Gene Greif (September 11, 1954 – November 27, 2004) was a

graphic designer A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...

who specialized in creating

album cover art 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: * the printed paperboard covers typically used to package: ** sets of and 78 ...

. Greif was born in Queens. Greif attended LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and the

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly known as Cooper Union, is a private college on Cooper Square in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-s ...

where he first majored in architecture before graduating with a BFA in graphic design. In 1976, he became an art director for CBS Records where he designed album covers. He began his freelance career in 1983, working for ''Time'', ''The New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', ''Fortune'', AOL, Time Warner, and Knoll, among others. Greif was credited for taking inspiration from graphic design movements such as

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...

Constructivism Constructivism may refer to: Art and architecture * Constructivism (art), an early 20th-century artistic movement that extols art as a practice for social purposes * Constructivist architecture, an architectural movement in the Soviet Union in t ...

Surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

, and

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

to design album covers. One of his most famous works titled ''

Give 'Em Enough Rope ''Give 'Em Enough Rope'' is the second studio album by the English punk rock band the Clash, released on 10 November 1978 through CBS Records. It was their first album released in the United States, preceding the US version of the self-titled s ...

'' by

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

which became extremely popular among

postmodern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wo ...

designers.Crash’s design also influenced other punk album graphics. Grief designed special shopping bags for Bloomingdale’s that was impacted by Cubism and Dada for the design. His recognizable style as an illustrator was a result from his expertise with an airbrush. In 1980, Greif was a staff designer at Rolling Stone magazine and an art director at Vogue and Working Woman magazines. Greif died on November 27, 2004, from

hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection period, people often have mild or no symptoms. Early symptoms can include ...

complications.

References

1954 births 2004 deaths Artists from Queens, New York American graphic designers American album-cover and concert-poster artists Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Cooper Union alumni {{graphic-designer-stub