NYC fixture. He was a celebrity. Everyone was talking about his unexpected death, from truck drivers to coffee shop workers.
I think only Andy Warhol could have produced this album. The songs, the band, Nico, all seem a natural extension of Andy’s body of work. And his practice extended into film making as well.
I had seen Lou Reed perform at the Pyramid Club in the East Village. It was one of my favorite nightclubs, a place where locals hang out, instead of the mega clubs that catered to the tourists primarily. He is the author of all of the songs in this record.
This particular record is a masterpiece. It never gets old. And it is still ahead of our times even today.
Left: Untitled (Blu) Oil on canvas, 2017 Middle: Untitled ( Alexanders still life ) Right: Untitled ( Pink Tulip ) Oil on canvas, 2017
In 2021 Augusto dined at Alexander’s in North Park, San Diego, CA. That was during the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic and they were passing out paper menus. He took advantage of that to create a sketch of one of the floral arrangements.
Alexanders Still Life – 2021, pencil on back of menu