Tomita, The Bermuda Triangle album cover illustration 1978

Don Ivan Punchatz created this fantastical album cover illustration for Tomita’s “The Bermuda Triangle”. The image brings together a wide range of cultural ideas and symbols, reflecting late twentieth-century interests in paranormal events. Punchatz’s composition uses a sci-fi aesthetic to create meaning through visual codes. Planes fly into pyramids and disappear into hearts. Winged creatures dance underwater, watched by a pair of lovers. The symbolism used creates a sense of eerie mystery. The Bermuda Triangle was a popular topic of speculative investigation at the time, inspiring countless books and films. Punchatz’s image cleverly evokes the sense of mystery surrounding it. To understand works such as this, the art historian investigates the popular culture and urban legends of the day, using media and literary archives. The meaning of art is always contingent on the social moment in which it appears.