Just What Is It That Makes the White Album so Different, so Appealing?
Richard Hamilton and the making of the Beatles’ “White Album”
ARTIST RICHARD HAMILTON was a fixture in the world of international art before the Beatles cut their first sides. For the 1956 exhibition called “This Is Tomorrow,” Richard Hamilton submitted a 10 x 9-inch collage titled “Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes so Different, so Appealing?” This one piece brought him to the attention of the international art world and is often referred to as the first example of Pop Art. It remains the piece by which he is identified to this day.
In 1968, Hamilton’s dealer was Robert Fraser, one of the hippest scene-makers in swinging London and friend to Paul McCartney. Paul was keen on the world of contemporary art and was looking for something different for the Beatles next album cover.
Fraser had Paul meet Richard, who suggested the stark minimalism of the all-white approach as a reaction to the perceived excesses of the psychedelic albums of the previous twelve months:
“Since Sgt. Pepper was so over the top, I explained, ‘I would be inclined to do a very prissy thing, almost like a limited edition.’ [Paul] didn’t discourage me, so I went on to propose a plain white album. If that were too clean and empty, then…
