Art of desperation?

In the last several months, Dennis had two penpals from within the Northwest Detention Center, the immigration jail in Tacoma.  Evangelin from the Philippines (who has since been released) and Pavel from Uzbekistan who participated in a hunger strike and then transferred (probably retribution) to a facility in The Dalles in central Oregon.

Both worked on art projects during their incarceration.   Evangeline gave us the green and purple statue to us as a gift.  It's made from paper, probably paper wrappers, carefully crafted and folded.

We knew Pavel also made some art that would be featured in a special show down in Tacoma.  Dennis made sure that we went today.  The art was made by those incarcerated and others about the immigration/detention/deportation experience.

When we went in, there were Pavel's items displayed on a table.  They were also made from paper wrappers!  He had some picture frames and boxes and bags.  We bought this tote bag.  All made from paper wrappers!  The person there assured us that Pavel would get the full purchase price ($100).

The pictures are a bit out of focus; maybe I will be able to improve them.

I had no idea that they both worked in the same medium.  What does it mean that the only medium that you have to work in is paper wrappers??  And you are locked in for months on end?

Is this an art of desperation????

White supremacy triangle

I got this off of facebook; find it very useful.  About different expressions of white supremacy; only the ones at the tip are really 'bad,' socially unacceptable.

But I've heard these things.  Especially the virtuous victim stuff, the minimizing,  'its only a joke,'.  Acting out teens and young adults can use that last line.  Tokenism, colorblindness.  As a minority with minority kids, I asked an elementary school teacher once about the makeup of the class "Oh, I don't even notice it!" she exclaimed.  Right.

English only.  Christians only.  Assuming good intentions are enough.  Oooooh, yeah.

There's a group of older adults where I swim.  They complain about having to do politically correctness.  They really mean being racist.  Let the blacks do their thing and we'll do ours.  I don't join their conversation.

Insisting on 'Merry Christmas' and getting all injured at the blander "Happy Holidays."

"This is a Christian country."  Whew, once I get going on this, who knows where to stop!

How about this one "My ancestors came here legally and all these other people should too!"  There were no limits on immigration before 1925 (except the Asian countries).  You just got on the boat and came.  So don't give me that garbage!

2017 Harstine July 4

This year's July 4 gathering at Dennis' family's cabin on Harstine Island.  Most everybody looks familiar even if I have not paid attention to the names.  I'm on the right holding onto Teddy who is obediently in the picture though he's not sure why.  He had a great time Eliza's dog Shelby hanging out and collecting treats.  I do look differently and made me think about something I hadn't thought in those terms, especially talking about the civilizations in my archaeology class.  Did I marry out?  Even though I don't really feel that way, I did.  It's just how it happened.  I have been married 41 years so that must mean something!!

The picture that drives some of the paper

This picture, from UW Special collections drives the San Francisco/Scwabacher connection.

The label reads "Bornstein, Friend and Schwabacher family members at picnic at Henry Lobe's place Yarrow Point ca 1890-1910

Handwritten on the picture are a list of people.  The rows are hard to figure out so I can't really tell exactly who's who.  Yarrow Point, now a tony neighborhood, would have been very remote and wild.

This would have been a very cliquey closed group including many of the 'Founders' of Temple de Hirsch.

In this picture are two Schwabacher daughters, Stella, who will marry Albert Bornstein, also in the picture.  Also Mina Schwabacher.  I know all three brothers had daughters they named Mina after their mother.  But I don't think I have to know that this is the 'right' Mina.  It doesn't matter.  Mina A. Schwabacher, daughter of Abraham Schwabacher, married Nathan Eckstein (a well known name around here) in 1902.  Nathan Eckstein is not in the picture.  So I would put this picture prior to 1902 when she married.  Between the 1899 and 1905 fair.

Leo Kohn, the founding chair of the Board of Trustees of Temple de HIrsch who held that position for quite a few years is in the picture.

And, most important for me, Fannie Degginger, who ran the 1899 fair and was involved in the others is in the picture.  Top row second from right with the funny bowler hat, kinda looks like the Evil Witch of the West.

My archaeologists class

My summer class at UW is winding down.  We'll have student presentations the last few class sessions.  I'm highly satisfied with it.  You know, summer classes taught by graduate students; could be anything.  The class has 8 enrolled students and 6 access students.  As often happens, things warmed up for the access students as time went on.  We had no bad actor access students.  At first, she indicated that discussions were for 'students only' and 'the auditors' had to leave.  Which we did.  But then as the class coalesced, when she had discussion times, she asked 'the students' their preference and they were fine with having us there; we were all part of the experience.  So that's how it's been for the rest of the quarter and it's been great.  Discussion have become livelier and the students are helping each other out including the access students.  "I know about Art Deco," one says.  Another says "I have a book that could really help you, I'll bring it next time."  So, it's been a good time.  Mostly learning about 19th century white males but at least one prominent woman Theresa Bell who worked in Mesopotamia.

Once I mentioned the discussion topic that comes over and over again.  Should these antiquities be in the British Museum?  The teacher laughed and said "That's really what this class was about; I just didn't know it!"

Taking pictures in Korea

Here we are in Korea in June.  Naomi had taken us to a bit of a traditional shopping area somewhere in Seoul.  Naomi turned around and there was Dennis taking a picture of us.  So we assumed the position.  Turns out he wasn't taking our picture at all.  He just wanted a picture of that funny truck.  His loss!  This was a fun kind of quiet place.  Not like so much of the crowd scene in this very busy city.

I admit, I struggled to keep up the whole Korean trip.  Hot and humid, doing all the walking with my upper back and arthritic knees.
It was tough, tiring, stressful.  We needed a lot of stops at Hollys Coffee, a Korean chain of several hundred coffee places.  It wasn't clear to me that they actually served coffee but they served a lot of nice cold fruity drinks.  We had a lot of those.

That's why Dennis took almost all the pictures.  I had my walking pole and my water and I just concentrated on getting there.

My class on archaeologists

I have enjoyed my summer class on nineteen and twentieth century archaeologists.   The hook was Indiana Jones but they must have talked about that the first two weeks which I missed.  At first the teacher (a graduate student) wasn't sure she wanted to include the access students but, as often happens, they mellow out over the quarter so now we are included more.

Really the discussion every week centers around the British Museum.  As in should all of the finds dug out in the ancient world be shipped to the British Museum?  Or stayed in their home country?  It always comes back to this.  Even us hard liners were shocked to see the films of ISIS people taking jackhammers and sledgehammers to Mesopotamian ancient sites and blowing up mosques.  Nooooo!

Grand opening!

I had an urge to start this blog up again.  Here's the lineup outside the Seattle Pops for the grand opening yesterday afternoon.  I counted at least 60 people and it went around the corner.  When Susanna went out there to take a picture, everybody lined up and posed.  Funny!  They opened a minute before 5 pm and we all cheered.  After the first group came through, seemed like there was a steady stream of customers.  After two hours we left.  A friend of mine came in right after we left.  Funny; Susanna put it on Facebook.

They have worked SO hard to make this happen.  This is a job for the young!

Summer class!

Check it out!

Indiana Jones and Archaeology in the Mediterranean World

Jump to Today

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Tomb robbers, adventurers, spies, and gentlemen (and some women) travelers played a central but problematic role in developing the modern discipline of archaeology. This course will use the lives of such travelers, their archaeological discoveries, and well-known artifacts as case studies to explore the themes of the “rediscovery” of the ancient world and concurrent imperialism around the Mediterranean from 1790 to the 20th century.

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Perfect summer class.  I'll miss the first two weeks but the instructor, a graduate student already added me to the list.

Yay!