Soon there will be a subject in school called “Hipstory,” or at least that is what artist amit shimoni hopes with his new series of works. Reimagining “History,” Shimoni brings our great modern leaders into modernity by making them into what we all recognize instantly: hipsters. Barack Obama sports a stylish man-bun and “Hope” and “Change” tattoos while Martin Luther King Jr. rocks a hat with “Dream Big” stamped on the front. Each of these illustrations is bright in color and truly imaginative. Each leader sports a big smile as if they could not believe that they hadn’t thought of this “hipster” thing from the beginning. They actually look pretty good in their new hipster style and if you look at the illustrations for long enough, there is nothing strange or off about them.
How recognizable is the hipster style nowadays that even the first president of the United States in a bright pink hoodie looks really stylish? “Hipstory” as shimoni explains it “wishes to reimagine the great leaders of modern history and place them in a different time and culture — ours.” With these series of works, shimoni wants to bridge the gap between our generation and the great leaders that have shaped our history. These are, after all, leaders that ultimately made our own modernity possible.
