The New Way of Dining

 

     Bright lights illustrated by Jorge Colombo was The New Yorker cover for January 4th-11th, 2021. The New Yorker magazine is well known for their astounding covers having a deeper meaning other than just being art. Political cartoons are presented on these covers dealing with current issues going on in the world. The New Yorkers audience consists mostly of people living in the city. New York City is known for its liberal ideas and democratic political party. The “Bright Lights” cover brings our current reality into an art form. This cover illustrates people eating at a restaurant outdoors. This cover seems to be about  outdoor eating in the city but also represents how New Yorkers adapted to the pandemic to keep restaurants in business. 

           Jorge Colombo explains that his purpose in making his covers is to make reality into art. His approach is different from most other covers. He finds inspiration from the reality of NYC around him. The “Bright Lights” cover is an illustration of people eating outside. The colors are somber and cool toned. As you look closer to the details you can see the reality of masks on the table and outdoor tents where people are eating. At this time, during the pandemic seeing our reality turned into art is the last thing most people want to see. I think the purpose of creating this cover was to convey in future years a reminder of what the world has gone through. The resilience and adaptations businesses  and society has made during this time is admirable. Restaurants were forced to close like many other businesses. In New York City specifically the way they adapted to this was to create outdoor dining. This led to saving jobs for restaurant workers. It also still allowed friends and families to go dining together during uncertain times. It helped people economically and socially. 

            The comfort of outdoor eating increases as the number of coronavirus cases starts to decrease. The New Yorker cover was published January 4th-11th. At this time the number of coronavirus cases in NYC began to decrease after the holiday spike. This is also around the time that the vaccination was about to be administered to first responders. The reassurance that the vaccination was starting to be administered has put ease into citizens minds. As more and more vaccination shots are given the more people will be able to feel comfortable going out. 

      At this time, during the pandemic seeing our reality turned into art is the last thing most people want to see. The adaptations that now may be permanent shows the way New Yorkers have risen up to this economic challenge. These necessary precautions and new ways of living can remind us how strong we were during this time.