Highlights of the Pink Floyd exhibition in Dortmund

They were way more than just a band: Pink Floyd (Roger Waters, here in the back, and from left to right, Nick Mason, David Gilmour, Richard Wright) not only revolutionized rock with their progressive psychedelic music. They also set many other artistic milestones with their unusual stage concepts and artwork for their albums, as well as their innovative recording techniques in the studio.

Over the last 50 years, the versatile band has produced many iconic visuals. London's Victoria & Albert Museum featured some 350 photos, album covers and artifacts in its retrospective, such as these heads, which served as artwork for the concept album The Division Bell (1994). They were conceived by the graphic designer Storm Thorgerson, who also worked on another well-known cover...

This is one of the most famous album covers in rock history. The exhibition dedicates a whole room to it. Keyboardist Richard Wright asked designers Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell to come up with a "simple and bold" design. Powell remembered finding this image of a glass prism dispersing light into color in a chemistry book. They immediately felt it was right.

Bassist Roger Waters came up with the idea of the flying pig over Battersea Power Station. The huge helium-inflated porcine balloon broke free and flights over London had to be canceled, adding to the band's trove of legendary antics. The photo served as the cover of Animals (1977). "The sky had colors in the style of William Turner's paintings, fitting with the music," said Aubrey Powell.

As the creative director of the exhibition, Powell dug out real treasures: This cane was used by their teacher to beat Waters, Thorgerson and founding member Syd Barrett when they were in school together in Cambridge. It inspired the prop held by the huge teacher puppet that was part of the "The Wall" concerts. Waters was happy to see it in the exhibition.

The exhibition also includes a reproduction of the huge wall that was gradually built in front of the band during the shows of "The Wall Tour." It symbolized the feeling of alienation between Roger Waters, the band and the audience. Because of the enormous costs of the stage theatrics, the tour only comprised 31 shows in four locations. German fans were lucky: Dortmund was one of them.

"Their Mortal Remains" is the name of the exhibition, yet the band itself appears to be immortal: The Dark Side of the Moon is still a top seller worldwide. Pink Floyd's psychedelic universe can be explored at the Dortmunder U until February 10, 2019.