We asked artists sheltering in place across the city to illustrate what it looks and feels like outside their windows.
We asked artists sheltering in place across the city to illustrate what it looks and feels like outside their windows.
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17 Artists Capture a Surreal New York From Their Windows
ByAntonio de LucaSasha PortisandAdriana RamicApril 16, 2020
Windows are often described as the eyes of a building. They are a symbol of pondering, an aperture through which we can experience the world outside while remaining inside — an important feature now that millions of New Yorkers have had to move their lives indoors.
We 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, and to show us what it feels like to be in New York at this rare moment in time.
We received images full of conflicting and immediately recognizable emotions: images that communicate the eerie stillness of the city and make connections to history, odes to essential workers and the changing of the seasons.
The act of drawing offers a different kind of truth than photography can. It is an additive form where images are built up from a blank surface. Illustration can evoke empathy and bring shared experiences into view as millions of people around the world find themselves in a similar position: staring out their windows, wondering what’s ahead.
My sense of time seems to stretch and shrink in weird ways, and I am working more than ever to escape the dire reality.—JooHee Yoon
Everything feels ghostly, and every movement through the neighborhood seems unique and important.—Patrick Edell
For three weeks, I have not seen anything move.—Yuko Shimizu
This drawing is my little ode to delivery people. They’re putting themselves at great risk to keep this city running while medical staff are on the front lines. If you’re able, tipvery generously.—Lauren Tamaki
Whenever I look out of my window it seems like everything is normal, and that worries me.—Bráulio Amado
The duality of support and positivity, with an undercurrent of anxiety, I think, speaks to how everyone is feeling right now.—Ariel Davis
It’s as if I’m in a place that looks like New York, but I don’t recognize it at all.—Katherine Lam
There’s a tree outside our window that seems like it’s in the apartment with us. Throughout the day I feel a bunch of different things: disconnected, disappointed, sad, angry.—Daniel Salmieri
Looking out the window feels like we’re at a human zoo watching the wild outdoors from the safety of our couch.—Christopher Silas Neal
My feelings go from a dull, low-level stress to a heightened sense of connection with all of my neighbors.—Josh Cochran
The economic aspect of this pandemic feels truly terrifying.—Cindy Ji Hye Kim
At the moment I am worried about what is going to happen when this is all over and wondering when this is going to end.—Normandie Syken
I have been simultaneously enjoying and being disturbed by the silence at the moment.—Peter Arkle
In the Bronx, we are banging pots and pans, calling on Cuomo to cancel rent for the tenants in the city during this unprecedented crisis. I feel indignant.—Shellyne Rodriguez
01. THE MORE YOU SEE THE MORE IS SEEN.02. A MIRACLE—AN ANTIDOTE.03. SMALL IS STILL BEAUTIFUL.—Maziyar Pahlevan
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.—Ping Zhu