Simon Henwood (born, 31 March 1965) is a British artist, author, film director, and music video director. Henwood first gained attention as a children's writer and later on for his paintings inspired by adolescence, as well as combining "darkness and hip together". [1] [2] He is best known for directing Kanye West's "Love Lockdown" and being the creative force behind Rihanna's Rated R album campaign. Henwood was in a relationship with Irish singer-songwriter Róisín Murphy.
Henwood was born in Portsmouth, England. In 1986, he received his Bachelor of Arts from Exeter College of Art and Design in Devon. [3] Many of Henwood's paintings focus on the experiences and consequences of youth. [1] His work has been showcased by London's Institute of Contemporary Arts and Asprey Jacques, Manhattan's envoy enterprises, New York's Bronwyn Keenan Gallery, and Santa Monica's Richard Heller Gallery. [1] [3]
Henwood authored and illustrated a series of children's books that were published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including A Piece of Luck (1990) and The Troubled Village (1991). In 1993, Henwood developed an "illustrated periodical" named Purr. [1] That same year, Henwood also founded a record label which issued releases by Iggy Pop and Sonic Youth. He produced and directed Alice, a short film scored by Barry Adamson, and created a second magazine of the same name, which "chronicles how childhood is represented in art and the media". [1] In 2001, Henwood created the animated series Johnny Pumpkin, which was in development with Sky One television in the United Kingdom. [3]
Henwood is also known for directing music videos. He has worked with HSI London (previously known as Exposure Films) since 2004. [4] Henwood has worked with a number of artists, such as Apollo 440, Badly Drawn Boy, Delays, Devendra Banhart, and Imogen Heap. He directed Kanye West's "Love Lockdown" in 2008, which was nominated for Video of the Year, Best Male Video, Best Hip-Hop Video, and Best Special Effects in a Video at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.
Pop singer Rihanna enlisted Henwood as the creative director for 2009's Rated R . He designed the logo and conceived the brand and styling of the album, videos and TV spots. He will also contribute to Rihanna's forthcoming tour, including the show's stage design, costumes and background visuals. [5] Art publisher Rizzoli will release a photo book documenting Henwood's work for the pop star in 2010, entitled Rihanna: The Last Girl on Earth. [5] [6]
Henwood also painted the cover of his then-girlfriend Róisín Murphy's album Ruby Blue and its EPs and singles, in addition to directing the music videos for "If We're in Love", "Sow into You" and "Movie Star."
Richard Powers is an American novelist whose works explore the effects of modern science and technology. His novel The Echo Maker won the 2006 National Book Award for Fiction. He has also won many other awards over the course of his career, including a MacArthur Fellowship. As of 2023, Powers has published thirteen novels and has taught at the University of Illinois and Stanford University. He won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Overstory.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer Prizes, National Book Awards, and Nobel Prizes. As of 2016 the publisher is a division of Macmillan, whose parent company is the German publishing conglomerate Holtzbrinck Publishing Group.
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Phillip M. Hoose is an American writer of books, essays, stories, songs, and articles. His first published works were written for adults, but he turned his attention to children and young adults to keep up with his daughters. His work has been well received and honored more than once by the children's literature community. He won the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, Nonfiction, for The Race to Save the Lord God Bird (2004), and the National Book Award, Young People's Literature, for Claudette Colvin (2009).
Marie K. Rutkoski in Hinsdale, Illinois is an American children's writer, and professor at Brooklyn College. She has three younger siblings. She graduated from the University of Iowa with a B.A. in English with a minor in French in 1999, and then her English M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2003 and 2006 respectively. She lives in Brooklyn with her family and two cats, Cloud and Firefly.
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List of works by or about Richard Powers, American novelist.