Spotlight: Entertainment

Once in a Lifetime Achieves First in Category Shape for a Box Set Book and Earns Grammy

Works by Russian artists Vladimir Dubossarsky and Alexander Vinogradov adorn the Once in a Lifetime box set from the Talking Heads. The set is contained within an elongated, bound "museum-quality" book.

"If it is really true that a good cover has to feature a bear, a dismembered limb, and a naked person, then this Talking Heads Once in a Lifetime boxed set qualifies as a truly great package," says art director Stefan Sagmeister. Rhino Records and Sagmeister accepted a Grammy for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package for the Once In a Lifetime project.

After one concept (a monkey bust) was discarded, the record company simply asked if the designers couldn't come up with a box set that would fit into the regular CD bins. The extreme panoramic format of the packaging not only allows for easy storage in standard record store bins but will also handily obstruct access to all CDs behind it. The box's dimensions of 163/4" x 51/2" are five inches longer than the once-standard CD longbox.

The package is actually a bound book that measures 32" x 51/2" when open. The book design was aided by Matthias Ernstberger and overseen by Rhino's iconoclastic Hugh Brown, and contains two widely disparate elements. One element is the Russian art shown here, the other is the museum-like presentation of the archival material inside.

The painting team of Vladimir Dubossarsky and Alexander Vinagradov are very well known in Russia. Sagmeister knew of the Russian artists from previous exposure, but at the opening of Biennale, a huge annual art exhibit in Venice, Italy, Sagmeister was determined to track them down and introduce himself. It was only after returning to the U.S., however, that he thought their art might fit well with the Talking Heads project. For those who may never see this package, the art contains three bears, 12 frolicking nude bodies, and an assortment of severed body parts.

As any Talking Heads fan knows, the quartet formed when they were young New York City art students. The band members were very closely involved in design decisions in this box set, as David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, and Chris Frantz still live in the New York City vicinity. Sagmeister had worked with David Byrne on solo albums, so they easily built on that trust relationship.

For the guts of the 110-page book of rare photographs and long essays, the intention became to imitate--almost mock--the properness and stodginess of a Museum of Modern Art catalog. With a lot of white space and a cold, austere presentation, the museum booklet catalogs the long history of the band. A very formal typography completes the museum companion effect. At $64.98 list price for three CDs and a DVD, the fan is undoubtedly investing in an artfully composed keepsake package.

The Ivy Hill print house tested the binding on the large format to make sure it could withstand the extra stress, and the printing is as fine as the museum catalog quality printing they aspired to mock. Sagmeister says that the designers sorted through literally thousands of images from the Talking Heads archives. "It was really a pleasure," Sagmeister says. "We had an incredible amount of material to choose from. The whole meeting room was taken over by Talking Heads material."