Columbia Pictures ident updated with original model Jenny Joseph's photo

In 1992, artist and painter Michael Deas hired photographer Kathy Anderson to shoot reference photos for a commissioned refresh of Columbia Pictures' famous "Miss Liberty" logo.

The model that day was Jenny Joseph, a 28-year-old graphic artist who worked at the same newspaper as Anderson and who'd agreed to take part in the shoot. After the photos were developed, Deas created the finished artwork using the images of Joseph as a visual guide.

Even since I first saw Anderson's original photos, I've felt dissatisfied with Deas' final interpretation. In the shoot, Joseph is wearing a look of pride and self-assuredness that radiates from the picture. In contrast, the figure in the painting appears vacant and indifferent, even bored.

To see what could have been if Deas had faithfully reproduced Joseph's likeness in his painting, I composited Anderson's photo into Columbia Pictures' opening ident. After seeing the juxtaposition between the two versions, I can't help but feel that Deas missed an opportunity for a fresh start by using the unaltered image of Joseph for Columbia's logo.

Yahoo has a good write-up on the full story of Jenny Joseph's chance involvement in becoming the face of Miss Liberty: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/s...