Edward Curtiss Colver (born 1949), also known as Ed Colver, is an American photographer, best known for his early punk photographs."Photographer Edward Colver "The Eye of LA Punk""
''Edward Colver'' (official website). Retrieved June 8, 2015.

Overview

Colver not only created a visual document of the birth of the hardcore punk in suburban Southern California from late 1978 to mid-1984, but also he greatly helped in defining the photography style and

graphic Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture, ...

identity of the American

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...

movement. He was actually in the right place at the right time, and with the right attitude, but he was not merely a witness in the eye of the storm, he was indeed a living part of that big picture, and in this regard, his early work is an authentic self-portrait of the Southern California hardcore punk scene in its golden years. His work was featured extensively in the book '' American Hardcore: A Tribal History'' (2001), written by

Steven Blush Steven Blush is an American author, journalist, record collector and film maker who is best known for his book ''American Hardcore'' and the movie of the same name. Blush has written five books, is the founder of ''Seconds'' magazine and has w ...

, and in its documentary film version, '' American Hardcore'' (2006), directed by Paul Rachman.

Early life and family

A third-generation

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

n born on June 17, 1949, in Pomona, California, Colver was named after an ancestor who arrived in the United States from

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, England, in 1635. Edward's father, Charles Colver, was a forest ranger for 43 years. Upon his retirement, Charles was presented with the

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

Conservation Award by President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; p ...

at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 180 ...

. The tallest peak southwest of

Mount San Antonio Mount San Antonio, commonly referred to as Mount Baldy or Old Baldy, is a summit in the San Gabriel Mountains on the border of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties of California. Lying within the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and A ...

aka Mount Baldy, was named Colver Peak after Charles.

Photography

Essentially a

self-taught Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individu ...

photographer, Colver had a brief formal training during night classes at

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

, where he studied beginning photography with Eileen Cowin. Largely influenced by

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 1920 Dada flourished in Paris ...

and

Surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

, Colver was most impressed in his early years by the art of Southern Californian native

Edward Kienholz Edward Ralph Kienholz (October 23, 1927 – June 10, 1994) was an American Installation art, installation artist and assemblage (art), assemblage sculpture, sculptor whose work was highly critical of aspects of modern life. From 1972 onwards, he ...

. In the late 1960s, Edward's perspective on life and art was changed by his exposure to composers such as

Edgard Varèse Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (; also spelled Edgar; December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States. Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm; he coined ...

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known works include '' Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', ''Polish Requiem'', ' ...

and

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading f ...

. Three months after he began taking photographs, Colver had his first photograph published: an image of performance artist Johanna Went, featured in '' BAM'' magazine. Since then he has shot photographs for dozens of record labels including EMI,

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

and Geffen. His pictures have been featured on more than 500

album cover An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to either the printed paperboard covers typically used to package sets of and 78-rp ...

s and include some of the most recognizable and iconic covers of the punk era.

Selected cover art contributions

Notes

References

Further viewing

* Sample, Jack (2012). ''Contact Print: Edward Colver'' (documentary). The Film & Television Conservatory of the Orange County School of the Arts. Online at YouTube.

External links

*
"Pivotal Punk Rock Photographer Edward Colver Visits FIDM’s Graphic Design Portfolio Presentation"
'' Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising''. * Frankel, Ricky; Wisniewski, Kira (November 26, 2014)
"Interviews: Edward Colver"
''Punknews''. * Dr. Martens (April 2, 2015)
"Punks in the Pit: An Interview with Edward Colver"
'' Dr. Martens Blog''. * Caracola Gallery (October 22, 2006)
''In the Pit: The photos of Edward Colver''
(documentary). YouTube.
"Photogallery"
''Edward Colver'' (official website).
"Photography for Album Covers"
''Edward Colver'' (official website).
Edward Colver, discography
''

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming t ...

''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Colver, Edward Punk people Rock music photographers 1949 births Living people Artists from Los Angeles Photographers from California People from Pomona, California University of California, Los Angeles alumni 20th-century American photographers 21st-century American photographers