New York Magazine’s Cosby: The Women

New York Magazine Cover

This week’s issue of New York features what will likely be considered the most significant magazine cover of the year. It depicts thirty-five women speaking out about their claims of assault against comedian Bill Cosby, all photographed in stark, uncompromising black and white. The simply arranged composition is a powerful form of visual accounting; it builds its case person by person, row by row, until the sheer volume becomes almost too much to bear. While I knew that Cosby had many accusers I didn’t realize that there were at least thirty-five of them, and seeing them gathered together made me shudder. As art direction, it would be a triumph if the subject matter weren’t so horrifying.

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