Weave the People
Our 31st broadside honors Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, her work on behalf of women, and the fragile hand-stitched safety net that underpins our democracy. For the first time ever, we’ve printed the piece in just one color—an intentional choice to underline the solemnity of our collective loss and symbolize the choices for our nation that are laid out in stark black-and-white. Our design is intricate, inspired by historic lacemaking methods and other “women’s work:” knitting, tatting, and bobbin lace. The words of RBG’s quote are connected by one long, fraying thread, looping and weaving itself into a collar in the shape of a delicate safety net. The lettering of the final words of the quote mirrors the original handwritten script of the preamble of the Constitution. And more, our collar evokes RBG’s “Tzedek Collar,” representing the Jewish tenet of “Tzedek, tzedek tirdof” (Justice, justice you shall pursue)—the phrase that Ginsburg had on display in her judge’s chambers.
“We have the oldest written constitution still in force in the world, and it starts out with three words, ‘We the people.’”
– Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Because of the overwhelming response to this piece, for the first time ever we printed a special second, “alternate” edition. To protect the integrity of the original “black edition,” the second “gold edition” is printed in gold ink to symbolize the value and preciousness of our democracy. The prints in the gold edition are not numbered, but rather labeled with “APG” (artist proof – gold).
You can learn more about both editions on our blog.
Year created
2020
At issue
The unraveling of our democracy and the fraying of the public trust in the Supreme Court.
Edition sizes
220 prints in each edition
Significance of edition number
The 2020 election.
Donations
A portion of the proceeds from the original black edition were donated, via Action Grants from the Dead Feminists Fund, to the National Women’s Law Center, a nonprofit that fights for gender justice—in the courts, in public policy, and in our society—working across the issues that are central to the lives of women and girls.
To celebrate the Biden/Harris victory, to help protect the integrity of our elections, and to build momentum for the Senate run-off elections in Georgia, we made additional donations from the gold edition. These were to the New Georgia Project—a nonpartisan effort to register voters in the state of Georgia—and the Brennan Center for Justice, which fights on many fronts: defending our elections, strengthening the courts, battling gerrymandering, ending mass incarceration, enfranchising every American, and more. Both of these donations were also made via Action Grants from the Dead Feminists Fund.