Daily Recap

Every morning (now even on weekends) I have something to look forward to on my long commute to work. As I stand sandwiched in a sardine tin (Red Line train) I realize I am not alone in this. Everything I need to know for the day is in black and white copy in a neatly pressed magazine paper. Yes, the Chicago RedEye http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/ is my saving grace and guilty pleasure.
Because of my personal informant, world news, local news, suduko, music listings, horoscopes, celebrity gossip, CTA complaints, restaurant reviews and freebies are mine all before 8am. I have a heads up on every current event without watching the news (although it’s usually in addition to BBC and E! News).
The RedEye does not discriminate. Unlike other elitist competitors, this freebie appeals to the masses of women and men in their twenties and thirties. It beckons from a shiny red box conveniently located outside of every train station. If you manage to miss one of the hundreds of boxes littered throughout the city you are sure to meet a paper wielder wanting to put the news in your hands when leaving and entering the station.
I couldn’t have produced a better paper if I had written it myself. It appeals to people in my income bracket (it’s free), it has daily food and beverage deals, it has games, love advice (gay and straight), fashion advice for men and women and is somewhat left leaning (ok maybe very leftist with all the Bush idioms) in political focus.
The producers of this paper know their market. The articles are short and sweet and get right to the point. No one has the time or the attention span to read pages and pages of nonsense. We want to get straight to the point with short blurbs that introduce the audience to the news of the world. It doesn’t go into thorough detail about world news, but it doesn’t need to. It’s a morning recap of what’s happening now.
The ads in the RedEye know me well too. Ads with beer specials and game nights abound making my weekly calendar a breeze to plan. If I want to know when Brody Jenner is coming to Enclave there it is in bold captions easy to find. If I need to know when tryouts are for Coyote Ugly the RedEye will tell me where to be.
In terms of the Chicago Red Eye, I think ‘Big Media’ knows me well enough. The paper offers a range of stories, advice and ideas and it’s up to me the audience to decide what to take and what to leave. By making the paper so accessible my peers are apt to be in the know just as much as I am. The news should be free and this is paper I can relate to.

Cell Phone

It is crack cocaine in the palm of your hand. It is outrageously addictive and readily available. If you do not own one you are no one. These handheld soul suckers are commonly referred to as cell phones.
Black, red, green and blue these handheld devices come in any shape, size and color imaginable. The allure is to have one better than your neighbor. Technology fools the consumer to buy the latest and greatest. If your phone is only a few months old it is time to get a new one: one that can restart your heart if you happen to pass out from over stimulation. It is water in a dry desert and food in a famine. It is your life. Leaving it at home is reason enough to turn back around no matter how far you’ve traveled.
“At the entrance stand the public waits in a long queue in order to witness the accomplishment of the magical operation par excellence:”(Barthes, Roland) the unveiling of the new Iphone. The god of all mobile phones. People will wait in line for the unveiling, often foregoing work and other responsibilities like childcare and school.
Face to face interaction is no longer necessary, and in fact is becoming the norm. Your shiny hand held personal assistant can do everything for you. The pocket genius can figure out your restaurant tip, find your friends gps location, entertain you, take photographs, transfer and wire money, play music, level furniture, simulate reality, gauge speed, countdown days, and inform you of the song and artist currently playing on the latest phone commercial.
It is a status symbol conforming you and the rest of the world. You can pay as you go or invest an arm and a leg to afford one. Even the President of the United States refuses to give up his life link to the outside world, something no other president has held on to. It is that vital to our existence that we can’t let go. And it’s good that we can’t let go. The government can track our precise location, playback incriminating threats, and add on charges to already exuberant phone bills that only a PHD can decipher.
Instead of talking on the phone or writing letters like our forefathers now we can text. Not only can we text fragments and laughter LOL we can see pictures of whom we’re texting. We create symphonic orchestras to inform us of incoming calls and messages. We can create a ring tone that plays loud enough for everyone on the train to hear and we can yell back into the device just as loud. As if the person on the other end were missing a hearing aid battery.
As we can see cell phones are the reigning cool. People young and old can be seen with the device permanently in their hand as if surgically attached. It is our very lifeblood.

Kerri
Sent from my Iphone

If Artists Ran The Media

Imagine watching a horror film and not being able to look away when an unsuspecting victim is about to fall prey to a ruthless killer. You would see images most would prefer not to imagine. In the collective showcase If Artists Ran The Media, it is clear that turning a blind eye on reality is not an option with this group. Sculpture, photography, sketches, paintings and illustrations portray how mass media news manipulates reality and what we get are prefabricated lies. The show should be a reminder to all that news is only what the government wants us to know and is not news at all.
The show suggests that news vehicles all have their own agenda. Million dollar companies and government run agencies are the ones putting the news out there so what we see is only what they want us to see. In one piece the artist loops a video and audio feed showing former President George W. Bush calling on troops to win the war on terrorism and fight for their country. Words and video are recorded over an image of marching soldiers getting killed while words of greed and lies spew from Bushs’ mouth. This piece is a great example of what the core of the show is all about: media manipulation.
Several artists focused on advertising outlets prevalent in mainstream culture. Artist Spencer Ockwells’ watercolors uncover how oblivious we are as a society. A pack of Camel cigarettes mark the Surgeon Generals warning “Contains Carbon Monoxide.” The pack is glossy and appealing and legal even though it contains poisonous chemicals. It actually reads “Camel Cancer-Big, Fat, and Delicious” mocking how incredulous it is that people buy these. His other piece shows mega brand Nike with a workforce of Nike clad robots and a hitleresque dictator reminiscent of a slave workforce. He is cracking the whip for faster production. These pieces are just examples of what lies behind brand recognition and status quo. It is the consumer’s responsibility to know what is really in a product and what goes into making it.
One last example of a work from the show is “Shit on a Wire” depicting that literal image. As a population we don’t think twice about media pollution and it goes across telephone wires and becomes part of our everyday lives. It is this piece and others that highlight how blind we are to atrocities of life.
The underlying message of this show is to not believe what is said or heard on news outlets. It is up to the consumer to uncover the truths behind products and where and how they are created. It is a must see for those tired of media and government corruption. What is being forced upon us consists of lies and biased opinions. We can no longer be numb and brainwashed by companies with dishonest agendas. The show If Artists Ran the Media is running though February 20th in the C33 Gallery at Columbia College Chicago.