Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)

Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)

6:00pm - Monday, Jun 12, 2023

elebrated photographer, creative director and filmmaker Anton Corbijn's first feature documentary SQUARING THE CIRCLE (THE STORY OF HIPGNOSIS) tells the story of Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey "Po" Powell, the creative geniuses behind the iconic album art design studio, Hipgnosis, responsible for some of the most recognizable album covers of all time. They formed Hipgnosis in Cambridge during the ferment of the sixties and became rock royalty during the boom time of the seventies. They conjured into existence sights that no one had previously thought possible, produced visuals which popularized music that had previously been considered fringe, and were at the white-hot center of the maddest, funniest and most creative era in the history of popular music. During this period, record companies didn't dictate to acts like Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Paul McCartney what their LP covers should look like -- Storm and Po did.

They made money; they lost money. They did great things; they did silly things. They fell out bitterly; they made up.

They never played a note, but they changed music.

"Corbijn manages to capture their you-know-it-when-you-see-it Hipgnosis style through his own crystalline lens, even in his archival selections." (Austin Chronicle)

"“Squaring the Circle” is kind of most fun when it gets into the album jackets you may recognize but never spent more than three seconds thinking about before." (Variety)

"A treat for anyone with a taste for rock, for rock imagery and for the glories that can be found in that piece of cardboard wrapped around a record." (The Wrap)

"A fun ride for anyone with any affection for that era of music, especially those who miss the days when album cover art mattered." (Tilt Magazine)

#MusicMonday, June 12
Doors 5:30 pm | Movie 6:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

SQUARING THE CIRCLE (THE STORY OF HIPGNOSIS) (Anton Corbijn, 2023 / 100 mins / PG) Whether you’re a fan of Pink Floyd or not, chances are you know exactly what the album covers of The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here look like. But you might not be familiar with the creative duo behind those iconic images: Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey “Po” Powell, aka the innovative design studio Hipgnosis. Hipgnosius went from making covers for their mates (the likes of David Gilmour and Syd Barrett) to establishing themselves as the driving force behind visual identities of some of the most popular artists of the 1970s (think Led Zeppelin and Paul McCartney). Their methods were unconventional, their budgets often unreasonable, but they were fearless visionaries who artfully manipulated photographic images long before computer graphics became ubiquitous.

*Minors OK. Must be 19+ w/ID for bar service.
*Rio Theatre Groupons and Rio Theatre passes are OK for any single film screening only. Please redeem at the box office.
*Online sales end an hour before showtime; unless otherwise noted, tickets are always available for purchase at the box office prior to showtime. All Rio Theatre tickets are final sale. Our box office is typically open 30 minutes before showtime. All seating is General Admission; please arrive 20-30 minutes prior to showtime to ensure great seats and time for treats.
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