The Watergate Scandal

For the Found Art Project, my group chose to cover the infamous Watergate scandal. We found this topic to be intriguing because it is an important part of American History in that it is the only time a president has resigned, and also because we found this topic interesting.

When we chose the specific pieces of found art for this project, we wanted the items to either be directly related to the topic(i.e. a tape recorder and tapes) or to be indirectly related to the topic via some sort of symbolism(i.e. a magnifying glass to represent investigation). In the end, we had many different pieces of found art, and in fact, more than we could fit on our boxes.

When allocating our found art pieces, we found that the majority of them could be found right in our own houses. I personally found five pieces of relevant found art just searching through my garage. When there was anything we couldn't find at our own houses, we were able to secure it at relatives' houses too. The only problem was that it was sometimes hard to find some of the more uncommon pieces of found art we needed(such as lockpicking tools).

If I could do something differently with my Found Art Project, I would have tried to find more found art earlier because our group had to rush a little bit during the last week of the project to ensure that we had an abundant supply of found art pieces.

If I could give advice to the next group of students to do the Found Art Project, I would advise them to A) pick at topic that interests them and is not too ambiguous or unknown and B) make sure the final product is visually appealing and can relate to the chosen topic.

We are trying to be a tolerant America. [Blog #4]

1- The theme of our "we are..." project was the gay rights movement of the given time period. We focused mostly on Harvey Milk and his story, along with Dan White, Anita Bryant, Mayor George Moscone, and Senator John Briggs. We also focused on three major events; the Briggs initiative, the killings of Moscone and Milk, and Milk's election.
2- The items we chose mostly represented the feelings of the pro-gay community. They included slogans such as "Keep Hope Alive". These items give off an impression of what the urgency of the matter was in the time.
3- To obtain the items, we went up to San Francisco in the Haight and Ashbury and going to Castro Street areas. The support in those areas was overwhelming and helped us succeed the project in a much better fashion.
4- If I could do anything differently, I would have wanted to spend more time in San Francisco getting the objects. If we had spent more time there, we could have maybe been able to find a bigger spectrum of objects.
5- As advice to other classes doing this project, I would tell them to really enjoy what they are doing and to delve into the subject as much as possible and immerse themselves into it. If they focus well on the project with a clear theme and calendar, it would be very fast project to complete.

Emily B.

Found Art Project: AIDS

For the found art project my group decided to do AIDS and AIDS awareness as our theme.  We wanted to show the fight against discrimination and awareness for the disease.  To demonstrate this theme we used different medical paraphernalia like condoms and pill boxes to show ways of prevention and to illustrate the treatment given to AIDS patients.  We also obtained a couple of movies which had a central theme of AIDS to show public education and information shown to the public to increase awareness.  To obtain these items we asked our parents for any suggestions or ideas on items.  Also, we looked around our house searching for different movies and items that would demonstrate the struggle of AIDS patients.  I would probably plan out the box layout better so I wouldn't be so stressed out the day of assembling the box.  Some advice I would give for next years history class is to make sure you have an abundance of items before committing to a theme.  If you don't have enough items it will cause a lot more unnecessary stress.

-Katie

Watergate Scandal

My project is Watergate: Burglary, Scandal, and LIES!!! Our project is about the Watergate scandal and the people who are involved.
We had a lot of pictures and quotes of the event, a wrench (which is a plumbing tool), a phone, and a cassette tape. The plumbing tool represents the plumbers, which is the name of the burglars. The phone represents Deep Throat, which is an informer who released information to the press. Finally, the cassette tape represents all the incriminating records of the event.
The objects are common household items, except for the fact that they are old. They were found with other stuff that we don’t use anymore.
If I were to do this again, I would’ve done another topic. Watergate doesn’t cover a long period of time. I would rather do something that’s like the evolution of some technology over time.
My advice for people who will do this next year is that they should start early. Also, they should decide on a topic that’s interesting to them.

Bonan

Found Art Project - Watergate

Our group's project focused on the Watergate scandal and those involved. Some of the more famous people included President Nixon, Woodward and Bernstein, John Dean, the "plumbers", and Deep Throat.

Our items included a telephone, wrench, cassette tape, pictures, and quotes. The telephone is used to represent the conversations between Deep Throat (the informant) and Woodward (Washington Post). The phone can also be used for the phone calls done by the president with his staff. The wrench signifies the "plumbers" who broke into the Watergate complex to plant listening devices for spying on the Democratic party. The cassette tape represents the recorded conversations Nixon had in the Oval Office that revealed his part in the scandal, and his vigorous effort to keep them away from the public. Pieces of tape are cut off and strewn over the box we used to show the parts of the tape that were edited out, most likely by President Nixon. The pictures and quotes show people who had a major impact on the scandal or who made lasting remarks about Nixon's actions.

The telephone we used came from my own house (one we weren't using anymore). The wrench also came from my house, while the tape came from Bonan. The pieces of tape placed over the box came from a tape I brought. Both Bonan and I brought pictures, quotes, and articles related to Watergate.

If I were to do this project again, I would have tried to get more color or actual items to put on the box.

Advice I would give to next year's class is to not slack off and choose a topic interesting to that group.

-Andrew Hwang

Blog #4: Found Art project

The project assigned was to make a "podium" with objects and writing explaining your theme. Our theme was Gay Rights in the 1970's. We included information and pictures of Harvey Milk, Moscone, and the people that were against it like Anita Bryan and Dan White. We picked items like stickers, rainbows, peace signs, and hearts. Basically the 70's was freedom and hippies, so it seemed appropriate to put happy thoughts on to it. The stickers say things like "Keep your laws off my body" and "Keep hope alive". We also included a patch with the Gay flag on it. There are also lots of quotes that explain the situation in the 70's.

We figured the best place to get the items we wanted was to go to Haight Street and Castro Street in San Francisco. Castro street was a historical place for gay supporters. Now a days they sell great items for what we needed. 

I think we did a good job, but if I hate to do something different I would have spent more time in Castro! Also to have painted the box because there are some areas that show the cardboard. But asside from that, everything is just the way we wanted it to be.

The advice that I would give is follow all the milestones for the total credit. Do things early so you're not left with lots of things to do in little time. Also, make sure that the whole group works together and its not every man for himself or only one person working. 

Found Art Project

I did my found art project on the evolution of women's rights. I wanted to show how women have gained more rights in the United States from the 1970's to the 1990's.

My group decided to use real artifacts to make the viewer feel like they were in that time period and facing the same struggles of women in the 1970's-1990's. We used a lot of quotations to show how women felt and pictures of women who were influential to the women's rights movement. One item we used was a point shoe to show that women were given the right to play sports because of Title IX. We also used covers of CD's and movies to show that women gained their rights to be a part of the entertainment industry.

We got our items by equally assigning the items we wanted to use to every member of our group. We used household items and quotations and pictures from the internet.

If I were to do this project again, I would have brought more three-dimensional items to make our project more interesting. Other than that, I would not have done anything else differently.

To next year's class, I would reccomend that they start in advance and make sure that everyone is on the same page about the project. I would also reccommend that the group meetings held outside of class included everyone in the group so that the work can get done faster. I really enjoyed this project, and I think it is a good substitute for a final exam.

We are... Aware of Aids

For our Found Art project, my group chose the topic of Aids. We chose this topic because it is an extremely important issue- worldwide, and we wanted to learn a little bit more about it. In America alone, Aids has taken the lives of tens of thousands of people. Our items varied from medical equipment to movies, to informational posters. The medical equipment was used to represent how Aids has become a huge health issue here in America. We used a pill box, a stethoscope, and gloves. One of our informational posters was a poster from the era that targets women telling them not to sleep with a man who shoots up. The poster provides information about how he can give you and your baby aids. We also put red ribbons on our box because the red ribbon, similar to the pink ribbon for breast cancer, is a symbol for the fight against aids. To obtain our items, we looked around the house and used the internet for information and pictures. We also asked our parents for items and information. I think our group did the best we could so I would not do anything differently. We did all our work on time and we found some really great items. Also, I am very happy with how our project turned out. The advice i would give to next years students would be to pick a topic that interests you, and that you know you can find a lot of items and information for. If you pick a topic that bores you, the project wont be very much fun.

By Jennah

Blog #4: Final Project

1]The theme my group and I did for our "We are..." final project was the Gay Rights movement, mostly in the 1970's. We mostly focused on San Francisco, which is still known today for it's overwhelming history of gay pride and support.

2]For our found items that we used on our projects, we had pictures of riots, significant people, rainbow flags and peace signs, support bracelets, and other items that signified the unity of the gay America. We picked three bumper stickers the read, "Keep hope alive", "Keep Your Laws off my Body", and "Equality." These were all part of the small culture that San Franciscans in these areas live with and understand.

3]We obtained these items by going up to Haight and Ashbury, and Castro street in San Francisco. We also found items in each of our three houses that we could use to display the meaning of our project. The three of us took a Saturday to go up to the city and find our "found art." We went into all the small stores and found items that represented gay rights.

4] If i had to do something differently, i probably would have spent more time on Castro street. We didn't have time to stay for a long time, so if i had stayed i possibly could have found some more found art items. Overall though, i think the project went really well, and there isn't anything else i would change.

5] My advice to next years class is to definetly think of ideas and artistic ways to represent your theme, before the day it's time to put it together. The outline is important, and actually put effort into it. Also, follow theschedule, you don't want to miss little points just by forgetting a really small milestone.


Zoe Rose

Technology

We chose technology during 1970-1990. We made this decision because technology is major part of the lives of all Americans. Americans use various forms of it, and each decade it improves exponentially. As we approach the present time, technology is increasingly important to society.
For items, we chose different sorts of technology. We had toy cars to represent the vehicular advances in that time. We have pictures of the first computers and other influential devices to show the beginning of the computer age. We have some gameboy games, because although originally made in japan, video games heavy influenced the American market. We added an Indiana Jones Movie Box to show effects used in movies. To decorate the box, we covering some of the boxes with aluminum foil to make it look like metal and put many floppy disks on the top to show one of the leading forms of media storage. We added many light bulbs to our project to represent the ideas that created all technology.
We acquired many of our objects in our history class magnanimously from Ms. Sanderson. The rest we got from our old homes from old technology we had laying around the house. I brought the gameboy games and several other objects. I feel we achieved the perfect amount of items.
If I could, I would plan ahead and get objects earlier. While we got what we needed on time, it was stressful in the last leg of the project. On the assembling day we only had one box and we had to scavenge for the last two. Planning ahead would give us more time to perfect our project.
For next year's class, I suggest they enjoy it and have fun with it. Chose a theme that interests you and do your best. Never give up and don't do a difficult theme.

Found Art Project: Technology

1) Our theme was the advancement of technology from 1970-1990. This included advancements in automobiles, computers, the internet, and multimedia. We looked at various inventions created through this era and studied how they affected American society and science.  We tried to show how such inventions status's changed over time and how they affected the American life.

2) We chose our items to complement the different sources of technology: automobiles, computers, multimedia, and the internet. We chose VHS tapes, floppy disks, certain quotes, and toy cars to convey the image of such advancements. The VHS tapes showed advancements in multimedia as the American people quickly made it a popular and crucial part of their lives. The floppy disks showed advancements in computers as they allowed for a convenient way to transfer data between computers. The toy cars represented advancements of the automobiles, which were became seen in every house because of the freedom and enjoyment that it gave to the American people.

3) We obtained some of these items through our benevolent teacher, Ms. Sanderson. She provided these items by passing around a box throughout class. We also found art from our homes, parents, and other sources. 

4) If I could do this project again, I would give more focus on how our items affected the American Society. I would also add more variety in my box items. I would also do the outlines and other turned in paperwork with excellent quality the first time so I would not need to resubmit work.

5) To next year's class, I would advise them to gather found art early and map out exactly what the project would look like. I would also advise to bring more construction supplies for the box so that you would be able to finish on time.

-Zack 

Technology

Theme: Technology
Group: Jonathan Anker, Erik Contreras, Zack Wu, and Michael B. Chun

Our theme is the development and influence of technological advancements in America during the 1970’s and 1980’s. We explored the various inventions created throughout this time period and how they affected American society and science. We tried to convey the growing and ever-changing status of American technology and how it affected American lives.

The items we collected came from various sources of technology; multimedia, computers, Internet, and automobiles. For example, we have on our box VHS tapes, floppy disks, and even toy cars to represent all aspects of our theme. The VHS tape comes from the media aspect; they became a major part of the American lifestyle, and were the most quickly adopted piece of technology in history. The floppy disks revolutionized computers, as they provided new, convenient ways to transfer data through removable data storage devices. The toy cars are used to represent the automobiles of the 1970’s; during this time period, many new models were released and pushed forward the development of mainstream vehicles.

Our main source of our archaic items was our charitable teacher, Ms. Sanderson. She periodically passed around a box throughout the class with various items from the 1970’s and 1980’s, and we picked out the relevant items for our theme. We also found supplies from home; our parents and grandparents still had some devices from that time period, and we were able to “borrow” them for this project. Most of our items were easy to find, but we struggled mainly with thinking of items to represent automobiles. In the end though, we collected enough.

If I could do one thing differently on this project, I would prepare our resources and documents earlier for proofreading. I would especially double-check our outline and refocus more on American influence on the first time around, and not have to redo it.

To next year’s class, I would suggest bringing your own supplies to the assembly day and to not procrastinate in general. I found that many people were fighting over tape and scissors on assembly day, and having your own supplies would relieve a lot of the stress. Also I noticed that some groups only found their found art the day or two before. There is ample time to find items, so use it! You only need a minimum of 10 items and there are two whole weeks, so finding items gradually is a lot easier and a lot less stressful.
~M.B.C.

We are... Connected Through Music

The theme for my Found Art project was music of the the 1970's-1990's. We choose this as our theme to show how music was influenced during that time period by what was going on throughout the country. We chose items that we felt represented our theme and showed how meaningful music can be, like quotes from popular artists and lyrics from some of the most influential songs. We also included old record covers, CD albums, and newspaper articles to represent how well known these artists were and the pictures associated with their influences. Obtaining our articles was probably the hardest part of this project, but we managed to get them through the internet and searching through our houses and our parents old music collections. If I were to re-do this project I probably would try to find more items that represent our bands besides just albums and quotes, but things like posters and T-shirts that were popular during that time period. For next years class doing this project my advice would be to start looking for items early on so you'll be more likely to have some great/rare finds.

-Mina

Technology

When completing this project depicting the advancements of technology in the United States from 1970-1990 we compiled a large amount of items to visually show these advancements on our final project. In this project, we used a ubiquitous amount of model cars to show the advancements of technology in the automotive industry. We also, used old computer parts including wiring, floppies and light bulbs to symbolizes the rise of computers and the silicon valley. Other objects, such as VHS tapes and cell phones complete the technology spectrum of 1970-1990.

Our primary means on aquiring this found art was finding these objects in the confines of our homes. The other way we got our found-art was from the generous donations we received in class such as the VHS tape and floppy discs.

If I would have done this project again, I would come more prepared with our found art items and quotes. Although we did finish the project on time, it was quite stressful when assembling it. Other than that, our group preformed very well when completing this project.

Advice I would give next years class is to plan ahead on their project and know where to look when finding found-art. It saves a lot of time when you know where to look. When working on this project, one should think of it as a scavenger hunt when finding found art and enjoy this project.

-ERIK CONTRERAS

Final Project-Rock Music (mark voll)

Our theme for the found art project was rock music. We wanted to show how it was influenced by the happenings of the era. To show this we chose artists that's lyrics related to the time period. We also found articles and quotes that showed the artists opinions on current events. We scavenged items from our house such as records and cd's, and used the internet to get articles, lyrics, and quotes. 

The one thing we should have done differently was to match the articles, lyrics, and quotes of the artists with the actual records that we had. That way we wouldn't have a bunch of random stuff but stuff that went together. My advice for next years class would be to make sure that your group is organized well in advance of the deadline. Communication was probably our biggest problem.

Found Art Project

For the found art project, my group chose to use AIDS as a central theme. We wanted to show how the epidemic impacted culture during that time and what it was about.We felt this was an important topic because it is still something present in our lives today world wide. Our group explored the different aspects of pop culture that was affected such as movies, shows, plays, celebrities, etc and also looked in to medical aspects of AIDS. The items we used were chosen based on what we had at home and what we could easily find. Most of the items related to either the medical side of the epidemic, or the culture side of it and how it was grasping peoples attention and making them more aware. For example, we chose to use a pill box as one of our objects, because people with AIDS have a very complicated schedule for the medications they have to take so we believed this was the best way to represent that. A lot of our other objects were movie covers that had AIDS as a central theme, however since we did not have the actual movies we used pictures to cover actual VHS boxes. We obtained these items from home, friends and the internet. We had to parents and family members for certain objects, or make them somehow.
If I were to do this project again, I would start gathering items much earlier, and I would take more time to think about what items I already own at home that would fit a certain theme before actually choosing it because getting the items together was most difficult for our group. For incoming students that will do this project, my advice would be to make sure you are ready for each deadline and you have everything planned out. Delegate jobs or certain objects for each person to stay organized and start looking for the objects right away. Also, make sure you work well with the people you are with and that everyone will pull their weight, and have fun with it! Good luck!

We Are Aware of AIDS

We chose the evolution of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and the way it affected American life for our project. This was because it is a topic that the textbook does not cover in depth, and one that we felt is important. It is not some movement that happened in the Seventies or Eighties and has since died out, but rather it has become a global problem that we still face today. We chose the items we did because we could get our hands on them, and because they all relate to AIDS somehow. Most concern the treatment and spread of the disease, and as such it is medical tools and such. We found our items by scrounging around the house and asking our parents what kind of things we had that could possibly relate to AIDS, which actually worked pretty well. However, all of our movies were printed from the Internet, because it seems that nobody keeps their old VHS tapes anymore. As to what we would do differently, it would definitely be to start looking for the items earlier. The deadline creeps up on you. For next year's class, I would advise that they be prepared for the deadlines.

Rock Music of the 70's and 80's

Rock Music of the 70's and 80's

Our theme for the "We Are..." project is rock music of the time period and how singers and songwriters were greatly influenced by certain events during and leading up to those years. The chaotic evens of the 60's, including war and social change, continued in the 70's and were a major influence for rock music. Trends that were present during this time include a growing disillusionment of government, advances in civil rights, increased influence of the women's movement, and heightened concern for the environment. These trends gained a wider acceptance in the 70's and were mainstreamed in culture and life in America. Events such as the Vietnam war and African American rights and rebellion against the government greatly inspired songwriters to reach out to the public through lyrics. In the 70's and the 80's, we see more and more songs with anti-war lyrics and lyrics about civil rights and dreams for widespread acceptance throughout the country.

In terms of choosing our items for the project, we first did some research about rock groups and artists in the 70's and 80's. We created a list of various bands whose music reflected emotions about events during and just before the time period. After choosing the bands we wanted to focus on, we looked for records and albums of the bands. We chose a record for Aerosmith that includes the song "Dream On," and we also printed the lyrics for that song because it shows a significant mind-set that many people had during the time: readiness for change and a closer community. We also chose the record by The Eagles with the song "Hotel California," because the song demonstrates the kind of newfound security that Americans felt in the state of California, and the idea that social change was occuring and allowing people to feel safe in their country. We also chose some other lyrics including those for the song "Born in the USA," by Bruce Springsteen, and "Masters of War," by Bob Dylan. These two songs were influenced by the Vietnam war and the anti-war attitudes of many citizens. "Born in the USA" also touches on the undesirable ways that Americans treated war veterans returning from the Vietnam war. Another set of lyrics we used was "Cult of Personality," by Living Colour, because it criticizes the propoganda of the government and our leaders and other famous leaders in the past. For our other items we chose some more records and albums including that of Van Halen, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. We chose some articles about the bands as well because they described the bands' feelings and accomplishes during their active years. Lastly, we included the picture of the movie Almost Famous because it is about an American band from the 70's and it tells the story of struggles and emotions of growing artists. We also had a couple of quotes from some of the bands we talked about as well as an article about Michael Jackson and his hit, "Thriller," because he, too, was a major part of changing the boundaries of music and rock during the 70's and 80's.

All of our art was found in our houses or on the computer besides the article about Michael Jackson that Mrs. Sanderson gave to us.

Differently, I would gather more gadgets and fun items to decorate the box, such as mini guitars or colorful cds or something to make it more interesting. We only used objects that were closely related to our theme, and didn't include any fun decorations.

My advice for next year's class is to find a topic that is interesting to you because it's a really fun project and it is cool to see how so many things around the house are actual "art" items from thirty to forty years ago.

Watergate Scandal

Watergate happened for several reasons. The primary reason was probably the personality of Nixon and of the men he chose to surround himself with. They were all fiercely loyal, and likeminded in the respect that they all had a desire for secrecy and for consolidation of power. They also developed the sense that they were above the law, which started their cover-up actions, beginning the entire Watergate scandal. A group of people, headed by members connected to Nixon, attempted a burglary at the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) headquarters located in the Watergate complex. When some investigation leads to high-up members of Nixon's staff and possibly himself, he begins firing people. After finding out that Nixon taped all his Oval Office conversations, the group prosecuting Nixon attempted to get them. Nixon kept firing people that tried to get them, only to replace them with equally determined people. He finally released edited versions of the tape, but the House determined enough evidence was already held against him to impeach him on charges of obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress. Nixon resigned before they could impeach him.
We used a lot of items to represent the happenings of the Watergate Scandal. On one side of the box, the break-in side, we had items such as hammers, flashlights, wires, wrench-type things, locks, and other break-in related objects. On the next side, we had items relating to the attempted cover-up by Nixon and his administration. Bundles of money represented how Nixon tried to keep the burglars silent in the court. Also, photographs and articles by Woodward and Bernstein, two newspaper journalists who were intent on digging to the bottom of this story. The next side had tapes, which obviously represent the tapes that Nixon used to record his white house conversations. Finally, we had a printed copy of Nixon's resignation letter as the final event in the scandal.
We obtained many of the pictures and newspaper articles from the internet. The rest of the physical found art was scavenged in our houses from old toys and toolboxes.
If we could repeat this again, I would try to assemble the box BEFORE the day before it is going to be presented to the class. I felt that we were partially prepared to put the items together on the box, and I know that for me at least once I saw the almost completed project I kept thinking of new things that I wanted to add.
Therefore, my advice to the incoming class is to build their project before the last day, so that more can be added before the due date resulting in a better looking, better-prepared project overall.

We Are...The Evolution of Women

My group chose to create a box illustrating the evolution of women and their rights through the ages. Women have played a huge role in our world, but they are rarely recognized as heroic figures. So, we felt it was appropriate to stress the importance of the roles women have played.

We involved many factors that were extremely important to this theme. We used items pertaining to the feminist movement as well as specific rights such as abortion laws and Title IX. Some examples include a coat hanger to resemble abortion rights, because women used to be forced to self-abort their babies with coat hangers; we also used a rocket ship, which represented the first women in space, Sally Ride. Other items we used were sports equipment such as a soccer ball and basketball to show the importance of women involvement in sports.

To decide which items would be most fitting for our project, we brainstormed for a few days. We established items that first were around the house, because these were most easily accessible. Then, we were able to ask neighbors or friends for various items as well. All the tangible items we used are found in common places and did not cost our group any money.

There really is nothing I would do differently. My group did a fantastic job putting the items together, and tying in each element. Also, our brainstorming and teamwork was impecable.

The most important piece of advice I would give to classes that would do this project next year is to always be on time with layouts and item gathering. Falling behind during this project would be extrememely stressful and it is important to have all or most items the day that Ms. Sanderson allows an entire period for work. If your efficient enough, there is little work at home besides gathering the items. Also, good luck!

-Shelly

Evolution of the Fast Food Industry

Group members: Brandon Cheung, Victor Zhu, Tiffany Chen, Jay Dubashi

For our final project, we researched the evolution of the fast food industry and how it was popularized through American and eventually offshored to other countries throughout the 1970s and 80s, up to 1990. We investigated three different fast food chains and how each of them rose to prosperity and evolves over time to appeal to various customers, from little children to adults.

We chose three main sets of items:

-a hamburger filled with a timeline, old ads, and photographs of old restaurants

-maps that show the store locations worldwide comparing the 1970 locations to the 1990 locations

-various slogans used throughout the 1970s and 80s to attract a wide group of customers

These items not only give good depth and spread over the information that they present, but they also compliment each other and walk hand in hand with the theme. The hamburgers give technical facts and show past restaurants and ads, displaying which groups the restaurants appealed to (mostly adults) and allowing for comparison to today’s main focus of ads (children). It also directly states the evolution of the fast food industries, including where and when they went, and what was added to the menus. The slogans, on the flip side, also supplement by showing the changing perspective of advertisements these restaurants underwent, showing how they slowly moved from the primary consumer of an adult to that of younger individuals. Their slogans expressed both tasty food and speed, but where some went for convenience to appeal for adults (We do it for you, McDonald’s), others went for the “fun” approach for kids (a barrel of chicken, a barrel of fun, KFC)

The source of these found art items was mostly through the internet. Some items, such as the maps and ads, were pulled from the websites. Others, like the timelines and slogans were pulled from local restaurants which sported their chain’s past and present, giving us an idea of the evolution of both food and advertisement.

If I were to redo this project, I would probably start earlier and work for a bigger box, one that more closely resembles a happy meal. I would also try for physical found art items, such as KFC buckets or Wendy’s and McDonald’s wrappers that could be used as additional decorations.

Next year’s students should research something they’re interested in! One of the biggest advantages in doing this topic was that we were curious about the origins of fast food and to see how they really became the dominant American food in less than 40 years. Curiosity spurred motivation, allowing us to get the project done effectively and put our best foot forward.

Final Project: "We are McLovin' the Evolving Fast Food Industry"

Topic: Growth of the Fast Food Industry (1970-1990)
Group members: Victor Zhu, Tiffany Chen, Brandon Cheung, Jay Dubashi

The theme for our final project is the evolution of the fast food industry over the span of two decades, 1970-1990. These years were critical in the development of this industry due to revolutionary technology, novel social ideals, and the increased influence of the media. To track the evolution, we researched the top three fast food restaurants: McDonalds, Wendy's, and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). My group investigated the gradual changes in advertising techniques, popularity, and food products. We chose to research the fast food industry since now, more than ever, Americans are influenced by this business.

Our project was made using cardboard boxes, which we cut into an assortment of trapezoids and squares. Then, we taped them together using duct tape, known for its durability and support, into a McDonald's box-like figure. After painting it, the box looked similar to the figure shown below.


Additionally, we collected old toys and maps of fast food locations as decoration. Furthermore, we created "hamburgers", made out of cardboard, and plastered information onto them (timelines, pictures, slogans, etc.).

To obtain all the items, we used various sources. We looked through old collections of toys from these fastfood chains to find appropriate action figures. The website was also invaluable. From there, we printed many pictures representing the fast food industries. The supplies (cardboard, duct tape) were bought from Michael's.

I would not do anything differently. I feel that my group did a fantastic job and did the best that we could!

Some advice that I would give to next year's class is to do something you are passionate about. Do not pick a topic just because it is easy. Pick it because you want to truly learn more about it and share your new knowledge with your peers. This makes the entire project so much more enjoyable, and enthusiasm goes a long way!

Final Project: The Fast Food Industry

Topic: Growth of the Fast Food Industry (1970-1990)
Group members: Tiffany Chen, Brandon Cheung, Jay Dubashi, and Victor Zhu.

Our theme was the development and growth of the fast food industry. We gathered information on three fast food chains: Wendy's, McDonald's, and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). We researched their development from the 1970's to the 1990's (such as mascots and food products), advertising methods, and their growth in terms of number of locations throughout the years. We chose this topic because fast food has become a very large part of American culture (and is expanding to countries around the world).

We decided to make our box in the shape of a retro burger box by manually cutting apart obnoxiously large cardboard boxes, duct taping the pieces together, and then covering it up with white paper. Although it was difficult, the process was fun and definitely required a large amount of teamwork. The box, you could say, was homage to the old style of burger packaging. Old slogans from 1970-1990 decorate the box, as well as pictures/representations of the three fast food chains we researched. Inside the box, maps of the world are on all sides, top and bottom. The maps depict the locations of the fast food chains in the 1970 and the 1990--needless to say, the number of locations of each fast food chain has dramatically increased throughout the years. Also in the box are three burgers (all hand-made from cardboard, construction paper, shopping bags, and duct-tape): one for each fast food chain. The burgers have three layers aside from the buns: cheese, lettuce, and meat. The cheese shows examples of the advertisement advertisements each fast food company used, the lettuce contains pictures of each fast food company along with their mascots, and the meat has a timeline giving important dates and facts that related to each fast food chain.

Our slogans, visual aids, and information were found on various websites--the materials we used were all recyclable material: cardboard, duct-tape, scotch tape, construction paper, and white paper. We gathered the cardboard from multiple stores' recycling bins.

Unfortunately, although there were many sources and documentaries on the topic of the fast food industry available for use, they were all from after 1990, rendering them ineligible to be used for our project. We made due with what we could with limited access to certain items, such as toys, and we are proud of what we have accomplished.

If we could do this project again, we would probably choose a topic that gave way to more 'usable' found art. We would also do more research on each fast food chain, and possible add a fourth. Also, more visuals would be added.

For next year's class, I highly recommend choosing a topic that they are passionate about. I also recommend keeping in constant contact with their group members and planning out every step so that everyone contributes. Also, they should not procrastinate on the production on the box--they get it done as soon as possible so that if there's any last minute changes that need to be made, they can be made with less time pressure. Another good idea is to always have a backup plan: often, things don't go quite as planned. If they're prepared, it'll turn out okay in the end. Another suggestion is to be as creative as possible; just because it's a school assignment, it doesn't mean they can't have fun doing it! They should take bold risks and really make the project their own instead of some copy of someone else's!

- Tiffany Chen

Final Project

Shelly K., Tierney L., and I chose the theme of the women's rights movement because we realized that the women today would not be where they are without the feminist movement that occurred during the 1970s and 1980s. It was important to us to learn about and realize what the women had to go through and how they gained the rights that we have today. We used many different items on our box including movie covers, pictures, quotes, and items to go with each topic that we talked about. Some of the topics that we included in our project were Title IX (which gave women the right to play professional sports), Roe vs. Wade (gave women the right to have abortions as well as use different types of birth control), the women's rights magazine called Ms. and the woman who founded it (Gloria Steinmen). We also talked about famous women such as Bella Abzung who was the first woman in the House of Representatives, Sara Evans, Betty Lahan Harragan, Marilyn Chambers, and Sally Ride. These women were important because they took steps to show other women that they could participate in the community and work towards equal rights. Some of the items we used were a copy of Ms., a rocket ship to signify Sally Ride going in space, pictures of women playing sports, a clothes hanger to show how women had to abort their pregnancies before Roe vs. Wade, pictures from the women's rights protest as well as statistics on women's discrimination. We obtained these items using the internet as well as items that we found in our houses to signify the struggle that women had to go through and how it has improved and affected our society today. I think that if we did the project again we would research and learn more about other women that helped with the movement and use more physical objects to signify their contributions. We should also have used more short statements to describe our items so that people understand what they signify. I would suggest that for the students next year, that they spend a little time outside of class preparing their boxes and items before the assemble day so that there is not as much to do on that one day in class. It is hard to get it all done so try and organize yourself prior to the class period and paint your boxes so that during class you only have to put on the final touches. 

Moving on, but not forgotten!

Last week was a very stressful one for most of us. We must find closure and move on. We will not forget our fallen comrade/friend/student/son/brother. He is in a better place.

Peace & love,

D. Sanderson

In our hearts ...

We will miss you, JP! You were a light that was extinguished too soon.