“FAC 512” Exhibition
Rooster Gallery
This event has ended.
Rooster Gallery is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a special exhibition that pays homage to Manchester’s independent record label Factory Records, which has been a major influence on Rooster’s five year existence.
Co-founded in 1978 by journalist, TV presenter and impresario Tony Wilson and actor Alan Erasmus and soon joined by graphic designer Peter Saville, producer Martin Hannett and Joy Division / New Order manager Rob Gretton, the Mancunian company, throughout its fourteen year life became one of the most – if not the most – innovative record labels.
Factory records trod its own path, independent from the establishment and British music trends, and ultimately shaping music in general while making the depressed industrial city of Manchester the epicenter of a music revolution, known from then on as Madchester. The somewhat unorthodox business methods of these charismatic personas in conjunction with their bands’ groundbreaking sounds, an unconventional cataloguing system (which included their venues, a lawsuit and even Tony Wilson’s coffin) and distinctive attention to graphic design – spanning from the records covers to posters, adds, stationary and even its club and bar, The Haçienda and the Dry 201 respectively – made Factory Records a beacon of creative freedom, admired by many, Rooster Gallery included.
FAC 512: Factory Records Vinyl Design (1978-1992) mainly focuses on Factory’s vinyl records graphic design. On display will be a private collection (ECO Collection), comprising over 150 records, which include not only British editions but also records from Factory’s subsidiaries – Factory Benelux from Belgium and Factory US from New York. Emblematic album covers designed by Saville, such as New Order’s “Blue Monday” (biggest selling 12” single in Britain) or “Power, Corruption & Lies,” Joy Division’s ”Still” by Grafica Industria, Section 25’s “Always Now” by the two above mentioned, Durutti Column’s “Another Setting” by Mark Farrow and “Without Mercy” by 8vo, Happy Mondays’ ”Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out)” by Central Station Design and even Lawrence Weiner’s cover for New York based Thick Pigeon’s “Too Crazy Cowboys,” all testify to Factory Records’ care for detail, as well as the innovative work of several designers and in some cases fine artists.
Media
Schedule
from October 22, 2015 to November 08, 2015
Opening Reception on 2015-10-22 from 18:00 to 20:00