My Story of Chicago

In the course P'Art of History we study the early years in how Chicago became how it is today and how people discovered it. This class is mostly a history class but it also include art related to it. For the first Unit we read two chapter of the book City of Big Shoulders, that was about early Chicago years. For our project we created a poem or story answering the question who claims Chicago, I decided to write a story. After writing my poem I made a visual representing my story. Then I transferred that image on to a linoleum block and carve it out. Another thing that we used was neoclassical art which describes the piece. One thing I am proud of was my carving and my visual because it took me a long while to get my message across my visual and it was hard to carve the detail in the block but I managed to make it clear. Through out this course I learned about Neoclassical Art and a lot about Chicago that I didn't know about.

KIS. Chicago. 2014.

KIS

My Chicago

Soft-cut Linoleum, carving tools

6in. by 6 in.

July 2014

The main purpose of this piece is to answer the question Who lays claim to Your Chicago?  and to talk about our Chicago experiences.

In my Chicago, the government and police control everything. From gas prices to who is and isn't allowed to live in the city. People with money get treated well and have luxuries while the people who don't, get treated badly. Most of the people who do not have money are immigrants who may be forced to work in factories that endanger them physically. Education, which is often controlled by the government also influences how I experience Chicago. Education determines how much power a person can have. Although there are a lot of conflict in Chicago, I see many opportunities, especially in education.

My Chicago is claimed by the government which controls my education. As far as I can remember, my mom taught me the importance of education. It also seemed that she understood that the government controls my education and based on that she took control of my education, she didn't trust the government to do a great job. My mom laid claim to my Chicago experience by ensuring I get a good education by putting me in a head start program, finding schools that accepts me at a young age and finding better schools for me. Through my mom’s actions, I am now at a high school that is different than regular schools. My high school is a private school, and its named Global Citizenship Experience. This school offered me a full scholarship, it has small classes and it used technology. From these experience, my mom made me realize that the government controls my education by determining the quality of education different neighborhoods may receive often based on the income or race of its residents. Because  my mom recognized this, she made a huge effort to give me the best education I can get, rather than relying on the  government to provide it.

One date of early Chicago that relates to my story is 1784, when Chicago became property of the United States. It relates, how people who have a high education, haves lots of money and own land. Another date that relates in 1833, when Native Americans had to surrender their land to the settlers. It relates, when immigrants come to the United States they have no choice but to work in dangerous jobs and if they don’t they will be sent back to their country.

I incorporated elements of Neoclassical Art by making my carving a little simple and emotional.  Neoclassical Art is based on the principles of of simplicity and symmetry. This type of art includes clean lines, heroic figures and sometimes unemotional.

I created this carving by first, creating a visual that represents my story of who claims my Chicago. I did different drawings until I decided on one and shaded in heavily the letters that I was going to carve out. Then I transferred my drawing by rubbing it onto the linoleum block. After that, I traced the letters again so I can see better what I am going to carve out. Lastly I carved the letters out. In the second  we will make a cement tile of our carvings.

My Visual reads Chicago with each letter representing different parts of my story. The “C” is drawn to look like a set of handcuffs and represents the presence of the Police in my Chicago. The “H” is drawn to look like a factory and it represents the places where lots of immigrants have to work at in Chicago. The “I” is drawn to look like a diploma and it represents the high standards of education that Chicago provides. The “C” is drawn to look like the symbol of cents and it represents the presence of money in everything we do in CHicago. The “A” is drawn to look like the capitol building and it represents the government who controls everything in Chicago. The “G” is drawn to look like gas in a flame of fire and it represents the use of it everyday. Lastly the “O” is drawn to look like a heart and it represents the health of people who suffer in working.