During our recent Beatles Abbey Road exhibition, we went into the shadows and dark spaces of the famous Abbey Road session images and uncovered a host of previously unidentified characters. So far, almost 16,000 people have read the findings. Check it out if that kind of thing floats your boat. That whole exercise made me consider whether people actually see when they look at an iconic image. Born to Run is a great example. It’s so familiar that people don’t necessarily look at it all that closely.
If someone were to ask you how many people appeared on the cover what would you say? Two, right? Bruce and Clarence, on a gatefold sleeve. Wait…it’s a trick question. It can’t be that obvious. Of course…when you look closer you see that Bruce is wearing an Elvis badge – so that makes three. Elvis is the third person. That’s the answer – three. Right?
Wrong. There are actually five people on the sleeve photograph. The other two are right there on the front: one is leaning up against a lamp post while the other is looking out of a window.
Incredible isn’t it. So how many times have you looked at that picture, without really seeing?
You can check out all of Eric Meola’s Born To Run limited editions here
