Appreciation

The Art Direction of Musician Magazine: Miriam Campiz

For much of the 1980s and 90s, Musician magazine served as a home for creative art direction and imagery. It was a place where art directors learned their trade while producing cool covers and feature spreads. Art directors during this period included Gary Koepke, David Carson, Patrick Mitchell, John Korpics, and Miriam Campiz.

This is the third part of our month-long celebration of the art direction of Musician, featuring the work of Miriam Campiz. After stints as an art director at The Boston Globe and Entertainment Weekly, Miriam headed up the art direction of Musician from 1983-85. After leaving she went on to art direct for Newsweek, Latina, Time, Allure, and many more publications, as well as teaching typography and graphic design at SVA and CUNY Baruch.

(Above): August 1994, Glenn Danzig. Photograph by Norman Watson.

July 1994, Branford Marsalis. Photograph by Jon Ragel.

Miriam Campiz: After four years as associate art director at Entertainment Weekly, I was offered the job as the first woman art director of Musician magazine. I packed up my books, sketches, type stacks, "old school tools," illustration samples, and toys, and walked over to the Viacom building in Times Square, home to Billboard, MTV, and Musician. I worked as art director, photo editor, designer, and more, with a small budget and tight production schedule.

January 1994, Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Photograph by Dorothy Low.

Miriam Campiz: "A New Year meant the first issue of a redesign. Flea was photographed in his California home. He's nude and without his tube sock. He wrapped himself in white towels and a piece of tape over a chest tattoo that has the name of his ex-wife."

April 1994, Greg Dulli of the Afghan Whigs. Photograph by Matt Anker. Photo illustration and typographic design by Jeff Christensen.

Miriam Campiz: "We had no photo shoot and just a portrait from his publicist. We duplicated, digitally enhanced and sugar-coated the photo, and added Dulli's painful lyrics."

September 1994. Photograph by William Duke (left) and David Perry (right). Bootlegs created by Jeff Christensen.

February 1994, Frank Zappa, photograph by Norman Seeff.

Miriam Campiz: "When Frank Zappa died we rushed in a cover and cover story. Norman Seeff was a friend of Zappa and offered us first pick of exclusive photos for the cover and feature."

November 1994, R.E.M., photographs by David Jensen, frame by Jennifer James.

August 1994, Danzig, photograph by Joseph Cultice.

Miriam Campiz: " Maybe it was the white gravel yard or exposure to the warm spring sun, but Danzig suddenly walked off the set in the middle of the shoot. We had to reschedule our cover shoot for a later date with a different photographer. The hand-lettering is by Bernard Maisner."