Sound + Vision

Cover design and dummy spreads from a book proposal (circa 2000). Named after the David Bowie song from his ground-breaking album, Low.

A collection of paintings, drawings, collages, photographs, etc. created by contemporary musicians.

Would have been the third book in a sort of trilogy following What The Songs Look Like: Contemporary Artists Interpret Talking Heads Songs (Harper & Row,1987) and Buddha Book: A Meeting of Images (Chronicle Books, 1997).

Potential contributing musician/artists included: Terry Allen, Laurie Anderson, Melissa Auf der Maur, Beck, David Bowie, David Byrne, John Cage, Kurt Cobain, Billy Corgan, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Brian Eno, Perry Farrell, Chris Frantz, Jerry Garcia, Kim Gordon, John Lennon, Tony Levin, John Mellencamp, Natalie Merchant, Joni Mitchell, Meredith Monk, Thurston Moore, Bill Nelson, Yoko Ono, Liz Phair, Iggy Pop, Lee Ranaldo, Lou Reed, Todd Rundgren, Patti Smith, Michael Stipe, Suzanne Vega, Don Van Vliet, Victoria Williams, and Ron Wood. (Keep in mind this list was compiled about eight years ago).

Approximately 50 pieces of art accompanied by a small photo of the musician/artist, a brief statement by each contributor about the relationship between music and visual art, and specifications of the work (title, date, size, etc.)

Foreward by a notable artist, best-selling author or musician/artist (possibly Laurie Anderson).

Introduction (possibly by Oliver Sacks) discussing the connections between music and visual art. (Note: this was my idea about ten years before Oliver Sacks’ best-selling book, Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain).

The book proposal was rejected by about a dozen publishers.

Although my agent was unable to place this project, I made some new friends during the process. Most notably the amazing British musician, Bill Nelson.