Illustration of a white butterfly with some yellow on a black background . Upper left corner has a red heart, upper right corner has a black club, bottom right corner has a red diamond, bottom left corner has a black spade.

Tony Fitzpatrick is a Chicago based artist who essentially began his art career in the 1980s drawing with colored pencils in a store front gallery in Villa Park, Illinois. Fitzpatrick would draw during the day and work as a bartender across the street at night. Tony’s art is influenced, inspired by, and sometimes features, Chicago sports and figures. Tony is also drawn to the darker sides of society and often displays it in his compositions. In 1992 Tony was able to open his printmaking studio, which he called Big Cat Press. Fitzpatrick initially worked in the medium of drawing and printmaking and has most recently switched to drawing/collages. The collages often feature a large central figure that is either drawn or ephemeral. Smaller representations surround the large central figure. The subjects that Tony features are usually Chicago and memories of his father as well as New Orleans, superheroes, New Orleans, and hobo culture and symbols.

This particular image is called “Winter Night Moth.” This image was published on Tony Fitzpatrick’s blog on October 26, 2011. This etching, done in the style of his collages, is part of his “Nickle History” collection. Fitzpatrick created these art works so that they could be accessible to a less affluent community of people. For more information about this collection of art, watch a video of Tony Fitzpatrick discussing his creative process and this particular collection.

Illustration of a black swan with some brown areas floating on red water. The background has a yellow sun with red rays. The outer edge is black and white alternating rectangles.

Tony Fitzpatrick is a Chicago based artist known for his fierce independence and outspokenness. Fitzpatrick is one of Chicago's most prominent artists. His work is displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Modern Art, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

To Fitzpatrick, swans are like "beautiful black veils of death." The image of the black swan was inspired by Fitzpatrick's father with whom Fitzpatrick had an uneasy relationship, rebelled against but deeply respected. His father was a World War II veteran who took part in the Invasion of Okinawa, which was a "bloody, bestial engagement in which Americans took the islands inch-by-bloody-inch in some of the ugliest warfare ever." His father never spoke extensively or gave details of the Invasion, only contributing that it was sheer horror. He was aboard the U.S.S. Noble when the ship approached Okinawa, and he saw black swans lolling on the bloody water. He remembered them like "Black Death Flowers, rising and falling like tides," and he would remember this image whenever he was afraid.

Please see the link below for his father's story. 

http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/features/fitzpatrick/tony-fitzpatrick-the-radio-swan-7-29-11.asp

This button was manufactured by the Busy Beaver Button Co.

Illustration of a large black dog with darker black spots and sharp teeth. Bottom of the image has a chain-linked fence on the right and left corners, a white cross on yellow background in the middle, two yellow crosses on the right. On the middle right side there is a white figure with two faces/heads in black hats, a black bowtie and four black buttons. On the upper left there is another white figure in a black hat with bowtie and three black buttons.

Tony Fitzpatrick is a Chicago based artist who essentially began his art career in the 1980s drawing with colored pencils in a store front gallery in Villa Park, Illinois. Fitzpatrick would draw during the day and work as a bartender across the street at night. Tony’s art is influenced, inspired by, and sometimes features, Chicago sports and figures. Tony is also drawn to the darker sides of society and often displays it in his compositions. In 1992, Tony was able to open his printmaking studio, which he called Big Cat Press. Fitzpatrick initially worked in the medium of drawing and printmaking and has most recently switched to drawing/collages. The collages often feature a large central figure that is either drawn or ephemeral. Smaller representations surround the large central figure. The subjects that Tony features are usually Chicago and memories of his father as well as New Orleans, superheroes, New Orleans, and hobo culture and symbols.

This particular image is called “Gray Dog in the Service of Ghosts.” This image was published on Tony Fitzpatrick’s blog on September 3, 2011. This etching, done in the style of his collages, is part of his “Nickle History” collection. Fitzpatrick created these art works so that they could be accessible to a less affluent community of people. For more information about this collection of art, watch a video of Tony Fitzpatrick discussing his creative process and this particular collection.

White shield with a blue outline, a blue diagonal stripe and blue text on a silver background.

Young Life is a Christian youth organization and ministry currently headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Young Life operates clubs and camps throughout the United States and beyond. One of the core programs of Young Life is the operation of bible study groups.

White button with a blue checkerboard border and red text.

This phrase could refer to asking the reader for familiar acquaintance. It is one of a series of suggestive novelty buttons issued by Johnson Smith & Company in the 1930s. The buttons in this series all share the visual features of blue and white alternating rectangles around the perimeter of the button with red sans serif font boasting flirty expressions. The frivolous and fun nature of these buttons and other novelty goods produced in the 1920s and 1930s was purported by Johnson Smith & Co. as “provid[ing] an escape for people wracked with economic struggle brought on by WWI and the Great Depression” (Johnson Smith Company, LinkedIn).

Johnson Smith & Co. originated in 1914 as a novelty item mail-order company based in Chicago, IL. The company later moved to Racine, WI, Detroit, MI, and ultimately, Bradenton, FL. Though their website is now defunct, it was active as of 2012. Johnson Smith & Co. often advertised in print media aimed at young adults such as Action Comics, Boys’ Life, Popular Mechanics, and MAD. These ads and larger catalogs were influential in the development of American graphic design.

Illustration of two well-dressed women talking to each other with three clean-cut men behind them. Black text centered at the bottom on white background. 

The Village People was a hair salon located in Las Vegas.

Capitlaized white text outlined by a white circle, all on a purple background.  

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An illustration of a man and woman roller skating together. The man is wearing a suit and the woman is wearing a dress. The illustration is outlined in blue, the background is white, and there is a red border around the button.

Roller skates were invented by the Germans, in the late 1840s. During the 1940s, after the war, roller skating was a way to bring people together becoming known as a family activity that provided fitness, socialization and fun. Skating rink owners would hold contests in dance and figure skating. In 1970, there was a boom in roller skating industry with the Disco Era. 

Illustration of a brick pyramid with a yellow sky and blue water with boats and a dock in the background and blue night sky with stars and a moon and green grass on either side in the foreground. There is an illustration of a person in black pants and a red shirt holding a sledge hammer on one shoulder on the left side of the button and a man in a black and white suit sitting in a chair next to a blue and pink lamp and holding a sheet of paper on the right side of the button. There is a golden outer edge to the button.

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An illustration of a green frog wearing a red cape and beret and a white bib with "SF" in black. The frog is looking off to the right. The text is black and the background is white.

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