Shannon Wunderlich: Micro/Macro

So, I was the weirdo that decided to make one of my three walks without any shoes on.

Having decided to trek barefoot, my experience was a much more tactile one, one that forced me to confront the state of the ground that I walked on. Instead of allowing my eyes to glaze over the smaller details that comprised my environment, my feet called their attention down to the ground to reckon with the filthy state of our streets. I specifically mentioned the overwhelming presence of cigarette butts littered literally everywhere I looked and stepped. And so, for my intervention, I chose to do something with them.

Almost half of my route was comprised of alleyways, in which I stumbled across a few funny little break area benches, like this one. It seemed that the key element of appeal for these back alley getaways was the fact that you could sit down and have a smoke. Actually, that seemed to be the entire reason for these 'spaces' being brought about. Again, cigarettes affect the ways in which our space is utilized.

It's weird, right? How much is dictated by this fix that has become so engrained in our culture. It's also weird to me how acceptable it is to just throw your butts on the ground, even when there's a designated receptacle within arms reach. And it's not just weird, it's kind of annoying, right? I mean, we never really think about them all because we're so removed from our environments via cars and shoes and such, but it's actually a pretty gross thing to have assimilated into normalcy.

I sat down on one of these break area benches and looked around me.

Within the few feet surrounding the bench, my eyes were met with a considerable amount of (cigarette) butts strewn across the ground. I looked to my right and noticed the receptacle within arms reach. Dumb. You don't even have to get up to throw away your cigarette.

So, the spiteful bratty part of me wanted to fire back.

I collected every (cigarette) butt within my seated line of vision and piled them up on the bench.

Here's hoping that the next time Jimmy comes out back for a smoke break, he's confronted with the filth he's helped amass and feels inspired to extend his arm to his right the next time he's had his fix. Sometimes it's easy for the reality of a situation to lose its poignancy when distance comes into play. As the (cigarette) butts are distributed throughout the area, the actual amount of litter is lost. I guess my intent was to illustrate the degree of the issue by compressing the evidence and turning it back on to the offender.

Corey Smith: Micro/Macro

An area of Milwaukee I have always found interesting is the plot of land that contains: Wisconsin Paperboard Corporation, Cambridge Dormitory, RC's Beer Garden, the vacant building that used to hold La Piazza, Rotary Centennial Arboretum, and a building whose residence I do not know located between RC's and the vacant bar/grill.  The diversity of usage that occurs on this plot of land draws me to it. Another aspect that hooked me was the odor that is given off by the Wisconsin Paperboard Corporation.

The material object I believe represents this plot is a material itself - cardboard.  Cardboard is part of all of these places.  It comes from trees, it is used to move into and out of dorms, food and drinks are shipped in cardboard packaging, it is used to cover up windows of unused buildings, and it is collected into a giant landscape of cardboard and recycled by the paper mill.  It has the ability to fulfill many uses, and with the right tools it can even transform into anything.

I recently said goodbye to a treasured possession, my first car.  A hand-me-down minivan from my mother.  The piece I have selected is one of the only parts that remains - the vanity plate.  

The plate stands for Creative Connection - the name of my mother's business.  Leaving her job as a social worker she started off on her own as a community artist.  At first Creative Connection helped found an NPO, Family to Family aimed at getting the families of Chapter 220 students and the families of local Whitefish Bay students to spend time together at large picnics centered around sports and art. This entrepreneurial venture designed to bridge the gap between social, geographic, economic, and racial boundaries reminds me of Milwaukee RedLine.  Below, I have inserted quotes from RedLine's website http://www.redlineartmke.org/.

MissionRedLine Milwaukee, a 501(c)(3), is an urban laboratory that seeks to nourish the individual practice of contemporary art and to stimulate the creative potential of the local community to which we are linked. Through residency, education, outreach and challenging exhibition programs with a focus on socially relevant topics, RedLine inspires and impacts new generations of cultural and civic transformers.

What is RedLine?RedLine Milwaukee was founded by local artists Lori Bauman and Steve Vande Zande in October 2009. Goals of professional development, access and social justice are met through RedLine’s Programs: Residency, Exhibition and Education. The 22,000 square foot building includes exhibition space, artist studios, a community printshop and paper making studio, a computer lab, and classrooms. Milwaukee’s only artist-in-residence program, RedLine houses nine emerging artists, five mentoring artists, six teen residents and several visiting artists annually. Additionally, RedLine connects artists with community organizations through workshops, classes, and outreach.

 

Micro/Macro

This is my intervention with feathers. Speaking to the ideas of ephemerality, memory, personal value of objects, and everyday observation.

Micro/Macro

Intervention
Detailed shot

Original shot from walk
On my walk, I found this upside down sign humorous and it seemed almost purposeful. I related the hanging sign to a piece of art in an impromptu gallery space. So for my intervention I decide to repeat my walk and collect items to make a piece of my own along side of it. I called it "The Route" because it was completely determined by what was within my boundaries.

Micro/Macro

On my walk, there were multiple locations where I connected some of the larger ideas from class to the sites. However, towards the of the exercise, I found a message written in chalk that said: "You're Beautiful". It was pretty deocrative; the writer used blue chalk and also turned the dot on the "i" into a flower. This caught me off guard, for the message and action seemed pretty juvenile, which it probably was, as it reminded me a lot from elementary school. On the second and third ways of walking, I looked for the message every time to check on how faded it became. It turned out to be a rather significant part of the walking experience.

For my intervention, I thought of the message the writer was trying to send. I think that the comment itself, "You're Beautiful" is pretty artificial. Is there a reflection of inner beauty as compensation for any perceptive outside beauty? Is the statement meant to make the public feel "better" about themselves, or just the writer?

I placed a mirror, chair, and wrote the words "YOU ARE" as a response to this. The act of "being" and the recogonition of this fact, is personally more important to me than the artificialness I found the expression to be. The chair and mirror invites the public in to view themselves in the space. The awareness of just 'being' is something I think many of us take for granted.

Micro/Macro

On my original walk I found one specific observation I came across to really stand out in my mind. A small cross, leaned against the inside of a window, the blinds were closed and I took the cross out of context and viewed it as a symbol. I'm sure we all relate a cross to some kind of religious holy meaning, but I wondered how it would be read out of context, in a different part of the city, in a contradicting scene, would it lose it's importance? I made my own cross and traveled my path once again to find out.
The cross held its symbolic power. In certain circumstances, coming from a catholic family, putting the cross on a dumpster or the ground made me feel uncomfortable, even if it was just a piece of paper I had cut in the shape of a cross. The baggage I carried from my family and past told me that a cross was a powerful symbol, it symbolized blessing and faith. As I re-traveled my original footsteps I could just hear my grandmothers voice saying don't put that cross next to those dirty cigarettes. For me this experience not only had to do with the act of moving this symbol around the city, but the baggage and power this symbol carried and no matter where I placed it, it held on to that.

micro/macro

After my original walk the entire class stopped for a long amount of time by the Marsupial Bridge. During this time I collected rocks from the area, for silly reasons including:

• one was sunburnt
• one was a crystal
• one was amber
• one was a booger
• one was misunderstood

I went home with those rocks that day and they've been on my nightstand ever since.

For my intervention I brought my rocks back to the site where I found them. I laid my souvenirs out on a bench and wrote down why I kept them. Then I filled a jar full with other rocks I picked from the site for safe keeping. I think that this piece may become nostalgic to some. Many people collected things like rocks and such when they were children. To see evidence of someone collecting things for memory may bring back a memory of their own.

micro/macro| Vancant Land and Coffee..

Micro/Macro Intervention| Coffee and Vacant Land....

My micro intervention would preferably be a giant over grown field by my house. Here is a screen shot from Google Maps. The corner of Jefferson and Lyon is where I walk my dog everyday. I have seen foxes, tons of birds, and hear crickets non-stop. Its a surreal experience; to be in the city and have nature surrounding you. So, my intervention for this field by my house will be to drink coffee on the east end of the field. This will not only be a very relaxing experience for me but show people in the community that they should come and utilize the field as well.



Maybe people could then turn this into a coffee drinking park. There is a Starbucks right near by and all the customers would have to do is to walk across the street and have a much better coffee experience! I think I get this idea from my camping experiences where you brew a hot pot of coffee and walk down to the lake early in the morning with a fresh cup of coffee. And, like I said this field is like a surreal experience because not only do you feel and hear the nature; but, you hear all the sounds of the city. Its similar to the overture before an orchestra plays in unison.

My macro intervention is also relating with a coffee cup. My Grandpa's coffee cup given to me several years ago. Its old.... Older than me. Made in the USA actually and has signs of character; discoloring, cracks, and dents, etc. When I though of a great place that was similar to this I thought of Stone Creek Coffee or Alterra where they brew/roast all the coffee right here in Milwaukee. Then I thought of a great venture to take a stroll through the city with my coffee cup visiting these local brewers and roasters. Then purchase a cup of coffee. It would almost be like if my Grandpa was still around today I would of most likely taken him to these great establishments where he could have gotten a good brew!

The Coffee Cup:

Here is another screen shot of all the Alterra's in this area:

Stone Creek Coffee:
thanks for reading...
matt

Micro Macro

The place that stirred the most thought for me was the stretch of the Riverwalk that's under the highway overpass. The Riverwalk kind of weirds me out because it's well maintained, and well designed, but the Milwaukee River itself is so dirty and full of trash. I did a little research on the Riverwalk and found this passage from the city's website:

"Wisconsin’s Public Trust Doctrine places all lakes and streams in trust for the benefit of all citizens to use for commercial navigation, pleasure boating, sailing, fishing, swimming, skating, rowing, walking, and the enjoyment of scenic beauty. . . the $11 million project . . . the Historic Third Ward RiverWalk has won several design awards since it opened, including a 2007 American Institute of Architects Honor Award for Regional and Urban Design."

As nice as it is to have a public space near the river, it seems to me that the river itself could use some cleanup.

For my intervention, I decided to make this disconnect between the River and the Walk more apparent. My guesture was a simple one, to make a long straw that leads from the Riverwalk into the river. I certainly did not want people to drink the water, merely to remember how disgusting this river is, amid this sculptural staircase and heavily landscaped area, both of which look expensive. For this piece to be more successful, I think I would have to be a little less genuine with the materials in order to have a more successful visual piece, the straws were just not strong enough.

Micro/Macro

One of my favorite places in Milwaukee is the Commerce St Area. I growing up I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors. When I moved to Milwaukee five years ago I didn’t think I would have that outdoor space I loved so much. I love the urban environment as well—being so close to amenities like shops, restaurants and the mix of modern and historic architecture Milwaukee has. The Commerce St Area is a mix of all those things that I love. Kilbourn Park and the River Walk are where I spend most of my days off during the summer. It’s a quiet area with a great view of nature, as well as the cityscape. I spend a lot of time taking photos, drawing, thinking and listening to music here. The object I would choose to represent Commerce St. would have to be a brick. I chose this object because a brick comes from the earth (nature), yet is urban and industrial.

The personal object I have chosen is some coral that I collected while on a trip in Costa Rica in 2007. This is important to me because whenever I look at the coral I remember the fun times I had on my trip with my friends. I think about sitting in the warm waters of the ocean, digging my hands into the sand and pulling up the coral. I don’t take vacations very often, and have only been out of the country this one time, so this souvenir is very special to me. The place in Milwaukee that I would relate this coral to is probably the beach. I go here pretty often in the summertime when it’s not too crowded. Being near the water, with the sound of the waves is very soothing and makes me think of Costa Rica

I decided to go to the Commerce St area for my intervention. My intervention was meant to make a comment about the destruction of nature/ marshes/ forests for the development of buildings etc. I chose the Commerce St area because this is one of the newest developments in Milwaukee. That area used to be marshlands until recent years. The area I made my intervention was on a retaining wall, near the Booth St Stairs. I drew wildlife on the wall with chalk—a deer, a duck and birds. I did this to make people aware that this area was once home to these animals.

Micro/Macro

(video of intervention @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rgUf4c4x14)

There's a large undeveloped area at the intersection of Water St. and Ogden. I’d seen it by bus and by car several times, but the immediate experience of the space is completely different. It seems much more vast, especially the sky, which

appears to extend upward in an enormous arc. The ground is gravel overgrown with wild plants, and the sound of the crickets is sonorous and entrancing. It's a space that once was something else, now barren and open.

I was drawn to the aural qualities of the area, so I decided to play my violin there. My grandfather made my instrument, and it's something I usually pull out on my own, enclosed in my apartment. My hope was that such a maneuver made public would call attention to the space's inherent beauty.

Sound is an experience that is inseparable from place in a somewhat different manner than the visual. It's comprised of waves rippling through the atmosphere that morph as they meet and merge with another force, like the reverberations of a passing car, or the wind. Just blocks away, along Water St., there is another site whose structure was made intentionally for acoustics, that I've chosen as my second location. This is the Pabst Mansion (image below), which was built in 1895 in the tradition of the great European opera houses, displaying ornate Baroque architecture. Though much more grandiose than my own little performance on an overgrown and polluted plot of land, it carries a similar purpose, and this is intriguing.

"Pabst Theater". Bradley Center. 2003-2011. Web. 22 Sept. 2011. <;http://www.bradleycenter.com/milwaukeeinfo/moreentertainment.asp>.

Micro/Macro - B. Rieth

1.

An area of personal interest is one that is just outside of the area between UW-M and MIAD (about 5min south of MIAD on 2^nd St). Though it is outside of the boundaries set by this assignment, it holds more interest for me than anything else that currently comes to my memory. On 2^nd Street there are several parking lots and in one of these lots is a trailer that I imagine functions as someone’s living space.

I have an ongoing interest in the divide between public and private space, specifically how people choose to decorate or accent that space between spaces. This trailer, for me, has an ominous presence. While it may be perfectly decorated and homey on the inside, the outside is cold and off-putting. Its windows are all blocked out and there is a Jolly Roger-ish flag in one of them (to ward off danger or imply it?). On top of that the parking lot that the trailer resides in is fenced off.

Just off the top of my head, I’d have to compare it to a can of soup or sundry left out in the elements; frozen in the winter and acrid in the summer. Needless to say, I’d be interested to see inside.

2.

An object of personal significance comes from a friend who I’ve kept in sporadic contact with over the years. There may or may not have been a mutual romantic interest at one point or another…I don’t normally keep things with such associations (letters or other such crap), but this one stayed with me somehow. Maybe because it’s hand made, and simply at that. Maybe its simplicity is a nice summation of that friendship. Perhaps it has only been retained on the merit that it guards my change/random stuff film can…

We shared a meal at Alterra on Prospect, the geographic equivalent of this memory. It was during that time that Jade the cat had managed to wedge herself under the driver’s side seat. The cat was not de-clawed, so it took close to 20 minutes to dislodge her. After that both left town; that was the last time she drove though.

3.

City transportation is an environment in which expects nothing out of the ordinary. Inspired by David Shrigley, I placed a sign on a bus seat that simply read “I’M SORRY.” The intention was two-fold; to see how a person might react to such a statement in an environment where it was unexpected, and apologizing for myself for having been taking a documentary photograph with a concealed camera. The reaction was subtle for the most part, as the bus was not very busy for most of my journey; The sign got little more than a cursory glance from most. When the bus started to fill up towards the end of the trip, the person hoping to occupy the seat picked up the sign, inspected the seat and its surroundings, and placed the sign on the floor.

(Pictures are imminent; aka, film)

Micro/Macro

A place that caught my attention while walking by was right at the intersection of Brady and Water Street. There is a small garden and resting area secluded from the street by the surrounding brush. From this sitting area you can see the artwork across the street of the large colorful animals, which is always pleasant to look at. An object I would use as a metaphor for this location is a seashell. Seashells are usually collected by children during their visit to the beach as a treasure to take home. The seashell, while simple in its design, has a certain beauty and mystery that other objects found in nature cannot compare to. This park is place in a very urban and busy environment, but it is a treasure to find in the city and hold on to. A simple, yet, lovely location to sit and enjoy a quite moment in a very chaotic city. Just as the seashell provides an escape by listening to it closely to hear the ocean.

An object that becomes a metaphor for a location that is significant to me is a small unicorn key chain I have had since fifth grade. This key chain has definitely seen better days, but I could never bring myself to get rid of it. The chain broke a few times before and I was insistent on fixing it. The initial purchase of the key chain was with my childhood best friend, Rachel, who lived across the street from my parents house. We bought identical key chains and then exchanged them. Even though I rarely see her, the past few times we have run into each other she still had the key chain as well. While Rachel and her family still live across the street from my parents house, the key chain is not a symbol for home. Rather, it represents all the places my family lived in during my childhood, all the friends I made that I couldn't imagine living without when we would move again, all the memories that still make me laugh at our childish innocence. That unicorn key chain probably is not even worth a penny, but it holds more value than almost anything I own.

The intervention created by Justin Beale and myself took place on North Farwell Ave. We used chalk as our medium to comment on the Milwaukee "beer culture". This location was choosen due its close relations to a number of bars in the tavern and the people leaving the bar was our target audience for the work.