Embroidery Detail
Embroidery Detail
Neon Sign
Chicky Meal was based on the American citizen’s declining participation in democracy and the prevalent attitude that one doesn’t have to put in as much as one expects to get out of the world. Julia Mandle began her exploration of the subject with the questions, “What is the ‘deal’ that American democracy offers the world today?” and “Is American consumer culture replacing civic responsibility?”
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In researching these questions, Mandle drew on disparate sources, starting with an article about a KFC franchise in Karachi that was repeatedly bombed, and the cheerful, iconic advertisement found in English among the charred rubble, “Come & Have a Chicky Meal, Cuz You’re Gonna Love This Deal.” This slogan was translated into a bright neon sign that flashed over the installation, Chicky Meal, that Mandle created for Montclair State University.
Chicky Meal was centered around a twenty-two foot long pentagon shaped structure that when viewed from above became an isolated American symbol of misused power. Activating the “pentagon” were five American women in early American dresses that were deconstructed and embroidered with anti-American slogans like, “Down with the Imperialists,” chanted in demonstrations in Iraq, Pakistan, Germany, and elsewhere. Another performer wore a chicken mascot head, her dress embroidered with the contemporary sentiment, “I said I was Canadian, while traveling abroad” that expressed a way of evading anti-American sentiment.
The combination of live performance, sculpture and installation in Chicky Meal, allowed Mandle to take the sense of despair she felt at the decline of American culture and its bargain-at-any-cost mentality, and channel it into a lively, humorous and thought-provoking multidisciplinary experience that engendered dialogue about the state of contemporary society.
Chicky Meal was based on the American citizen’s declining participation in democracy and the prevalent attitude that one doesn’t have to put in as much as one expects to get out of the world. Julia Mandle began her exploration of the subject with the questions, “What is the ‘deal’ that American democracy offers the world today?” and “Is American consumer culture replacing civic responsibility?”
PAGEBREAK
In researching these questions, Mandle drew on disparate sources, starting with an article about a KFC franchise in Karachi that was repeatedly bombed, and the cheerful, iconic advertisement found in English among the charred rubble, “Come & Have a Chicky Meal, Cuz You’re Gonna Love This Deal.” This slogan was translated into a bright neon sign that flashed over the installation, Chicky Meal, that Mandle created for Montclair State University.
Chicky Meal was centered around a twenty-two foot long pentagon shaped structure that when viewed from above became an isolated American symbol of misused power. Activating the “pentagon” were five American women in early American dresses that were deconstructed and embroidered with anti-American slogans like, “Down with the Imperialists,” chanted in demonstrations in Iraq, Pakistan, Germany, and elsewhere. Another performer wore a chicken mascot head, her dress embroidered with the contemporary sentiment, “I said I was Canadian, while traveling abroad” that expressed a way of evading anti-American sentiment.
The combination of live performance, sculpture and installation in Chicky Meal, allowed Mandle to take the sense of despair she felt at the decline of American culture and its bargain-at-any-cost mentality, and channel it into a lively, humorous and thought-provoking multidisciplinary experience that engendered dialogue about the state of contemporary society.
Art Directors Club, NYC, October 9-13, 2007
Kasser Theater, Montclair State University, NJ, October 25 - 28 November 1-4, 2006
Performers
Kay Bailey
Arlene Chico-Lugo
Uttara Asha Coorlawala
Sarah Louise Lilley
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Assistant Director Tori Sparks
Sound Designer Paul Geluso
Dramaturg Heidi Gilpin
Thank You
The creation of Chicky Meal was made possible through generous contributions from the following: CastleRock Asset Management Inc., Aquavit, Marcus Samuelsson, Gilbert McKay Foundation, Department of Cultural Affairs, James E. Robison Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, Printempia Corporation, Yaddo Artist Residency, many individual contributors and the invaluable support from JMP Board of Directors and Advisors.
A special thank you to the Art Directors Club, Olga Grisaitis and Ami Brophy as well as Montclair State University/ Alexander Kasser Theater Peak Performances Program by Jill Dombrowski and Jedediah Wheeler for the opportunity to develop and present this project.
Deep gratitude goes to the following co-conspirators: Nathan Elbogen, Lisa Phillips, Stephen Greco, Marian Salzman, Gayle Mandle, Cees de Bever, Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, Jerry Schmetterer Matt Dilling, Erica Beeney, Randy Frost, Judith Gaess, Greta Gaines, Penny Hardy, Philae Knight, Marla Mayer, Claire Milonas, Gail Monaghan, and Monica Paganucci Wolfington, Leonie Kruizenga, Dana Witco, Darren Kucera, Lindsey Adelman, Johanna Berke, Khoa Buick, Carlos Camposeco, Me Hee Han, Zuhair Al-Kadiri, Raad Al-Kadiri, Matt L’Heureux, Shannon Palmer, Frances Richard, Marcus Samuelsson, Senator John Kerry, Samina Quereshi and our many volunteers.
Art Directors Club, NYC, October 9-13, 2007
Kasser Theater, Montclair State University, NJ, October 25 - 28 November 1-4, 2006
Performers
Kay Bailey
Arlene Chico-Lugo
Uttara Asha Coorlawala
Sarah Louise Lilley
PAGEBREAK
Assistant Director Tori Sparks
Sound Designer Paul Geluso
Dramaturg Heidi Gilpin
Thank You
The creation of Chicky Meal was made possible through generous contributions from the following: CastleRock Asset Management Inc., Aquavit, Marcus Samuelsson, Gilbert McKay Foundation, Department of Cultural Affairs, James E. Robison Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, Printempia Corporation, Yaddo Artist Residency, many individual contributors and the invaluable support from JMP Board of Directors and Advisors.
A special thank you to the Art Directors Club, Olga Grisaitis and Ami Brophy as well as Montclair State University/ Alexander Kasser Theater Peak Performances Program by Jill Dombrowski and Jedediah Wheeler for the opportunity to develop and present this project.
Deep gratitude goes to the following co-conspirators: Nathan Elbogen, Lisa Phillips, Stephen Greco, Marian Salzman, Gayle Mandle, Cees de Bever, Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, Jerry Schmetterer Matt Dilling, Erica Beeney, Randy Frost, Judith Gaess, Greta Gaines, Penny Hardy, Philae Knight, Marla Mayer, Claire Milonas, Gail Monaghan, and Monica Paganucci Wolfington, Leonie Kruizenga, Dana Witco, Darren Kucera, Lindsey Adelman, Johanna Berke, Khoa Buick, Carlos Camposeco, Me Hee Han, Zuhair Al-Kadiri, Raad Al-Kadiri, Matt L’Heureux, Shannon Palmer, Frances Richard, Marcus Samuelsson, Senator John Kerry, Samina Quereshi and our many volunteers.
“Performance art and protest are close relatives – both public acts of conviction. Today, when someone supports my work, I believe they are supporting the extension of their own voice.” — Julia Mandle, Contemporary Magazine
“It's clear that Julia Mandle wants to change people with her arresting performance-art pieces -- or at least make them pause and think about the world and how they move through it.” — Claudia La Rocco, The New York Times
“The greater the American public's outrage becomes, the more people will become civically engaged, which is the enthralling real "deal" and the truly great offer of a democracy.” — Julia Mandle, The Huffington Post
