” United Citizens against Citizens United ” – linocuts commission by Harper’s, New York

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

when I first read this assignment article I though it was a some kind of fictional story, nothing more then an hypothetical made up case, something one could make a movie from – after all wasn’t it what I have been mainly illustrating for Harper’s for a decade. This is only when I realized there were some real names in this piece that I want to the internet to double check it… 

big boxes landing on top of the town – linoleum cut

” Some time ago, this field caught the attention of Meijer Incorporated, a big-box grocery and discount retail chain. Meijer already had one large store on the western side of Traverse City, but hoped to capture business on the eastern approach as well. Together with a group of investors who bought the field for $7 million in 2002, the company proposed a mammoth development centered on a new Meijer. They called it the “Village at Grand Traverse” and billed it as a new town center for Acme, albeit one that closely resembled a strip mall. When residents balked at the project’s size, the town government asked that the plans be scaled back.“We all know business has to be here,” said Ron Hardin, a member of the town board, “but this all started with: does this have to be so fucking big?” What Meijer did in response was unusual: it sued the town officials it felt were standing in its way, and then secretly paid for a campaign to throw them out of office.”

—???—

United Citizens against Citizens United – linoleum cut

” Meijer had six lawyers from the Detroit-based firm Dickinson Wright assigned to the case. “It was a very sophisticated, very sort of high-power, high-volume operation,” said the town’s counsel at the time, Chris Bzdok. It was “a relentless, multi-front campaign of harassment and intimidation waged against people who are essentially your friends and neighbors who volunteer to take a turn at the oars for their community.”

—???—

process involving the making the linoleum cuts

BIG BOXES

big boxes – pencil sketch

big boxes – cutting linoleum block in progress – photo 1

big boxes – cutting linoleum  block in progress – photo 2

big boxes – printing of the  linoleum cut block

—?—

” United Citizens against Citizens United “

United Citizens against Citizens United – pencil sketch

United Citizens against Citizens United – linoleum cut block in progress – photo 1

United Citizens against Citizens United – linoleum cut block in progress – photo 2

United Citizens against Citizens United – linoleum block on the printing press ready to be printed

United Citizens against Citizens United –  linoleum block being printed on the printing press

—???— 

? quoted texts are a copyright © Alec MacGillis and © Harper’s Magazine 2012.

? drawings, linoleum cuts, photographs and texts copyright © Raymond Verdaguer, 2012.