Difference between revisions of "Cal Schenkel"

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The king of rendered absurdities, painter, designer, and illustrator Calvin Schenkel was entrusted by Frank Zappa to design the lion's share of Zappa's album covers. And though foremost an artist, Cal provided vocal for [[Lumpy Gravy]].
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Schenkel: "When I first met him in New York, the art studio was in his apartment - but that was only for a brief period. I didn't actually live there [as widely reported], but I would commute to work at his place. When we moved to LA...he had rented the log cabin, I had a wing of it. It was my living quarters and art studio, which I rented separately from them."
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[[Image:Calschenkel.jpg|thumb|right|Cal Schenkel in 2005]]
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'''Cal Schenkel''' (January 27, 1947, Willow Grove, Philadelphia, [[Pennsylvania]]) is an American illustrator, painter, photographer, cover artist and cartoonist, best known for his longtime contributions to various Zappa projects, especially his album covers. <ref>https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/schenkel_cal.htm</ref>
  
Cal provided artwork, graphics, and/or design for [[We're Only In It For The Money]], [[Cruising With Ruben & The Jets]], [[Uncle Meat]], [[Hot Rats]], [[Burnt Weeny Sandwich]], [[Chunga's Revenge]], [[Fillmore East, June 1971]], [[200 Motels]], [[Just Another Band From L.A.]], [[Waka/Jawaka]], [[The Grand Wazoo]], [[Over-Nite Sensation]], [[Apostrophe (')]], [[Roxy & Elsewhere]], [[One Size Fits All]], [[Bongo Fury]], [[Zoot Allures]], [[Tinseltown Rebellion]], [[Does Humor Belong In Music?]] CD, [[The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life]], [[Playground Psychotics]], [[Ahead Of Their Time]], [[Cheap Thrills]], [[Mystery Disc]], [[Son Of Cheep Thrills]], [[Threesome No. 1]] slipcase art, and [[Threesome No. 2]] slipcase art.
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==Biography==
  
Though a production designer for [[200 Motels (The Film)]], Cal can be seen in the Zappa movies [[Uncle Meat (The Film)]] and [[Video From Hell]]. Conceptual Continuity: the artwork for [[Burnt Weeny Sandwich]] was originally done for an Eric Dolphy album.
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Schenkel dropped out of the Philadelphia College of Art and went to [[California]]. There he encountered Zappa several times and even visited the studio where [[Freak Out!]] was being recorded. He returned to Philadelphia in the summer of 1966. In the spring of 1967 Zappa and the Mothers arrived in [[New York]]. At the suggestion of his girlfriend [[Sandy Hurvitz]], who studied with them at Philadelphia College, he showed his promotional artwork and cover designs to Zappa. <ref>https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/schenkel_cal.htm</ref>
  
[[Category:Supporting Cast]][[Category:Bandmembers]]
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<blockquote>
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''"When I first met him in New York, the art studio was in his apartment – but that was only for a brief period. I didn’t actually live there, but I would commute to work at his place. When we moved to LA when he had rented the log cabin, I had a wing of it. It was my living    quarters and art studio, which I rented separately from him. There was probably more of a chance to fraternize when I lived in that close proximity than when I didn’t, but even when I lived in my own place I’d be hanging out a lot and listening to what he was doing with the music. I think that it was just that I happened to fit the mold. I’m not sure I totally did understand it, but it just happened to coincide with what I was doing. I liked working in a lot of different directions and doing very eclectic stuff and working in different styles and Frank was doing that with his music."''</blockquote><div align="right">[[Cal Schenkel]]</div>
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[[Image:Schenkelsketch.jpg|thumb|right|Zappa sketched by Schenkel for Uncle Meat]]<br>
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Schenkel had a brief affair with [[Pauline Butcher]] and fathered a daughter, Raven, with [[Sandra Leano]].  He said that [[Jen Taylor]], one of the people on the cover of ''[[We're Only In It For The Money]'', was an "old flame."
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==Artistic contributions to Zappa projects==
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[[We're Only In It For The Money]]<br>
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[[Lumpy Gravy]]<br>
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[[Cruising With Ruben & The Jets]]<br>
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[[Uncle Meat]]<br>
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[[Hot Rats]]<br>
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[[Burnt Weeny Sandwich]] (the artwork was originally done for an [[Eric Dolphy]] album.)<br>
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[[Trout Mask Replica]]<br>
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[[Chunga's Revenge]]<br>
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[[Fillmore East, June 1971]]<br>
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[[200 Motels]]<br>
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[[Just Another Band From L.A.]]<br>
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[[Waka/Jawaka]]<br>
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[[The Grand Wazoo]]<br>
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[[Over-Nite Sensation]]<br>
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[[Apostrophe (')]]<br>
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[[Roxy & Elsewhere]]<br>
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[[One Size Fits All]]<br>
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[[Bongo Fury]]<br>
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[[Zoot Allures]]<br>
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[[Tinseltown Rebellion]]<br>
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[[Does Humor Belong In Music?]] <br>
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[[The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life]]<br>
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[[Playground Psychotics]]<br>
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[[Ahead Of Their Time]]<br>
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[[Cheap Thrills]]<br>
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[[Mystery Disc]]<br>
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[[Son Of Cheep Thrills]]<br>
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[[Threesome No. 1]] slipcase art<br>
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[[Threesome No. 2]] slipcase art.<br>
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==Schenkel and Zappa==
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[[File:Cal_Schenkel_accordion.jpg|thumb|left|]]
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* Schenkel can be seen on the cover of [[We're Only In It For The Money]], which he designed as well, holding a crate of eggs. The little boy with the accordion is also him.
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* The track [[For Calvin (And His Next Two Hitch-Hikers)]] (from [[The Grand Wazoo]]) tells of an episode at the time Schenkel was working on the [[Uncle Meat]] cover.
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* He can be heard saying: ''"That's very distraughtening"'' on [[Lumpy Gravy]].
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* Zappa named Schenkel as his favorite contemporary artist in ''[[Data For Sensitive or Critical-sensitive Position]]''.
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* He was production designer for [[200 Motels (The Film)]], for which he also designed the animation segment, which was directed by [[Charles Swenson]]. <ref>http://www.united-mutations.com/s/cal_schenkel.htm|</ref>
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* Schenkel can be seen in the Zappa movies: [[Uncle Meat (The Film)|Uncle Meat]] and [[Video From Hell]]. <ref>http://www.united-mutations.com/s/cal_schenkel.htm|</ref>
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==Sources==
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<references/>
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==See also==
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* [[Wikipedia:Cal Schenkel| Wikipedia article about Cal Schenkel]]
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* [https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/schenkel_cal.htm Extensive article about Schenkel's life and career, with illustration material.]
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* [http://www.united-mutations.com/s/cal_schenkel.htm| Interview with Schenkel about Zappa]
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[[Category:We're Only In It For the Money (The List)|Schenkel]]
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[[Category:The Real Frank Zappa Book (The List)|Schenkel]]
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[[Category:Cover Artists|Schenkel]]
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[[Category:Animators and cartoonists|Schenkel]]
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[[Category:Photographers|Schenkel]]
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[[Category:Celebrity Fans|Schenkel]]

Latest revision as of 09:12, 28 December 2021


Cal Schenkel in 2005

Cal Schenkel (January 27, 1947, Willow Grove, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American illustrator, painter, photographer, cover artist and cartoonist, best known for his longtime contributions to various Zappa projects, especially his album covers. [1]

Biography

Schenkel dropped out of the Philadelphia College of Art and went to California. There he encountered Zappa several times and even visited the studio where Freak Out! was being recorded. He returned to Philadelphia in the summer of 1966. In the spring of 1967 Zappa and the Mothers arrived in New York. At the suggestion of his girlfriend Sandy Hurvitz, who studied with them at Philadelphia College, he showed his promotional artwork and cover designs to Zappa. [2]

"When I first met him in New York, the art studio was in his apartment – but that was only for a brief period. I didn’t actually live there, but I would commute to work at his place. When we moved to LA when he had rented the log cabin, I had a wing of it. It was my living quarters and art studio, which I rented separately from him. There was probably more of a chance to fraternize when I lived in that close proximity than when I didn’t, but even when I lived in my own place I’d be hanging out a lot and listening to what he was doing with the music. I think that it was just that I happened to fit the mold. I’m not sure I totally did understand it, but it just happened to coincide with what I was doing. I liked working in a lot of different directions and doing very eclectic stuff and working in different styles and Frank was doing that with his music."

Cal Schenkel
Zappa sketched by Schenkel for Uncle Meat


Schenkel had a brief affair with Pauline Butcher and fathered a daughter, Raven, with Sandra Leano. He said that Jen Taylor, one of the people on the cover of [[We're Only In It For The Money], was an "old flame."

Artistic contributions to Zappa projects

We're Only In It For The Money
Lumpy Gravy
Cruising With Ruben & The Jets
Uncle Meat
Hot Rats
Burnt Weeny Sandwich (the artwork was originally done for an Eric Dolphy album.)
Trout Mask Replica
Chunga's Revenge
Fillmore East, June 1971
200 Motels
Just Another Band From L.A.
Waka/Jawaka
The Grand Wazoo
Over-Nite Sensation
Apostrophe (')
Roxy & Elsewhere
One Size Fits All
Bongo Fury
Zoot Allures
Tinseltown Rebellion
Does Humor Belong In Music?
The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life
Playground Psychotics
Ahead Of Their Time
Cheap Thrills
Mystery Disc
Son Of Cheep Thrills
Threesome No. 1 slipcase art
Threesome No. 2 slipcase art.

Schenkel and Zappa

Cal Schenkel accordion.jpg

Sources

See also