Quaran-Zine Vol. 1: Monuments & Accessibility
“Group members: Sara Durmic, Savannah Sclafani, Lubov Shield, & Eren Ucar”
We chose to emphasize the idea of perspective in our cover. Monuments can have completely different meanings to many different people. Controversial monuments can symbolize different things, depending on the view the observer has on what the structure represents. Hence we decided to not just create one monument, but rather focus on the different views the monuments creates and represents. At the center of our cover is a globe, symbolizing the world today and the multitude of cultures within NYC. The globe is covered with a mask, connecting our zine to the reality the world is facing amid the pandemic. The pandemic does not discriminate amongst any racial, social or economic lines, and it is a common risk all humans are facing. The coronavirus pandemic resulted in accessibility decreasing tremendously, especially in enclosed spaces. Therefore, we chose to portray an outdoor monument, where people can view it safely in a socially distanced manner. This allows people to see our creation despite such uncertain times.
Creating this zine forced our group to consider what brings people together in these restrictive times. Observing outdoor art is a great way for people to come together and enjoy themselves safely. Another vital factor we took into consideration when creating this piece was the political atmosphere surrounding the months of the pandemic. Controversies surrounding civil rights and racial injustice in current times have brought up debates on how we should view monuments, and whether controversial ones deserve a platform. This is a significant debate to touch on and we reflected it in our zine. We wanted to create a monument that all people have a common perspective on, and that doesn’t fall under any political category.
