guitahackerTrying to guess and decode the "hidden stuff" in the Beatle's cover art was nearly a full time occupation for the several weeks following a new release from their latter years.
I never bothered with that, since I was already well versed in art history, and a lot of Goya, or someone else, had a lot more to say than a Beatles' supposed cover, that for the most part was ... people experimenting with new technologies and processes (check out information about The Fool in LA), and other things.
But unlike the overly discussed Beatles' covers, where there was nothing really to say, except to finger and be a smart bun about the whole thing to everyone else, I do not think that they were at the forefront of "art", though the music deserves some credit. The rest around them ... highly questionable, and a lot of it was someone else's idea and work!
The Hipgnosis' covers, are more interesting, because they were an experiment, within the art field, and a lot of times, the subtext was funny ... ie, the UFO cover that does not have an UFO on it at all, but a hubcap from the car that is right in front of you ... which you can interpret in a couple of ways ... there is no seriousness here, but if you are going to discuss their music, you could easily say ... don't take their music seriously, either! Which was very true, and clear, anyway.
PF, by example, when you look at the "Meddle" cover is another story ... it's like ... listen ... listen ... and the waves coming by/thru and did you hear it? And that is, in the end, what "art" is all about ... with the obvious event that in the 60's folks like Andy Warhol abused the priviliedge and the process! But "color" had been an issue, since the Juan Miro days ... when everyone went ... what was that all about ... and seeing the same thing in 5 colors is the same thing!
By the time you look at his history of covers and some funny stuff (Art Ducko with a duck on the wall with the neck shot off! --- Capability Brown's Voice with the lips zipped shut and it was an album of folk rock stuff with very nice vocals --- or maybe the Nice album with the red balls across the desert, which I thinkn was the same thing as saying ... some of this is weird ... and it was ... but it made sense musically ... but all in all, if you pick up Jansen's History of Art, start on page 1 and go through it all ... and then look at 25 album covers by Hipgnosis ... and you will immediately say ... yeah ... that fits!