Invited by The Wolfsonian, sixty leading contemporary artists
and designers were asked to create a new graphic design considering Norman
Rockwell’s 1943 paintings that conveyed the meaning of President Franklin
Delano Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” speech to Congress and the American people.
Among one of the designers invited to participate in this
project is Michael Rock, a writer and designer, whom is a founding partner and
creative director at 2x4 and director of the Graphic Architecture Project at
Columbia University Grad School of Architecture. Rock at 2x4 leads a wide range of projects
including strategy, environmental, and media design for clients such as Prada,
Chinese Central Television Beijing, the Nike China Project, and the Harvard
University Art Museums among others. He holds a BA in Humanities from Union College and an MFA
from the Rhode Island School of Design. In 2006 2x4 was the recipient of the
National Design Award in Communication Design and their work is currently on
display at the Architecture and Design Galleries at the Museum of Modern Art
and the Art Institute of Chicago.
2x4 cleverly
rearranges the words of the different “freedoms” (freedom of speech, freedom of
worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear) to serve as a commentary.
Rock’s alternative speaks to many of the issues facing today’s society in which
the optimism from the original Rockwell’s Four
Freedoms is less apparent. He uses the dark background with capitalized
words to create a bold and powerful message that freedom, although desired,
must also be feared.
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