Free Commemorative Ballot 2020 Prints
This year, I am giving away small hand-printed pieces of art to remember this wild voting season. Now is a perfect moment of madness to punctuate the madness of 2020. These prints serve as a souvenir for this historic election, though I’m sure none of us will need reminding. Still, I hope it will be something people are interested in keeping to look back on this challenging year and hopefully be comforted.
The original inspiration for the series came from the Memento Mori and Danse Macabre art of the middle ages and renaissance, specifically that of the German printmakers Albrecht Dürer and Hans Holbein. During and after the Black Plague, many artists depicted people of all economic and social stripes being pursued and harassed by skeletons. These pieces included nobles, peasants, kings, farmers, prostitutes, popes and princesses all being clawed at and led around by death. Memento Mori (remember death) and Danse Macabre (dance of death) was a reminder of the inevitability of our own demise, the equality of death and an injunction to celebrate our precious lives.
People have compared Coronavirus to a modern-day plague as hyperbole, which in some ways is obviously extreme. But it is also a fitting analogy, as there are now over 1 million deaths globally from COVID. And like those old depictions, it’s important to remember that nobody is bulletproof—not blue-collar workers, not celebrities, not homeless people, not the US president.
As I started to draw these, the idea evolved. I included European dragons along with the skeleton imagery to represent danger in general. The only deviation from this theme of danger or death in the series is the depiction of St. Christopher crossing the river. Instead of a skeleton or a dragon, he is accompanied by baby Jesus (I love the story of Saint Christopher). Like so many of us, each character is optimistic, on their way to deliver their 2020 ballots.
The first election I voted in was between Gore and Bush. At the time, people—especially older people who were the age that I am now—we’re saying, “This is the most important election of your lifetime.” I remember thinking to myself that there was no way that was true; Things are only going to get more intense and more crazy. This idea that people more dangerous than Bush weren’t going to come along seemed absurd. I didn’t believe it then, but ironically, I find myself believing it now. Even in this case, the comment may be a bit alarmist, but I do suspect that there is some truth to it.
A worse leader than the one we have now can certainly appear down the road. But because of the severity and urgency of this moment—there is a confluence of problems colliding—people really do need to act now.
To keep postponing is suicidal. Which brings us back to the prints. Death and danger are always stalking us, they have been for millennia, but we are in control to a large degree. That danger wants to devour us, and it is encouraged to advance or retreat depending on how we act.
My advice for the coming months is to psychologically be ready for something worse than you can imagine, but also to remain optimistic and engaged. Optimism is not passive. It is active and it helps us change our course. I love you with my whole heart!
How to Get a Free Ballot 2020 Print
Tag me in any post on Instagram related to voting and getting out the vote and I will give you a free print from this series. Here’s how it works:
- Create any post related to the election (i.e. an opinion about the ballot or your “I voted” selfie).
- Tag me on Instagram, @raviamarzupa, on the image and in the caption and let others know about the giveaway.
- I will DM you a discount code.
- Go to my store to select what print you want and click Purchase.
- After you enter the code you will be responsible for the $1 shipping fee.
- Share this with as many of your friends as you can.
We will ship the prints within two weeks after the election.
Feel free to buy any of the additional prints for $10 each.
Thank you all for participating!
