Kodak "Psychedelic" Film on Album Covers

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Why am I talking about film? It played a role in "psychedelic" album art in the 1960s, and its use spilled into the early 1970s. It helped push the hippie movement and married visual art to music in a way that hasn't occurred since. It became synonymous with the hippie movement.

Aerochrome Film, Infrared film, was developed (no pun intended) by the military for reconnaissance missions so they could see details that couldn't be seen with regular film. It is characterized by bright colors and colors that turn into different colors. I have included some album art from the '60s and early '70s that exemplifies this. 

What a great way for artists to use film and make an artistic and cultural statement. According to my buddy Google AI assistant, one of the pioneers of its use in music art was Karl Ferris at Kolari Vision. Others followed suit. 

See some covers below. Note Ferris using the bulging Fish-Eye camera lens effect on the Hendrix cover. Notice too the tree leaves that should be green behind the band members are magenta. Click on the art to enlarge it if needed. The second artwork is Donovan, also by Ferris. It's over the top with it's rich bright colors. Remember, too, that there was no Photoshop or personal computers, so the special emulsion on the infrared/aerochrome film creates the colorful effect on each album cover. On the Sabbath cover, the effect is more subtle and "doomy" as would be appropriate for them. The Zappa cover shows the ever-present magenta that can dominate aerochrome film.

Photo by Karl Ferris, 1967
Photo by Karl Ferris, 1968
Photo by Keith "Keef" MacMillan, 1970
Photo by Andee Nathanson, 1969

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