Bono confessed that he loved Sugimoto’s seascape photographs and began quizzing the artist about the work.
“He started taking notes as I talked,” Sugimoto recalled. Those notes became the foundation for the new album’s title track. Last year, during a visit to Dublin, Sugimoto heard the first demo tape, and a few months later was told by Bono that U2 wanted to use the Boden Sea image on the album jacket.
“I said, ‘Are you sure? If you use it you won’t be able to put anything on top of it, not even the U2 name,” the artist remembered.
He was surprised when Bono strongly agreed. Rolling Stone is now calling the text-free jacket “an early front runner for album cover of the year.” (The cover also features an equal sign, but it is attached to the plastic wrapper, so it disappears once opened it.) Then came talk of money.
“I gave myself just a second to think about it,” Sugimoto recalled, “and I said ‘How about a Stone Age deal — no cash?’ ”
Bono agreed on an “artist-to-artist” barter whereby Sugimoto could use the “No Line on the Horizon” song in any project he wanted in the future. Sugimoto says he still hasn’t made up his mind about how to use the song — which he says he likes, but liked even better in its “more hard rock” demo stage.
– From a story over on The Japan Times Online sent to me by Ellis Vener.
Comments 26
I kept waiting to read the part where the lawyers stepped in and did their thing. It’s refreshing to see a story where there is no talk of litigation!!
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Posted 06 Apr 2009 at 8:19 am ¶hrmmmm interesting idea. i’ll propose this next time some band wants a free shot :)
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Posted 06 Apr 2009 at 8:19 am ¶I admire the confidence Sugimoto displayed in defending the visual integrity of his work. I’m surprised he wanted a hard rockin song — his images portray such quiet.
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Posted 06 Apr 2009 at 8:25 am ¶I wish I could’ve made such a deal with Miles Davis.
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Posted 06 Apr 2009 at 8:28 am ¶Brilliant! A new dawn of economics is upon us…maybe
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Posted 06 Apr 2009 at 8:35 am ¶Now that I think about it, a track or two by U2 would go nicely behind my portfolio.
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Posted 06 Apr 2009 at 8:37 am ¶Here’s a little backstory about Sugimoto and his dealer Larry Gagosian. Seems tough times have hit Sugimoto too — his print prices have plumeted from $450,000 all the way down to $360,000. (But remember, he only gets 50% of that, so get out the violin).
http://tinyurl.com/c5ecur
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Posted 06 Apr 2009 at 8:58 am ¶How refreshing to see a bartering amoung artists of this caliber. As an artist myself, I have always been in favor of the bartering system. I believe that it shows that money is not always the most important thing & shows mutual respect.
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Posted 06 Apr 2009 at 8:59 am ¶Simplicity.
Like The Beatles White Album.
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Posted 06 Apr 2009 at 9:15 am ¶I’ve always liked Sugimoto’s pictures (especially his architectural work); see his prints in person if you get the chance!
What good is a song to him? Is he going to stream it on his webpage? :P
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Tyler, Chicago Reply:
April 6th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
@Alan Astonish,
Saw his work a few years back, exhibited in conjunction with Isamu Noguchi. I count them both as influences.
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Interesting deal!
But for sheer simplicity surely the undisputed crown belongs to Tap’s “Smell the Glove” ;)
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Posted 06 Apr 2009 at 9:41 am ¶@ #8
Nicely said!
Artists share among artists, and receive inspiration and admiration for each other.
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Posted 06 Apr 2009 at 10:13 am ¶Nice to see two artists keeping it real, especially when big money and long contracts could be involved.
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Posted 06 Apr 2009 at 10:25 am ¶Stone age business model.
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Posted 06 Apr 2009 at 10:50 am ¶Keeping it real? What ever does that mean?
The parties concerned here are all used to dealing with fees and contracts commensurate with the value they create. Maybe Sugimoto is a big fan of the group and doesn’t really need the money. I can understand that. So I wonder what Sugimoto has in mind. Could be interesting, but it might have made more business sense to just agree a fair fee.
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Posted 06 Apr 2009 at 12:34 pm ¶Anyone who likes Sugimoto’s work should also check out italian photographer Mimmo Jodice.
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Posted 06 Apr 2009 at 2:03 pm ¶I’m sure TR has the same kind of deal with hot women and their body parts….it’s nothing new when you’re flying at the altitude I’m sure.
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Posted 06 Apr 2009 at 2:24 pm ¶I thought about this after reading the story several days ago and realized what a great opportunity was missed. Maybe these guys are flying in a rarefied atmosphere but that’s exactly the type of people who can herald in change. “What if” Sugimoto had requested $1 million to create a fund that could be used to raise awareness of copyright issues or some such cause? He has/had Bono in a position to become a spokesperson for said cause and with proper planning people might actually start to take note which in turn would help a greater number of people than just the two parties involved. Its something to think about . . .
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Blue Reply:
April 8th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
@h.linton,
Yeah, what if. What if someone asked Bono to be a spokesperson for something he didn’t really want to be a spokesperson for. What kind of a spokesperson is that?
What if Sugimoto decided to ask for 1 million dollars for a fund to save one legged panda’s.
You can “what if” all day,the point is that these two great figures have reached an agreement based upon artistic integrity, collaborative visions, and although it may not immediately benefit all of us it sets a precedent that we can try and match. Tackle your own causes, don’t rely on someone else’s coat tails.
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Now that is refreshing and cool…..on both sides…
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Posted 06 Apr 2009 at 3:42 pm ¶Many thanks for this Rob, once again your blog identifies more interesting trends for the Photographic Industry
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Posted 06 Apr 2009 at 4:19 pm ¶I would be open to similar barters. The trouble is that the Tax Man will want to place values on these deals. It still begs the question of whether deals at the top can work when trickled down to a lower scale.
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Posted 06 Apr 2009 at 4:21 pm ¶#18 has it dead-on.
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Posted 06 Apr 2009 at 4:27 pm ¶that is super bad ass. love it.
rocksteady,
danno~
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Posted 06 Apr 2009 at 4:51 pm ¶As far a Bono being a spokesperson for copyright change – good luck with that. Seeing as his label (Island at the time) just about sued the band Negativeland out of existence for copyright infringement. Only to use the same sampling techniques on the Zoo TV tour.
So forgive me if I don’t think of U2 as being particularly original. And album cover of the year? I wonder what Taylor Deupree had to pay to use the same photo? And then there’s the Brothomstates’ 2001 Warp album Caro. When will it end.
Sorry for the negativity. I truly do look forward to what Sugimoto does with the music. And I appreciate Bono’s altruistic side, I just don’t think copyright issues are a good fit for him.
http://pitchfork.com/news/34413-is-the-new-u2-album-cover-a-rip-off/
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Posted 07 Apr 2009 at 7:47 pm ¶This is a very interesting story about collaboration. It’s nice to see that there is a true respect between U2 and Sugimoto.
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Posted 08 Apr 2009 at 9:20 am ¶Now all we need is magazine’s with no masthead……
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Posted 09 Apr 2009 at 12:18 pm ¶Trackbacks & Pingbacks 9
[...] Check it out here. [...]
[...] There are some more details on the Photo Editor Blog. [...]
[...] at aphotoeditor.com, Rob Haggart has an interesting post about how U2 came to Hiroshi Sugimoto’s image for their new [...]
[...] dwordclass 0 Comments Categories: Uncategorized Great photo. Great arrangement between photog and U2 not involving money. (Plus, a cool blog. Now linked to over on the [...]
[...] Vía | A photo Editor [...]
[...] Bono confessed that he loved Sugimoto’s seascape photographs and began quizzing the artist about the work. “He started taking notes as I talked,” Sugimoto recalled. Those notes became the foundation for the new album’s title track. Last year, during a visit to Dublin, Sugimoto heard the first demo tape, and a few months later was told by Bono that U2 wanted to use the Boden Sea image on the album jacket. Bono agreed on an “artist-to-artist” barter whereby Sugimoto could use the “No Line on the Horizon” song in any project he wanted in the future. Sugimoto says he still hasn’t made up his mind about how to use the song — which he says he likes, but liked even better in its “more hard rock” demo stage. - Hiroshi Sugimoto’s No Cash Deal With U2 [...]
[...] The website A Photo Editor has an interesting post from earlier this month regarding the photograph on U2’s new album No Line on the Horizon. The title song of the album was inspired by the photographers work and he allowed it to be the album cover with the condition of no text may obstruct any part of the image, which something not really done. Additionally the terms of the usage was an artist to artist deal, meaning U2 could use the image and the photographer obtained rights to the song for his use in the future. More information of how this whole transaction came about may be found on the A Photo Editor website and his recent post Hiroshi Sugimoto’s No Cash Deal with U2. [...]
[...] Hiroshi Sugimoto trades photo to U2 for album cover, details here. [...]
[...] Hiroshi Sugimoto’s No Cash Deal With U2 la foto de la portada de U2 [...]
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