Items

• 
  2021-02-20

  Life Frozen, Caught in a Web, Safety Arrested

  It was an August afternoon, the sidewalks I walked were abandoned. I passed this safety light on DePaul University’s campus, which based on the spider web delicately entwined within, had not been touched in some time. A bug is trapped in the middle by a force they couldn’t see, till it was all too late. This bug and I were clearly friends. My life, like theirs, had been frozen in place. Everything I aimed to do, suspended for another time. Helpless to do anything, and worst of all, even seeking safety and refuge in friends and family, made a risk.
• 
  2021-02-18

  Watching My Baby Cousins Grow Up On Zoom

  At the beginning of the pandemic, when everything went into lockdown, my uncle started weekly family Zoom calls on Sunday mornings. Through these weekly calls, we actually saw each other more often than before the pandemic, and they became a nice time to check in with everybody and share stories and what's going on with our lives. My favorite part is seeing my two baby cousins, both of whom don't live near me. When we started, my youngest cousin was four months old, and through Zoom, we have watched her learn to walk and we celebrated her first birthday together. My other baby cousin loves to talk to the family and share her toys, clothes, and food through the screen. It is all very cute, and I am grateful for the family time I get to have through Zoom.
• 
  2020-09-25

  A City Once Busy

  I once used to walk this street on my way to work at a restaurant. I always loved how busy it was, seeing the streets overcrowded with people who had places to be. When I lost my job because of the pandemic in March I had to go home for 7 months. At the beginning I think we all thought that things would have turned around by the time the leaves started to fall. When I came back, I went downtown to visit the restaurant I had once worked at. The restaurant was boarded up still and the streets were mostly empty, and I felt kind of empty too.
• 
  2020-09-01

  Essential Workers

  When I think about this past year, what first comes to mind is my food service job. Then, I think of my coworker Alex. For almost a year we worked together and she ended up being a great friend. At the end of the summer, she quit to find a better-paying job. In this picture, we were goofing off at the end of our shift, cleaning the bathroom and listening to music. It was our last day together and we wanted to end on a good note. Food service has definitely been a challenge during this pandemic, but I’m grateful I got to work with a friend through most of it. I definitely miss her :)
• 
  2021-02

  My Grandmother Watches Over Me

  Beep. Beep. Beep. I open my eyes and stretch. I smack that snooze button. The eagle stars at me. During these Covid-19 days, I’m able to spend time thinking about memories. Eyes close; I see darkness. I walk into my Grandmother’s house. A room has the eagle statue and a large window to see the birds. The eagle stars at me. All of a sudden, I am around family members at my grandmother’s memorial service. Beep. Beep. Beep. I open my eyes and stretch. I smack that dismiss button. The Eagle stars at me. My Grandmother is watching over me.
• 2021-02-09

  Puzzling Pandemic Pandemonium

  A freshly opened, hardly touched puzzle. In a time where there’s nothing, and yet too much going on, I clear my head by putting together an image I connect with, and the exuberance of finding pieces I’ve lost at my feet. COVID-19 brought numbing boredom to a new height, along with finding new ways to challenge myself and my family members. March of 2020 brought the first puzzle, and it’s been a fluctuating number both of pieces and images that include big cities and paintings ever since. I’m piecing my world back together one jigsaw at a time.
• 
  2021-02-16

  Creatives Meet in The Cloud

  During a pandemic, creatives continued to collaborate online through the platform Zoom. In this picture, Jackson Scoggins, William Way, and I (Spencer Bolding) meet and discuss the beginnings of Jackson’s new magazine about a local record label. We spent our first semester interviewing key characters in the creation of Dolfin Records over Zoom, often having to explain the mechanics to those new to the program. After a series of recorded interviews, we put together an in-depth timeline of the beginning of Dolfin Records that will go into our first issue. Creatives will always find a way to create. #HST269 #zoom #localmusic #Dallas #Dolfin #zine #DIY #musicians #art #deepellum #pandemic #creative
• 
  2020-06

  Dear Anti-Maskers

  One common sight to behold during the pandemic was the signs posted within business’ storefront windows mandating masks to be worn to slow the spread of the coronavirus. In early June 2020 as the city of Chicago entered their Phase 3, which allowed for local businesses to reopen, some store owners used creative messages such as this one to enforce required mask mandates. The sign above, which I noticed on the Chicago Bagel Authority’s Belmont location—six miles north of the Chicago Loop—is a symbol of the city’s efforts to mask up, specifically targeting groups known as “anti-maskers.”
• 
  2020-02-18

  Green Mill Once Again, in Winter

  An image of this bar front was shared on this archive almost a year ago, on March 31, 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic: https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/11917. On February 10, 2021, I passed by this bar on my way home from an errand and remembered it being shared on this archive. It looks different now, so I wanted to document it. Aside from the weather depicting a more solemn image, the next noticeable difference is in the fact that in this posting, the bar's front window is boarded up, with a most likely spray-painted tag in green ink. The boarding up is most likely a remnant from 2020's late spring/early summer protests that took place around the country in response to racial violence, which was kickstarted by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN. In addition, Green Mill also has posted a flyer in the circular window of their front door. In March 2020, the pandemic was still so new that many didn't know what to do besides close their doors for the time being. Now, in 2021, with more understanding of COVID-19's severity, many businesses have some sort of signage indicating that they are closed and encouraging readers to follow the social distancing guidelines set forth by local, state, and/or federal governments. This is most likely the sign posted in window. Hopefully, in another year's time, we'll get to see Green Mill open and lively with the sounds of jazz music, the coronavirus pandemic only a memory of the recent past.
• 2021-02-18

  My Keys to a Year in Isolation

  Starting on March 9, one university email followed another; the rapidly spreading pandemic meant that campus residents like me had to immediately find new housing. Unhappy and depressed with my dorm, I was actually glad at this chance to move. As soon as March 11th, I was already searching for a new place to live. Though I was relieved, I basically had to abandon my end-of-term schoolwork to secure an apartment. This came with consequences and I ended up taking three incomplete grades. I signed a lease on March 21, 2020. A year later, COVID-19 continued to spread and I recently renewed my lease. From top, these are my mailbox, unit, and building keys to my ~220 sq. ft. Chicago studio.
• 
  2020-11-05

  Echoing Empty Galleries

  This photo, taken at the Detroit Institute of Art, is a glimpse of the drastically different pandemic-era museum experience. Upon entrance to the museum, guests are masked, tickets are bought online, temperatures are checked, and then one can wander the silent, empty galleries. Diego Rivera’s monumental Detroit Industry Murals are even more awe-inspiring when drifting around the cavernous hall distraction-free, with only sentinel machines keeping one company. Presently, Rivera’s personal history of political conflict and pandemic-related loss ring especially true. Although museum visits have adapted, one can still experience a powerful connection to art, in a new, maybe even improved way.
• 
  2020-04-30

  Won't You Be My Stranger

  Before Covid-19 descended upon Chicago, Ukrainian Village was a neighborhood of friends and acquaintances. The threat of illness has suspended neighborly activities. The neighbor whose door this belongs to has a beagle named Molly I used to pet on her walks. Now Molly and I keep our distance, lest her owner or I get sick. It’s demoralizing not to be able to trust people, not because of any personal shortcoming, but because of the potential that one of our health be jeopardized. The status friend and acquaintance has been supplanted by temporary stranger.