Tracker Pixel for Entry

Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis (2022)

Cinema | July 31st, 2023

By Greg Carlson

gregcarlson1@gmail.com

Corbijn Covers Hipgnosis in ‘Squaring the Circle’

Dutch photographer, music video creator, and film director Anton Corbijn – now in his late 60s – brings his artistic insider touch to “Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis,” an engaging and entertaining documentary examination of the massively influential team responsible for some of the most recognizable album covers of the 1970s.

Suited to the likes of rock fans and graphic design geeks (and especially the sizable demographic that includes both), the movie is also the story of the personal and creative friendship between two maverick visionaries: the late Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey “Po” Powell.

While Thorgerson and Powell may not be household names to the millions who have purchased one or more albums featuring their handiwork, they are – in several significant ways – rock stars to the rock stars who hired, trusted, and championed them.

Corbijn includes interviews with Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, and others who marveled at the stunning results that would come to visually represent groups like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin in equal measure to the sonic signatures inside the sleeves.

Watching “Squaring the Circle,” one gets the distinct feeling that Corbijn simply made the movie he wanted to see. All the juiciest stories, legendary productions, and thorny conflicts are collected and laid out like a lavishly illustrated, oversize coffee table tome come to life.

Undoubtedly, a number of viewers who seek out the film – now available to stream following a 2022 world premiere at Telluride and a subsequent screening at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival – already own one or more of the several books devoted to archiving the Hipgnosis aesthetic.

In a time before Photoshop, Hipgnosis relied on analog tools and fierce commitment to achieve impressive results. Complicated and expensive photoshoots (some humorously recounted here) were standard operating procedure for many of the firm’s collaborations, but post-production image manipulation through airbrushing, multiple exposure, and good old fashioned cut-and-paste contributed to the magic.

There are several candidates one could consider for the heavyweight title, but it is in no way possible to fully account for the Hipgnosis phenomenon without mentioning “The Dark Side of the Moon.”

George Hardie’s simple and elegant depiction of white light separated into a rainbow after passing through a prism was inspired by a photo Thorgerson saw in an old physics textbook, but like so many of the arresting pieces to emerge from the Hipgnosis shop, the art worked in complementary tandem with the recording, engaging in a kind of conversation with and extension of the ideas contained in the songs. This interplay could be found in the most successful Hipgnosis projects, which often added humor, puns, and layered meanings – some obvious, some obscure, and some not appreciated by clients – to the experience.

“Squaring the Circle” follows several concert films and underrated narrative features (“Control” and “The American” among them) by Corbijn, who has enjoyed fruitful partnerships with Depeche Mode and U2 that stretch back to the 1980s. His own evocative photography represents a stylistic contrast to Hipgnosis, but the director’s sincere appreciation of their pioneering accomplishments can be seen in the admiration and respect that went into assembling the movie. 

Recently in:

By Laura Simmonslaurasimmons2025@u.northwestern.edu Dr. Stephen McDonough researched why North Dakota had the highest COVID death rate and cases in the fall of 2020. His investigation accumulated into a 1,000-plus page book titled…

By Michael M. Miller michael.miller@ndsu.eduOne of the most important books published about the Germans from Russia in North Dakota is “Along the Trails of Yesterday: A Story of McIntosh County” by Nina Farley Wishek, published…

photo credit: Jessica GavinSeptemberOktoberfest: Now-October 3Wurst Bier HallStein-holding competition, happy hour Mon-Fri from 4-6, wear your dirndl or lederhosen, German music.https://wurstfargo.com/Papa’s Pumpkin…

By John Strandjas@hpr1.comOur Opinion: Thank you, Reader readers, for 29 fulfilling yearsChugging along, The Little Newspaper That Could commences its 30th volume and year with this issue. Simply getting here speaks volumes. Just…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comIs Cruelty a Part of Nature—or Is It Just Part of Human Nature?Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman has been my economics guru for many years for his pithy columns in The New York Times. In…

We are looking for 55-gallon plastic food grade barrels, do you have ideas or connections?We use these barrels to teach our resilient yard workshop series including Make Your Own Rain Barrel and Make Your Own Compost Tumbler. If…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.comMy new venture as a master’s degree student has got me thinking…again about food. Although I’m in an online program with the University of North Dakota, I thought it would be handy to list and…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comThe Melvins formed in 1983 Montesano, Washington, founded by singer/guitar player Buzz Osborne. The group is known for its heavy sound mixed with a dose of punk, forming its own subgenre.…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.comFilmmaker Jacqueline Castel’s “My Animal” premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival in January, but its vibes are better suited to the rising blood moon of autumn’s spooky season. Now…

By HPR Staffsubmit@hpr1.comThe Fargo Moorhead Visual Artists’ much-lauded neighbor lovin’ Studio Crawl is just around the corner – October 7 and 8, noon to 6pm. During the free event, the people who add culture and vibrancy…

By Eric Dallmanericd@hpr1.comWe recently watched “The PROM” at Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, and it was an experience that left a lasting impact on us. The story, a heartwarming yet familiar one, follows a group of Broadway stars…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

By John Showalter  john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…

JANUARY 19, 1967– MARCH 8, 2023 Brittney Leigh Goodman, 56, of Fargo, N.D., passed away unexpectedly at her home on March 8, 2023. Brittney was born January 19, 1967, to Ruth Wilson Pollock and Donald Ray Goodman, in Hardinsburg,…

By Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com On the first day of the month I ask people to thank a journalist they know or someone who contributes to papers in some meaningful way. When I grew up, my best friend's father was a journalist…