This year’s Power Issue arrives on the eve of a Presidential election, and it features a cover that captures some of the force and tension of the moment. The image is by the artist (and author, and musician) Richard McGuire, who made an early name for himself by pasting posters for his band, Liquid Liquid, around the streets of Manhattan in the eighties. We recently talked to McGuire about poster art and the news.
The flag is usually a static symbol, yet here you’ve used it to depict the motion and chaos of the election. How did you land on that idea?
The news has been crazy lately, with so many crises going on. My first impulse was to create a very dense image to express how chaotic things feel. I started looking at the murals of Diego Rivera and Thomas Hart Benton for inspiration. Those compositions are usually very complicated and have a lot of push and pull. I made a few sketches in which I used a twisting flag as a center axis. Then I realized everything was right there, in that one symbol. So I took everything else out.
Your work often evokes the nineteen-thirties, which was a great era for posters. Are there specific poster artists who inspire you?
Work from the twenties and thirties has always struck a chord with me. The Russian film posters by the Stenberg brothers, Georgii and Vladimir, are just amazing. In the case of this cover, I can see a connection to the poster artist A. M. Cassandre. Miguel Covarrubias would be on the list, as would Paolo Garretto.
What do you think makes a great poster? And why do posters matter today?
A poster has to speak in a direct way, but it doesn’t have to shout; a whisper can get attention when used in the right way. I’m usually drawn to simplicity in design, whatever the era. There’s so much I love in Japanese design, for example—reducing something to its essentials can be very powerful. Effective communication always has an impact, even on the local level of a handmade protest poster.
You recently relocated to upstate New York. Has the change of scenery affected your routine at all?
During the shutdown, I was lucky that a friend offered me a place in Beacon, New York, about an hour and a half north of the city. The town is on the Hudson River, so I’m close to nature trails and waterfalls. Dia:Beacon is also here. I had been to the museum many times, but am only just discovering the town, and it’s really wonderful. I may not be able to run around the corner to get a pencil from an art-supply store, but I can listen to crickets at night.
See below for more political covers by McGuire:
