WINTER VACATION IN CHICAGO – CTA FUN | 2005
About This Project
An individually designed project, an ephemeral action in public space, the production of an image using the diversion/appropriation method [detournement], printed in sticker-graffiti, put to numerous metro stations in Chicago.
Key words and concepts: resistance tactics, humorous protest, inverted image, diversion-appropriation, paradisiacal environments, urban space, kitsch, mark left behind
“Why should you have vacation at the Caribbean or at the Mediterranean? In Chicago you have vacation within the city’s environment, and as cheap as a Chicago CTA ticket PLUS free tanning.”
“Winter Vacation in Chicago” is a hit and run, short-timed based project, reduced to tactics of everyday living in a metropolitan area. Tourism, ads and civic problems meet in it as it confines a presentation of a tactical and humorous protest. It is a diverted connection, made from paradisiacal, artificial, imagery environments to actual-living/city-functional places. The ad-like image design, derive from my intention to imitate kitsch style tourist posters.
The idea behind the action came to my mind when the CTA (City Transportation Authority) of Chicago, decided to make cuts in the budget of the public transportation system. For those who have not been in Chicago some very basic information to understand the project is the specific heating system in open-air train stations. As the pictures imply, heating emitters are installed in small booths. There is a manual function button in each of these booths for the lamps, with the prescription “Active from November 1st to March 31st”. I experienced closely the problematic of Chicago public transportation, while for instance, the maintenance of the cheap fee for the ticket is getting hard, stations in poor neighborhoods at the south part of the city are closing down, and more. At the same time it seems that the city has spent big amounts of its budget to make the center of the city attractive to tourists and businessmen. Millennium Park, the maintenance of the Downtown district, and the French gardens, are some of the examples.
Dealing with issues of tourism -coming from an original tourist country Greece- with open and public space, as well as with text, images, and advertisements, something flashed into my mind: paradisiacal situations in which girls in bathing suits enjoy the sun on the beach, in artificial summer-like environments. I had to confront pseudo-stereotypes dealing with a civic problem, and make a sort of a protest-statement.
We performed the act, while the temperature outdoors was 25 degrees Fahrenheit -around 0 Celsius- and it was late March. Making a joke I “renamed” to my mind the heating lamps to tanning lamps, wondering how people would stay warm waiting for the train after the 31st of March, and why the city seemed to ignore basic rendering of social services.
The whole action didn’t last more than 15 minutes. It was meant to last as long as it takes to a train to pass. I intended to interact with other passengers, but the video camera is a barking dog for similar public actions. Most of them avoided to join us, or share the space. As we saw a bit later, the CTA security called the police, as soon as the video camera was installed. Unfortunately, we were already dressed. There is a strict policy for actions in public space in the US. I was not afraid of being busted but for the fee I would be charged. Most of my colleagues and I had some fun.
Assistance: Rebecca Ratzlaff (performance), Ryan Lieu (camera). 30.3.2005
Date
March 1, 2005