Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

POSTERS

Date

2020

Materials

GLOSSY PAPER, INK

No. Pieces

3

Length

56

Width

71

Description

A. WHITE GLOSSY PAPER POSTER WITH VARIOUS COLOURED CAPITAL BUBBLE LETTERS OUTLINED IN BLACK READ: “THANKS” “EVERY” “ONE”. THERE ARE YELLOW SMILEY FACES DRAWN ON EACH SIDE OF THE WORD “ONE”. THERE IS SOME SCOTCH TAPE ON TOP. THERE IS A BAR CODE STICKER ON THE BACK THAT READS “UCREATE™…MADE IN THE USA”. SOME INK BLEEDING AND BLOTCHING, INK SLIGHTLY FADED. B. WHITE GLOSSY PAPER POSTER WITH VARIOUS COLOURED CAPITAL BUBBLE LETTERS OUTLINED IN BLACK READ: “WE” “ARE” “ONE”. THERE ARE THREE PINK HEARTS OUTLINED IN BLACK, TWO ON THE LEFT AND ONE ON UPPER RIGHT HAND CORNER. THERE IS AN EARTH DRAWN ON RIGHT SIDE. THERE IS SOME SCOTCH TAPE ON THE TOP. THE BAR CODE STICKER ON THE BACK SAYS “”UCREATE…MADE IN THE USA”. SOME LIGHT PENCIL MARKS AND INK SLIGHTLY FADED. C. WHITE GLOSSY PAPER POSTER WITH VARIOUS COLOURED CAPITAL BUBBLE LETTERS OUTLINED IN BLACK READ: “BE SAFE” “STAY” “STRONG”. THERE ARE PINK HEARTS OUTLINED IN BLACK ON EITHER SIDE OF THE WORD “STAY”. THERE IS A BAR CODE STICKER ON THE BACK THAT SAYS “UCREATE…MADE IN THE USA” THERE ARE SOME PENCIL MARKS AND INK SLIGHTLY FADED.

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

FINE ARTS

History

ON MAY 20TH 2020, GALT MUSEUM COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN SAT DOWN WITH JOSIE MASON, AND HER MOTHER NAOMI MASON, TO TALK ABOUT THE SERIES OF POSTERS JOSIE CREATED AND PLACED IN THE WINDOWS OF HER AND HER NEIGHBOUR’S HOMES DURING THE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN. THREE OF THE POSTERS WERE DONATED TO THE MUSEUM. HER ART CONTAINED UPLIFTING MESSAGES, HAD A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY, AND BECAME THE SUBJECT OF A SLAUGHTERHOUSE SLOUGH CARTOON BY ERIC DYCK. JOSIE PROVIDED HER INITIAL THOUGHTS ON THE PANDEMIC: “WE ARE DOING SCHOOL ONLINE, SO IT IS KIND OF WEIRD. IT IS JUST WEIRD TO SEE ALL OF MY FRIENDS ON SCREEN RATHER THAN IN PERSON. IT IS WEIRD TO BE AT HOME INSTEAD OF AT MY ACTIVITIES OR AT SCHOOL. IT’S JUST- I NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD ACTUALLY COME TO THIS; I DIDN’T THINK IT WOULD GO THIS FAR. BUT, HERE WE ARE.” JOSIE REVEALED WHAT INSPIRED HER TO CREATE THESE POSTERS: “...IT WAS A REALLY TOUGH, AND STILL IS A REALLY TOUGH TIME THAT WE ARE GOING THROUGH, AND EVERYONE NEEDS SOME ENCOURAGEMENT. WE LIVE ON A SUPER BUSY STREET SO WE DECIDED WE NEEDED SOMETHING TO MOTIVATE PEOPLE; LIKE, WE CAN DO THIS AND WE CAN GET THROUGH THIS. A LOT OF PEOPLE WALK BY, AND OBVIOUSLY DRIVE BY AND BIKE, SO WE DECIDED TO MAKE SIGNS AND PUT THEM UP IN OUR WINDOWS SO PEOPLE, WHEN THEY WALK BY, CAN LOOK AND GET SOME MOTIVATION, GET SOME ENCOURAGEMENT AND KEEP GOING.” JOSIE EXPRESSED HER MOTIVATIONS BEHIND THE CONTENTS: “SO THE WORDS THAT WE CHOSE, WE KIND OF JUST CAME UP WITH PHRASES. WE WROTE THEM ALL DOWN ON PAPER AND WE CHOSE THESE ONES AND OBVIOUSLY SAW OUR NEIGHBOR’S ONES, SO THOSE WERE THE SIX THAT WE CHOSE. EVERYONE NEEDS SOME ENCOURAGEMENT AND THESE WERE ENCOURAGING, AT LEAST FOR ME. IT KIND OF SHOWS THAT WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER, AND THAT WE CAN GET THROUGH THIS. THAT’S WHY I CHOSE THOSE.” JOSIE EXPLAINED THE PROCESS AND UPKEEP FOR THE POSTERS: “THERE WAS OTHER EXAMPLES IN THE CITY AND ME AND MY MOM KIND OF CAME UP WITH OUR OWN IDEA TO DO THESE. I OBVIOUSLY CAN’T TAKE CREDIT FOR THESE BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE HAS DONE THEM, BUT WE JUST KIND OF CAME UP WITH IT [TO] DO THESE. SHE CAME HOME WITH POSTER-BOARD AND WE STARTED MAKING THEM…THEY PROBABLY TOOK US ABOUT A FEW DAYS I WOULD SAY. WE DID THEM AT NIGHT, AND IF WE RETOUCHED THEM WE WOULD DO THEM AT NIGHT SO THAT PEOPLE COULD NOT SEE THEM IF THEY WEREN’T IN THE WINDOW. BECAUSE THE SUN OBVIOUSLY FADED THEM, BUT I THINK WE MADE ALL OF THEM IN ABOUT THREE DAYS, INCLUDING THE NEIGHBORS ONES.” ON THE EXPANSION INTO NEIGHBOURING HOMES: “WE JUST KIND OF GRABBED THREE AND TOOK THEM TO OUR NEIGHBORS. WE DIDN’T REALLY THINK MUCH OF IT. WE ACTUALLY ALREADY HAD THESE IN OUR WINDOW AND WE JUST TOOK THE EXTRA THREE THAT WE HAD.” “…IF YOU SAW OUR NEIGHBOR’S WINDOW, THEIR'S ARE REALLY FADED. WE WERE GOING TO GO TOUCH THEM UP. I THINK WE ARE GOING TO GO SOMETIME NEXT WEEK. IT HONESTLY DEPENDS IF THEY WANT THEM TOUCHED UP, BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT REALLY OUR POSTERS ANYMORE, THEY ARE THEIRS. SO WE WANTED TO TOUCH THEM UP BEFORE WE BROUGHT THEM TO THE MUSEUM, BUT I HONESTLY THINK IT IS COOL TO LEAVE THEM LIKE THIS JUST SHOWS HOW THEY WERE WHEN I BROUGHT THEM AND IT’S NOT LIKE I AM CHANGING THEM JUST FOR THE MUSEUM. IF THAT MAKES SENSE.” NAOMI EXPLAINED THEIR ENTHUSIASM AND POSITIVE REACTIONS THAT CAME FROM THE CREATIONS: “WE GOT EXCITED ABOUT IT AND I THINK AT FIRST WE WERE LIKE, ‘OH WE WILL CHANGE THEM OUT EVERY DAY,’ AND THEN WE SAID ‘LET’S JUST SEE IF IT TAKES OFF AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD’…I KNOW [JOSIE] SAID THAT ERIC [NOTICED] THE POSTERS WERE ALL OVER FACEBOOK. [JOSIE WAS] SUPER HAPPY ABOUT THAT... AND [JOSIE] ALSO TOOK PICTURES OF IT AND SENT THEM [TO] FAMILY, AND [HER] COUSINS IN OTTAWA AND CALGARY PUT SIMILAR POSTERS UP.” HOW DID MAKING THE POSTERS IMPACT JOSIE? “IT MAKES ME REALLY HAPPY, BECAUSE WHEN WE FIRST PUT THEM UP WE DIDN’T REALLY THINK MUCH OF IT. WE JUST WANTED TO GIVE ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE PEOPLE PASSING BY. WE SAW PEOPLE…IF THEY WALKED BY WITH KIDS THEY WILL POINT AT THEM AND THEY WILL SMILE, OR PEOPLE WILL TAKE PICTURES AND THAT MADE ME FEEL SO HAPPY TO SEE THAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIKED THEM AND THAT THEY WERE TAKING PICTURES TO SHOW PEOPLE, OR THAT THEY WERE LOOKING AT THEM AND SMILING…THAT MADE ME SO HAPPY TO SEE THAT THEY WERE DOING THAT. SO, I DECIDED TO KEEP THEM UP…I WOULD SAY IT BRINGS ME JOY. IT BRINGS ME LOTS OF JOY. ESPECIALLY IF I CAN SHARE IT WITH PEOPLE. I LOVE THAT...IT JUST MAKES ME SO HAPPY, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I HAVE CREATED THAT PEOPLE ARE LIKING.” JOSIE TALKED ABOUT THE INFLUENCE OF HER POSTERS: “I GUESS EVEN SOMETHING SMALL CAN CHANGE SOMEONE’S DAY. LIKE IF THEY DON’T HAVE FAMILY HERE, IF THEIR FAMILY DOESN’T STAY IN TOUCH WITH THEM, IF THEY DON’T HAVE FRIENDS HERE; OBVIOUSLY YOU CAN’T SEE ANYONE RIGHT NOW, SO…IF YOU’RE OUT FOR A WALK YOU CAN SEE THE POSTERS. I DON’T KNOW, I JUST THINK IT BRINGS A LOT OF ENCOURAGEMENT TO PEOPLE…WELL I HOPE IT DOES. NAOMI SPOKE ABOUT HER DAUGHTER MAKING ART: “I JUST KNOW SHE TAKES COMFORT IN DRAWING AND THAT IT WAS SOMETHING FOR HER TO DO, BEING IN ISOLATION, SHE COULDN’T SEE ANY OF HER FRIENDS OR ANYTHING, SO THIS WAS A PROJECT FOR HER. ONE THING I WISH THAT DID COME OUT OF IT… SHE DID REACH OUT TO THE SCHOOL AS A CHALLENGE AND IT DIDN’T TAKE OFF. THAT WAS KIND OF DISAPPOINTING, BUT THAT’S OKAY. JOSIE TOOK COMFORT IN MAKING THESE FOR OUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND PASSERBY’S. I AM PROUD OF HER." JOSIE HAD BEEN ACQUAINTED WITH LOCAL CARTOONIST AND EDUCATOR ERIC DYCK PREVIOUSLY, AFTER TAKING A DRAWING CLASS HE WAS TEACHING. AFTER HEARING THAT ERIC WAS GOING TO MAKE A COMIC ABOUT THE POSTERS, JOSIE “WAS SUPER EXCITED BECAUSE HE IS A GREAT ARTIST. HIS ART IS AMAZING, AND WHEN HE GOT IN TOUCH WITH ME TO MAKE A COMIC ABOUT THIS, I WAS REALLY EXCITED. THE FINAL COMIC, IT WAS GREAT. I LOVED IT... ERIK SENT ME FEW SIGHTINGS AND IT WAS HONESTLY JUST REALLY COOL TO SEE THAT SOMEONE TOOK A PICTURE OF MY CREATIONS AND SHARED IT. I JUST THINK THAT WAS REALLY AMAZING.” ERIC DYCK DONATED SOME OF HIS ARTWORK, INCLUDING THE CARTOON BASED ON JOSIE'S POSTERS. HE EXPLAINED THE BACKSTORY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF JOSIE'S ART IN AN INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN MACLEAN ON JUNE 17 2020: “SLAUGHTERHOUSE SLOUGH IS THE NON-FICTION COMIC ABOUT LETHBRIDGE HISTORY AND PEOPLE AND CRITTERS AND PLANTS ESSENTIALLY EXPRESSING STORIES THAT ARE AROUND ME FROM A COMMUNITY THAT I’M NOT PART OF…THE COMIC, 'MEET JOSIE' IS A DEPICTION OF THE CONVERSATION THAT I HAD WITH MY NEIGHBOUR AND FORMER STUDENT AT THE CASA CARTOONING CLASS. SO, JOSIE IS A THIRTEEN/ FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD CARTOONIST WHO, VERY ABRUPTLY, FOUND HERSELF STUCK AT HOME WITH HER PARENTS WHEN THE SCHOOLS SHUT DOWN AND CHOSE TO USE MATERIALS THAT HAD BEEN PURCHASED AND ACQUIRED FOR SCHOOL PROJECTS THAT WERE NO LONGER HAPPENING; POSTER BOARD, AND MARKERS WERE SITTING THERE, READY TO GO AND JOSIE CHOSE TO PRODUCE UPLIFTING MESSAGES BUT ALSO MESSAGES ASKING EVERYONE TO STAY SAFE OR MESSAGES ASKING PEOPLE TO ‘KEEP THE PEACE’ AS ONE OF THE POSTERS SHE GAVE TO HER NEIGHBOUR. SHE PRODUCED THESE POSTERS AND PUT THEM UP IN HER WINDOWS. SHE MADE TOO MANY ‘CAUSE THEY WERE HAVING FUN AND GETTING EXCITED AND ENDED UP GIVING SOME TO THEIR NEIGHBOURS TO THE EAST. WE SAW THE POSTERS POP UP QUITE QUICKLY JUST BECAUSE IT’S – BEING A NEIGHBOUR AND WE WALK PAST WITH OUR DOG. BUT WHAT REALLY GOT ME TO REACH OUT TO JOSIE WAS ACTUALLY SEEING HER HOUSE SHOWING UP IN PHOTOS ONLINE OF PEOPLE THAT I KNEW EITHER DIDN’T KNOW JOSIE OR WERE, EVEN I DIDN’T KNOW AND THEY WERE JUST GOING PAST DOWN 9TH AVENUE OR, FOR SOME REASON, THEY NEEDED TO SEE THESE POSTERS AND THEY DID SEE THEM.” “SO I REACHED OUT TO HER – I WANTED TO TALK TO HER ABOUT WHY SHE MADE THEM BUT, AS WITH ANY CARTOONIST, YOUR – PART OF YOUR MOTIVATION FOR MAKING THINGS IS THE CONNECTION YOU’RE MAKING TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE CONSUMING IT AND I KNOW THAT JOSIE DOESN’T PRODUCE DRAWINGS OR COMICS PUBLICLY OR ON SOCIAL MEDIA IN SUCH A WAY THAT SHE WOULD HAVE A LARGE AUDIENCE? OR THAT SHE WOULD HAVE THE EXPERIENCE OF SHARING HER WORK? SO I WAS VERY CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT HER EXPERIENCE WAS ABOUT KNOWING THAT PEOPLE WERE SEEING AND CONSUMING THE THINGS THAT SHE MADE. AND SO, MY FOCUS IN TALKING TO HER WAS ABOUT HER OWN BEHAVIOR IN RELATION TO THE POSTERS FACING OUTWARDS OF HER HOME AND IT BECAME VERY CLEAR THAT A BIG PART OF HER DAY WAS WATCHING OUT THE WINDOWS AND WATCHING PEOPLE SEE THE POSTERS, TAKING PICTURES, DOING SELFIES WITH HER ARTWORK, AND SEEING HER COME TO TERMS WITH THE IDEA THAT, “OH I MADE THESE TO MAKE OTHER PEOPLE FEEL BETTER”, BUT THE CONSUMPTION OF THEM, THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING WITH THE ART WORKS IS HAVING AN IMPACT ON ME AND HOW I’M SEEING THE COMMUNITY AROUND ME AND THAT’S A LOT FOR A FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD TO TAKE IN.” “AND, I KNOW THAT FOR MYSELF THAT’S A BIG PART OF, AS A KID, WHY I WOULD MAKE THINGS WAS BECAUSE OF MY INABILITY TO SOCIALLY INTERACT VERY WELL WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE AND MY WAY TO ENGAGE WITH PEOPLE EVEN IN MY IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS WAS THROUGH THE ART WORK, WAS THROUGH MAKING THINGS THAT MAYBE OTHER PEOPLE WERE UNCOMFORTABLE MAKING OR AT LEAST WEREN’T MAKING JUST OUT OF PRINCIPLE. AND SO THE COMIC ABOUT THAT WAS INTRODUCING JOSIE AND I KNOW THAT PEOPLE HAVE GONE TO SEE HER HOUSE BECAUSE OF THE COMIC. BUT ALSO, IT WAS MY WAY OF LETTING JOSIE KNOW THAT THIS REALLY WAS A SPECIAL THING TO DO? THIS REALLY WAS A MEANINGFUL GESTURE THAT SHE’D MADE AND I WAS ALSO – I ENCOURAGE MY STUDENTS TO SHARE BECAUSE SEEING OTHERS, LIKE IT OR NOT, CONSUME YOUR COMICS THAT YOU’RE MAKING IS A BIG PART OF MAKING MORE AND, MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, THAT BUG IS CONTAGIOUS AND YOU EXPERIENCE THE SATISFACTION OF SEEING SOMEONE GET SOMETHING OUT OF SOMETHING YOU MADE AND IT MAKES YOU WANT TO MAKE MORE THINGS AND ESPECIALLY WITH THE EXPERIENCE I’VE HAD WITH MY STUDENTS, IN THE PRESENT FEW MONTHS, WAS THEY WERE SHUTTING DOWN? THEY WERE BECOMING OVERWHELMED? THEY WERE NOT MAKING THINGS AND TO SEE JOSIE OVERCOME THAT, AT LEAST ONCE OR TWICE, AND HOPEFULLY ENCOURAGE HER TO PUT VALUE IN THAT EXPERIENCE AND TO KEEP MAKING THINGS EVEN THOUGH I’M SEEING MY OTHER STUDENTS SHUTTING DOWN AND CLOSING UP.” FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTIONS, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILES P20200013000-GA AND P20200015001-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20200013000

Acquisition Date

2020-05

Collection

Museum

Less detail