Twitter replaces bird logo, a Chicago-based muralist, and rental assistance for migrants
Plus, did you go see “Barbie” or “Oppenheimer”?
Welcome back to ‘In the Loop’! We’ve got a good one for you today. It’s your newsletter team — Alexandra, Sela, Lauren, Sam, Gia, Hailey and Emily — We hope you are enjoying the rest of your summer and we are back to start off your week with another new and exciting edition of the Monday night newsletter.
First, a profile on Chicago-based painter and muralist Liz Flores, who aims to represent the Latina community with her beautiful art that can be found throughout Chicagoland and New York City. Also, did anyone go see Barbenheimer (“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer”) this past weekend? Both movies made a combined $235.5 million just in the first three days of showing. “Barbie,” directed by Greta Gerwig, made history as having the biggest opening weekend for a film directed by a woman.
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With that, let's get into the news for tonight!
Liz Flores and the Art Collection of Retail
An insight into the muralist’s journey and representation of the Latina community
By Sela Estill
Wake up, podcast, paint, eat and repeat. That’s what most days look like for this local muralist. Liz Flores is a Chicago-based painter who specializes in murals for retailers, art exhibits and more. With pieces of her collections included in big-name retailers such as Lululemon and Target, the sky is the limit for her creativity.
From the time Flores was about eight years old, she took an interest in art among other things. Drawing from comic books such as Pokemon Digimon were her main focus at the time, which led her into drawing images. Gradually, she became more and more infatuated with murals. It was not until after college that Flores discovered painting as her passion.
Women are Flores’s favorite subject to paint. While in the past she preferred to paint murals of single shots of women, now she learns to incorporate more into her work.
“I'm starting to incorporate more objects that maybe she's holding…or last year for my solo show I incorporated some basses and things like that. And so I'm very into pottery and am starting to incorporate more pottery, like mirrors. I'm very into the figure, kind of looking at herself in a mirror and sort of, what is she seeing kind of thing, reflection and all that,” she said.
With these “larger than life” women abstracted art pieces, the muralist enjoys telling a story through her work. Her favorite pieces are included in her solo show from December because they illustrated a personal story about her Mexican and Cuban heritage with themes of family, love and culture.
Sofia Salinas, a close friend of Flores, adores her work and admires Liz for expressing her personal growth in her work.
“A very special thing about Liz is she truly takes the time to discover who she is and reflect on who she is becoming. She is never stagnant and strives to use all her experiences in life, good and bad, to create art that is unique and genuine to represent who she is,” she said while vocalizing how proud she is of her friend. “She is always striving to be true to herself and put forth art that will represent her, her family, her friends, and her adventure in this world.”
Representation of her Latina roots means everything. Not only does Flores argue it’s essential to see it in her work, but it reflects on the importance of representation in the fine arts space as a whole. With the minorities of Latinas and women being extremely underrepresented, she ensures that her work can not only be seen by her community but connects to her audience on a personal level.
“When I got on Instagram, the first thing I looked at was, I'm trying to find other people that look like me or have similar experiences or, you know, can kind of show me that it's possible. Seeing a Latina in a gallery selling her work, that's important,” said Flores.
The artist has been participating in plenty of career day panels at schools, inspiring her to be an example for the children. On top of speaking at schools, Flores has been booked and busy with other ventures as well. Last March, she participated in an Apple Talk for Women’s History Month. Just three years ago she was one of the many audience members at a talk learning from San Francisco-based muralist Lauren Asta, where she realized she wanted to pursue art full time. This year coming to that full-circle moment of being the leading artist speaking, and mentoring her audience into success was a feeling more incredible than ever.
“We had a really fun activity for everyone, at the end of my talk where I had created three different templates of my artwork. Just so basically it almost looked like a coloring book and people could make their own artwork. And then we showed them how to take the image on the iPad and put it on like a wall so it looked like a mural,” she said.
Fellow artist and close friend Kate Lewis declares Flores as a “compassionate, committed and focused” artist. She admires her ability to be authentic with her color schemes, among her dedication to making the objects “larger than life.”
“She merges organic line work with hard lines in this way that creates a duality of color in her paintings, and it’s inspiring to watch her style grow over the years, while still being recognizable and authentically hers,” she said.
Without a doubt, Lewis’s admiration for her friend and peer goes beyond the outcome of her paintings. Outside of being a talented painter alone, she recalls her friend's aura and personality being a factor in her artistry.
“Liz, to me, has an inherent grace to her that’s reflected in her work. She, like her paintings, stands out in a room,” she said.
Community, empowerment and the Latina experience are some overarching themes seeping into most of her work. Flores has different takeaways for each client and mural. However, with paintings she aims to get more personal with each piece coming from her own studio to create something that just resonates with everybody.
“She always leaves you feeling more inspired, and her work is understated — sweet & shy but can deliver a powerful message when given the opportunity,” said Lewis.
From collaborating with big-name brands in retail to public speaking for career days for schools, Flores loves her craft and appreciates the exposure she gets from it. Becoming an inspiration is just one of the many end goals for the painter, but being a visible Latina in the fine arts space is quite the motivation.
“You can't be what you can’t see,” she said as she quoted Marian Wright Edelman, children’s rights activist of the twentieth century.
DePaul News
By Lauren Sheperd
Valerie Johnson to serve as provost of diversity, equity and inclusion
Interim associate provost for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), Valerie Johnson will permanently be given the position on August 1. Johnson – who is also an associate professor of political science and the Endowed Professor of Urban Diplomacy at the Grace School for Applied Diplomacy – was chosen for the position following a national search. Johnson’s responsibilities will involve partnering with DEI leaders across the university, working with faculty to incorporate more diversity into curriculum, and more. “I am pleased to serve in a role that aligns with my personal values and my research, teaching and DEI-related service on campus, across the state of Illinois and in marginalized communities,” Johnson said. DePaul Newsline’s Jessica Peterson has more.
DePaul colleagues host mindfulness practice group
DePaul faculty have created a weekly peer-led mindfulness and meditation group for faculty, staff, students and community partners. Meetings are held over Zoom on Tuesday mornings and utilize research-based mindfulness, meditation and yoga practices to promote well-being and mind-body awareness. The colleagues that lead the program come from diverse DePaul backgrounds and departments. For more information, click this link.
Professors Stephen Haymes and Jess Westbrook named Presidential Diversity Fellows
DePaul President Robert L. Manuel named Professors Stephen Haymes and Jess Westbrook Presidential Diversity Fellows for the 2023-24 school year. Their year-long term will begin in September. As fellows, Haymes and Westbrook will “bring substantive understanding and intellectual rigor” to discussions involving diversity, equity and inclusion across the university. Haymes is an associate professor in the College of Education and Westbrook is associate professor in the Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media. Jessica Peterson has more information on the program and the fellows.
Chicago Headlines
By Kiki Dyball
Man pulled from Lake Michigan on Friday has died– 21-year-old Melvin Guzman was pulled from Lake Michigan on Friday night. According to ABC7, witnesses said Guzman went missing underwater while swimming beside a pylon. Emergency responders found Guzman after being in the water for nearly 15 minutes, and he was transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition. Chicago police continue to investigate the cause of death. Chicago’s Sun-Times has more.
Illinois conservative group gains access to voter data – An Illinois District Court Judge has ruled in favor of the Conservative Union in a federal election integrity lawsuit against the state of Illinois. The Conservative Union’s founder, Carol Davis, has long questioned the accuracy of Illinois voter rolls and has asserted without proof that they are bloated. The Conservative Union can now acquire a list of the state's 8.1 million registered voters including information about age, address, phone number and county and state voter ID numbers, except for individuals protected by federal or state confidentiality laws. The settlement allows the Conservative Union to get the unredacted voter list only through the end of 2026 due to concerns over access to personal data. NBC5’s James Neveau has more.
Rental funds help migrants leave Chicago shelters – There is an additional $4 million available for emergency rental assistance funds for migrants from Chicago’s Department of Housing. More than 1,000 migrants have been approved for rental assistance so far, and eligible migrants in the state can receive three months of rental assistance when they apply through the Illinois Housing Development Authority’s Asylum Seeker Emergency Assistance Program. Many landlords are stepping up as Chicago has faced increasing pressure to create sustainable infrastructure for the thousands of migrants who have arrived since August of last year. Chicago Tribune’s Lizzie Kane and Laura Rodríguez Presa have more.
Northwestern football coach is fired after hazing investigation – Northwestern’s head football coach, Pat Fitzgerald, has been fired after an investigation into hazing allegations. University President Michael Schill published a summary of the report's findings including 11 current or former players alleging hazing taking place within the program. On Monday, Schill published a letter announcing that he has decided to part ways with Fitzgerald after taking the weekend to discuss with university leaders, alumni and students. The university plans to implement changes to their program such as terminating all future practices at “Camp Kenosha” in Wisconsin, where some of the hazing may have occurred. Fitzgerald has said he had no knowledge of the hazing. New York Times’ Edward Medina has more.
National Headlines
By Sam Freeman
“Barbie” introduces a record at the box office with a $155 million debut – This past weekend, Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” collected a combined total of $235.5 million in the first three days of showings. In a struggling movie-going landscape post-pandemic, the success of these two blockbuster movies is not going unnoticed by studio executives. Combined, the two films represent the biggest three-day opening weekend, post-pandemic, and the fourth largest three-day opening weekend, following “Avengers: Endgame,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Both movies received high ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and a grade A in CinemaScore exit polls. Emily Olsen from NPR has more information.
Oklahoma Senate overrides GOP governor’s vetoes on Native American compact – In a special session on Monday, the Republican-dominated Senate of Oklahoma met to discuss GOP Gov. Kevin Stitt’s vetoes of two bills that would extend existing agreements with Native American tribes. Stitt is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and he aims to renegotiate certain compacts, including those on the sale of tobacco and the issuance of motor vehicle tags by tribes. “I am trying to protect eastern Oklahoma from turning into a reservation, and I’ve been working to ensure these compacts are the best deal for all four million Oklahomans,” Stitt said in a statement, reported by the Associated Press. The tribal leaders who were present at the meeting on Monday applauded the Senate’s decision to override Stitt’s vetoes. The Associated Press has more information.
Biden is expected to name a national monument for Emmett Till and his mother – According to White House officials, Biden will establish a national monument in honor of Emmett Till, the Black teen who was brutally murdered in 1955, and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley. A national monument, according to the National Park Service, is a protected area, similar to a national park. This new monument will include three protected sites in Illinois. It will also include the Church in Bronzeville where Emmett’s funeral was held, Graball Landing in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, where his body was found, and the Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi, where a white jury acquitted Emmett’s killers. The establishment of the new monument on Tuesday would have been on his 82nd birthday. Anna Betts of the New York Times has the story.
Twitter replaces its bird logo with an X to promote Musk’s plan for a super app – On Monday, Twitter’s blue bird logo was replaced with the letter “X” The URL “X.com” directs users to Twitter. The significant change is a part of Elon Musk's plan to transform the app into a “super app” that will include a variety of other services, including online banking and video messaging. Ashlee Vance, the author of “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future,” told NPR in a May interview that the app will become a platform to communicate, read the news, shop, pay rent, book appointments, etc. However, some social media experts are uncertain about the “everything app” while others think a rebranding would be beneficial for the company. Juliana Kim from NPR has more information.
Hey, Check This Out!
With Columnist Gia Clarke
With the growing restrictions placed on women and their bodily autonomy due to the overturn of Roe v. Wade, people are growing angry with the American Government.
For me, music has always been a great outlet for powerful feelings. If you share this sentiment as well, then I strongly urge you to check out female-led rock bands such as Bikini Kill, Destroy Boys, Sleater-Kinney, and Veruca Salt. All of these bands share themes of feminine rage. “Emotions of anger that are perceived as ‘powerful’ and ‘authoritative’ in men have been deemed ‘unnatural’ in women. When a woman is angry, she’s asked if she’s on her period or if she needs chocolate, and above all, she gets told to ‘calm down,’” says Anna Fischer from The Pitt News.
Veruca Salt’s song “Seether” captures feminine rage perfectly with lines, “Keep her down, boiling water / keep her down what a lovely daughter,” and “I try to keep her on a short leash / I try to calm her down / I try to ram her into the ground.” Bikini Kill’s song “Rebel Girl” has become popular with its usage in the Netflix movie “Moxie,” a movie about young high school girls getting into activism and advocacy work.
Since we do not have the capability to turn the Supreme Court into a rage room, listening to angry women who share our sentiments is a great alternative. In these times when everything feels hopeless, remember that your rage towards injustice will always hold power. Angry women, for centuries, have always turned the wheels. Towards every legislation, every amendment, and every bill that has been passed, driving more women towards equality. If you are a woman, keep being angry, and check out the bands that have been formed by equally angry women.
Resources
Need resources regarding cooling centers, rental assistance, abortion access, COVID-19 testing and vaccines or mental health? Check out our complete list here.
That’s it for today! See you next Monday.
The 14 East Newsletter Team