George Lois: The Esquire Covers at MoMA
Starting tomorrow, New York’s MoMA will present photography of an American legend, George Lois. Lois shaped thought in America with his invocative cover photographs in Esquire magazine. MoMA presents prints of 31 of the 92 covers Lois created for the magazine between the years 1962-1972 in George Lois: The Esquire Covers.
Included in the display will be the famous and controversial April 1969 cover featuring Muhammad Ali. After refusing to be drafted, Ali, a conscious objector, was sentenced to five years in jail for draft evasion. In 1968, while Ali was awaiting his appeal, Lois posed him as the Christian martyr St. Sebastian who miraculously survived being shot with multiple arrows. It has been reported that during the photo shoot, Ali named each of the arrows after his tormentors: General Westmoreland, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, and President Johnson, among others. The image proved to be so popular that it was later reproduced as a anti-war protest poster.
Also on display is the December 1963 cover which portrayed boxer Sonny Liston as America’s first black Santa Claus; the August 1970 issue of the Easy Rider marquee superimposed on the façade of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York; and the May 1969 cover which was a comprised of separate photographs of Andy Warhol and a Campbell’s soup which Lois combined to create a spoof on Pop Art by drowning Andy Warhol in the can of soup.
In addition to the iconic Esquire magazine covers, Lois was the mind behind the 1964 senatorial campaign for Bobby Kennedy and the 1982 “I want my MTV” campaign.
Location: MoMA, 11 West 53rd (between Fifth and Sixth Avenues) map (212) 708-9400
Subway: E or V to Fifth Avenue-53rd Street
Hours: 10:30am -5:30pm Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat, Sun; 10:30am-8pm Friday; Closed Tuesday. George Lois: The Esquire Covers on exhibit through March 31, 2009.
Cost: $20 adults; $16 65+; $12 full-time students; under 16 free (with paying adult); free to all Fri 4-8 pm. Cost includes admission to film programs. Save your MoMA ticket for free admission to P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center in Long Island City, Queens.
Photo courtesy: MoMA- Cover for Esquire Magazine, Issue no. 413, April 1968
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POSTED IN: Announcements, Art, Midtown, Photos
3 opinions for George Lois: The Esquire Covers at MoMA
Mary Jo
Apr 24, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Looks like a great exhibit. I’ve always been a fan of these covers.
I may need to make the trek east. . . .
Heather
Apr 25, 2008 at 9:35 am
Yes, these are truly covers that are reflective of history. But you have time– the exhibit ends March 2009!
Dan Aponte
May 10, 2008 at 3:19 pm
When I was in school, Mister Lois sent me a letter inviting me to show him my work. But I never had a chance to reveal an Esquire cover I had done on him. I will post it on my blog and hope he sees it. From one Bronx boy to another, its just the beginning of the epic.
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