2005-11 Vital Source Mag – November 2005
Secret Lives of the Service Industry
By Erin Wolf Double lives— Superman was the prime example of this once astonishing phenomenon. By day he was the affably geeky Clark Kent; by chance he was the wünder-boy with a red cape and a mission to serve the people, whether stopping trains or scooping up ladies in peril. With a secret life stashed neatly under his yellow belt, Mr. Kent may have been an anomaly back in the 1930s when he first crash-landed on the scene. Rocketing into the 21st century, however, into the mish-mosh of backgrounds that make up the labor force in the United States, untold legions of people line up to assume a Kent-like double life. By day, these contenders trot off to their white collar, blue collar, pink collar, ring-around-the-collar, or what-have-you jobs. By night, they are musicians, artists, writers, crafters, coordinators, small-business owners and cause-supporters. In the thriving arts community of Milwaukee, many of the jobs held by local double-lifers are in the service industry. The National Restaurant Association reports over 15,000 restaurants employing more than 262,000 people in Wisconsin, and much of the local arts community depends on these jobs to pay the bills and support their respective creative outlets. It’s not just about the Benjamins, though. They also enjoy the social outlet to balance the more solitary ‘artist’ experience, the connections made with customers and the incentive of ‘insta-cash’ for gear and supplies. In this month’s Vital, five Milwaukeean double-lifers share what it takes to keep a passion going while alternating creative time with hours punched in at their ‘day’ and ‘night’ jobs. Superman, eat your heart out.“It’s not always something to do to get through school. What if I were “just” a waitress? You gotta be cut out for it. People don’t realize how tough it is. You have to able to handle people, be easygoing, fast. It’s not for everyone,” says Colleen Drew of her part-time job as a server at County Clare Irish Inn and Pub. Freelance artist by trade, working on her paintings and illustrations in her personal time, Drew also works as a muralist for Artistic Finishes. She, with her partner and the founder of the operation, Laura Ashley, paints murals for private residences. “We just did a nursery that was a jungle theme with monkeys. We also did a whole room painted with old French posters.” Drew started in the service industry bussing tables at Mama Mia’s when she was fourteen years old and wanted some spending cash. “It was cool back then because I was so young and everyone else I worked with was seventeen and so cool– it didn’t seem like work,” she says. When it came time to decide on a career, Drew knew she wanted to be an artist. “When I was little, I was like, ‘Hey, I’m good at this!’ When we had to make Thanksgiving turkeys in school, I would put eyelashes and lipstick on mine, and everyone would say, ‘Oh, there’s Colleen’s.’” Her construction paper turkeys eventually became […]
Nov 1st, 2005 by Vital Archives
The New Old South
By Phillip Walzak If you’ve been thinking our modern, enlightened 21st century American society is free of dubious political maneuvers that make it harder for our fellow citizens to vote, then you haven’t been to Georgia lately. Reaching back to the halcyon days of Jim Crow, the state of Georgia has approved new legislation that requires people to show only government-issued photo identification to vote at the polls. Drivers licenses are accepted, but people without them must purchase a state ID card to vote, at a cost of $20 for a five-year card or $35 for 10 years. On the surface this may seem a small cost, but even these fees create a financial burden for the poorest citizens. And though both the Republican governor of Georgia and the GOP-controlled state legislature have insisted this new policy is necessary to combat voter fraud, the New York Times stated September 12 that “the vast majority of fraud complaints in Georgia, according to its secretary of state, Cathy Cox, involve absentee ballots, which are unaffected by the new law.” Ms. Cox says she is unaware of a single documented case in recent years of fraud through impersonation at the polls. In the tumultuous days before and during the Civil Rights movement, the poll tax was a tried and true tactic of the forces in the South who were opposed to integration, equality and justice. A per-person fee was assessed on African-Americans in a base attempt to drive them from the political process. It was designed by people in power to prevent others from using their own political voice. It was remarkably effective until the Supreme Court ruled in 1966 that such barriers to participation were unconstitutional, declaring “the right to vote is too precious, too fundamental to be so burdened.” Not so different from our Southern neighbors.It could be tempting to dismiss the issue because it’s Georgia – a battleground in the Civil Rights movement and, up until 2001, a state that proudly boasted the Confederate stars and bars on its state flag. Yet a glance at our own Republican legislature in Madison reveals that similar proposals could very well become law here in Wisconsin, home of the Progressive tradition. Like Georgia, those here in Wisconsin without government issued IDs tend to be minorities. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported on June 13 that a Department of Transportation analysis found that of “black males between ages 18 and 24, 78 percent lacked a driver’s license,” the largest percentage of any demographic in the study. Other groups in which a majority lacked a driver’s license were black males of any age (55 percent lack a license), Hispanic women of any age (59 percent), and black women, Hispanic men, and Hispanic women between ages 18 and 24 (all between 57 and 66 percent.) “By contrast, only 17 percent of white men and white women of voting age in Wisconsin lack a driver’s license.” These same demographic groups also tend to struggle the most financially. It is […]
Nov 1st, 2005 by Vital Archives
November 2005
By Thank You Vital Source For sponsoring that wonderful hour of music on WMSE. Jessica A. HatchAIG Life Brokerage Al Gore did not invent the Internet.I picked up a late copy of the August 2005 issue and, reading the article “Political Math 101” by Phillip Walzak, was appalled to find the author regurgitating the same right-wing-fueled misquote of Al Gore supposedly claiming that he “invented” the internet. If the author would have checked his own facts he would have found that what Mr. Gore actually said was that he “funded” the internet. And why not brag a bit about leading the charge to fund something that has changed the face of the world? It’s bad enough when the lazy-minded and devious right-wing opportunists proliferate this kind of political poison as truth to their own ends, but it is the peak of offense when a writer, obviously critical of the current administration and Bush, is too damn lazy to do his own research. The writer makes some good points in the article, but that single despicable anncoulterism discounts everything else the man tried to say. Al Gore is a great man who has made an immeasurable contribution to this country and to the world. The way he will go down in history has already been damaged enough by the right-wing political machine. Gore wasn’t perfect, but at least he did his homework. Jay Kummer Vital makes for a fascinating (and absorbent) placemat.Imagine, if you will, my complete surprise this day upon venturing into one of Mequon’s very new and very elite establishments offering food and drink to the weary. Well, not quite offering at no charge. . . . In fact their offerings are extremely high-priced for such basics as ham and eggs. As I approached the offered table, I could not help noticing the very unique placemats on every table. They were, of course, your very interesting magazine. Very novel, I must admit. While the food was just so-so to say the least, I found your magazine something fun to read while absorbing the meager breakfast I had been served. The “Editor’s Blog” had enough soft laughter in both sections to make ignoring the food a pleasant experience. Film reviews. . . . EH! Theatrical reviews, now we are getting somewhere. . . . Be they good or bad, at least they made you think about maybe taking a shot at one or two . . . hey how bad could they really be? No, please do not answer that one. Give Paul McLeary a silver star for his treatise on the forgotten war . . . same for John Hughes. Over all, you deserve at least one gold star . . . and besides it really is a very absorbent place mat. Especially for a slob like me. Good Luck on you future editions. George Madden
Nov 1st, 2005 by Vital Archives
Industrial Nature
By Evan Solochek Nebulous shapes and architectural insight, the seemingly mismatched marriage of organic and synthetic, thrive within the sculptures of acclaimed artist Kendall Buster. Somewhere between abstract abodes and biological remnants, her large-scale creations entice both the eye and the body, and offer the viewer the rare opportunity to truly experience art. These mammoth orbs of steel and South African shade cloth are reminiscent of a cored pear or a beehive with a slice removed. These missing cross-sections are an essential component of one of Buster’s chief intentions. The “accessible interiors,” a distinguishing characteristic in Buster’s work, allow for a more profound interaction with the piece. The onlooker is invited inside to not only view the structure, but to be enclosed within it. “For a lot of people, it’s the simple act of penetrating a form,” says Buster. “You’re so accustomed to having this relationship to a sculpture where you’re over here and the sculpture is there and you’re walking around it and very separated from it. You can certainly enter it with your eye, but to enter a piece with your body is a kind of commitment.” Once inside, a myriad of reactions ensue. From playfulness and ease to uneasiness and intrigue, Buster wants the viewer to respond in some manner, any manner, just as long as it is genuine and unexpected. Influenced by the work of twentieth-century theorists Jacques Lacan and Michel Foucault, Buster attempts to incarnate their thoughts on the act of seeing and being seen. Fusing biology with architecture, Buster creates imposing sculptures that are interactive playgrounds where exploration and physical interaction are encouraged. Buster extends this facet through the use of translucent fabrics, which allows viewers to interact with one another by way of the sculpture. “Those inside the piece can see those outside the piece and vice versa so there is a little bit of a play there, which I find very interesting,” says Buster. “[The inside] is a small space, an intimate space. It’s truly a chamber and that leads to feelings of either enclosure or comfort. I like this idea of something being both comforting and threatening.” Suggestive of a cocoon or a womb, these membrane-covered structures envelope the viewer in a manner foreign to most human adults. Buster, who is currently a professor of sculpture at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Arts, finds the worlds of biology and architecture intrinsically linked. “I think there are a lot of interesting things to think about in terms of architecture’s biological roots and the whole notion of how biological forms have informed certain kinds of designs,” says Buster. “For me, the vessel and architecture are really about marking an empty space.” Having studied microbiology at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Buster has always been fascinated by biological structures. From fungal formations to exoskeletons, Buster’s science background is clear in her sculptures. “In one sense, I know it’s a very romantic notion, but there is a part of me that is very attracted […]
Nov 1st, 2005 by Vital Archives
Neil Young
By Blaine Schultz Reprisewww.neilyoung.com Every record Neil Young releases is an enigma in waiting, and Prairie Wind, with its deft orchestral passages, swelling horns and bluegrass touches, is no exception. On Prairie Wind Young seems to say, “Let me make a record with people I enjoy playing with.” His father’s slide into Alzheimer’s and subsequent passing leads Young to meditate on his own past and take stock. The title track finds Young in that 3 a.m. voice, singing, “Trying to remember what my Daddy said / Before too much time took away his head;” a female vocal chorus echoes “prairie wind blowin’ through my head” as a horn section punches away at Young’s harmonica shards. “Far From Home” is the other side of the coin, buoyed by the horns and sounding like a Saturday-night revival, Young tells of a trek from the trans-Canada Highway to the Promised Land of money and big cars. And only then can you bury him on the prairie. When Young lapses into a sentimental mood (“Falling Off the Face of the Earth,” “It’s a Dream,” “Here For You”) to pay tribute to friends and family, he avoids mawkishness. “When God Made Me” calls to task in a sincere ballad those who have interpreted God’s will since day one. But he’s not afraid to turn the camera on himself. “He Was the King” is a good-natured romp through memories of Elvis and “This Old Guitar” is a love song written for Hank Williams’ Martin guitar—Emmylou Harris’ vocals only sweeten the deal. “When I get drunk and seeing double, it gets behind the wheel and steers / This old guitar ain’t mine to keep, it’s only mine for a while.” VS
Nov 1st, 2005 by Vital Archives
