Breast Cancer Research Semi-Postal Stamp
Title
Breast Cancer Research Semi-Postal Stamp
Subject
Postage stamps
Postage stamp design
Postage stamp designers
Breast cancer research on postage stamps
Description
This stamp, which debuted in 1998, was illustrated by MICA Faculty Whitney Sherman. The widely successful semi-postal stamp was the first in the U.S. to be priced above the standard postal rate, with excess proceeds going directly towards the National Cancer Institute and the DOD Breast Cancer Research Program. As of 2011, over 924 million stamps had been sold, raising over $72 million for breast cancer research, with the stamp being reissued numerous times through 2015.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and we hope you will take a moment to learn about the history, design, and use of this stamp by survivors, patients, and their families.
ARTISTS STATEMENT:
How do you show hope in the face of a life altering experience? How do you communicate the need for research on this devastating disease without forgetting the humanity involved? How could a single image speak to all women, diverse in age & nationality?
These are but a few of the questions I had to answer when creating the art for the Breast Cancer Research stamp. As I considered these questions, I imagined images that showed spirit, strength & courage, but one element was missing: the heroic nature of the care-givers, doctors & researchers, and most importantly the women involved in the fight against breast cancer. By representing the spirit of those who have fought & are fighting breast cancer that I could begin to answer these questions & speak about the disease.
The final image, which used as inspiration the Greek goddess Artemis—a classic archetype—derives much from mythology’s heroic form. In the myth, Artemis uses her ingenuity, strength & will to survive the perils of the natural world. She is the embodiment of strength, courage, heroism, inspiration, survival & hope, qualities I thought inspiring to survivors.
Much like the classic Artemis, my modern interpretation wears a quiver & uses arrows to target the disease. She is positioned, ready to draw the arrow, her arm raised over her head in a position reminiscent of the one every woman assumes in order to prepare for a self-examination or mammogram. She faces to the right, to the future, a place of hope. The body is a kaleidoscope of color that defies the boundary of the figure & bursts outward in an expression of the spirit of each woman’s claim to health, hope, & strength. The image is a call to action for every woman. The colors lift yet ground the figure. Warm colors intermix with cool colors causing a sense of motion, life and a inner rising.
When we look at archetypes & icons in art & literature, we can see beyond ourselves to the larger issues & ideas around us. We become connect with humanity which is necessary to our everyday lives. People have been deeply touched by the art of the stamp, feeling their own inspiration and comfort. Art has the power to do these things. Art can open the doors to our minds & hearts.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and we hope you will take a moment to learn about the history, design, and use of this stamp by survivors, patients, and their families.
ARTISTS STATEMENT:
How do you show hope in the face of a life altering experience? How do you communicate the need for research on this devastating disease without forgetting the humanity involved? How could a single image speak to all women, diverse in age & nationality?
These are but a few of the questions I had to answer when creating the art for the Breast Cancer Research stamp. As I considered these questions, I imagined images that showed spirit, strength & courage, but one element was missing: the heroic nature of the care-givers, doctors & researchers, and most importantly the women involved in the fight against breast cancer. By representing the spirit of those who have fought & are fighting breast cancer that I could begin to answer these questions & speak about the disease.
The final image, which used as inspiration the Greek goddess Artemis—a classic archetype—derives much from mythology’s heroic form. In the myth, Artemis uses her ingenuity, strength & will to survive the perils of the natural world. She is the embodiment of strength, courage, heroism, inspiration, survival & hope, qualities I thought inspiring to survivors.
Much like the classic Artemis, my modern interpretation wears a quiver & uses arrows to target the disease. She is positioned, ready to draw the arrow, her arm raised over her head in a position reminiscent of the one every woman assumes in order to prepare for a self-examination or mammogram. She faces to the right, to the future, a place of hope. The body is a kaleidoscope of color that defies the boundary of the figure & bursts outward in an expression of the spirit of each woman’s claim to health, hope, & strength. The image is a call to action for every woman. The colors lift yet ground the figure. Warm colors intermix with cool colors causing a sense of motion, life and a inner rising.
When we look at archetypes & icons in art & literature, we can see beyond ourselves to the larger issues & ideas around us. We become connect with humanity which is necessary to our everyday lives. People have been deeply touched by the art of the stamp, feeling their own inspiration and comfort. Art has the power to do these things. Art can open the doors to our minds & hearts.
Creator
Whitney Sherman, Director, MFA in Illustration Practice, Co-Director, Dolphin Press & Print
Date
2018-10-01
Rights
Photograph by Decker Library. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. For digital surrogates utilize the rights statement provided by DIU.
Language
English
Files
Collection
Citation
Whitney Sherman, Director, MFA in Illustration Practice, Co-Director, Dolphin Press & Print, “Breast Cancer Research Semi-Postal Stamp,” Decker Library Exhibits and Displays, accessed May 18, 2024, https://deckerlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/71.