New York, March 24, 2008

One of the biggest stories in New York this year was the fall of Governor Eliot Spitzer, after the stunning revelation that he had patronized a prostitution ring. New York’s March 24, 2008 cover treated the scandal in a bold yet disarming way that managed to make news itself—telling the story of the governor’s fall with a wry and unflinching point of view. Looking for personal, opinionated perspectives on the topic, the magazine solicited visual commentary from artists, graphic designers, and advertising creatives, providing them with five photographs of Spitzer to work off. Artist Barbara Kruger’s graphic interpretation on Henry Leutwyler’s photograph—the word “BRAIN” in a bright-red box with an arrow pointing to the area of Spitzer’s anatomy that seemed to have been thinking for him—was quickly selected, thanks to its directness, humor, and simplicity. The cover required no headlines. The image succeeded powerfully all by itself.

The New York Times Magazine, July 27, 2008

This cover is a fine example of documentary photography—something that few magazines give space to these days. It introduces a photo essay about the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the controversial religious sect currently under investigation for child sexual abuse. The image showing a little girl pushing back her damp hair as she stands in an open doorway, while an older girl hovers in the background, gives readers a portal to a secluded and secretive world. It is a powerful entry into the riveting photo essay by Stephanie Sinclair that unfolds inside the magazine. Sinclair, a documentarian in the humanist tradition who is deeply committed to women’s issues, particularly those involving child marriage, has so far been the only photographer to witness the daily lives of these women and girls. This access was granted as a result of Sinclair’s determination; the photos pull back a curtain on the lives of people reluctantly thrust into the public spotlight.

The New Yorker, March 17, 2008

As the long Democratic primary race for President dragged into the spring months, Barry Blitt captured the ambition and eagerness of candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to be the next Commander-in-Chief. “I’ll Get It!” plays on the commercial released by the Clinton campaign in late February, intended to cast doubt on Obama’s national security credentials, which asked the question: if the famed red crisis phone at the White house rings at 3:00a.m., who do you want on the other end of the line?