Bob Moog Foundation Releases Historic Artistic Rendering of Bob Moog
In honor of Bob’s upcoming 81st birthday on May 23, 2015, we are releasing a particularly beautiful artistic rending of Bob, which was originally drawn by graphic artist extraordinaire, Jean-François Podevin. Entitled “Circuit of My Mind”, the image is being made available in form of an 18″ x 24″ art poster, and an artistic t-shirt. This release comes 38 years after the original publication.
Purchase the Circuit of My Mind Art Poster here.
Purchase the Circuit of My Mind T-shirt here.
Copyright 2015, Jean-François Podevin.
Origins
For years, we have been taken by the stunning illustration of Bob on the front of the May 1977 issue of Synapse Magazine. One of the only magazines to cover electronic music at the time, Synapse chose this issue to feature a frank, insightful interview with Bob. You can read that interview here.
We were able to contact Jean-François and ask him about the evolution of this image. In his words,
“The Moog Synapse cover image is my first published illustration in the USA.
“My wife Barbara and I had moved to California in early 1977. I had heard that Chris August, a relative of my wife Barbara, was working for an electronic magazine called Synapse, only a walking distance from our apartment in Los Angeles. I showed Chris my portfolio, and he asked me to illustrate the Robert Moog portrait for the cover image.
“I wasn’t equipped as an illustrator as I am now. All I had in lieu of a studio were four “rapidographs” (drafting pen), a half dozen 16 by 20 illustration boards, some #2 pencils, a dining table, one uncomfortable chair and one beaten up cassette deck.
“Most of what my wife Barbara and I owned at the time was in our head. I drew my inspiration for this image from the music of Wendy Carlos, Spooky Tooth, Armin van Buren, Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, Klaus Shultz, Steve Roach, all synthesizer pioneers. I would groove on my favorite tapes and draw every etching line in cue with the rhythm of their music. I felt anointed to make the portrait of Robert Moog, the man whose invention had shaped the music I was listening to.
“I am just becoming aware today of the cosmic wave of influence of the Moog Synthesizer on the music scene since, a wave that had “colored” our life with sounds like never before heard in history of the world.”
Many thanks to Jean-François for granting us permission to use this image.
Printing the Poster Image
We carefully entrusted Subject Matter Studios to print this rare image. Drew Findley of Subject Matter has long been a supporter of the Bob Moog Foundation, having contributed designs for each SYNTH art show at Moogfest 2010, 2011, and 2012. His creative eye and careful technique are widely respected in the field of music poster art. Below are a few photos from the printing process: