A look into sexual violence during the Vietnam War and Vietnamese “bar girl” culture
A look into sexual violence during the Vietnam War and Vietnamese “bar girl” culture
Last week, I attempted to visit an archive. I contacted New York Municipal Archives among other locations, but did not receive promising results. I first emailed several locations without a response. I then made some phone calls, which were mostly rude interactions in which I was told to email again and wait for a response. I sent a second round of emails and still did not receive responses. I have decided to go the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) instead, since the archive is smaller and more specific to my subject. I think it will be easier than trying to navigate through a large scale archive.
The film was a collage of a specific location, similar to our zine making project, in which we have to investigate a specific place. What I gathered from the film is experiencing a setting in an inconspicuous and colloquial manner is the best way to absorb information and gain an understanding of a community. The overall tone was calm and journalistic. The pauses in narration made it feel like I was observing a place with the artist in real life, and that the silence signaled that we were both thinking to ourselves. The film interweaves narrative and documentary while avoiding traditional approaches by not appearing like a commercial documentary. Since the process of his film involved him taking personal videos over the course of six years, the documentary was not structured with the same rigidness that a commercial documentary may have. His pauses in narration as well as the music he chose were useful in setting the tone of his story and creating dramatic effect.
A collage of true spiritual accounts by people from my mother’s village, Binh Gia
For my zine, I plan to examine Chinatown, Manhattan, specifically spotlighting the local businesses. I want to make my multi media zine out of photographs, cut up text, and fragments of advertisements, menus, and scanned items. I think it is important to incorporate fragments of advertisements, menus, etc. and things that come from these businesses, in order to display their identities. I grew up going grocery shopping and having Sunday dinner every weekend in Chinatown, so I want my zine to explore local business such as grocery stores, restaurants, barber shops, jewelry stores, herbal medicine stores, etc. through the perspective of someone who has built relationships with these shop owners It will be a linear narrative of me making my typical stops at these businesses, just as I have been for years.I think the business of Chinatown all have important history, and their lingering presence is what defines the neighborhood. My research will discuss the history of these specific business, and why they were established and continue to thrive.
I really resonated with the work of Awol Erizku, an artist who seeks to rewrite Western art history images by taking photos of people of color. He traveled to Ethopia to photograph sex workers in the style of Edouard Manet’s painting, Olympia. He also set a previous record for Instagram’s most liked post, with his maternity photo of Beyonce. I am interested in history, specifically Asian American and Vietnamese history, and often incorporate these topics in my art. His concept of redefining Western images of beauty and pop culture intrigues me, and I want to do something similar with my next project. Instead of redefining the black image in comparison to western imagery, I can make something along the lines of redefining the Asian female image while incorporating historical images.
My Bridge 1 project was to design a Chindogu to solve Madeline’s problem of biting her nails. She discussed how the habit of biting her nails was addicting, but distracting to her in her daily life. Nail biting prevents Madeline from performing everyday tasks and projects efficiently, since her hands are occupied. In order to solve this problem, I designed fingernail coverings made of Staph bacteria. The staph bacteria was placed in agar, an edible material for growing bacteria. My science professor helped me streak the bacteria and grow it over the weekend. The idea was that you would stick your finger in the tube, pull out the agar, and be able to chew on your nail bacteria instead of your nails. Or rather, the bacteria would psychologically deter you from wanting to chew your nails. My elevator pitch was: “Don’t sacrifice your manicure any longer! Now you can chew on the same nail bacteria you crave, without the damage! Just stick your finger in the tube, pull it out, and your chewable treat will be right at your fingertips!”. The agar was dyed pink so that when the staph bacteria grew, the yellow change in color would indicate its presence. This is because as staph grows, it ferments, thus causing the color change. I think that choosing staph bacteria was crucial, it is a dangerous and known bacteria. If I had chosen a bacteria that was not harmful, or not generally known, its “scare factor” would not have been as effective, and the product would not be as astonishing to people. I think the danger of my product is intriguing, and would make it a topic of discussion. People can participate in the experience of the product psychologically, and not necessarily have to physically interact with it. This is because my product is like a psychological weapon. What is deterring you from biting your nails is not necessarily because the agar is so delicious, but rather that the thought of eating bacteria is gross.
I chose the company, Campbell’s, for my culture jam, as they replicate American comfort food that can be eaten conveniently out of a can. Since nail biting is an activity based on comfort, I thought that Cambell’s would be the perfect brand to warp the marketing around. My poster design was based on vintage Campbells ads, in which an illustrated version of the product is shown with a portrait of a woman. Vintage Campbells ads also often include longwinded explanations of their products, which is why I placed my elevator pitch on the poster. The quote at the top of my ad that says, “Again And Again, You Want Its Delicious Flavor,” is a quote from a real Campbells advertisement that I thought paired well with my idea of eating your own nail bacteria. The idea that Campbell’s has been an American symbol for instant comfort for generations, makes the context for engaging with my Chindogu “instant” as well. My chindogu can be enjoyed at any time, since it is bottled for convenience. A question I have to ask is if anyone would actually eat these finger coverings! Is the idea that it is dangerous staph bacteria enough of a deterrent, or do the inviting colors of the agar persuade you to want to eat them?
My process for coming up with my Chindogu took a complete 180 degree turn. My original idea sketches included gloves with gross fingernail replacements, bad tasting nail polish, and textured finger caps. I decided to scrap the glove and finger cap ideas, because they seemed like more of a costume rather than a new product. I also found out that bad tasting nail polish already exists, so I was a bit lost as to what to do. I talked to Daniel, and he mentioned the idea that I should include my science major in my project. I am currently in a microbiology class, and I am very close to my professor for it. I decided to take my knowledge of fingernail staph bacteria, and incorporate it in my project. My science professor helped me grow staph bacteria, which can be found on fingernails, to make staph finger tubes. The idea is that you can chew on the bacteria of your nails that are encased in the tube, without damaging your actual nails. I am happy that my discussion with Daniel lead me to think about how my other major can be incorporated in my Chindogu design, because I ended up designing something that is in my opinion, very unique, and the epitome of “useful yet useless”.
After investigating her daily routine, I discovered my partner, Madeline, has the problem of biting her nails throughout the day. In order to solve this issue, I brainstormed three possible Chindogu ideas. The first product is a pair of latex gloves. Printed on the fingernails of the gloves, would be images of rotting nails. The gross image would deter Madeline from wanting to bite her nails, while the material of the latex gloves would cover her nails, and prevent her from biting them.
I was also thinking of designing a nail polish, as it would provide more mobility than latex gloves. The nail polish would be flavored, so that if Madeline tried to bite her nails, the taste would be so repulsive that she would stop. The flavor would be something universally disliked, such as barf, trash, etc.
Continuing to think about increasing hand mobility, I also thought of finger coverings. The design of these could be more whimsical and playful than the nail polish, while still serving the same purpose. The finger coverings would be individual coverings that go over each finger, and have the appearance of extremely decayed nails. The unappealing visual nature of the coverings would prevent Madeline from biting her nails.