Project 2 artist statement.

            The south side: a place of danger, poverty, and crime.

Or is it?

For our group project, my group members and I decided to expose the positive side about the very-often negative south side.  Our primary message was to shed light on the area that it is not as bad as the media hypes it up to be, and that there are many positive aspects to it.  There is the best view of the Chicago skyline on the many beaches, and there are very nice houses in the area, ones much bigger than the average house.  We communicated this message through the mediums of a recipe book, a brief movie with interviews, and blow-pop suckers that we distributed.  My group member Synome and I chose the medium of the recipe book since we were able to write recipes for the south side both before we toured it and after.  It was very clear that the before and after recipes greatly differed from each other.  My before-recipe focused on negative ingredients such as gangs and shootings, whereas my after-recipe was much more accurate in including the real, yet also positive ingredients.  Since our group member Ralph is from the south side, he was able to interview three different south-siders and get their thoughts and opinions on the neighborhood they live in.  They shed very lightening, yet depressing stories and insights such as how many families cannot even afford paper and pencils for school, and the realities of the gang shootings.  They all agreed that the media hypes-up the negativity about the south side.  We also chose to distribute blow-pops since there are a number of small businesses on the south side, such as barber/beauty shops and candy shops.  Our recycling medium was simply some foam found on the south side that we inserted the blow-pops into as a holder.

            One of the major decisions we faced was to first decide on a neighborhood; we had originally planned on Wicker Park, but then no real original ideas struck us so we decided to do the South Side.  Since Ralph our group member lives on the South Side, he agreed to give Synome and I a driving tour through the neighborhood.  At first I was extremely nervous to venture down to the south side, but the experience was extremely eye opening.  I was indeed the only white person so I did feel  a little out of place, but driving through the many different parts really enabled me to see what the neighborhood really is about.  Also, one of our decisions we faced regarded the recipe book; Synome and I originally wanted to make a “soul food” cookbook, but Ralph believed that would not be right in representing the south side, which I did not see until after the tour.  It would have indeed been stereotypical to pursue.  Since Ralph lives on the south side, it would not have been fitting for him to create a “before and after” recipe so he decided to create a brief movie complete with fitting music and interview questions.

            Overall, I believe the strengths of the project would most definitely be the interpretation in the recipes of the before and after, along with the well-constructed interviews.  A weakness could perhaps be the long length of the interview tape that could not be completely seen in class.  I have never done a project quite like this one, though I could relate it to a Czechoslovakia ethnic recipe book I once prepared since all the recipes had to relate to the country, much like how our recipes had to relate to aspects of the south side.

            The main point of this project for me was to convey the audience the truth about the south side.  I want them to understand that while it is a place with a very different living style with gangs and poverty, there are communities and families that thrive and do the best they can to live a good life.  I believe this project answers the two main questions of how the images and imagination of a community are generated along with the power of imagination and how it affects the reality of the present.  In the case of the south side, many of its images and imagination come from the press.  Those who do not know anything about the neighborhood read about it in the paper, or hear about it on the news, and automatically form a negative opinion on it due to its portrayal by the media.  People then imagine it to a be a very negative, scary place unsuitable to live, while in reality there are its good and bad parts, just like any other neighborhood.

            The main goal of this project was to convey people to change their thoughts and feelings on the neighborhood of the south side.  I would expect the audience to understand that there are indeed good parts, and I would hope they would be angered by the gangs and poverty that do still exist in the neighborhood.  The south side really is like any other neighborhood; it’s a community to live in and a place to call home.

                         

group project documentation.

 

SOUTHSIDE RECIPE

BEFORE

 A presumed thought

 

1 ¼ Cups DANGER

 2 Cups POVERTY

 3 quarts SHOOTINGS

 1 quart BLEAK FUTURE

 1 ½ gallons BASKETBALL

 1 gallon RAP/HIP-HOP

 2 pints AFRICAN AMERICANS

 3 tablespoons BARREN/TREELESS

 4 teaspoons NOT FRIENDLY TO OUTSIDERS

 1 teaspoon NOT MUCH TO DO

 

Slowly blend the first three ingredients to create a place where outsiders are terrified to come in.  Tie in the last ingredients to create a place where fear breeds, yet with its own unique presumed characteristics of the place.  This meal is usually eaten by the apprehensive and unknowing.

 

 

SOUTHSIDE RECIPE

AFTER

The truth comes out

 

 3 cups POLICE

 1 ½ cups NICE CARS

 2 quartz CHILDREN

 ¾ quartz GOOD BEACHES

 4 pints SCHOOLS

 2 ½ pints SPEED HUMPS

 5 tablespoons BOARDED HOUSES

 2 tablespoons BEAUTY SALONS

 ½ tablespoon MEN SELLING SOCKS

 4 teaspoons SELECTION OF VERY NICE HOUSES

 2 teaspoons GANGS

 a large pinch of HOPE

 

Tenderly stir the first five ingredients to create a place like any other neighborhood, except with a much greater abundance of the first ingredient.  (This ensures the following four ingredients can be properly preserved.)  The remaining ingredients are very different, yet when seen in the light they are only normal characteristics of a neighborhood.  The pinch of hope is perhaps one of the most important ingredients to help turn around the acts of violence.  This recipe creates a very humbling meal that should be shared with others.

 

 

paper posted finally!

Danielle Sluka

2/18/09

New Millennium Studies

Designer Doom

 

         Magdalena Parise is the average suburbia housewife- she has a perfect family, a job she relatively enjoys, and she has a large circle of close friends.  Her husband Richard and her share a quaint ranch house with a large yard for their three playful children to roam.  Magdalena lives a picture-esque life as an average woman, though she has one very major downfall…her obsession for designer clothes.  Ever since Magdalena was a teenager, she knew she had a passion for eloquent designer clothes.  However, since she grew up on a farm, designer clothes were not very affordable, yet alone acquirable in her situation.  This did not stop Magdalena from starting her own collection of designer goods.  Any time she received any money what so ever, she would stash it in her special designer jar.  And it did indeed work.  Little by little, Magdalena saw her collection of goods grow-  a Marc Jacobs purse, a Burburry scarf, and even a Louis Vuitton cluth.  Designer simply became an obsession.  Since Magdalena often did not have very many friends and was often an outcast throughout high school, designer clothes became the friend she never had.  In some ways it was a perfect relationship…no drama, no tension, just pure appreciation of the latest fashion.  However, as the years passed, Magdalena’s obsession with designer became more and more deadly.  Though her husband and her had stable jobs, they by no means made enough money for Magdalena to go drop thousands on otherwise unnecessary clothing and accessories.   But still Magdalena relentlessly pursued her shopping and ordering of all the latest fashion finds.  Any money earned went straight to her addiction- no thought of her family or any necessary needs; the money always went to shopping.  This not only damaged the family’s financial situation (family vacations, any nice home furnishings, etc. were obviously out of the picture), it also put an overall stress on the family itself.  Numerous fights over the years broke out between Magdalena and her husband, but still she would not stop.  Credit card bill after credit card bill, but still no end to the debts.  Her children had long ago stopped buying her any clothes or accessories for gifts; they knew she would never wear anything unless it was of designer.

            Truth be told, the only main reason Magdalena continued her fetish which once resulted as a friend to her during her troubled teen years, was her quest to be beyond average.  Living a suburbia life as a mother with only a mediocre income took a toll on Magdalena.  She felt as if she were like any other 40-year-old woman on the planet, and she wanted to set herself apart; she wanted to be different.  She hated watching all the fabulous women in Orange County and Upstate New York live their perfect lives filled with luxury beyond luxury.  She wanted to be one of them but she knew it was never going to happen; she was just a plain housewife stuck in a soccer-mom suburbia.

            So quite simply, Magdalena set herself aside by being adorned in only designer ensembles.  Every woman in her neighborhood envied her closet, and that is what brings Magdalena a sense of pride and accomplishment, and a value to her life that it is more than just average.

            She knows that there is more to life, however her quest for a more luxurious life has imprisoned her…one Prada bag at a time.  And though she may look like a luxurious housewife to the outside world, on the inside Magdalena will never feel adequate…she will never feel up to par with the woman of star status, hefty trust funds, and impeccable luxury.  Magdalena will always feel stuck in a world where her life and status will never be good enough.  Designer clothes are simply a shield to hide her feelings of inadequacy.  

Neighborhood.

• What are your goals & objectives for the project?

My main goal is to gain a complete understanding of a chicago neighborhood.  The neighborhood we are going to do is south Chicago, an area I am completely unfamiliar with.  I would like to gain an understanding of the people that reside there, especially since I have only heard negative things about the south side of Chicago.  I would definitely like to see the good side of the area.  I also want to know the history, main attractions/things to do, and the population make-up of the neighborhood.

• Which guiding question do you want to focus on?

I would like to focus on what major things characterize the south side, and why it has the bad reputation is has today.

• What is your suggestion for involving people from the neighborhood in your project?
  

I would like to hear the people's insights on their neighborhood, and it would be very cool to film them talking about the place they call home, or engaging in activities that are distinct in the neighborhood.  An insider's view is always key to have.

• What do you want your audience to get from the project?

I want the audience to understand many different aspects about the south side, south as information about the people who live there, the main things to do, the work opportunities, and the history about the neighborhood.

• What specific skills do you bring to this group?

I am usually a very organized person, and am very good with communication.  I also have a semi-creative side and am strong in writing.

Gleaning.

• What was most surprising to you about this film?

I was very surprised that people are still so eager to glean, even when they have a stable income and do not need to at all;  they simply do not like to see anything go to waste.  Furthermore, I was shocked to see how much food actually does go to waste, especially in the farms.  I really did not even know people still gleaned at all.  However the most surprising part was the chef who gleaned-  I thought that was very neat that he was a well-known chef who gleaned for food supplies for his restaurant.  As he said, he knows where the food comes from if he gleans it himself.

• How does Varda, a well-respected experimental filmmaker, compare this film to gleaning?

This film portrayed the modern day gleaning-  whether picking up farm left overs, or digging in the trash for usable discarded items, the people gleaned.  Instead of having perfectly usable food and products discarded, people choose not to waste and to use it.  Much like back in the day, people still pick-up food from the fields.  Though they are not harvesting the crop. they are making sure that no food goes to waste and using it as a means of even survival.

• How do the images of gleaning by Millet and Van Gogh differ from those Varda presents in her film?

The image gleanings depict a much older time in which only women glean in their outfits of long, drappy dresses in which they use part of that material to hold the materials they glean.  The images show women gleaning in groups, while in the film most of the people gleaned solitarily.  Also in the film there is much more high tech equipment used, while in the images it is simply basic tools.

Neighborhood.

Well, since I am from Milwaukee, I really do not know anything about Chicago's neighborhoods...I am still beginning to even learn some of their names!  But I have talked with Ralph and we are going to do his side of the town.  He said we can interview some people he knows from the neighborhood to add to the project.  (I currently do not know what neighborhood that is but we are going to talk about it after class.)  Synome's email was not on the list, so Ralph and I were unable to contact her.

One neighborhood I do know a little bit about would be Wicker Park.  I have been there many times and I am always fascinated by it.  I know that the neighborhood itself has existed for a while (or at least the buildings), because it does have very old buildings.  I also know that Wicker Park has an array of both upscale designer stores, and many thrift stores, making it take on a very unique vibe.  Two things I do not know about Wicker Park is its main source of attraction (whether its shops, restaurants, night clubs, etc.), and I have no idea how many people live in the neighborhood and its main age group, however when ever i have been there I have always seen younger people in their 20's or so.