NEWS RELEASE. ARTIST ERIKA IRIS SIMMONS CREATES OFFICIAL ARTWORK FOR THE 55TH ANNUAL GRAMMY® AWARDS. SANTA MONICA, Calif. (Dec. 03, 2012) —The Recording Academy® is pleased to announce the selection of artist Erika Iris Simmons to create the official artwork for the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards®. The work depicts the iconic GRAMMY® image composed with half-inch studio recording tape, a true celebration of recording excellence. It will be used as the official artwork for the world's premier music event and will grace the cover of the GRAMMY Awards® program book, telecast tickets and promotional poster. The 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards® will be held Feb. 10, 2013, at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network at 8 p.m. (ET/PT). We are delighted to announce our collaboration Erika Iris Simmons to create the official artwork for the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards®," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy®. "Erika's unique concept of creating a GRAMMY® with recording tape speaks to the history of recorded music and celebrates the tradition and timelessness of music's most prestigious honor. We are grateful to work with such a gifted and exceptional artist". Princeton, N.J.-based Simmons, who is professionally known as iri5, is a self-taught artist who uses recycled materials and reimagines them in to unique artistic pieces. A number of her projects include art created by unspooling reels of cassette, video and studio recording tape in a series titled "Ghost In The Machine." Many of the images Simmons creates depict legendary recording artists, with the end result being an image of a musician rendered with the medium that made them famous. In 2009, her artwork inspired the music video for GRAMMY winner Bruno Mars' "Just The Way You Are." Her imaginative creations, which fuse pop art and postmodernism, have garnered attention from publishers and many of her pieces are on display internationally. News from the Recording Academy®.