Edward Colver

{{Short description|American photographer}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}

{{Infobox person

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| name = Edward Colver

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| birth_name = Edward Curtiss Colver

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1949|06|17}}

| birth_place = Pomona, California, U.S.[http://edwardcolver.com/?page_id=9 "Photographer Biography"]. Edward Colver (official website). Retrieved June 8, 2015.

| nationality =

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| years_active = 1978–presentFrankel, Ricky; Wisniewski, Kira (November 26, 2014). [http://www.punknews.org/article/56536/interviews-edward-colver "Interviews: Edward Colver"]. Punknews. Retrieved June 8, 2015.

| occupation = Photographer

| spouse = Karin Swinney

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| website = {{URL|edwardcolver.com}}

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Edward Curtiss Colver (born June 17, 1949) is an American photographer, best known for his early punk photographs.[http://edwardcolver.com/ "Photographer Edward Colver "The Eye of LA Punk""]. Edward Colver (official website). Retrieved June 8, 2015.[http://www.discogs.com/artist/580304-Ed-Colver "Ed Colver Discography at Discogs:"]. discogs. Retrieved June 8, 2015.

Overview

Colver not only created a visual document of the birth of the hardcore punk in suburban Southern California from late 1978 to mid-1984, but also he greatly helped in defining the photography style and graphic identity of the American hardcore punk movement.

He was actually in the right place at the right time, and with the right attitude, but he was not merely a witness in the eye of the storm, he was indeed a living part of that big picture, and in this regard, his early work is an authentic self-portrait of the Southern California hardcore punk scene in its golden years.

His work was featured extensively in the book American Hardcore: A Tribal History (2001), written by Steven Blush, and in its documentary film version, American Hardcore (2006), directed by Paul Rachman.

Early life and family

A third-generation Southern Californian born on June 17, 1949, in Pomona, California, Colver was named after an ancestor who arrived in the United States from Cornwall, England, in 1635.{{cite web |url=https://albumcoverhalloffame.wordpress.com/2015/06/25/achof-featured-artist-portfolio-photographer-edward-colver/|title=ACHOF Featured Artist Portfolio – Photographer Edward Colver |date=June 25, 2015 | accessdate=2022-03-26|publisher=Album Cover Hall of Fame}} Edward's father, Charles Colver, was a forest ranger for 43 years. Upon his retirement, Charles was presented with the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Award by President George H. W. Bush at the White House. The tallest peak southwest of Mount San Antonio aka Mount Baldy, was named Colver Peak after Charles.

Photography

Essentially a self-taught photographer, Colver had a brief formal training during night classes at University of California, Los Angeles, where he studied beginning photography with Eileen Cowin. Largely influenced by Dada and Surrealism, Colver was most impressed in his early years by the art of Southern Californian native Edward Kienholz. In the late 1960s, Edward's perspective on life and art was changed by his exposure to composers such as Edgard Varèse, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Krzysztof Penderecki and John Cage.

Three months after he began taking photographs, Colver had his first photograph published: an image of performance artist Johanna Went, featured in BAM magazine. Since then he has shot photographs for dozens of record labels including EMI, Capitol and Geffen. His pictures have been featured on more than 500 album covers and include some of the most recognizable and iconic covers of the punk era.

Selected cover art contributions

class="wikitable sortable"
Year

! Album title

! Artist

! Contribution

1980

| Group Sex

| Circle Jerks

| front, back cover and inner sleeve photos[http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=374323 Circle Jerks, Group Sex, cover art]. discogs. Retrieved June 7, 2015.

1981

| "Louie Louie" (single)

| Black Flag

| front and back cover photos[http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=1141466 Black Flag, "Louie Louie", cover art]. discogs. Retrieved June 4, 2015.

1981

| Damaged

| Black Flag

| front cover photo

1981

| Danger Zone (EP)

| China White

| front cover photo

1981

| Let Them Eat Jellybeans!

| various artists

| back cover photo[http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=1426089 Various artists, Let Them Eat Jellybeans!, cover art]. discogs. Retrieved June 4, 2015.

1981

| Reagan's In

| Wasted Youth

| back cover and insert sheet photos[http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=412865 Wasted Youth, Reagan's In, cover art]. discogs. Retrieved June 2, 2015.

1981

| T.S.O.L. (EP)

| T.S.O.L.

| front cover photo

1981

| Dance with Me

| T.S.O.L.

| some inner sleeve photos[http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=374434 T.S.O.L., Dance with Me, cover art]. discogs. Retrieved June 4, 2015.

1981

| Welcome to Reality (EP)

| Adolescents

| front cover photo[http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=631106 Adolescents, Welcome to Reality, cover art]. discogs. Retrieved June 4, 2015.

1982

| How Could Hell Be Any Worse?

| Bad Religion

| front cover and some insert sheet photos[https://www.discogs.com/release/501472-How-Could-Hell-Be-Any-Worse/images Bad Religion, How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, cover art]. discogs. Retrieved June 3, 2016.

1983

| Mommy's Little Monster

| Social Distortion

| back cover photo[http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=1311172 Social Distortion, Mommy's Little Monster, cover art]. discogs. Retrieved June 2, 2015.

1983

| L'amour

| Lewis

| front cover photo[http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=5872926 Lewis, L'Amour, cover art]. discogs. Retrieved June 15, 2015.

2019

| Submit to the Blade

| The Balboas

| back cover photo

See also

References

{{reflist}}

Further reading

  • Colver, Edward (2006). Blight at the End of The Funnel. Last Gasp. {{ISBN|9780867196702}}.
  • Blush, Steven (2001). American Hardcore: A Tribal History. Second ed., 2010. Feral House. {{ISBN|9781932595895}}.

Further viewing