Milton Glaser

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Rest in peace, Milton Glaser, who died this week on his ninety-first birthday.
When I was in Vermont, dreaming of New York City and wondering how I'd ever get there, I hung this poster, Glaser's portrait of Bob Dylan, done after Dylan's near-fatal motorcycle crash to dispel the rumors that he was dead.  




Then when I got to New York City and moved in with my buddy Valerie, I hung this poster on my wall.  It filled me with delight.  Maybe it was the "Rose in Spanish Harlem" vibe--that was a favorite song--maybe it was the dark sky, the mystery of something delicate and beautiful growing out of that solid concrete.


When New York was in financial trouble in the seventies, Mr. Glaser came up with a design
 that said it all and boosted our spirits.

And after September 11,


On Tuesday, the NY Times printed an interview between Glaser and Jeremy Elias. 

 New York is a mind-set, and we’re all arrogantly proud of what that represents. The word they’ve used is toughness, but it’s also a combination of cynicism and generosity...

 I don’t think there’s any way of telling what’s going to happen. I know this [pandemic] is a cosmic change and that nothing will ever be the same again. But I do know that if there’s a collective consciousness, if we realize we are all related and we need one another, that would be the best thing that could happen.

Here's a link to the entire interview.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/arts/design/milton-glaser-together-design-coronavirus.html



Did you see that Patience and Fortitude, The Library Lions, are wearing masks? Thank you, Louanne and 

David, for pointing that out.  Here's what Library president, Anthony Marx, says.




"We will get to the other side of this public health crisis together. But to do so, we must remain vigilant, we must have patience and fortitude, and we must follow what experts tell us, especially as we continue to reopen our cities. The lions, protectors of knowledge and truth who have seen 109 years worth of history, are setting that example."

As Thomas Friedman said in Wednesday's Times,

"Respect Science, Respect Nature, Respect Each Other."


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