Cal Schenkel

Cal Schenkel (born January 27, 1947) is an artist specialising in album cover design. He was the main visual collaborator for Frank Zappa and was responsible for the art and graphic design of many of Zappa's best-known album covers. Schenkel's work is iconic and distinctive in style, a forerunner of punk art and the new wave era. Schenkel is an active artist who lives and works in Pennsylvania.

Background and education

Schenkel was born in January 1947 in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania and grew up in Oreland, Pennsylvania. He attended the Philadelphia College of Art but left after one semester and set out to build a career in the world of art. As an unemployed artist he was introduced to Frank Zappa in 1967 by Sandy Hurvitz.

Career

During the late 1960s album cover design became a significant part of the emerging music and art culture in Europe and the North America, primarily as an expression of artistic vision and intent. Gatefold covers, and inserts, often with lyric sheets, made the album cover a desirable cultural artifact in its own right. One of the first artists to realise the significance of album cover design in the perception of image and artistry was Frank Zappa.