Continuing from tape K287-28, the Kartemquin crew interviews the students and instructors who took part in the mural project done in conjunction with the Spertus Museum of Judaica's 1992 exhibition "Bridges and Boundaries." In this tape, they primarily talk to the two instructors, Esther and Kiela, about their experiences with the mural project and why they decided to participate.
0:00Copy video clip URL Color bars.
0:12Copy video clip URL Rebecca from the museum explains to the teachers why they aren’t able to eat cheese and other non-kosher food inside the museum, and talks a little about the potential origins of kosher regulations.
2:45Copy video clip URL Jerry Blumenthal returns to the question he asked at the end of tape K287-28, about what happens next now that the project is over and they have to go back to the “real world.” Naomi talks about how they will take this experience and the things they learned out into their everyday lives. “I think every experience has an effect on your person.”
5:26Copy video clip URL Hozy talks about a moment when he was chastised for something he said to the Jewish girls in the group.
7:07Copy video clip URL Brief color bars. Hozy talks about the music they listened to while they worked, and how they had to share the stereo and take turns listening to what they wanted to listen to. The class also talks about the assumptions we make about the music that people like to listen too. Kiela talks about how everybody probably thinks that they listen to “everything” but that really we all have different tastes.
9:10Copy video clip URL Someone points out that Joe is drawing a cartoon image of everybody in the class and they have fun identifying everyone he’s drawn so far.
12:50Copy video clip URL Blumenthal asks the teachers why they signed on to do this project. Esther says it sounded interesting to her, and she’s glad she did it. She talks about enjoying the group dynamic and that she particularly enjoys doing murals and hopes to continue to produce them.
14:25Copy video clip URL Kiela says that she was initially hesitant about this mural project, but that she prayed on it and decided that she should do it because it was a chance to grow. She says she loves doing collaborative murals and is glad she participated. Blumenthal asks her to clarify her initial reservations about the project, and she says she was worried it would be more confrontational than it was. She admits that maybe she didn’t give human beings as much credit as she would like to.
20:00Copy video clip URL Kiela wonders what black folks will think about the mural when it’s up in the neighborhood. She says she hasn’t seen as many black people coming to the mural and poking their head in to see how the mural is going, so she less of a sense of what the reaction might be outside. She talks about how museum spaces like this don’t often appeal to blue collar people, and so the only reactions you get tend to be from people who are already predisposed towards art.