Pedro Bell
Encyclopedia
Pedro Bell is an American
artist
and illustrator
. He is best known for his elaborate cover
designs and other artwork for numerous Funkadelic
and George Clinton
solo album
s.
Pedro's dual conceptuality as a writer heavily contributed to P- Funk's literary mythology. A sampling of his contributions include Thumpasaurus, Funkapus, Queen Freakalene, Bop Gun and Zone of Zero Funkativity.
Pedro Bell featured at Black Age of Comics Conventions
In January of 1994, artist and publisher, Turtel Onli featured Pedro Bell as a guest artist at the Second Annual Black Age of Comics Convention presented by Onli Studios at the historic South Side Community Art Center in the Bronzeville district of Chicago, Illinois.
This feature included Bell's artwork being on display in the gallery and Bell being the featured artist in a local cable televised interview covering the event. Onli also featured Pedro Bell at "BLACK AGE X" Convention in Chicago, Illinois in 2007.
Onli coined the term, "The Black Age of Comics" to identify it as a genre of creative works that are derived from the Black or African experience in an indie-alternative manner. Onli had always credited Bell as being one of the pioneering architects of the Black Age of Comics movement due to the impact of Bell's treatments on album covers and their both being based in Chicago which boasted the influential Playboy, Ebony and Muhammad Speaks empires.
Album covers during the 1970s and 1980s were a valuable option since the mainstream comic book and comic strip industry tends to be traditionally resistant to giving Black artists or illustrators the outlet for material that is innovative, culturally rich, and provocatively humorous. Album cover design served as a unique platform for this type of work to reach millions of fans. Aside from creating an album cover for the P-Funk influenced entertainer, Captain Sky, Onli worked with Bell on the George Clinton Album cover "You Shouldn't Nuff Bit Fish.." in 1983 along with Bruse Bell and Sir Lance Everett. Bell humorously referred to Captain Sky as "Captain Try" on one of his Funkedelic album covers rounding out the obvious Chicago connection in all of this.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
. He is best known for his elaborate cover
Album cover
An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LPs, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing...
designs and other artwork for numerous Funkadelic
Funkadelic
Funkadelic was an American band most prominent during the 1970s. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...
and George Clinton
George Clinton (funk musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
solo album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s.
Pedro's dual conceptuality as a writer heavily contributed to P- Funk's literary mythology. A sampling of his contributions include Thumpasaurus, Funkapus, Queen Freakalene, Bop Gun and Zone of Zero Funkativity.
External links
- Roctober interview
- Interview, Part I
- Interview, Part II
- Artist Behind Parliament Funkadelic Art Struggles to Get By, Chicago Sun-TimesChicago Sun-TimesThe Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
, November 9, 2009
Pedro Bell featured at Black Age of Comics Conventions
In January of 1994, artist and publisher, Turtel Onli featured Pedro Bell as a guest artist at the Second Annual Black Age of Comics Convention presented by Onli Studios at the historic South Side Community Art Center in the Bronzeville district of Chicago, Illinois.
This feature included Bell's artwork being on display in the gallery and Bell being the featured artist in a local cable televised interview covering the event. Onli also featured Pedro Bell at "BLACK AGE X" Convention in Chicago, Illinois in 2007.
Onli coined the term, "The Black Age of Comics" to identify it as a genre of creative works that are derived from the Black or African experience in an indie-alternative manner. Onli had always credited Bell as being one of the pioneering architects of the Black Age of Comics movement due to the impact of Bell's treatments on album covers and their both being based in Chicago which boasted the influential Playboy, Ebony and Muhammad Speaks empires.
Album covers during the 1970s and 1980s were a valuable option since the mainstream comic book and comic strip industry tends to be traditionally resistant to giving Black artists or illustrators the outlet for material that is innovative, culturally rich, and provocatively humorous. Album cover design served as a unique platform for this type of work to reach millions of fans. Aside from creating an album cover for the P-Funk influenced entertainer, Captain Sky, Onli worked with Bell on the George Clinton Album cover "You Shouldn't Nuff Bit Fish.." in 1983 along with Bruse Bell and Sir Lance Everett. Bell humorously referred to Captain Sky as "Captain Try" on one of his Funkedelic album covers rounding out the obvious Chicago connection in all of this.