Frank Kozik, Artist Behind Queens of the Stone Age and Melvins Album Covers, Dies at 61


Frank Kozik, the artist who designed posters and album covers for many bands, died on Saturday. His album covers include Queens of the Stone Age’s self-titled albumMelvins’ Houdiniand Descendants Americana. Bands including Nirvana, Sonic Youth, White Stripes, Butthole Surfers, and Beastie Boys were among the many artists who commissioned the tour posters. He is 61 years old.

“Frank was a man bigger than himself, an icon in every genre he worked in,” a statement shared Kozik’s wife Sharon reading. “He has greatly changed the industry he is involved in. He is a creative force of nature. We are beyond lucky and honored to have been a part of his journey, and he will be missed more than words can express. He loved his wife, his cats, classic muscle cars, teaching others, and Disneyland. His powerful presence will be missed by all who knew him. His legacy, like all great masters, will live on in his art and in our memories of him.

Kozik began making posters while living in Austin in the early ’80s after getting attention from bands for his work as part of the mail art community. He gradually got work for corporate ad campaigns, participated in gallery shows, and eventually started his label Man’s Ruin Records. Man’s Ruin has released music by Kyuss, High on Fire, Melvins, and more. He is the creative director of Kidrobot, the limited edition art toy company.

He attributes the aesthetic of his most famous work to his “dark sense of humor” and growing up in punk rock. “I’m part of the trash world,” he said said in 2018. “I’m an uneducated person, and definitely into hedonistic experiences. While I have an appreciation for fine art and I understand it, I go to punk rock shows, not to college or museums. All the things that really turn my crank are those things, and they’re all things that we can change in our own lives; we can get a badass car and drive around energy, and we can hang out with fun people and party… All this fantasy of power, and it’s got really basic motivations: sex, drugs, violence, weird shit.







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