New Yorkistan
"New Yorkistan" is the title of the cover art for the December 10, 2001 edition of ". Thus the title, "New Yorkistan".
The cover gained unexpected popularity, with the New Yorker making approximately $400,000 by February 2002 by selling copies of the picture as signed lithographs (all 750 copies of which sold out within 4 days) and unsigned posters.[6][7]
According to Kalman, the inspiration for the cover arose in a car on the way to a party. She and Meyerowitz were talking about tribalism. At one point she came up with the idea of "Bronxistan", to which Meyerowitz replied "You know, we've got a map here."[2] Originally, the picture was to be run on the back page of the magazine, but editors liked it so much that it was decided to make it the cover picture.[3][8]
Susan Jarratt describes the cover as "lampooning both New Yorkers' city-bound geographic consciousness and a nationwide ignorance of the geography of Central Asia". Jarratt notes that it was one of the first "humorous interventions" since the events of
In September, 2004, Meyerowitz and Kalman made a New York City Subway map as a food map, the New York City Sub-Culinary Map, for The New Yorker.[10]
Place names
The places depicted, with their explanations (according to the artists or to commentators), are as follows:
- Al Quarantine
- Rikers Island, a large jail complex[11]
- Al Zheimers
- Alzheimer's disease
- Artsifarsis
- Situated in the Farsi language, which is a language used officially within Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
- Bad
- Badassin
- Blahniks
- The Upper East Side where "everyone can afford Manolo Blahnik shoes"[5][12]
- Botoxia
- Botox
- Bronxistan
- The Bronx
- Bulimikhs
- Bulimics
- Central Parkistan
- Central Park, Manhattan
- Chadorstore
- Jersey City, home of a Muslim community where women wear a chador. Also a pun on The Door Store, a well-known New York furniture store.
- Cold Turkeystan
- E-Z Pashtuns
- E-ZPass, an electronic toll collection system, as well as the Pashtun ethnic group
- Extra Stan
- Fashtoonks
- From a Yiddish adjective meaning "stinking, smelly" describing the sometime aromas of the New Jersey industrial wastelands just beyond the Palisades along the Hudson River.
- Fattushis
- There is a popular Middle Eastern Restaurant in that part of Brooklyn called Fattoosh
- Feh and Ptooey
- Yiddish expressions of negativity ("feh!", "ptooey!") for a part of The Bronx that is considered dangerous.
- Flatbushtuns
- Flatbush, Brooklyn
- Fuhgeddabouditstan
- This is in Brooklyn, where this place name sounds like the local pronunciation of the popular local expression "Forget about it."
- Gadzhooks
- Gaymenistan
- The neighborhood of Chelsea, currently a very "gay" part of Manhattan. Also a play on Turkmenistan.
- Gribinez
- The Hudson River. "gribenes" (conventional Yiddish-English transliteration) is an Eastern European Jewish delicacy, "cracklings from rendered chicken fat"[13]
- Halibutz
- Halibut
- Harry Van Arsdale, Jr., Blvd.
- This is the actual name of the road depicted and is the only real name on the map. According to Meyerowitz, the reason is simply that the name is inherently funny: "The name never failed to make me laugh when I approached it."[12]
- Hiphopabad
- African-Americanneighborhood in Brooklyn.
- Irant and Irate
- A reference to ranting and being irate, as well as to Iran and Iraq.
- Khaffeine
- ... (Also note the jagged lines marking the territory, a reference to the effects of caffeine.)
- (Conn.) Khakis
- Southwestern WASPculture and the article of clothing often associated with them.
- Khandibar
- A pun on candy bar and Kandahar.[12]
- Khantstandit
- "Can't stand it"
- Kharkeez
- This is in southern Connecticut, with the translation being "car keys", a reference to the many NY workers who commute to the city from Connecticut.
- Khkhzks
- Khlintunisia
- This is in Harlem, Manhattan, the "Khlintun" part being a reference to President Clinton's office location in Harlem. Also, "Tunisia" is a primarily Islamic/Arab country in northern Africa.
- Khouks
- Khurz
- Curs and Kurds
- Kvetchnya
- A pun on Chechnya and "kvetch".[12]
- Le Frakhis
- LeFrak City, a housing complex in Queens
- Lesbikhs
- Liberaci
- Presumably referring to Morningside Heights, neighborhood of Columbia University, a primarily "liberal" institution.
- Lowrentistan
- World Trade Center site[14]
- Lubavistan
- Named after the Lubavitch branch of Hasidic Jews, most of whom live in Brooklyn.
- Moolahs
- Wall Street and the Financial District of Manhattan. "moolah" is a common slang term for money[11] and also probably alludes to "mullah".
- Mooshuhadeen
- Combination of 'mujahideen' and 'moo-shu', referring respectively to the Arabic term for those involved in a struggle ("jihad") and to Chinatown and 'moo-shu' dishes in Chinese-American cuisine.
- Muzaks
- Mutterers
- Notsobad
- The one area of the Bronx that is not considered dangerous to go to
- Nudniks
- Yiddish for someone who is a pestering or irritating person. The New York Mets.
- Outer Perturbia
- Pashmina
- A . This is in an affluent area of the city, where women can afford cashmere and may be drawn to the stylish use of pashminas.
- Perturbia
- Psychobabylon
- Psychobabble
- Schmattahadeen
- shmatta is Yiddish for "rag", also jocular for clothing in the fashion industry.
- Shatoosh
- Shatoosh is a type of fine Kashmirishawl made of antelope down hairs. It is located in the center of an affluent are of the city, where women can afford such a luxurious shawl.
- Snit
- Soporifiks
- Spit
- Stan
- This is Staten Island, which is just plain "Stan" because of its nondescript nature. It could also be interpreted as the name of the camel standing there.
- Taxistan
- This is the location of LaGuardia Airport in Queens, with its large contingent of taxis waiting for arriving passengers.[5]
- The Potatoes
- These islands (2 are North and South Brother Islands) are shaped much like potatoes, at least in the drawing.
- Trumpistan
- an "area of future development",[8] presumably by then-real estate developer and Apprentice star Donald Trump.
- Turban Sprawl
- urban sprawl
- Unmitigated Gauls
- Upper Kvetchnya
- Kvetch is Yiddish for "complain".
- Veryverybad
- Wretched Kurz
- Yhanks
- This is the South Bronx, home of the New York Yankees and Yankee Stadium.
- Youdontunderstandistan
See also
- List of named ethnic enclaves in North American cities
- Saul Steinberg. (1976) "View of the World from 9th Avenue", cover for The New Yorker has been compared to this illustration.[1]
References
- ^ a b Boxer, Sarah (8 December 2001). "Critic's Notebook; A Funny New Yorker Map Is Again the Best Defense". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ a b Maira Kalman (2001-05-06). "How to Conquer Stupidity". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 2005-12-19.
- ^ a b Rick Meyerowitz. "New Yorkistan". Retrieved November 30, 2017.
- ^ "ASME's top 40 magazine covers of the past 40 years". American Society of Magazine Editors. 2005-10-17. Archived from the original on 2018-11-04. Retrieved 2012-11-22.
- ^ a b c Alleen Pace Nielsen. "Humour in the news" (PDF). Newsletter. Walter de Gruyter. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 21, 2005.
- ^ "The New Yorker uncovers an unexpected profit center - Ancillary Profits - by licensing cover illustrations". Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management. February 2002.
- ^ Daniel Grand (2004-02-12). "A Print by Any Other Name..." OpinionJournal. The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ a b c Donna Urschel (December 2002). "Response to Horror: Gallery Talks Feature Artists Affected by 9/11 Events". Information Bulletin. Library of Congress.
- ISBN 978-0-7914-6285-0.
- ^ Meyerowitz, Rick. "The New York City Sub Culinary Map". RickMeyerowitz.com. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ a b "Da Forgotten Boro". Staten Island Web Forums.
- ^ a b c d Sarah Boxer (2001-12-08). "A Funny New Yorker Map Is Again the Best Defense". The New York Times.
- ^ Calvin Trillin, The Tummy Trilogy (1974) p. 166, alternate spelling: greven
- ^ Stuart Jeffries (2007-06-04). "New Yorkistan, Londonistan: how -istan became the new cliche". The Guardian.
Further reading
- Sparberg, Alice (2002-07-01). "Tribal New York". Lilith. 27 (2).
- "Putting New York On the Map". The Washington Post. 2003-01-02. pp. H.03.