Bernie Sanders surfing in Pismo Beach? California photographer jumps on viral mittens meme
If you’ve been on the internet recently, chances are you’ve seen viral images of Sen. Bernie Sanders sitting huddled against the cold in giant mittens.
A photo of Sanders, which was captured at the Jan. 20 inauguration of President Joe Biden in Washington, D.C., has been making the rounds online. People have Photoshopped his image into famous movies, TV shows, artwork and, of course, other memes.
The meme has also made its way offline, inspiring nail art, clothing and even a tattoo. The brown-and-white mittens that Sanders was spotted wearing are sold out, and a Cincinnati bakery is selling Sanders-inspired cookies.
So when San Luis Obispo County photographer Vivian Krug Cotton spotted the memes, she decided to get in on the fun.
“It was different and I thought, ‘Wow, Bernie is getting around, he’s everywhere, but none were here on the Central Coast,’ ” she told The Tribune in an email.
Krug Cotton has been superimposing Sanders’ image onto a number of Central Coast landmarks, ranging from Hearst Castle in San Simeon to the Village of Arroyo Grande to Nojoqui Falls in Goleta.
She said the meme stuck with her because it represented something very rare these days: “Good fun.”
“Well, when I saw the first meme on Facebook a couple of days ago, it gave me a much needed laugh,” Krug Cotton said. “It was just Bernie being Bernie, sitting in his chair in the cold, gloves and crooked mask, but there was something about it that just made you smile.
“It wasn’t staged, it was pure. It didn’t matter what side of the aisle you stood on, if you liked Sanders or not, it was political but not political, if that makes sense. There was nothing mean or angry, it was all in good fun and was bringing people together.”
First, Krug Cotton tried downloading an app that would place Sanders’ image where she wanted using only an address. That didn’t offer enough flexibility, Krug Cotton said, so she decided to make her own versions of the viral meme using images she has taken around the Central Coast.
“I had taken a walk over one of my favorite bridges in the County, the Jennifer Street Bridge in SLO and I thought, ‘Oh, a perfect spot for Bernie,’” she said.
Krug Cotton quickly made a few other images with other iconic locations and posted them to her Facebook page. Within a day, the images had more than 1,000 likes and a hundred comments.
“It was just fun and it was what I always try to do with my photography — make people smile, bring some joy,” Krug Cotton said.
Since then, she’s had a flood of requests asking for her to make more memes featuring other people’s favorite San Luis Obispo County landmarks.
“It’s been really fun to make the memes and have the Central Coast represented out there on the (World Wide Web),” she said.
Here are some of Krug Cotton’s favorite versions of the Bernie Sanders meme she’s made, as well a map you can click through to see all of the so-called “Bernie sightings” in San Luis Obispo County. (Can’t see the map? Go here.)
This story was originally published January 27, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
%20Cropped.jpg)