The New York Times just published an visual piece yesterday that highlights 17 artists work rendering their own versions of New York City from where they sit in isolation. Even though I’m not from New York, these images do justice to a collective sense of silence that has muffled many places in this country and around the globe. Their illustrations aren’t particularly dramatic, but assembled together they speak multitudes about our current moment.
In case you can’t access the NYT article because of a paywall, in an effort to make everything as accessible as possible I’ve posted the artist’s work below, visible because they’ve been published very recently on the artists’ own public Instagram pages! Some of them have captions that are quoted in the NYT piece and well worth the read if you have time. Maybe even consider following their Instagram pages… artists are in dire need of support right now.
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17 Artists Capture a Surreal New York From Their Windows. The NY Times reached out to 17 illustrators and artists currently sheltering in place in neighborhoods across the city and asked them to draw what they see out of their windows. Here’s some context. What do you see out your window? Was there anything in particular that inspired your illustration? How does the city feel as you view it from this perspective? I’m looking outside a window from my parent's home. My girlfriend and I left Greenpoint for Long Island about 4 weeks ago before things got exponentially worse and it was recommended to stay put. We’re lucky enough that they have an unused apartment downstairs. It had just rained and a woman in plaid pajamas with a two tone umbrella and a perfect dog in a yellow rain coat happened to walk by like she somehow knew she would end up drawn in The New York Times. The trees are starting to bloom, which seems like an offering right now, like nature saying it’s sorry but not sorry. I forgot for 5 minutes that there was a long running pandemic outside. It’s hard to concentrate lately. How are you feeling at this moment: About the city, your fellow New Yorkers, your own situation? Do you feel connected, disconnected or otherwise? The city is where my family's roots are for 3 generations, I grew up in Queens, I’ll always feel connected but not having the comforts of your own home just adds another layer to the anxiety. Everyone is on edge, consumed by the threat of the virus, the collateral damage and economic toll, but we’re grateful for this bit of sanctuary and we’re welcoming the societal changes this will inevitably create.
A post shared by Mark Pernice (@marknessofdarkness) on Apr 16, 2020 at 6:08am PDT
Mark Pernice JooHee Yoon Patrick Edell Yuko Shimizu Lauren Tamaki Braulio Amado Ariel Davis Katherine Lam Daniel Salmieri Christopher Silas Neal Josh Cochran Cindy Ji Hye Kim Normandie Syken Peter Arkle Shellyne Rodriguez
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What a time to be alive. Thanks to the NYT, Sasha Portis, @tonydeluxxx, and Adriana Ramic for giving me and 16 other illustrators the chance to share our stories. It's a privelige to be able to shelter in place when so many people are risking their lives doing essential work. Do them a favor and stop fucking around. The increased time indoors brings a new light onto our surroundings. All the qualities of city life are absent, making it seem like we live elsewhere. I wanted to capture a sense of strangeness in what we are living through, with a mixture of hope and uncertainty as we wait out the storm. We are on the top floor of a railroad style brownstone in Bedstuy, Brooklyn. The ceiling slopes downward as you walk through to the front of the apartment, toward two small windows that present no real view except treetops and sky. These small portals to the outside world offer us sounds in place of the things we can not directly see: music from a parked car, neighbors chatting, firetrucks zooming by. Nowadays it is the same view, if not better than usual with new buds on the trees. There is still the occasional voice of a passersby, but what is new are the frequent ambulance sirens followed by an unfamiliar silence. I feel a few different ways: lucky to be able to adapt to these circumstances, but frustrated at how ill prepared our government was and continues to be. I'm concerned about how this will affect us in the long run, while hopeful that it might also bring good change. If there is any city full of resilience, ours is a strong contender.
A post shared by Ping Zhu (@pingszoo) on Apr 16, 2020 at 7:44am PDT
Ping Zhu Maziyar Pahlevan’s work was also featured in the article but their page was not public.
17 illustrators quarantined in New York were asked by @nytimes to draw what we see outside of our windows. 
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they asked us “What do you see out your window?” Thank you Sasha Portis @talkingdigital123 Adriana Ramić @rdriana & Antonio de Luca
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My drawing is in the paper this morning.. (NY Times) *really love that Katherine Lam piece too.