The ArtWorks logo was inspired by a contest for the choosing of the new logo for the "Art Works" campaign sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. I wanted a graphic that depicted exactly what the prospectus requested: "...proposals for designs that will give a graphic identity to “Art Works,” two words with three meanings that the NEA Chairman has been using to sum up the work of the Agency:

1. “Art Works” is a noun that refers to the works of art that artists create.
2. “Art Works” reminds us that a goal of art is to work on audiences and viewers to inspire, transport, and challenge them.
3. “Art Works” is a reminder that arts workers are real workers who are part of this country’s real economy. They earn salaries, support families, pay taxes. Artists are also entrepreneurs and placemakers, who revitalize towns, cities, and neighbor of them."

If you scrutinize this logo, you will see both the "A" and the "W" symbolically married in the graphic to the left.