Artist of the day: Artist of the Day, July 9, 2024: Glen Wexler, an American photographer, creative director (#2071)

Tuesday, July 9, 2024

Artist of the Day, July 9, 2024: Glen Wexler, an American photographer, creative director (#2071)

Glen Wexler is an American photographer who is best known for his elaborately staged digital photocompositions of improbable situations. Wexler was born in Palm Springs, California. His father, Donald Wexler FAIA, is a noted mid-century modern architect and innovator of pre-fab steel housing design.

Wexler originally studied fine art photography at Humboldt State University (1973–1975), in Arcata, California under Thomas Knight. He transferred to Art Center College of Design, in Pasadena, California in 1976. He left school in 1978 to pursue opportunities to create album covers.

Wexler married actress Tamara Taylor in 1984. They have two children, Jenna and Ian.

Digital photography
Wexler was among the first artists to adopt digital image editing technology as a tool in the creative process. During 1987 Wexler was introduced to digital imaging technology by Tony Redhead, who in 1986 founded Electric Paint, the first U.S. company to use digital imaging technology and a Quantel Paintbox to create digital transparencies for print. During 1992 Glen Wexler Studio established in-house digital imaging using Apple Inc. computers, and began employing full-time digital artists to assist with the retouching and photocomposition of Wexler's projects.

Wexler has lectured at the Seybold Conferences in New York and San Francisco, the PhotoPlus Expos in New York and Los Angeles, and at colleges in the United States. In 1996 Wexler was the founding chair of the Advertising Photographers of America National Digital Committee, which was created to help educate professional photographers and the advertising community of the evolving impact of digital imaging technology on the creation and delivery of advertising photography.

Album covers
Wexler first album cover commission was to photograph the Brothers Johnson (Blam! 1978), for Quincy Jones Productions and A&M Records.

Album cover projects include, Van Halen (Balance), Black Sabbath (Reunion), Rush (Hold Your Fire), ZZ Top (Greatest Hits), Missing Persons (Spring Session M), Slaughter (Stick It to Ya), Chuck Wild (11 Liquid Mind albums) and Chaka Kahn (Naughty). Wexler also created images for Michael Jackson, KISS, Yes, Kansas, Whitesnake, The Black Crowes, Boston, Steve Miller Band, Peter Frampton, Bob Weir, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Heaven and Earth and many others.

Wexler created a fantasy album cover for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum exhibition "The Greatest Album Covers That Never Were", which toured nationally from 2003 to 2006.

In the fall of 2006, Wexler's album cover artwork was featured at the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences' (NARAS) "The Art Of Music" event in Los Angeles.

Advertising commissions
During the mid-1980s Wexler images began working with advertising clients. Early advertising clients included advertising executive Ed McCabe who commissioned Wexler to work on the 1992 updates to the Maxell campaign. Wexler's signature style of "improbable realities" attracted international commissions from companies including Pioneer Electronics, Acura, Sony, Adobe Systems, Qwest Communications, Microsoft, Intel, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, POM Wonderful, Fiji Water, Bombardier, Paggio, Jeep, Toyota, Yamaha and Warner Bros. Pictures.

Photographic logo treatments
Wexler photographic projects extended to corporate logo development and treatments for entertainment companies, album covers, film titles and book covers. Logo projects include the 1987 Geffen "Power Surge" logo to promote Aerosmith, Guns N' Roses and Whitesnake, the Van Halen album cover "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge", the 75th anniversary redesign of the Universal Pictures logo, and the development of the logo design for the Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition (1997). Wexler's photographic logo of the Batman Forever question mark logo received a first-place trophy at the 1996 The Hollywood Reporter Key Art Awards.

Editorial assignments
During 1999 Wexler began creating feature photo-illustrations for Time magazine. Wexler received the 2003 Photojournalism of the Year award from the International Photography Awards, and a first place Best of Photojournalism 2004 award from the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA). Wexler photographed stem cell scientist James Thomson for the August 20, 2001, cover of Time.

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