When I was growing up, The Cosby Show was a very big deal. If you didn't watch it on Thursday night, what could you possibly have to talk about on Friday at school? (The same rule applied to A Different World, starting a few years later.) Thank goodness that a Chicago artist is preserving one of the most iconic parts of that show: The Cosby Sweater.
Am I the only one who can't read the words "Cosby Sweater" without thinking of Jack Black in High Fidelity exclaiming, "It's a Cosby Sweater — a COSBY SWEATER!!"? Anyhow, Kelly Tucker of Chicago draws many things, including Cosby Sweaters. (She has some very cute drawings for sale on Society6, but so far no C.S.-es.) She started the Cosby Sweater Project in March 2011, and has kept up with it admirably ever since. There are so many good ones! I like that the drawings allow you to really appreciate the pattern of the sweater, but at the same time I enjoy imagining the patterns in non-sweater applications. This one would make cool videogamesque wallpaper for a kid's room, this one might make a pretty comforter, this one would make a really cute folk-girl skirt, and this one could be used for almost anything.
Do you have a favorite Cosby Sweater still burned into your brain, all these years later?
(All images from The Cosby Sweater Project by Kelly Tucker.)
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Isn't this like the art world equivalent of plagiarism?
This the greatest thing EVER!!! He also used to wear a small white and black NAACP button a lot of the time, on the show.
His sweaters were from a paricular store or designer - they should get some credit.
Love. I am always amazed by the simple things. This is perfect I'd call it homage instead of plagiarism.
@JASMINEISDOMESTIC- thanks for pointing that out, I had no idea! They were the work of Koos van den Akker, and there's a great interview with him in W Magazine from 2009: http://www.wmagazine.com/w/blogs/editorsblog/2009/10/15/where-are-they-now-koos-van-de.htm
Wouldn't some of those sweaters make stunning pillows or fiber art wall hangings? Many of the color combinations are versatile across decor styles.
@JasmineIsDomestic -- I agree that the designer, Koos Van Den Akker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koos_Van_Den_Akker) should get some form of credit. These were seriously GREAT sweaters, distinctive enough in their day to be iconic.
This is amazing. I hope she ends up selling some eventually!
Now, who is going to pay artistic homage to another 80s sitcom phenomenon: the Angela Bower glasses?
It's copyright infringement, not plagiarism. Although, it could be in that gray area of a 10% (or is it 15%) modification making it legal.
My guess, though is that if she credits the original designer, he would be unlikely to bother taking action, since it's free publicity in a way... But he COULD, if he wanted to...
I never watched the show and I think the sweaters are totally hideous, so I'm not a combatant in this war!!!
those sweaters will wind up in the smithsonian with the fonz's biker jacket one day.
(never watched "the cosby show?" it's one of the highest rated shows of all time. it was #1 in it's day.
@sherrybinnh I get it, I've never seen an episode of "Friends"!
And yes, the original artist should get credit!
Next she should do Joanna's sweaters from "Newhart"!
Mary Tyler Moore's trenchcoats.
i love this
I don't think it would be a copyright infringement. It is a frequent practice for artists to reinvent like this, I think the term is "appropriation." Fun idea, I used to LOVE The Cosby Show.