How the art and design world responded to RBG's death
Ruth Bader Ginsburg has long been a favorite subject for progressive artists and designers, and her passing inspired a creative outpouring. Also in this week’s issue:
The details behind Obama’s book cover design
America’s brand has taken a major hit
The Guggenheim has acquired the banana duct-taped to the wall artwork
Yours,
How the art and design world responded to RBG’s death
Credit: the Washington Post, Smithsonian
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday at 87, and here’s how the art and design world responded to her passing:
Artist Edel Rodriguez created a black, white, and red image of RBG that was used for a special section in the Washington Post. Page design was done by Tyler Remmel.
The Smithsonian’s recently reopened National Portrait Gallery added a label with an In Memoriam for Ginsburg at The Four Justices, their oil-on-canvas painting of Ginsburg and the three other women appointed to the Court by artist Nelson Shanks.
One D.C. location that’s become a memorial for Ginsburg is the mural of her on U St. at 15th St. by artist Rose Jaffe. Jaffe shared some behind-the-scenes photos from the painting of the mural on social media, and wrote, “As a woman, a person, an artist, I thank her for the work she has done and benefit daily from it.”
Credit: @hunterschwarz/@rose_inks/Instagram
Artist Rebecca Williams is known in D.C. for her Ginsburg pop art, which was used in street light banners in the District’s Adams Morgan neighborhood beginning in 2019. Williams posted some of her RBG work to social media and wrote, “Though she was little, she was fierce.”
Credit: @rebeccawilliamsart/@yello_zine/Instagram
New York City’s 50th St. station was transformed into “Ruth St.” by artist Adrian Wilson, who goes by “plannedalism” on Instagram. “RBG was a hard one to find the right spot for,” Wilson told Gothamist. “I scrolled down the list of stations and realized 50th St. could be tweaked into Ruth.”
Credit: @plannedalism/Instagram
Also in New York, someone put a jabot on the Fearless Girl statue outside the New York Stock Exchange…
…and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said he would appoint a commission that will select an artist and location recommendations for a statue of Ginsburg in Brooklyn, her birthplace.
The details behind Obama’s book cover design
Credit: The Crown Publishing Group
Former President Obama announced last week that his post-presidential memoir A Promised Land: The Presidential Memoirs, Volume 1 will be released November 17, just two weeks after Election Day. The cover art for the book is great.
The cover uses the typeface Styrene A, a geometric sans serif made by type designer Berton Hasebe and released by Commercial Type in 2016. The black-and-white photo of Obama was taken by photographer Pari Dukovic, who is known for his shots of athletes, actors, and musicians for covers of magazines like GQ, Variety, and Entertainment Weekly.
Obama’s 768-page book — the first of two volumes — will be released in 25 languages, have an initial U.S. printing of 3 million copies, and will cover Obama’s early years in politics through the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011, according to the New York Times.
Obama’s 1995 book Dreams From My Father has sold more than 3.3 million copies in the United States and Canada, and his 2006 book The Audacity of Hope has sold more than 4.2 million copies. Former first lady Michelle Obama’s 2018 book Becoming has sold more than 8.1 million copies. How well do you think A Promised Land will sell?
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America’s brand has taken a major hit
Credit: Pew Research Center
The American brand is in tough shape abroad. Recent data from Pew Research Center found America’s public image in some countries has fallen to record lows since President Trump took office. In the U.K. and Japan, 41% of residents have a favorable view of the U.S., while in Germany only 26% do. Pew began polling on the question in 2000.
The decline in favorable views of the U.S. this year is due in part to America’s handling of the coronavirus. A median of only 15% of people across 13 countries with close ties to the U.S. in Europe, North America, and Asia said the U.S. “has done a good job dealing with the” virus (the U.S. has now reached 200,000 coronavirus deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins). A median of 16% of people in the 13 countries surveyed have confidence in Trump.
Patagonia sells out shorts with hidden message tag
Credit: Patagonia
Patagonia hid a political message on the back of tags in select shorts. The phrase “Vote the Assholes Out” was written on tags for the brand’s Road to Regenerative Stand Up Shorts, which are now sold out online.
Patagonia’s Road to Regenerative Stand Up Shorts in earthworm brown. Credit: Patagonia
A photo of the tag now appears on the page for the shorts on Patagonia’s online store, and the phrase “vote the assholes out” has been used by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard to describe “politicians from any party who deny or disregard the climate crisis,” spokesperson Corley Kenna said.
The Guggenheim has acquired the banana duct-taped to the wall artwork
Credit: Adobe Stock
An anonymous donor has gifted New York’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum with Comedian, artist Maurizio Cattelan’s banana art that was duct-taped to a wall at Art Basel Miami Beach 2019 and sold in three editions for as much as $150,000.
Since the work is perishable, the Guggenheim isn’t actually getting a banana and tape. Instead, they’re receiving a certificate of authenticity and an instruction manual that lays out how the work should be displayed (about 68 inches off the ground at a 37-degree angle). The museum will have to provide their own banana and tape for display, and the banana is expected to be replaced every seven to 10 days, per artnet News. Amazing.