Side-by-side New Yorker covers by Bob Staake

Left: July 2, 2007

Right: August 7 & 14, 2017

Picked up these two signed prints at the Cape Cod Museum of Art and had them framed together. Love the juxtaposition from the pre-global-financial-crisis optimism of 2007, to the post-Trump-pessimism of 2017. 10 years and one month apart.

On the left: uplifting, green, liberating, bright. Lady Liberty with a CFL bulb. On the right: descending, red, captivating, dark. The devil’s subway ride to hell.

One more gem: the issue price change. In 2007, it was $4.50. In 2017, $8.99. Doubling over 10 years, this represents ~7.2% price inflation—roughly tracking the long-term exponential growth in M2 prior to 2020. #artstr