Jared Schaller:
Today, we’re focusing on our brand-new exhibit, The Art of Music Experience, inside our Discovery Pyramid. Joining me now is Joy Feuer, co-founder and curator of The Art of Music Experience. Joy, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us—this exhibit is absolutely incredible. First off, I just have to say—wow. When I first walked in, I was blown away by the massive scale of some of these paintings used to promote albums. And they’re all hand-painted! I thought some were printed, but no—giant, detailed, hand-painted pieces. Seeing them in person is just something else. Can you tell me how The Art of Music Experience came together? It’s such an amazing exhibit.

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Joy Feuer:
Sure! The paintings you're talking about were hand-painted in the late ’80s, ’90s, and early 2000s—mostly across Southern California and a few other areas. They were created to promote new album releases, tours, or even as part of marketing stunts. You’d find them on the sides of iconic record stores, music clubs, or record label buildings. This was all before Photoshop or digital printing—these were painted by real artists, by hand. Some are eight feet tall, others twelve. You've seen many of them in the exhibit—some are portraits of the artists, others are album covers. Back then, this was how people discovered a new album was coming out or that an artist was doing a signing.

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Jared Schaller:
That’s incredible. Growing up in Texas, I’d only ever see things like this on TV—Entertainment Tonight, maybe. Seeing them up close makes you realize how massive and immersive these campaigns were.

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Joy Feuer:
Exactly. The whole collection was preserved thanks to Chris Gontos, founder of a company called Art and Sign. He worked directly with the labels, and I was working at a label back then—that’s how we connected. Chris had the foresight to not let these pieces disappear. A lot of times, they’d just get painted over. Sometimes a label or artist would request one, but most were forgotten. Chris couldn’t bring himself to paint over them. He believed that someday people would appreciate them again. We stayed close friends over the years. I moved into public art and curation, and eventually, we reconnected and asked ourselves—what could we do with this collection? That led to using the artwork as a framework for a broader conversation—a deeper dive into album imagery and the people behind it. These visual artists, photographers, art directors—most of them don’t get recognition. Yet, the artwork is often the gateway into the music. To me, it’s just as much a part of the experience.

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Jared Schaller:
Absolutely. I didn’t realize until I started working behind the scenes in news just how many people it takes to create one image that defines a generation. When you walk through the exhibit and see artwork from Michael Jackson, The Beatles, and so many iconic covers, you realize it wasn’t just the band—it took a team with a lot of heart.

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Joy Feuer:
That’s one thing we really wanted to explore. You saw it in the exhibit—there are hundreds of physical albums on display. We use the original artwork collection as a starting point, and then expand from there to visually represent different eras and genres. It’s educational, but in a way that’s fun and accessible. One part of our research involved themed album sections—like covers that use famous paintings from the 1800s and 1900s. A lot of people don’t recognize those original artists, but their work still influences popular culture. Bands today still use their imagery, and we want to tell that story. There are also famous artists—Andy Warhol is well known for designing album covers, but so did Basquiat, Richard Prince, Prince himself, and Howard Finster, who did Talking Heads covers. When visitors say, “I didn’t know they did album covers,” that’s exactly the moment we’re going for. Photography is another layer we love exploring. One of my favorite discoveries was a tornado photo shot by a 14-year-old girl in Jasper in the 1940s. That image has been used on three iconic album covers: Deep Purple’s Stormbringer, Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew, and Siouxsie and the Banshees’ Tinderbox. It’s these kinds of connections that make this a rich, layered experience. It might be a little nerdy—but I’ll take that as a compliment!

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Jared Schaller:
It didn’t sound nerdy to me at all. It’s fascinating!

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Joy Feuer:
Thank you! We also feature exhibits on legendary designers like Kosh. You might not know his name, but you definitely know his work—The Beatles’ Abbey Road, The Eagles’ Hotel California, The Who’s Who’s Next, Linda Ronstadt’s albums—he’s designed hundreds. It’s an honor to showcase his work. And we have an exhibit on photographer Henry Diltz, who captured the spirit of Laurel Canyon—James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, The Doors, The Eagles. His images are seared into our collective memory. We want people to understand that those images were created by artists with real vision and intention.

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Jared Schaller:
One last question—how did you tie the exhibit into our region, Galveston and Moody Gardens?

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Joy Feuer:
Great question. Every exhibit includes a mix of iconic, recognizable artists from our collection—and we always look to include regional connections. In this case, we featured artists like Eric Johnson and Lyle Lovett. We also included imagery connected to La Mafia and other Texas-based musicians. As you know, we also curate a themed album section highlighting artists from the state or area. For Galveston specifically, we chose three albums that had a real tie to the city: Barry White, who was born in Galveston. Glen Campbell, whose Galveston album and song were inspired by the area—the cover photo was shot looking out into the Gulf. ZZ Top, a beloved Texas band, with a song about the Balinese Ballroom in Galveston on their Fandango! album. We always want to make the exhibit broad and diverse enough to appeal to everyone—but also deeply connected to the local community.

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Jared Schaller:
I just have to say, this really is an amazing experience. Getting to see the artwork up close and hearing these stories—from Frank Sinatra’s unique photographer relationship, to artists who worked with both Madonna and Princess Diana—it’s such a powerful look behind the scenes. Thank you again for sharing all of this.

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Joy Feuer:
Thank you! We’re so grateful for the opportunity to showcase our collection here. Moody Gardens is such an incredible destination—we’re proud to be part of it.

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Jared Schaller:
Hopefully you got to explore a bit while you were here?

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Joy Feuer:
Not enough! I’ll definitely be back for more.

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Jared Schaller:
And for everyone watching—make sure you check out The Art of Music Experience, now open at Moody Gardens, on the second floor of the Discovery Pyramid. The exhibit runs through January 2026. Joy, thank you again.

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Joy Feuer:
Thanks so much! Have a great day.

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