Robert Emett (Bob) Seidemann (December 28, 1941 – November 27, 2017
) was an American graphic artist and photographer.
Biography
Seidemann was born in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, New York, and grew up in Queens. He graduated from Manhattan High School of Aviation Trades and apprenticed with photographer
Tom Caravaglia in NYC before heading west to
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
. There he found friends among the artists in North Beach and environs and began working as an artist himself. He collaborated with friends David Getz, Rick Griffin, Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelly,
Big Brother and the Holding Company
Big Brother and the Holding Company is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Jefferson Airplane. After som ...
, George Hunter, The Charlatans,
Janis Joplin and the
Grateful Dead to create photographic images at the forefront of the popular and revolutionary culture of the time.
Although unpublished until her death, Seidemann's 1967 portraits of a semi-nude Janis Joplin earned him wide acclaim.
Seidemann also photographed The Grateful Dead a number of times during their peak, both for posters and album liners, as well as designing the covers for
Jerry Garcia's debut solo album, ''
Garcia'', and The Grateful Dead's ''
Wake of the Flood'' with Rick Griffin illustrating.
In 1969,
Eric Clapton formed a new band and Seidemann was commissioned to create the cover for their album. Seidemann photographed a nude 11-year-old girl to create what would become his most famous and controversial work, titled "Blind Faith". Not only did it become the cover and title of ''
Blind Faith
Blind Faith were an English supergroup featuring Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Ric Grech. They were eagerly anticipated by the music press following on the success of each of the member's former bands, including Clapton a ...
'' the album, but the name of the band as well.
From 1974 till 1984 Seidemann produced more than 60 record album covers in Los Angeles, among them
Jackson Browne's ''
Late for the Sky
''Late for the Sky'' is the third studio album by American singer–songwriter Jackson Browne, released by Asylum Records on September 13, 1974. It peaked at number 14 on ''Billboards Pop Albums chart.
In 2020, the album was deemed "cul ...
'' and
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fur ...
's ''
On the Beach''. His cover photo for the 1978
Bob Seger album
Stranger in Town (album)
''Stranger in Town'' is the tenth studio album by American rock singer Bob Seger and his second with the Silver Bullet Band, released by Capitol Records in May 1978 (see 1978 in music). As with its predecessor, the Silver Bullet Band backed Seg ...
, shot in the Hollywood Hills, became an iconic Seger photo.
From the late 1980s till 2000, Seidemann produced a portfolio of 302 aviation-themed photographs entitled "Airplane as Art". Striking abstract photographs of all manner of aircraft and environmental portraits of aircraft engineers, designers, and pilots make up the collection. “Airplane As Art” is in included in the Getty Museum Photography Collection, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, McDermott Library, UTDallas, and the Boeing Corporate Collection .
A portfolio sold at
Sotheby's
Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
on October 12, 2000, for $236,750.
His 1969 "Blind Faith" flush-mounted and signed chromogenic photo print, editioned (17/30), sold at Sotheby's New York on June 24, 2014(lot 20), at $17,500 (with buyer's premium).
References
External links
Home page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seidemann, Bob
1941 births
2017 deaths
People from Manhattan
American photographers
American graphic designers
People from Queens, New York