#015 New Yorker Magazine

One of my dreams as a professional Illustrator/Designer is to do a New Yorker cover. The New Yorker is mostly a literature magazine that (I guess) is supposed to cover life in New York City and feature witty (and sometimes liberal) literature and articles. But they are probably best known for their black & white cartoons nestled between the words of each issue.

The covers stand alone as great works of art. They always use the most powerful illustrations that are just on the border of being cartoony - without becoming cartoons. The covers can be an insane mix of subtle humor, seriousness, joy, grief, pain, and vibrant life in one simple understated image.

This week's cover (which I was alerted to on the great Lines & Colors) is no exception. We see trick or treaters with their masks, while their parents wait for them with ghostly masks of their own on - the glow of their cell phones. It really portrays life as it is - we are attached to our gadgets, and they have become a part of us. In a way it is beautiful though - for that brief moment when we take in the cover we can laugh at ourselves. We see how silly we are, we are all just trying to be something we aren't in digital worlds where we only exist in binary code, wearing our masks. For a brief moment, we want to be free from those cold LCDs. But we go on back to our broadband lives - and we miss the good stuff.

Let's close the gadgets, let's turn off the computer, let's turn off the iPod. Let's get the pencils to the paper, let's talk to real friends. Let's shuffle through the autumn leaves and get lost in the fog of November and the magic of being real.