Late Joy Division Singer’s Former Home To Be Turned into Museum

Tortured goths around the world will soon have a new pilgrimage site. The Macclesfield, England home of late Joy Division singer Ian Curtis has been bought by superfan, musician, and entrepreneur Hadar Goldman for £115,000, nearly double the original asking price, following a failed Indiegogo campaign to take the house off the market from earlier this year, reports The Guardian.

There’s no word yet on what sort of exhibitions will be planned for the museum, but undoubtedly Peter Saville’s iconic album covers will take part of the spotlight (See The Top 12 Album Covers Designed By Famous Artists and The Beatles’ White Album Art Installation Lands In Liverpool).

Single artwork for <i>Transmission</i>, designed by Peter Saville.<br>Photo via Wikipedia.</br>

Single artwork for Transmission, designed by Peter Saville.
Photo via: Wikipedia.

Saville, whose graphics were influenced by Andy Warhol, was given a show at London’s Design Museum in 2003, displaying his work from throughout his career, which began with his co-founding of Factory Records in 1979. He designed album covers for New Order, Wham!, David Byrne, and Brian Eno in addition to his work with Joy Division.

Single artwork for 1980's <i>Love Will Tear Us Apart</i>, designed by Peter Saville.<br>Photo via Slicing Up Eyeballs</br>

Single artwork for 1980’s Love Will Tear Us Apart, designed by Peter Saville.
Photo via:  Slicing Up Eyeballs

The designer created album artwork for the band’s entire discography, effectively establishing the post-punk aesthetic, beginning with the black-and-white data visualization of a pulsar for 1979’s Unknown Pleasures. The same year, the single Transmission was given a more abstract deep space-y cover, followed by the minimal Love Will Tear Us Apart design the next year, featuring a photo of a tortured stone angel in black and white. And then there was the Closer cover, which Saville described to the Guardian as “ a postmodern juxtaposition of a contemporary work housed in the antique.”

The Peter Saville-designed cover for Joy Division's second album, <i>Closer.</i><br>Photo via Sound Station</br>

The Peter Saville-designed cover for Joy Division’s second album, Closer.
Photo via: Sound Station

In the wake of controversy surrounding the tact of making a museum in the place where Curtis committed suicide by hanging himself, surely the respectful route is to focus on his musical achievements and legacy, the art he left behind.


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