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Aaron Swartz 1986-2013

MAY 2, 2013
Last January Aaron Swartz committed suicide. He had been hounded into a state of deep depression by an overzealous prosecutor in Massachusetts, who wanted to make a public example of a young man who devoted his life to making information free; a function, to him, of a strong democracy. The cruelty in this story is palpable. He was the kind of person we need more of if we are to prevail in our battle for sanity and humanity which, only occasionally, in the US, can be won. This round, however, went to the other side.

Many thanks to The Baffler, where Aaron was a contributor. John Summers, editor and my partner for the project, the great Patrick jb Flynn of The Flynnstitue. We took a complex story and poured it into a full page. Proud of my friends. And sad to lose a friend to free speech. RIP Aaron.

As it appears in the new Baffler. I took a pre-existing photo of the DOJ building in DC. Then used the windows as panels as in a comic. This folded into Tiananmen Square iconography. Experimental all the way for me. The goal was to contain the key elements of Aaron's story using spatial and temporal order in tandem.
Here was a more direct approach. Done for the same issue.
Read Steven Heller's interview with Patrick jb Flynn on the new full color Baffler HERE.
© 2024 Steve Brodner