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Boston Magazine’s Inspiring Cover: Heart Made From Marathon Runners’ Shoes


Though we've seen some touching art tributes come out after the tragic Boston bombings, this is one of the most inspiring. The May cover of Boston Magazine shows a heart created from the shoes of the Boston Marathon runners. Photographer Mitchell Feinberg took this sure to be iconic photo of actual shoes worn during the marathon assembled so that the negative space is in the shape of a heart.

As Boston Magazine editor John Wolfson states, “To me the cover is about two things: perseverance and unity. By itself, each shoe in the photograph is tiny, battered, and ordinary. Together, though, they create something beautiful, powerful, and inspirational. Remove just one shoe and you begin to diminish, in some small way, the overall effect. Collectively, they are the perfect symbol for Boston, and for our response to the bombings.

“This city is my home. I live in it because I choose to. My love for it is boundless and, at times, irrational. This staff is filled with people who feel the same way. Our home is hurting right now, and our hope, together, was to produce something that reflects the intensity of affection and pride that all of us here in the region feel for Boston.”

Notice that the shoes are arranged by color with the red and pink ones in the middle. This was purposely done to give the feeling that the heart is “almost beating.”

Inside of the heart is an equally powerful headline, “We Will Finish the Race.” Read more of the behind-the-scenes story at Boston Magazine.

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