newyorker:

“When I heard the news that the Freedom Tower will be now be the highest building in Manhattan, I thought: ‘Kids!’” Ana Juan, the artist behind this week’s cover “Defiance,” says. “When you are a kid, you’re with your friends, and you say, ‘My ice cream is bigger than yours!’” she adds laughingly. “It’s a kind of a race, even if it makes for a great skyline. Still, I can’t help wondering: ‘Why do humans need to build higher and higher?’ It’s a show of power—something that doesn’t necessarily hold much interest for me. We need better schools, or a better health-care system, or to take care of the cities we have… but I guess building ever higher is our way to show how great we are.”

Cover of the May 27, 2013 issue. For more on Ana Juan’s cover, “Defiance,” as well as a slide show of images of the downtown skyline after 9/11 and some of her many children’s books illustrations: http://nyr.kr/10IKny1