[Chicago Crossings: Bridges and Boundaries, reel 17; Claire Wolf Krantz]

In the second part of an interview with Kartemquin Films for their "Chicago Crossings: Bridges and Boundaries" project, artist Claire Wolf Krantz talks about the idea of the "Other," her artistic style, and the issues surrounding Farrakhan and his antisemitism.

1:13Copy video clip URL Claire Wolf Krantz talks about the idea of the “Other” and how different races or groups classify the “Other” differently.

4:13Copy video clip URL Krantz explains her goals for her current piece: “What I’m hoping [the patrons] will do… is start moving into it, reading it, moving out of it, seeing how the background and foreground switch places,” she explains.

6:43Copy video clip URL Krantz talks about her artistic process and the tremendous emphasis she puts on structure. “The way [the panels] are put together is something that the viewer really doesn’t pay attention to any more than you pay attention to the way a poem is constructed or a novel is constructed; if it works well you’re not aware of the structure, but it would never work well [without structure],” she stresses.

8:30Copy video clip URL Krantz talks about the modern landscape and its incredible potential for violence and hatred, yet it inspires hope. “I wouldn’t be spending the energy that I do, on the kinds of things that I choose to do, if I didn’t think that… I can do something to help something,” she muses.

9:59Copy video clip URL Krantz begins to talk about Farrakhan and history’s tendency to use the Jewish people as a scapegoat.

13:30Copy video clip URL Krantz comments on a Chicago Crossings meeting in which a number of Black artists took issue with suggestion that they should comment on Farrakhan, explaining that she understands their point of view and their reasons for saying, “You can’t tell me what to do,” while she also sees preached bigotry as an extremely dangerous powder keg and an issue that should be “nipped in the bud” as soon as possible.