Architect Matteo Pericoli is Italian
by birth, New Yorker by choice, and the cover "ill"ustrator
for Beastie Boys album To
The 5 Boroughs. For those living in New York, it
probably comes as no surprise to find out here that Pericoli's
depiction of Manhattan's skyscrapers was not originally
contracted nor intended to be the cover art for the Beastie
Boys long awaited release. In fact, the Matteo Pericoli's
work was originally published by Random House in October
2001 under the title "New York Unfurled."
The original sketches of "New York Unfurled"
totaled thirty-seven feet in length when completely unfurled,
which explains why multiple folds were required for the
To the 5 Boroughs booklet. In an article written
by Elisabetta Povoledo, for the Italy Daily newspaper
(March 21, 2002), it was stated that as many as twenty bridges
and nearly sixteen-hundred buildings were drawn over the
three and a half years which it took Pericoli to complete
the project. Following the sales success of "New York
Unfurled," Pericoli began working on a new skyline
piece drawn from inside of New York's Central Park, "Manhattan
Within." With the seemingly endless flow of Beastie
Boys bootlegs showing up on eBay, don't be surprised if
you see this Pericoli drawing pop up on an unlicensed European
12".
For those who are interested, Matteo Pericoli's work can
also be seen in "The New Yorker" magazine. It
is worth noting that Matteo's father, Tullio Pericoli, also
works for "The New Yorker" as a cartoonist. Knowing
this piece of information it would appear to the common
observer as though Matteo was genetically predestined to
become the artist which he is today. That may be so, but
all the same, Matteo put in his time and received a degree
in architecture from the Politecnico di Milano in Italy
(1995). So while many of us were blasting the sounds of
"Sure Shot" and "Sabotage" on our car
stereo speakers, Matteo Pericoli was finishing up training
that would later pay dividends and give fans an amazing
piece of Beastie Boys cover art.
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