New York Magazine commissions 50 artists for a year-long art exhibition

New York magazine is 50 this year, and to celebrate, the publication has announced the release of a series of 50 covers.

Eight of the covers, created by Mel Bochner, John Giorno, Alex Katz, Barbara Kruger, Marilyn Minter, Yoko Ono, Rob Pruitt, and Hank Willis Thomas, went up on walls around 25 locations across the city’s five boroughs.

The full list of 50 artists is, for now, undisclosed, although the magazine has revealed that Maurizio Cattelan, Kerry James Marshall, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Will Cotton, and Nina Chanel Abney are among the participating artists. In Autumn, the 50 designs will be shown at an exhibition.

The eight covers showcase new work made for the publication. Many of the covers are dominated by text. Hank Willis Thomas’ all-black cover is highlighted by white text reading “ALL LI ES MATTER” in white upper case lettering. Yoko Ono’s cover is strikingly sparse, all white bearing three simple words of text: “Whisper to me”. Rob Pruitt has made use of a more contemporary alphabet than his peers, taking Milton Glaser’s “I ♥ NY” and changing it into emojis displayed on an iPhone.