Hipgnosis is a combination of the words hip and gnostic (knowledge) and is also a pun on hypnosis. A meeting of contradictions, which Storn Thorgerson and Aubrey “Po“ Powell liked so much it went from being graffiti on their door to the name of their joint graphic design agency. SQUARING THE CIRCLE tells the story of Hipgnosis through Aubrey Powell’s eyes: starting out with smoking weed together as teens, the album cover of Pink Floyd’s “A Saucerful of Secrets,“ the rampant LSD consumption to the now iconic cover for “Dark Side of the Moon.“ From Peter Christopherson joining to working with artists like Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel, and 10cc and the beginning of the 80s, when trends were changing in the music world and the success had gone to Storm’s head in particular.

Anton Corbijn’s documentary is like a coffee table book made into a film. In a mixture of archival material, old photos, psychedelic animation, and talking heads sequences, he presents the work of Po and Storm through the publishing history of the agency. All of the interviews and archive clips are in black and white, and so the artworks, covers, and creative process in color are all the more striking. Supported by the music of the most important Hipgnosis clients, Corbijn succeeds in capturing the discrepancy between the lightness and perfectionism of their work, while Po, Roger Waters, Robert Plant, and many other artists provide exciting stories and give insights. SQUARING THE CIRCLE is a declaration of love to the artistic creation process and the music of a generation. As lovingly made as a Hipgnosis cover.

Lukas Hoffmann

Translation: Elinor Lewy