Magazine cover wall art1/18/2024 ![]() ![]() I think my fondest memories are exclusive to what my personal interest was at the time, which was sports and music as a kid. That was the norm, or at least that's all I ever paid attention to. Everything that was under my roof reflected our way of living, I'm talking Jet magazine, Ebony, Sports Illustrated, Word Up. I grew up in the '90s, so Black pride was present. I was surrounded by my culture in my household. I'm not going to act like Black representation was in a shortage while growing up. On growing up seeing Black people in newspapers and magazines. Whenever I see someone that represents Black excellence, I'm extremely curious about their intangibles and what the secret ingredients were that is responsible for their arrival, because Lord knows it's not easy. So growing up in Philadelphia has molded my appreciation of the sweat equity and challenges it takes to produce excellence. Many of those characteristics are a direct result of the behavior that's unique to Philadelphians: That grit, hunger, fighting to the last breath approach and burning drive for excellence. Growing up in a city with such pride, you're taught to appreciate these icons, not because they're famous, but because of the circumstances and characteristics that made them successful. Philadelphia is home to many great African American icons, whether we're talking Joe Frazier, John Coltrane, Kobe Bryant, Wilt, or Billie Holiday, the list goes on. How his hometown Philadelphia shaped his views. At that point, I was putting in my 10,000 hours which helped me master my technique. By then, other promoters would hire me to design their graphics in hopes to drive in that same level of sophistication. So my designs took more of an art form that attracted a more eclectic and sophisticated crowd. Many of the local designers were creating graphics with half-naked women, whether it was for a BBQ or spoken word event. ![]() I always had an idea for what I wanted my graphics and promotional flyers to convey but many of the graphic designers failed to bring that vision to life, so I took it upon myself to create designs that targeted a certain audience. I began my work by creating promotional graphics for a lot of my events and social mixers. Read what he had to say, in his own words, below. We spoke about his beginnings in art and passion for combining nostalgia with the modern. On a recent cold afternoon at Black-owned coffee shop Coffee Cream and Dreams, I spoke to Rucker, who was in the midst of an art tour in support of BET's upcoming Lena Waithe show Twenties. These two things combined to form the genesis for Jet Imagined, which sees Rucker create graphic designs around his favorite Black figures in an elevated way. After he began producing events in 2008, he saw a need to change the way Black people were portrayed in images and media. At a time when European beauty standards dominated pop culture, Jet’s Beauty of the Week section showcased Black women from various backgrounds with their own respective interests and backstories.Īs an artist with a passion for nostalgia, Rucker, who is 33, has fond memories of poring over copies of Jet magazine in his family’s house. When teenager Emmitt Till was murdered and mutilated by white supremacists in 1955, graphic photos of his open casket appeared in Jet and helped serve as a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. Johnson, Jet was a publication that looked at Black news and society in a deeper way. The end results are sentimental, often triumphant reflections of people that we often see disappear from the visage of social media.įounded in 1951 by Chicago businessmen John H. The Philadelphia native’s Jet Reimagined series combines the minimal, vivid aesthetics of the legendary Black newsmagazine Jet with notable Black figures from today’s headlines. Philadelphia artist Shaheed Rucker wants to change that. When people consider art to hang on their walls, portraits of figures like Nipsey Hussle, Spike Lee, and Solange may not immediately come to mind. For Black History Month, we talked to the artist about his passion for combining nostalgia with the modern. ![]() Shaheed Rucker is reimagining Jet Magazine covers by putting contemporary figures like Solange and Nipsey Hussle on them. ![]()
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