Finding the perfect gift for a book lover at Christmas is extremely easy. But what can you come up with if the book lover in question also likes art, fashion, and philanthropy (well, apart from buying them volumes about such topics...)? Monica Zwirner and Lucy Wallace Eustice of MZ Wallace may have the perfect answer – a limited edition tote bag.
The duo partnered with artist Raymond Pettibon for a project that will benefit the New York Public Library. MZ Wallace created a specially designed water and stain resistant black Bedford Nylon tote to carry books and magazines, and Pettibon lent his drawing from his piece No Title stating "Good prose is of no harm". All the proceeds will go toward enhancing the Library's world-class special collections, enabling the institution to digitize, preserve, and expand the collection.
Living and working in New York City (where he is represented by David Zwirner), Raymond Pettibon emerged from the Southern California punk-rock culture of the late 1970s and 1980s and the "do-it-yourself" aesthetic of album covers, comics, concert flyers, and fanzines that characterized the movement.
He created posters and album art mainly for groups on SST Records, owned and operated by his brother Greg Ginn; he also designed the cover for the 1991 Sonic Youth album "Goo", and bassist Kim Gordon is among his fans.
Pettibon usually combines images and texts (at times bits and pieces of quotes borrowed from Henry James, John Ruskin, Christopher Marlowe, William Faulkner, James Joyce, and others) in his art and his work - a mix of social and political commentary, diary entry, and automatic drawing, unified by bold, vivid lines - embraces a wide spectrum of American "high" and "low" culture, from art history to literature, sports, religion, and politics, addressing central questions on the nature of the self.
"We are so excited about this collaboration with Raymond, it allows us to support the city we love," the duo stated on their site. This is not the first time MZ Wallace works on a philanthropy project: in 2014, the brand created a tote bag with artist Glenn Ligon that benefited The Studio Museum in Harlem with 100% of the proceeds donated to the museum's youth arts education programs.
The New York Public Library has been an essential provider of free books, information, ideas, and education for all New Yorkers for more than 100 years. Founded in 1895, NYPL is the nation's largest public library system, featuring a unique combination of 88 neighbourhood branches and four scholarly research centres, bringing together an extraordinary richness of resources and opportunities available to all.
It's a great idea to honour such an institution with a product designed in collaboration with an artist and it would be interesting to see further projects along these lines being developed in other countries for fashion museums and institutions that may need funds for exhibitions or for renewing their archives and storage facilities. In the meantime, you may have just found a perfect Christmas gift for your book lover friends and family members.
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