Art - A Close Encounter with Roger Dean
Engineer, Architect, Stage Designer, Illustrator, and ... "Yes", There's More!
Greetings! Life’s strange twists have brought a long pause since last posting. Fortunately, other recent twists are now allowing me to write here once again on a more regular basis. These 4 Topics Plus newsletters offer in-depth looks at four main topics, namely, Writing, Art, Music, and Faith. It’s time once again to explore the world of Art. Here’s a look at British artist Roger Dean whose otherworldly creative works, particularly on Yes album covers, have mesmerized me since my teen years. It was a remarkable privilege to visit with him in person not that long ago.
As we approached one another, Roger Dean and I both extended our right hands. The wonder of this moment was not lost on me. I clasped his hand with mine, very mindful of two immense concepts crashing together at this point. One was the astounding, flabbergasting absurdity of a certain U.S. health official who had earlier declared - during the Covid pandemic - that handshakes between human beings should become a thing of the past. The other concept was, society had thankfully moved beyond such foolish notions and I was shaking the hand that had painted some of my favorite works of art - ones that were known and revered throughout the world.
When I heard that British artist Roger Dean was coming to San Francisco (a mere 370 miles from my home), I couldn't pass up the chance to meet him and see some of his original artwork in person. The occasion was a meet-and-greet lecture and art show (together with Roger’s artist daughter Freyja) at the Haight Street Art Center in September of 2022.
That event was nearly half a century after my first exposure to Roger Dean’s creativity. I stopped by my friend Tom’s house once while he had the1974 Relayer LP, by the band Yes, spinning on a turntable. I couldn’t believe the amazing, complex sounds flowing from that progressive rock album. I had never before heard anything remotely like it. As I sat on the couch, intently listening, I held the album cover in my hands, perusing its Roger Dean artwork. It too had a notable, peculiar complexity to it. And yet the work manifested a style that was perhaps within my own artistic reach - if I put in a few more years of practice. It wasn’t long before Tom and I jointly purchased an airbrush and attempted to copy various Roger Dean album covers in Tom’s garage.
In 1975, Roger Dean published Views - a book of his creative work that not only included album covers for Yes (and several other bands), but also fanciful stage sets for their show tours. But there was more than music-related stuff. There were ergonomic furniture designs and futuristic housing pods, all-terrain vehicles and underwater craft, corporate labels and logos. I obtained a copy of Views shortly after its publication and still have a well-warn copy on my bookshelf. Its vast array of ideas and inventions was like a look through Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches and notebooks. Views represented the work of a modern-day renaissance genius.
By 1980, I had submitted a portfolio of my own work while applying for a university art scholarship. As I recall, one of my paintings featured fish swimming through the air, a subconscious absorption, I suppose, of Dean’s 1973 Tales from Topographical Oceans album cover for Yes. (Note: Yes, I was awarded the half-tuition art scholarship for the coming school year!) I also learned much about graphic art techniques and tricks from the Views book which later came in handy during my many years in the printing and book manufacturing industries.
But let’s go back now to that 2022 art show in San Francisco …
Its question-and-answer segment had just reached its conclusion when Roger Dean mentioned he would casually circulate amongst us attendees before an autograph signing session formally got underway. “This is when the really interesting questions come up,” he predicted with a slight chuckle.
Not wanting to disappoint in that regard, I felt compelled to ask a question unlikely to have ever been posed to Roger Dean before. As our right hands clasped in greeting, I asked, “Marmite - do you love it or hate it?” I was echoing the popular television commercial campaign for the potently flavorful British spread made of yeast extract. To my surprise, instead of Roger Dean the whimsical fantasy artist, I found myself standing before Roger Dean the serious design engineer. His earlier chuckle was gone, and his eyes tightened with an expression of one who does not “tolerate fools gladly.” It was if he were thinking, “Have we both come so far just to engage in such sophomoric small talk?”
Before he could actually verbalize the words, “Are you daft?” I quickly continued, “I’m asking because I’ve discovered that highly creative people tend to prefer stronger flavors than other folks - a good eighty percent of the time!” I went on to list black licorice, British Christmas cake, very dark chocolate, and Guiness Extra Stout. “I don’t drink,” he said firmly. “Neither do I,” I replied, grasping at this desperately thin straw of commonality between us. Perhaps at that moment, Roger Dean considered that this fellow teetotaler before him might not be so daft after all. His face softened and warmed into a privately shared grin. “But, I do like Marmite,” he said. There was even a hint of leprechaunish twinkle in his eye. “So do I,” I responded with a like smile, expanding our mutual commonality a hundredfold.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to meet Roger Dean face to face and I’ll never forget it. But the real thrill occurred a few months later when I was back at home watching a YouTube video. It was concert footage of the band Yes.
At the back of the stage, looming large above the band was their famous eponymous logo designed by Roger Dean - an iconic image recognized by millions around the world. And at that moment I was startled and electrified to recall I once shook the hand that created it.