Congratulations to Andrea Steves on the successful completion of her Public Collectors Joong Boo Residency!
Andrea is one half of the group Fictilis, based in Oakland, California. Fictilis organized the much-discussed and debated Museum of Capitalism exhibition that is currently on view in Oakland, and includes the work of Temporary Services (the group I'm a member of with Brett Bloom).
I first met Andrea and her collaborator Timothy Furstnau in San Francisco several years ago when Temporary Services showed our publications at The Lab. Andrea and Tim were volunteering there and we became fast friends. Several years later, they invited Temporary Services to be part of their ambitious new museum project and we excitedly agreed.
Andrea is in town this weekend for a conference and I was glad that she could sneak away long enough for a residency. She requested that we make a visit to Swap-O-Rama (a massive flea market in Chicago's Back of the Yards neighborhood) so our day began with a scenic drive south down Kedzie Avenue until we eventually wound our way over to Swap.
Swap-O-Rama has been described by one Yelp reviewer as "Capitalism's cold rock bottom" so it felt a little extra necessary for an organizer of the Museum of Capitalism to see this. From my perspective, this was not the most interesting trip to Swap, in that I didn't find anything super exciting except one sweet cheese pastry. Still, the market was bustling and all of its usual features were in evidence, from the people selling cans of "Oops" paint, to the many repackaged electronic items that looked to have been rescued from Best Buy dumpsters. There were also many of the typical vendors that were selling barely unpacked boxes pulled from storage unit auctions. I had assured Andrea that she might be able to have her photo taken atop a Mini Pony but there was no Mini Pony. That's probably a good thing from the Mini Pony's perspective.
We did see some of the also promised pirated merchandise that Swap is reliable for. I was hoping for the "Sharkie" brand knock off Sharpie markers that I bought there once. We couldn't find those, but we did find a different type of fake Sharpie. We also found really bad bootleg Teletubbies jigsaw puzzles and Andrea picked up one of those.
After a couple hours of baking in the sun, looking at thousands of objects and touring the claustrophobic indoor section of Swap, we headed back north to Joong Boo Market. The parking lot was chaotic as usual but the Snack Stand was surprisingly reasonable. We both ordered the Sashimi Salad (a favorite selection of many residents - probably because I recommend it so strongly) and it was extra good today with more fresh fish bites than usual.
Our conversation spread out over the course of about four hours from the time we got into the car to the time we left Joong Boo. We talked about the reception the Museum of Capitalism has been getting, we talked a lot about making books and collaborating with designers and publishers, we talked about the rapidly changing housing situations in Chicago and Oakland, and of course we talked about food. You can't have a Joong Boo Residency and not discuss food. Andrea also asked me about the whole Whitney Biennial experience (Public Collectors was included in the 2014 iteration of that show) so I told her all about that. I still have a ton of great feelings about that experience and project so I'm always happy to discuss it.
After finishing all of our food, we took a very fast look at the rest of the market but honestly, after Swap, it's kind of hard to look at much else. Our eyeballs were full! Andrea got a couple food items for later and I grabbed a can of ice coffee and some Matcha flavored Kit Kats (yes, this is a thing), and we headed off.
This was actually the 25th Joong Boo Residency since I started doing this back in August of 2016. As I continue to host residents, I'm increasingly enjoying these expanded versions that include other activities in addition to lunch. These residencies take longer, but it's a little more interesting for me, the conversations are longer, and hopefully the experience is a bit richer for the resident too. There is one more residency slot open for July, and one more open for August so feel free to apply if you DO NOT live in Chicago, or recommend that someone else apply. More details here.