Work The Line

I was rather taken aback by the new U2 album cover when it was launched. The band members were not featured and neither had they used their old friend Anton Corbijn to take the shot. Instead, they opted for a powerful image by Hiroshi Sugimoto, taken at Lake Constance, Switzerland.

There has also been some speculation about how a commerce-wary artist may have come to an arrangement with the band - how this finely detailed shot, full of subtle tones, could have translated to the supermarket shelves. Now we know. In a recent interview with Japan Times, the photographer describes his meeting with Bono and their decision to do an art swap, rather than talking cash. Interestingly, the title track by U2 was actually inspired by the image, rather than Bono's team digging out a convenient photo after the event.