RE: Hipgnosis album art : DISTANT LIGHT by The Hollies, 1971
I'm curious to hear if you received any helpful feedback on this album art. I had not seen the album cover until this morning when Long Cool Woman played on Spotify, and I happened to glance down at my phone and on an off chance, saw some weirdness in the water. I had a distinct first impression and did a web search to try to get more info. Yours is the first article I've seen on it.
I get an impression of betrayal related to the crucifixion of Jesus:
- the two-faced man = Judas;
- a stack of coins = there are 30 silver coins, which was the price paid for Judas' betrayal of Jesus (see Matthew 27:3-4);
- shaking hands = sealing the deal;
- crossed arms drinking from cups could be Blood of the Covenant referencing the Last Supper ("drink of this cup in remembrance of me") when Christ foretold of the upcoming betrayal and his death;
- the old man = God giving birth to Jesus, the lamb or rabbit, i.e. the innocent newborn, coming out of God's mouth with the red eyed goat, i.e. Satan, looking over God's shoulder;
- On the back, the road to Calgary, the site of Jesus' crucifixion;
- This last one is a stretch, but the 3 disco balls could represent Peter's denial of Jesus 3x, as in turning on Jesus as a disco ball turns. Or perhaps the artist was likening the betrayals and deceit to the music industry. Do you or does anyone think those may be anything other than disco balls? They seem more out of place than anything else.
The safety pin? There are later uses that make sense, but I don't see a clear connection for the time period related to music or a distant light or Christianity. Punk rock was associated with safety pins in the late 70s, but this art is too early for the reference to fit.
The flea/insect-type creature? Possibly termite? Something to do with wood or cross, etc.???
You mentioned a cod. Where is it?
Glad you wrote posted this, especially the backside artwork and the images upside down and zoomed in. That really helped me see it better. I'm really looking forward to hearing back of any other ideas.