On the evening of Tuesday, February 7th, the official logo for World Youth Day 2013 was unveiled in the event’s host city, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The work of Gustavo Huguenin, a 25-year old independent graphic designer, the Rio2013 logo is ripe with symbolism. A recent article published by the event’s Local Organizing Committee explains:
Based on a passage from the Word of the Gospel of St. Matthew, the logo expresses a direct reference to the image of Jesus and the role of disciples. Jesus met his disciples on a mountain after his resurrection. A monument of Jesus atop a mountain, Christ the Redeemer in the center of the logo recalls both a symbol of the city of Rio de Janeiro and a monument recognized worldwide. The logo is to be a slogan proclaimed by the Lord Jesus, with His likeness featured in the center of the symbol.
The components of the logo form the image of a heart. Faith in the heart of the people has taken a central role in the symbol, as Brazil will be the global center for youth during World Youth Day. It also symbolizes the whole inner man, becoming, in this composition, a reference to disciples who have Jesus in their hearts.
The arms of Christ the Redeemer exceed the figure of the heart, as does the warm embrace of God to people and youth who will be in Brazil. It represents the nation’s welcome, from a people of generous heart and hospitality.
The top (green) was inspired by the traits of Sugarloaf Mountain, the universal symbol of the city of Rio de Janeiro. The cross contained in the hillside reinforces the sense of the Brazilian territory known as the Land of Santa Cruz, [while also recalling the Pilgrim Cross traveling around Brazil leading up to World Youth Day.] The forms that finalize the image of the heart have the color blue, representing the coast, plus the green and yellow to convey the colors of the Brazilian national flag.
Following his announcement as the winner of the global logo competition, Huguenin remarked, “I wish to express my eternal gratitude to God for this dream, one day now unthinkable and so real. I am extremely happy to be a young man who can proclaim to the world the joy of being part of the Holy Catholic Church.”
Ironically, Huguenin has never attended a World Youth Day event. Instead, he followed WYD Madrid 2011 live on the internet. When he learned, with the rest of the world, that WYD 2013 would be hosted by Rio de Janeiro, the designer hoped that he could somehow participate in the event. Days later the logo contest was announced, and he set to work by first reading the Gospel of Matthew from which the Rio2013 motto was extracted. Huguenin found inspiration by meditating on Christ’s command to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19)
“I composed this drawing the same way I do my other work, using the image for the Church. In the Church we must put spirituality in the images we present. When the world shows something it has to be beautiful, but in our way, it has to show content, it has to carry the meaning of our faith.”
When asked what this achievement means to him, Huguenin responded, “It brings me great happiness to know that my work will be used in the greatest Catholic event in the world, with our Holy Father, and that this image will be associated with the personal encounter the youth of the whole world will have with Jesus Christ during the WYD Rio2013.”
Based on a passage from the Word of the Gospel of St. Matthew, the logo expresses a direct reference to the image of Jesus and the role of disciples. Jesus met his disciples on a mountain after his resurrection. A monument of Jesus atop a mountain, Christ the Redeemer in the center of the logo recalls both a symbol of the city of Rio de Janeiro and a monument recognized worldwide. The logo is to be a slogan proclaimed by the Lord Jesus, with His likeness featured in the center of the symbol.
Ironically, Huguenin has never attended a World Youth Day event. Instead, he followed WYD Madrid 2011 live on the internet. When he learned, with the rest of the world, that WYD 2013 would be hosted by Rio de Janeiro, the designer hoped that he could somehow participate in the event. Days later the logo contest was announced, and he set to work by first reading the Gospel of Matthew from which the Rio2013 motto was extracted. Huguenin found inspiration by meditating on Christ’s command to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19)
No comments:
Post a Comment