Barbara Wojirsch (born 1940) is a German graphic designer known primarily for developing the visual style for album covers released by ECM Records.

Early life

Wojirsch studied painting at the Stuttgart Academy of Fine Arts. A realization that there are many good painters in the world led her to take up advertising for a short time, but she was disillusioned with the idea of telling people “things that aren’t true.”

ECM Records

In 1970, Wojirsch and her husband Burkhardt began designing covers for

ECM ECM may refer to: Economics and commerce * Engineering change management * Equity capital markets * Error correction model, an econometric model * European Common Market Mathematics * Elliptic curve method * European Congress of Mathematics ...

(Edition of Contemporary Music), Manfred Eicher’s newly formed jazz recording label headquartered in Munich. The couple jointly signed their work B & B Wojirsch in a collaboration that continued until Burkhardt’s untimely death in the mid 1970s. After her husband's death, Wojirsch continued to work for ECM. In 1978 photographer Dieter Rehm joined ECM’s staff. By the time Wojirsch retired in the mid 1990s, she had designed more than 200 covers for ECM recording artists including

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

David Holland David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years. His extensive discography r ...

Keith Jarrett Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) is an American jazz and classical music pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also been a ...

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...

and

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...

. Wojirsch’s distinct aesthetic approach rooted in minimalism and modernism complemented the clear, pristine sounds that are Eicher’s signature. The influence of modern artists including

Cy Twombly Edwin Parker "Cy" Twombly Jr. (; April 25, 1928July 5, 2011) was an American Painting, painter, Sculpture, sculptor and photographer. He belonged to the generation of Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. Twombly is said to have influenced you ...

is evident in some of her designs, particularly on covers like Pat Metheny’s ''Rej''oicing. Her distinct handwriting serves as the central graphic for a variety of albums including ''

80/81 ''80/81'' is a double album by jazz guitarist Pat Metheny, featuring tenor saxophonists Dewey Redman and Michael Brecker, acoustic bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Jack DeJohnette, which was released in 1980. Metheny toured in the U.S. in fall 19 ...

'' by Pat Metheny Group and ''

Tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...

'' by Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette. In 1978, Wojirsch’s design for the Steve Kuhn album, ''Non-Fiction'', was a nominee in the

21st Grammy Awards The 21st Annual Grammy Awards were held in 1979, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1978. Award winners *Record of the Year **Phil Ramone (producer) & Billy Joel for " Jus ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wojirsch, Barbara Wikipedia Student Program Women graphic designers Album-cover and concert-poster artists 1940 births Living people