Pedro Bell  

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-"''[[Cosmic Slop]]'' (1973) was the first Funkadelic album to feature artwork and liner notes by [[Pedro Bell]], who assumed responsibility for the band's gate-fold album covers and liner notes until the band's collapse after 1981's ''[[The Electric Spanking of War Babies]]''. Bell's liner notes to ''Cosmic Slop'' include small illustrations next to each song's name, summarizing the song in a picture." --Sholem Stein+ 
 +"The primary author of the [[P-Funk mythology]] aside from [[George Clinton (musician) |George Clinton]] was [[Pedro Bell]], who illustrated the [[liner notes]] for many of [[P-Funk]]'s releases. Bell's [[felt-tip pen|felt-tip]] illustrations included prolonged [[essays]] that expanded the [[mythos]] of Clinton's lyrics with a complementary syntax that "forged a new realm of [[black language]]" ([[Funk: The Music, The People, and The Rhythm of The One|source]]). Though Bell coined terms like "Rumpasaurus" and made extensive contributions to the P-Funk mythology, his work has been largely overlooked." --Sholem Stein
 +<hr>
 +"AS IT IS WRTTEN HENCEFORTH… On the Eighth Day, the Cosmic Strumpet of [[Mother Nature]] was spawned to envelope this Third Planet in [[Funkadelic|FUNKADELICAL]] VIBRATIONS. And she birthed Apostles [[Sun Ra|Ra]], [[Jimi Hendrix|Hendrix]], [[Sly Stone|Stone]], and CLINTON to preserve all funkiness of man unto eternity... But! Fraudulent forces of obnoxious JIVATION grew...only seedling GEORGE remained! As it came to be, he did indeed begat FUNKADELIC to restore Order Within the Universe. And nourished from the [[Pam Grier|pamgrierian]] mammaristic melonpaps of Mother Nature, the followers of FUNKADELIA multiplied incessantly!" --liner notes of ''[[Standing on the Verge of Getting It On]]'' by [[Pedro Bell]]
 +<hr>
 +"Bell is a [[shackle]] (all shackles are just as essential) in the chain of [[Afrofuturism]], [[Afro-Surrealism]] and [[black science fiction]]." --Sholem Stein
|} |}
{{Template}} {{Template}}
-'''Pedro Bell''' is an [[American artist]] and [[illustrator]]. He is best known for his elaborate [[sleeve|cover]] designs and other artwork for numerous [[Funkadelic]] and [[George Clinton (funk musician)|George Clinton]] solo [[album]]s.+'''Pedro Bell''' (June 11, 1950 – August 27, 2019) was an [[American artist]] and [[American illustrator|illustrator]], best known for his elaborate [[album cover]] designs and other artwork for numerous [[Funkadelic]] and [[George Clinton (musician)|George Clinton]] solo [[album]]s. Bell also wrote many of the [[liner notes]] of the records under the name '''Sir Lleb''' (his surname spelled backwards). The liner notes contributed to [[P-Funk's literary mythology]] — a sampling of his contributions include "Thumpasaurus," "Funkapus," "Queen Freakalene," "[[Bop Gun (Endangered Species)|Bop Gun]]," and "Zone of Zero Funkativity." Bell's work was preceded and partially inspired by [[Sun Ra]] and was a precursor to the modern [[graphic novel]] and the [[Afro-punk]] movement.
- +
-'''Pedro Bell''' (c. 1950 – August 27, 2019) was an [[American artist]] and [[American illustrator|illustrator]], best known for his elaborate [[album cover]] designs and other artwork for numerous [[Funkadelic]] and [[George Clinton (musician)|George Clinton]] solo [[album]]s. Bell also wrote many of the liner notes of the records under the name '''Sir Lleb''' (his surname spelled backwards). The liner notes contributed to P-Funk's literary mythology<ref name=Funk-1996>{{cite book|last1=Vincent|first1=Rickey|title=Funk: The Music, The People, and The Rhythm of The One|url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/funk-the-music-the-people-and-the-rhythm-of-the-one/oclc/893908844/viewport|year=1996|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|location=New York|isbn=978-0-312-13499-0|oclc=893908844}}</ref>{{rp|238}} — a sampling of his contributions include "Thumpasaurus," "Funkapus," "Queen Freakalene," "[[Bop Gun (Endangered Species)|Bop Gun]]," and "Zone of Zero Funkativity." Bell's work was preceded and partially inspired by [[Sun Ra]]<ref name=Lodown-Feature-2018>{{cite news|last1=Grünhäuser|first1=Amber|title=Pedro Bell: Funkadelical Vibrations|url=http://lodownmagazine.com/features/pedro-bell|work=[[Lodown magazine]]|date=10 January 2018|language=en}}</ref> and was a precursor to the modern graphic novel and the [[Afro-punk]] movement.<ref name=Afropunk-BlackUtopia-2019>{{cite news|last1=Gonzales|first1=Michael|title=Black Utopia: The Funkadelic Art of Pedro Bell|url=https://afropunk.com/2019/04/black-utopia-the-funkadelic-art-of-pedro-bell/|work=Afropunk|date=29 April 2019}}</ref>+
== Early life == == Early life ==
-Bell grew up in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]].<ref name=Juxtapoz-OneNation-1998>{{cite news|last1=Timble|first1=Steve|title=Pedro Bell "One Nation Under a Dude"|url=https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/pedro-bell-one-nation-under-a-dude-1998/|work=[[Juxtapoz]]|date=Fall 1998|language=en-gb}}</ref> His family was very religious.<ref name=LATimes-Obit-2019>{{cite news|last1=Roberts|first1=Randall|title=Pedro Bell, artist who created Funkadelic's cosmic album covers, dies at 69|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2019-08-28/pedro-bell-funkadelic-george-clinton-album-covers-obit|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=28 August 2019}}</ref> Bell had older brothers.<ref name=MisstraKnowitall-Part1-2009>{{cite news|last1=Shakur|first1=Abdel|title=The Natural Way To Dro (Part I)|url=http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2009/06/natural-way-to-dro-part-i.html|work=Misstra Knowitall|date=30 June 2009}}</ref>+Bell grew up in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]]. His family was very religious.
-Often sick as a child, Bell would read books and comics, especially [[Ace Comics]].<ref name=SECONDS-Interview-Page20-1987>{{cite news|last1=West|first1=David|title=Pedro Bell (page 20)|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/88058737@N00/377025815/|work=[[Seconds (magazine)|SECONDS]]|date=1987|pages=20-26}}</ref>{{rp|20}} Bell said that he got his artistic talent from his father, who he described as frustrated artist, and his mother, who wrote and played the piano.<ref name=Juxtapoz-OneNation-1998 />+Often sick as a child, Bell would read books and comics, especially [[Ace Comics]]. Bell said that he got his artistic talent from his father, who he described as frustrated artist, and his mother, who wrote and played the piano.
-Bell attended [[Bradley University]] in [[Peoria, Illinois]], where he said he was exposed to the [[Black Power movement]] and met activist [[Mark Clark (activist)|Mark Clark]]. Bell donated artwork to the [[Black Panther Party]] and participated in a protest, which led to his expulsion from school.<ref name=MisstraKnowitall-Part3-2009>{{cite news|last1=Shakur|first1=Abdel|title=The Natural Way To Dro (Part III)|url=http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2009/07/natural-way-to-dro-part-iii.html|work=Misstra Knowitall|date=5 July 2009}}</ref>+Bell attended [[Bradley University]] in [[Peoria, Illinois]], where he said he was exposed to the [[Black Power movement]] and met activist [[Mark Clark (activist)|Mark Clark]]. Bell donated artwork to the [[Black Panther Party]] and participated in a protest, which led to his expulsion from school.
-Bell also attended [[Roosevelt University]] in [[Chicago]], where he took art classes and studied with [[Don Baum]].<ref name=SECONDS-Interview-Page20-1987/>{{rp|20}}<ref name=SECONDS-Interview-Page21-1987>{{cite news|last1=West|first1=David|title=Pedro Bell (page 21)|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/88058737@N00/377021870/|work=[[Seconds (magazine)|SECONDS]]|date=1987|pages=20-26}}</ref>{{rp|21}}+Bell also attended [[Roosevelt University]] in [[Chicago]], where he took art classes and studied with [[Don Baum]].
== Career == == Career ==
===Funkadelic=== ===Funkadelic===
-Between late 1969 and early 1970, Bell heard [[Funkadelic]] on the underground Chicago radio station WXFM for the first time.<ref name=SECONDS-Interview-Page22-1987 />{{rp|22}} He began writing illustrated letters to the band and contacted their manager, Rod Scribner, in order to send him drawings and college-newspaper writing samples. Bell additionally created and mailed what he called "psychedelic envelopes", but since Funkadelic bandleader [[George Clinton (musician)|George Clinton]] was under investigation at the time by the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police|RCMP]] for his involvement with the [[Process Church of the Final Judgment]], the envelopes also were investigated.<ref name=SECONDS-Interview-Page4-1987>{{cite news|last1=West|first1=David|title=Pedro Bell (page 23)|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/88058737@N00/377021862/|work=[[Seconds (magazine)|SECONDS]]|date=1987|pages=20-26}}</ref>{{rp|23}}+Between late 1969 and early 1970, Bell heard [[Funkadelic]] on the underground Chicago radio station WXFM for the first time. He began writing illustrated letters to the band and contacted their manager, Rod Scribner, in order to send him drawings and college-newspaper writing samples. Bell additionally created and mailed what he called "psychedelic envelopes", but since Funkadelic bandleader [[George Clinton (musician)|George Clinton]] was under investigation at the time by the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police|RCMP]] for his involvement with the [[Process Church of the Final Judgment]], the envelopes also were investigated.
-Bell was hired to produce artwork for the band, beginning with local show posters, promotional items, and press kits.<ref name=Motorbooty-Page3-1989 /> He moved on to album artwork, where he built a mythology that included slang, nicknames, and otherworld concepts that eventually became part of the artwork and liner notes of the Funkadelic records.<ref name=SECONDS-Interview-Page22-1987 />{{rp|22}} Bell often came up with nicknames, which he called "tags", for people.<ref name=Motorbooty-Page4-1989>{{cite journal|last1=Michaels|first1=Rob|title=Pedro Bell: Drawnamic Maestro of Optical Infotainment (page 4)|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/88058737@N00/363181145/|journal=Motorbooty|date=1989}}</ref> The album cover artwork was credited under Bell's name, but the liner notes credited his work to Sir Lleb.<ref name=Motorbooty-Page3-1989 /> Bell worked to reflect the band's atmosphere of its music and stage performances in his work,<ref name=GeorgeClinton-Memoir-2014>{{cite book|last1=Clinton|first1=George|last2=Greenman|first2=Ben|title=Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain't That Funkin' Kinda Hard on You?|date=2014|publisher=Atria Books|location=New York|isbn=978-1-476-75109-2|pages=116-118, 184|url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/brothas-be-yo-like-george-aint-that-funkin-kinda-hard-on-you/oclc/893679213/viewport|oclc=893679213}}</ref> for which he used markers and felt-tipped pens<ref name=Motorbooty-Page5-1989>{{cite journal|last1=Michaels|first1=Rob|title=Pedro Bell: Drawnamic Maestro of Optical Infotainment (page 5)|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/88058737@N00/363181142/|journal=Motorbooty|date=1989}}</ref> because the fumes of the paint he used were too toxic, and he often traced the markers with acrylic due to issues with color separation from the printing process. The finished works were often 300 times the size of the actual record covers for higher printing quality.<ref name=SECONDS-Interview-Page24-1987>{{cite news|last1=West|first1=David|title=Pedro Bell (page 24)|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/88058737@N00/377021860/|work=[[Seconds (magazine)|SECONDS]]|date=1987|pages=20-26}}</ref>{{rp|24}} Although he went to college, Bell considered himself to be self-taught. Bell said he created the original pieces on three foot square panels, and often would only have the record title, and would not have heard the music before creating the album artwork.<ref name=Motorbooty-Page3-1989>{{cite journal|last1=Michaels|first1=Rob|title=Pedro Bell: Drawnamic Maestro of Optical Infotainment (page 3)|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/88058737@N00/363181148/|journal=Motorbooty|date=1989}}</ref>+Bell was hired to produce artwork for the band, beginning with local show posters, promotional items, and press kits. He moved on to album artwork, where he built a mythology that included slang, nicknames, and otherworld concepts that eventually became part of the artwork and liner notes of the Funkadelic records. The album cover artwork was credited under Bell's name, but the liner notes credited his work to Sir Lleb. Bell worked to reflect the band's atmosphere of its music and stage performances in his work, for which he used markers and felt-tipped pens because the fumes of the paint he used were too toxic, and he often traced the markers with acrylic due to issues with color separation from the printing process. The finished works were often 300 times the size of the actual record covers for higher printing quality. Although he went to college, Bell considered himself to be self-taught. Bell said he created the original pieces on three foot square panels, and often would only have the record title, and would not have heard the music before creating the album artwork.
-According to his biography via George Clinton’s official website, Bell’s “stream-of-contagion text rewrote the whole game. He single-handedly defined the P-Funk collective as sci-fi superheroes fighting the ills of the heart, society, and the cosmos…As much as Clinton’s lyrics, Pedro Bell’s crazoid words created the mythos of the band and bonded the audience together.”<ref name=GeorgeClinton-PedroBell>{{cite web|last1=Hito|first1=Ben|title=Pedro Bell|url=https://georgeclinton.com/family/pedro-bell/|work=GeorgeClinton.com|accessdate=25 March 2013}}</ref> However, Bell was often paid very little for his work, and if it was not through the record label, payment was either delayed or he had to ask for it up front.<ref name=Motorbooty-Page5-1989 /><ref name=SECONDS-Interview-Page25-1987>{{cite news|last1=West|first1=David|title=Pedro Bell (page 25)|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/88058737@N00/377021858/|work=[[Seconds (magazine)|SECONDS]]|date=1987|pages=20-26}}</ref>{{rp|25}} He therefore held regular jobs, including working in a bank and then a post office,<ref name=ChiSunTimes-Struggles-2009 /> but retained his association with the P-Funk family by often wearing [[day-glo]] wigs and psychedelic-inspired outfits.<ref name=Lodown-Feature-2018 /> Bell additionally collaborated with Clinton on album cover artwork for Clinton's 1980s solo releases,<ref name=NYTimes-RnBSkeletons-1986>{{cite news|last1=Palmer|first1=Robert|title=The Pop Life; Clinton's Satire Has a Bite|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/07/arts/the-pop-life-clinton-s-satire-has-a-bite.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=7 May 1986}}</ref> but their relationship became further strained after Clinton began collaborating with [[Prince (musician)|Prince]].<ref name=Motorbooty-Page1-1989>{{cite journal|last1=Michaels|first1=Rob|title=Pedro Bell: Drawnamic Maestro of Optical Infotainment (page 1)|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/88058737@N00/363213052/|journal=Motorbooty|date=1989}}</ref>+According to his biography via George Clinton’s official website, Bell’s “stream-of-contagion text rewrote the whole game. He single-handedly defined the P-Funk collective as sci-fi superheroes fighting the ills of the heart, society, and the cosmos…As much as Clinton’s lyrics, Pedro Bell’s crazoid words created the mythos of the band and bonded the audience together.” However, Bell was often paid very little for his work, and if it was not through the record label, payment was either delayed or he had to ask for it up front. He therefore held regular jobs, including working in a bank and then a post office, but retained his association with the P-Funk family by often wearing [[day-glo]] wigs and psychedelic-inspired outfits. Bell additionally collaborated with Clinton on album cover artwork for Clinton's 1980s solo releases, but their relationship became further strained after Clinton began collaborating with [[Prince (musician)|Prince]].
===Other projects=== ===Other projects===
-Bell had his own studio that he named Splankswork,<ref name=ChicagoTrib-AfricanAmericanDesigners-2018>{{cite news|last1=Johnson|first1=Steve|title=How the look of the 20th century came from Chicago and its African-American designers. Have a 7UP?|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/museums/ct-ent-african-american-design-chicago-1206-story.html|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=5 December 2018}}</ref> and in 1988, he created a cartoon for [[MTV]] called ''Larry Lazer''.<ref name=MTV-LarryLazer-1988>{{cite web|last1=Bell|first1=Pedro|title=Pedro Bell cartoon: Larry Lazer|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phwODVKQ9X0|language=en|date=1988}}</ref> In addition to working on comic books (including a compilation titled ''Artusi Tribe'') and screenwriting, Bell started a band called Tripzilla.<ref name=Motorbooty-Page6-1989>{{cite journal|last1=Michaels|first1=Rob|title=Pedro Bell: Drawnamic Maestro of Optical Infotainment (page 6)|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/88058737@N00/363181139/|journal=Motorbooty|date=1989}}</ref><ref name=Roctober-Interview-1994>{{cite news|last1=Austen|first1=Jake|last2=Lancelot|first2=Randy|last3=Porter|first3=James|last4=Bell|first4=Pedro|title=P-FUNK (Pedro Bell Interview): Return of the Crazoid: Rocktober Brings Artist Extraordinaire Pedro Bell Back to the Scene of the Crime Where He First Met Funkadelic|url=http://www.roctober.com/roctober/greatness/pfunk.html|work=[[Roctober]]|issue=11|date=1994|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20010424185604/http://www.roctober.com/roctober/greatness/pfunk.html|archivedate=24 April 2001}}</ref> In 1997, he published a [[zine]] titled ''ZEEP Magazine''.<ref name=Juxtapoz-OneNation-1998 /><ref name=StozoClown-ZEEP-1997>{{cite web|title=Stozo's Land Souvenirs: ZEEP Magazine !?(1997 issue)|url=http://stozodaklown.tripod.com/SUPOZOindex.html|website=Stozo The Clown}}</ref> According to Bell, the word was P-Funk slang for "deeper-than-deep".<ref name=SECONDS-Interview-Page22-1987 />{{rp|22}}+Bell had his own studio that he named Splankswork, and in 1988, he created a cartoon for [[MTV]] called ''Larry Lazer''. In addition to working on comic books (including a compilation titled ''Artusi Tribe'') and screenwriting, Bell started a band called Tripzilla. In 1997, he published a [[zine]] titled ''ZEEP Magazine''. According to Bell, the word was P-Funk slang for "deeper-than-deep".
== Censorship == == Censorship ==
-[[Warner Brothers Music]] censored Bell's initial artwork for Funkadelic's 1981 album ''[[The Electric Spanking of War Babies]]''.<ref name=Motorbooty-Page1-1989 /><ref name=Motorbooty-Page2-1989>{{cite journal|last1=Michaels|first1=Rob|title=Pedro Bell: Drawnamic Maestro of Optical Infotainment (page 2)|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/88058737@N00/363181149/|journal=Motorbooty|date=1989}}</ref> Deemed as inappropriate due to the cover featuring an overtly phallic spaceship that transported a naked woman, the work was edited, despite the fact that Funkadelic “…was following up two consecutive million-selling records,” while signed to Warner Bros.<ref name=Funk-1996/>{{rp|249}} Bell revised ''The Electric Spanking of War Babies'' so the image was featured with a lime-green sketch of shape covering the majority of the cover art, which says, “Oh Look! The Cover that ‘They’ were TOO-SCARED to print!”<ref name=RollingStone-BannedInTheUSA-2015>{{cite news|last1=Edwards|first1=Gavin|title=Banned in the U.S.A.: 20 Wildest Censored Album Covers - Funkadelic, ‘The Electric Spanking of War Babies’ (1981)|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/banned-in-the-u-s-a-20-wildest-censored-album-covers-154101/the-mamas-and-the-papas-if-you-can-believe-your-eyes-and-ears-1966-45904/|work=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=15 January 2015}}</ref>+[[Warner Brothers Music]] censored Bell's initial artwork for Funkadelic's 1981 album ''[[The Electric Spanking of War Babies]]''. Deemed as inappropriate due to the cover featuring an overtly phallic spaceship that transported a naked woman, the work was edited, despite the fact that Funkadelic “…was following up two consecutive million-selling records,” while signed to Warner Bros. Bell revised ''The Electric Spanking of War Babies'' so the image was featured with a lime-green sketch of shape covering the majority of the cover art, which says, “Oh Look! The Cover that ‘They’ were TOO-SCARED to print!”
== Influences == == Influences ==
-Bell said that among his artistic influences were artist [[Ed "Big Daddy" Roth |Ed Roth]], especially how he incorporated cars into his artwork, and the work of cartoonist [[Robert Williams (artist)|Robert Williams]] in advertising that appeared in ''[[Hot Rod (magazine)|Hot Rod]]'' magazine.<ref name=Juxtapoz-OneNation-1998 /> He also cited [[Frank Zappa]], [[Harlan Ellison]], [[Hunter S. Thompson]], [[Iceberg Slim]] and [[Tom Wolfe]] as influences.<ref name=Motorbooty-Page3-1989 /><ref name=SECONDS-Interview-Page26-1987>{{cite news|last1=West|first1=David|title=Pedro Bell (page 26)|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/88058737@N00/377021854/|work=[[Seconds (magazine)|SECONDS]]|date=1987|pages=20-26}}</ref>{{rp|26}}+Bell said that among his artistic influences were artist [[Ed "Big Daddy" Roth |Ed Roth]], especially how he incorporated cars into his artwork, and the work of cartoonist [[Robert Williams (artist)|Robert Williams]] in advertising that appeared in ''[[Hot Rod (magazine)|Hot Rod]]'' magazine. He also cited [[Frank Zappa]], [[Harlan Ellison]], [[Hunter S. Thompson]], [[Iceberg Slim]] and [[Tom Wolfe]] as influences.
-Growing up, Bell read the Bible and was very influenced by the books of [[Genesis (Bible)|Genesis]] and [[Book of Revelation|Revelations]]. This led to an interest in science fiction, machinery, automotive technology, and then the [[Surrealist Art|surrealistic art]] of [[Salvador Dalí]].<ref name=MisstraKnowitall-FunkyDrawers-2009>{{cite news|last1=Shakur|first1=Abdel|title=George Clinton's Funky Drawers: Pedro Bell|url=http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2008/06/george-clintons-funky-drawers-pedro.html|work=Misstra Knowitall|date=12 June 2009}}</ref> Bell read extensively about [[Dinosaur|dinosaurs]] and [[Godzilla]], and also studied [[Latin]].<ref name=MisstraKnowitall-Part1-2009 />+Growing up, Bell read the Bible and was very influenced by the books of [[Genesis (Bible)|Genesis]] and [[Book of Revelation|Revelations]]. This led to an interest in science fiction, machinery, automotive technology, and then the [[Surrealist Art|surrealistic art]] of [[Salvador Dalí]]. Bell read extensively about [[Dinosaur|dinosaurs]] and [[Godzilla]], and also studied [[Latin]].
== Personal life == == Personal life ==
-In August 1996, Bell was declared legally blind.<ref name=Juxtapoz-OneNation-1998 /> He struggled with health and poverty issues for much of his later life.<ref name=ChiSunTimes-Struggles-2009 /> In January 2010, the [[Black Rock Coalition]] held a fundraiser called "Miracle for a Maggot: Funkraiser for P-Funk Graphic Artist Pedro Bell" to help Bell.<ref name=BoldAsLove-MiracleForAMaggot-2009>{{cite news|last1=McClain|first1=Sierra|title='Miracle For A Maggot": Fundraiser for Funkadelic graphic artist Pedro Bell|url=http://boldaslove.us/2009/12/31/miracle-for-a-maggot-fundraiser-for-funkadelic-graphic-artist-pedro-bell/|work=Bold As Love Magazine|date=31 December 2009}}</ref>+In August 1996, Bell was declared legally blind. He struggled with health and poverty issues for much of his later life. In January 2010, the [[Black Rock Coalition]] held a fundraiser called "Miracle for a Maggot: Funkraiser for P-Funk Graphic Artist Pedro Bell" to help Bell.
-On August 27, 2019, it was announced that Bell had died.<ref name=Pitchfork-Obit-2019 /><ref name=ChicagoSunTimes-Obit-2019>{{cite news|last1=O'Donnell|first1=Maureen|title=Chicago artist Pedro Bell, designer of trippy album covers for George Clinton, Funkadelic, has died|url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/8/28/20837264/pedro-bell-artist-george-clinton-parliament-funkadelic-album-cover-designer|work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|date=28 August 2019}}</ref> He had a son.<ref name=Juxtapoz-OneNation-1998 />+On August 27, 2019, it was announced that Bell had died. He had a son.
== Selected discography == == Selected discography ==
Line 56: Line 59:
* 1986: George Clinton, ''[[R&B Skeletons in the Closet]]'' (Capitol Records) * 1986: George Clinton, ''[[R&B Skeletons in the Closet]]'' (Capitol Records)
* 1988: INCorporated Thang Band, ''[[Lifestyles of the Roach and Famous]]'' (Warner Bros. Records) * 1988: INCorporated Thang Band, ''[[Lifestyles of the Roach and Famous]]'' (Warner Bros. Records)
-* 1989: Various artists, ''George Clinton Presents Our Gang Funky'' ([[MCA Records]])<ref name=Motorbooty-Page1-1989 />+* 1989: Various artists, ''George Clinton Presents Our Gang Funky'' ([[MCA Records]])
-* 1991: [[Maggotron]], ''Maggotron: Bass Man of the Acropolis'' ([[Pandisc]])<ref name=ROCKSex-BeyondCool-2010>{{cite web|last1=Stevens|first1=Tym|title=Beyond Cool: Pedro Bell, Funkadelic's visionary!|url=http://tymstevens.blogspot.com/2010/01/beyond-cool-pedro-bell-funkadelics.html|work=ROCK Sex|date=27 January 2010}}</ref>+* 1991: [[Maggotron]], ''Maggotron: Bass Man of the Acropolis'' ([[Pandisc]])
-* 1994: George Clinton, ''[[Dope Dogs]]'' ([[P-Vine]])<ref name=ROCKSex-BeyondCool-2010 />+* 1994: George Clinton, ''[[Dope Dogs]]'' ([[P-Vine]])
* 1995: Axiom Funk, ''[[Funkcronomicon]]'' (Axiom) * 1995: Axiom Funk, ''[[Funkcronomicon]]'' (Axiom)
-* 1996: [[George Clinton and The P-Funk Allstars (band)|George Clinton and The P-Funk Allstars]], ''[[T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M.]] (The Awesome Power of a Fully Operational Mothership)'' ([[Sony 550]])<ref name=ROCKSex-BeyondCool-2010 />+* 1996: [[George Clinton and The P-Funk Allstars (band)|George Clinton and The P-Funk Allstars]], ''[[T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M.]] (The Awesome Power of a Fully Operational Mothership)'' ([[Sony 550]])
-* 1996: George Clinton, ''Greatest Funkin' Hits'' (Capitol Records)<ref name=ROCKSex-BeyondCool-2010 />+* 1996: George Clinton, ''Greatest Funkin' Hits'' (Capitol Records)
-* 1998: Enemy Squad, ''United State of Mind'' (Tufamerica Records)<ref name=ROCKSex-BeyondCool-2010 />+* 1998: Enemy Squad, ''United State of Mind'' (Tufamerica Records)
-* 2005: George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars, ''How Late Do U Have 2BB4UR Absent?'' (The C Kunspyruhzy)<ref name=ROCKSex-BeyondCool-2010 />+* 2005: George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars, ''How Late Do U Have 2BB4UR Absent?'' (The C Kunspyruhzy)
-* 2007: Funkadelic, ''[[By Way of the Drum]]'' (Hip-O Select)<ref name=Motorbooty-Page1-1989 />+* 2007: Funkadelic, ''[[By Way of the Drum]]'' (Hip-O Select)
- +==See also==
-== Selected exhibitions ==+*[[African-American art]]
-* 1994: Onli Studios, Second Annual Black Age of Comics Convention, South Side Community Art Center – [[Bronzeville, Chicago|Bronzeville]], [[Chicago, Illinois]]+*[[List of African-American visual artists]]
-* 1999: [[Exit Art]], ''Pedrodelic Art Exhibit'' – New York<ref name=Brookenstein-Pedrodelic-1999>{{cite web|last1=Dr. Brookenstein|title=Opening of the Pedrodelic Art Exhibit, NYC (5/01/99)|url=http://www.brookenstein.com/pedrodelic-art-exhibit.html|website=Brookenstein.com|date=1 May 1999}}</ref>+*[[Ayé Aton ]]
-* 2005: Gavin Brown's Enterprise, ''Drunk vs. Stoned 2'' – New York<ref name=NYTimes-DrunkVStoned-2005>{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Roberta|title=Along the Blurry Line Between Blotto and Buzzed|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/26/arts/design/along-the-blurry-line-between-blotto-and-buzzed.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=26 August 2005}}</ref>+
-* 2007: BLACK AGE X Convention – Chicago<ref name=BACC-Onli-BlackAgeX-2007>{{cite web|last1=Onli|first1=Turtel|title=Black Age of Comics Convention / Onli Studios: October 2007|url=http://dablackage.blogspot.com/2007/10/|website=Black Age of Comics Convention / Onli Studios|language=en|date=11 October 2007}}</ref>+
-* 2007: ''Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock and Roll Since 1967'', [[Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago]] (September 29, 2007–January 6, 2008) – Chicago<ref name="MCA-SympathyForTheDevil-2007">{{cite web|title=Exhibitions: Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock and Roll Since 1967|url=https://mcachicago.org/Exhibitions/2007/Sympathy-For-The-Devil-Art-And-Rock-And-Roll-Since-1967|work=[[Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago]]|date=29 September 2007|language=en}}</ref><ref name=BrainMagazine-MCA-2007>{{cite news|last1=Stipanovich|first1=Alexander|title=Rock&Art - Pedro Bell|url=https://www.brain-magazine.fr/article/reportages/48-Rock-Art---Pedro-Bell|work=Brain Magazine|date=23 November 2007|language=fr}}</ref>+
-* 2009: ''Funkaesthetics'': [[University of Toronto]], Art Museum at the University of Toronto (February 12–March 23, 2009);<ref name=UToronto-Funkaesthetics-2009>{{cite web|last1=Jacob|first1=Luis (curated by)|last2=Wendt|first2=Pan (curated by)|title=Funkaesthetics|url=http://artmuseum.utoronto.ca/exhibition/funkaesthetics/|website=Art Museum at the [[University of Toronto]]|language=en-CA|date=February 12, 2009}}</ref> [[Confederation Centre Art Gallery]] (November 21, 2009 to February 28, 2010)<ref name=ConfederationCentre-Funkaesthetics-2009>{{cite web|last1=Published By The Confederation Centre Art Gallery|title=Funkaesthetics|url=https://artmuseum.utoronto.ca/publication/funkaesthetics/|work=[[Confederation Centre Art Gallery]]|date=2009|language=en-CA}}</ref>+
-* 2018: [[Chicago Cultural Center]], ''African American Designers in Chicago: Art, Commerce, and the Politics of Race'' (October 27, 2018–March 3, 2019) – Chicago<ref name=ChicagoTrib-AfricanAmericanDesigners-2018 /><ref name=ArtDesignChicago-AfricanAmericanDesigners-2018>{{cite web|title=African American Designers in Chicago: Art, Commerce, and the Politics of Race|url=https://www.artdesignchicago.org/programs/african-american-designers-in-chicago-art-commerce-and-the-politics-of-race|website=Art Design Chicago|date=2018}}</ref>+
- +
-== See also ==+
-* [[:Category:Albums with cover art by Pedro Bell|Albums with cover art by Pedro Bell]]+
- +
-==References==+
-{{Reflist}}+
- +
-==Further reading==+
-* {{cite journal|last1=Michaels|first1=Rob|title=Pedro Bell: Drawnamic Maestro of Optical Infotainment|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/88058737@N00/363213052/|journal=Motorbooty|date=1989}}+
-* {{cite news|last1=Austen|first1=Jake|last2=Lancelot|first2=Randy|last3=Porter|first3=James|last4=Bell|first4=Pedro|title=P-FUNK (Pedro Bell Interview): Return of the Crazoid: Rocktober Brings Artist Extroidanaire Pedro Bell Back to the Scene of the Crime Where He First Met Funkadelic|url=http://www.roctober.com/roctober/greatness/pfunk.html|work=[[Roctober]]|issue=11|date=1994|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20010424185604/http://www.roctober.com/roctober/greatness/pfunk.html|archivedate=24 April 2001}}+
-* {{cite news|last1=James|first1=Darius|title=Cruise Missile Looking For A Place To Land|work=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]|date=May 1996|pages=84-87}}+
-* {{cite news|last1=Shakur|first1=Abdel|title=The Natural Way To Dro (Part I)|url=http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2009/06/natural-way-to-dro-part-i.html|work=Misstra Knowitall|date=30 June 2009}}+
-* {{cite news|last1=Shakur|first1=Abdel|title=The Natural Way To Dro (Part II)|url=http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2009/07/natural-way-to-dro-part-ii.html|work=Misstra Knowitall|date=2 July 2009}}+
-* {{cite news|last1=Shakur|first1=Abdel|title=The Natural Way To Dro (Part III)|url=http://misstraknowitall.blogspot.com/2009/07/natural-way-to-dro-part-iii.html|work=Misstra Knowitall|date=5 July 2009}}+
-* {{cite book|last1=Jacob|first1=Luis (essay by)|last2=Wendt|first2=Pan (essay by)|last3=Piper|first3=Adrian (essay by)|last4=Fischer|first4=Barbara (foreword by)|title=Funkaesthetics|date=2009|publisher=Justina M. Barnicke Gallery / Confederation Centre of the Arts|location=Toronto / Charlottetown, PEI|isbn=978-0-772-76075-3|oclc=480908851}}+
-* {{cite book|last1=Southgate|first1=Darby E.|editor1-last=Price|editor1-first=Emmett George|editor2-last=Kernodle|editor2-first=Tammy L|editor3-last=Maxile|editor3-first=Horace Joseph|title=Encyclopedia of African American Music|date=2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, CA|isbn=978-0-313-34200-4|pages=345-346|url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/encyclopedia-of-african-american-music/oclc/664451052/viewport|chapter=Funk|oclc=664451052}}+
-* {{cite journal|title=Wax Poetics 22: George Clinton · Lord Finesse · Bootsy Collins · Pedro Bell: A Parliament Funkadelic Primer|date=2012|volume=22 (2012-6)|series=Wax Poetics Japan|publisher=GruntStyle Co., Ltd. 編集. Guranto sutairu|location=Tōkyō|isbn=978-4-905-29801-4|oclc=808341588}}+
-* {{cite journal|last1=Wright|first1=Amy Nathan|title=The Funk Issue: Exploring the Funkadelic Aesthetic: Intertextuality and Cosmic Philosophizing in Funkadelic’s Album Covers and Liner Notes|journal=[[American Studies (journal)|American Studies]]|date=2013 |volume=52|issue=4|pages=141–169|doi=10.1353/ams.2013.0121|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24589274|publisher=Mid-America American Studies Association|issn=0026-3079|oclc=7782061378|jstor=24589274}}+
-* {{cite book|last1=Thompson|first1=Ahmir Questlove|last2=Clinton|first2=George|editor1-last=Feireiss|editor1-first=Lukas|title=Legacy: Generations of Creatives in Dialogue|date=2018|publisher=Frame Publishers|location=Amsterdam|isbn=978-9-492-31130-6|pages=66-73|url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/legacy-generations-of-creatives-in-dialogue/oclc/1105629409/viewport|chapter=Between the Lines|oclc=1105629409}}+
- +
-==External links==+
-* {{IMDb name|nm3762928|Pedro Bell}}+
-{{P-Funk|state=collapsed}}+
- +
-{{Authority control}}+
- +
-{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Pedro}}+
-[[Category:1950 births]]+
-[[Category:2019 deaths]]+
-[[Category:P-Funk members]]+
-[[Category:American illustrators]]+
-[[Category:Psychedelic artists]]+
-[[Category:African-American comics creators]]+
-[[Category:Place of birth missing]]+
-[[Category:American comics creators]]+
-[[Category:Place of death missing]]+
-[[Category:Afrofuturist writers]]+
-[[Category:Afrofuturists]]+
- +
{{GFDL}} {{GFDL}}

Current revision

"The primary author of the P-Funk mythology aside from George Clinton was Pedro Bell, who illustrated the liner notes for many of P-Funk's releases. Bell's felt-tip illustrations included prolonged essays that expanded the mythos of Clinton's lyrics with a complementary syntax that "forged a new realm of black language" (source). Though Bell coined terms like "Rumpasaurus" and made extensive contributions to the P-Funk mythology, his work has been largely overlooked." --Sholem Stein

"AS IT IS WRTTEN HENCEFORTH… On the Eighth Day, the Cosmic Strumpet of Mother Nature was spawned to envelope this Third Planet in FUNKADELICAL VIBRATIONS. And she birthed Apostles Ra, Hendrix, Stone, and CLINTON to preserve all funkiness of man unto eternity... But! Fraudulent forces of obnoxious JIVATION grew...only seedling GEORGE remained! As it came to be, he did indeed begat FUNKADELIC to restore Order Within the Universe. And nourished from the pamgrierian mammaristic melonpaps of Mother Nature, the followers of FUNKADELIA multiplied incessantly!" --liner notes of Standing on the Verge of Getting It On by Pedro Bell

"Bell is a shackle (all shackles are just as essential) in the chain of Afrofuturism, Afro-Surrealism and black science fiction." --Sholem Stein

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Pedro Bell (June 11, 1950 – August 27, 2019) was an American artist and illustrator, best known for his elaborate album cover designs and other artwork for numerous Funkadelic and George Clinton solo albums. Bell also wrote many of the liner notes of the records under the name Sir Lleb (his surname spelled backwards). The liner notes contributed to P-Funk's literary mythology — a sampling of his contributions include "Thumpasaurus," "Funkapus," "Queen Freakalene," "Bop Gun," and "Zone of Zero Funkativity." Bell's work was preceded and partially inspired by Sun Ra and was a precursor to the modern graphic novel and the Afro-punk movement.

Contents

[edit]

Early life

Bell grew up in Chicago, Illinois. His family was very religious.

Often sick as a child, Bell would read books and comics, especially Ace Comics. Bell said that he got his artistic talent from his father, who he described as frustrated artist, and his mother, who wrote and played the piano.

Bell attended Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, where he said he was exposed to the Black Power movement and met activist Mark Clark. Bell donated artwork to the Black Panther Party and participated in a protest, which led to his expulsion from school.

Bell also attended Roosevelt University in Chicago, where he took art classes and studied with Don Baum.

[edit]

Career

[edit]

Funkadelic

Between late 1969 and early 1970, Bell heard Funkadelic on the underground Chicago radio station WXFM for the first time. He began writing illustrated letters to the band and contacted their manager, Rod Scribner, in order to send him drawings and college-newspaper writing samples. Bell additionally created and mailed what he called "psychedelic envelopes", but since Funkadelic bandleader George Clinton was under investigation at the time by the RCMP for his involvement with the Process Church of the Final Judgment, the envelopes also were investigated.

Bell was hired to produce artwork for the band, beginning with local show posters, promotional items, and press kits. He moved on to album artwork, where he built a mythology that included slang, nicknames, and otherworld concepts that eventually became part of the artwork and liner notes of the Funkadelic records. The album cover artwork was credited under Bell's name, but the liner notes credited his work to Sir Lleb. Bell worked to reflect the band's atmosphere of its music and stage performances in his work, for which he used markers and felt-tipped pens because the fumes of the paint he used were too toxic, and he often traced the markers with acrylic due to issues with color separation from the printing process. The finished works were often 300 times the size of the actual record covers for higher printing quality. Although he went to college, Bell considered himself to be self-taught. Bell said he created the original pieces on three foot square panels, and often would only have the record title, and would not have heard the music before creating the album artwork.

According to his biography via George Clinton’s official website, Bell’s “stream-of-contagion text rewrote the whole game. He single-handedly defined the P-Funk collective as sci-fi superheroes fighting the ills of the heart, society, and the cosmos…As much as Clinton’s lyrics, Pedro Bell’s crazoid words created the mythos of the band and bonded the audience together.” However, Bell was often paid very little for his work, and if it was not through the record label, payment was either delayed or he had to ask for it up front. He therefore held regular jobs, including working in a bank and then a post office, but retained his association with the P-Funk family by often wearing day-glo wigs and psychedelic-inspired outfits. Bell additionally collaborated with Clinton on album cover artwork for Clinton's 1980s solo releases, but their relationship became further strained after Clinton began collaborating with Prince.

[edit]

Other projects

Bell had his own studio that he named Splankswork, and in 1988, he created a cartoon for MTV called Larry Lazer. In addition to working on comic books (including a compilation titled Artusi Tribe) and screenwriting, Bell started a band called Tripzilla. In 1997, he published a zine titled ZEEP Magazine. According to Bell, the word was P-Funk slang for "deeper-than-deep".

[edit]

Censorship

Warner Brothers Music censored Bell's initial artwork for Funkadelic's 1981 album The Electric Spanking of War Babies. Deemed as inappropriate due to the cover featuring an overtly phallic spaceship that transported a naked woman, the work was edited, despite the fact that Funkadelic “…was following up two consecutive million-selling records,” while signed to Warner Bros. Bell revised The Electric Spanking of War Babies so the image was featured with a lime-green sketch of shape covering the majority of the cover art, which says, “Oh Look! The Cover that ‘They’ were TOO-SCARED to print!”

[edit]

Influences

Bell said that among his artistic influences were artist Ed Roth, especially how he incorporated cars into his artwork, and the work of cartoonist Robert Williams in advertising that appeared in Hot Rod magazine. He also cited Frank Zappa, Harlan Ellison, Hunter S. Thompson, Iceberg Slim and Tom Wolfe as influences.

Growing up, Bell read the Bible and was very influenced by the books of Genesis and Revelations. This led to an interest in science fiction, machinery, automotive technology, and then the surrealistic art of Salvador Dalí. Bell read extensively about dinosaurs and Godzilla, and also studied Latin.

[edit]

Personal life

In August 1996, Bell was declared legally blind. He struggled with health and poverty issues for much of his later life. In January 2010, the Black Rock Coalition held a fundraiser called "Miracle for a Maggot: Funkraiser for P-Funk Graphic Artist Pedro Bell" to help Bell.

On August 27, 2019, it was announced that Bell had died. He had a son.

[edit]

Selected discography

[edit]

See also


Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Pedro Bell" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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