No one could predict that on the heels of ‘The Great War’ the world would witness another horror, a flu epidemic that would claim more lives that the war itself. It’s the 100 year anniversary of this pandemic and NC State’s recent feature “When State Got Sick” chronicles how the college, “answered the call, working to heal the sick in Raleigh and across the state”. Commissioned by art director Victoria Cumbee, mixed-media illustrator Janice Kun created a series of powerful images that speak of an unimaginable time. Watercolor backgrounds of tear stains and microscopic viruses and expertly hand-drawn elements are paired with, and complement, historical photos from the time. The cover portrait of a nurse perfectly speaks to the caregiver’s resilience. A look back at a crisis we learned a great deal from.
When the flu pandemic of 1918 hit State College, the campus turn into a hospital for 450 sick students.
The 1919 Agromeck listed the names of 13 students who died of the flu.
Though there was no cure, remedies were created and shared with the population in North Carolina.
View more of Janice Kun’s illustration here. Represented by i2i Art Inc.