Midwest artist attempts to define “All-American”

What does it mean to be All- American?

CSB+SJU students may recognize that question from the American Video Dialogue booth, which was stationed at Clemens Library from early September until Wednesday evening.

The brainchild of artist EB Martinez, the booth is part of a nationwide community project that seeks to highlight individuals’ diverse views of what constitutes an “All- American” by inviting respondents to share their story in a private booth.

“It’s a very elusive term, and it means different things to different people,” Nicole Reuter, access services manager of the CSB+SJU libraries, said.

According to Reuter, the project tries to capture people’s declaration on what it means for them to be an All-American, giving them the space to reflect upon others’ diverging experiences.

Martinez, who visited CSB for an artist talk on Wednesday, said that the idea first came to him back in 2022 while talking to a colleague about the term All-American.

“Two, intelligent, educated artists are talking to each other like, we don’t know what [All-American] means. And we know what we’re told it means, but we didn’t know what it meant.” Martinez said. “I think the American people should decide what [an All-American] is.”

The project, which consists of one video booth moving between college campuses, encouraged students to engage with the question and have discussions about what being “All American” means to them, while taking into consideration what the term means for others.

“The ability to have introspection and empathy [toward others] is very important in days where people don’t always feel connected [in their communities]” Reuter said.

Martinez is a Chicago-based multi-disciplinary artist who “explores the complex relationship between the individuals, objects, and imagery that shape [human] stories,” according to his website.

He holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Art and Columbia College Chicago, and is currently pursuing his M.F.A. in Visual Arts at Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Martinez’ work seeks to examine the authority that objects and images hold over specific groups, and he challenges this authority through his various projects, the latest of which is the All-
American video dialogue.

The All-American video booth was a new medium for CSB+SJU, and a low response rate reflected students’ unfamiliarity with it.

Multiple students cited confusion over the intended purpose and target audience of the project.

“I thought it was a photo booth,” Bentley Dubravka, SJU freshman, said. “If I would have known more about the project and what it meant, I would have participated for sure.”

Dubravka said he thought the prompt was thought-provoking, and, if given the chance in the future, he would participate.

Others agreed, citing a lack of clarity over the context for the booth, as well as their discomfort expressing an informed opinion on such a complex question.

CSB freshman Audrey DeGross said that she was worried about saying the wrong thing in response to what she perceived as a culturally and politically loaded question.

“There was too much pressure behind whatever answer I chose,” DeGross said.

The location of the booth, in the center of the main thoroughfare that students take from the Gorecki bus stop to their classrooms, also could have contributed to the low response rate, since many students didn’t feel comfortable answering the question in such a populated setting.

Furthermore, technical issues precluded other students from answering.

“I tried to record a video and was unable to. The device failed to turn on or prompt action when I attempted it,” Will Flannery, SJU freshman, said.

While student engagement with the video booth was lacking, all students interviewed expressed interest in the project, and each privately shared their answer to the prompt.

Reuter said the library looks forward to exploring more opportunities to hear students’ voices and is open to future collaborations with individual students or classes while addressing some of the feedback resulting from this project.