The Forgotten-Domestic Labor

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

I want to thank everyone for viewing my blog. I appreciate any comments that are posted.

This is the logomark for this campaign.

Links:

The Forgotten-Domestic Labor website

The Forgotten-Domestic Labor Facebook Page

The Forgotten-Domestic Labor Twitter Page

Domestic labor has always been and still is a major part of many American’s lives. A big movement is now starting to push for laws to be passed to protect domestic workers in all the states in America. New York is the first state to pass any type of laws that will offer protection while these people work. The Domestic Workers Bill of Rights reforms New York State law to guarantee basic work standards and protections for the nannies, caregivers, and housekeepers who keep New York families functioning and make all other work possible. The Bill of Rights being passed allows domestic workers some hope now that they are being seen and heard, and that people will not let them continue suffering.

The pieces that I have created are meant to show different parts of the world that revolves around domestic labor. The Forgotten refers to the parts of this world that are overlooked when people look at the plight of the domestic worker. The problems with domestic labor do not just concern domestic workers, but their children and outside families. The pieces that I have created include three poems that show three different parts of the world of the domestic worker. A video that was adapted from a still image that I had created previously for a class project that dealt with domestic labor, and a still image that was collaged together.

Untitled

This image is based on the reading Nanny Diaries and Other Stories: Imagining Immigrant Women’s Labor in the Social Reproduction of American Families, page 812, by Mary Romero.

This image shows a domestic laborer cleaning the floor with a rag while her employer purposefully pours a cup of coffee on the floor near her. The employer looks at the domestic worker in disgust. The floor is white and the wall behind the two women is painted gray, covered in derogatory words representing the triteness of the employer. The words represent what the employer thinks about the domestic worker. I chose this particular scene because when I read this article that part moved me. My image is graphite and gouache on Bristol.

This article was one of the readings that was assigned in my class. The original artwork was a still image. I then edited it and added motion to it so it would be taken to another level to convey its message. The blood represents all the tears and hard work that has gone into this profession, and the fact that they are overlooked when it comes to having rights and laws that protect them.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

The Old One

Stooped over, walking slowly, a crawl…

Moving like the setting sun.

She, her, the Old One, I don’t know her name,

Where she’s going or where she’s gone.

Every morning she passes before dawn,

Every evening she comes back again after the sunset.

Her clothing is worn, she carries a bag,

A housekeeper, a maid, I bet.

Where is she going, where has she gone,

Before there’s another sunset, or a new dawn.

Her back is bent, she can’t stand straight,

Her hands are cracked, she walks with a gait.

Her hair is always pulled up, her skin is dark,

Wrinkled from time and the sun,

The same outfit every day,

Where is she going and where has she gone.

Do you wonder what she will do,

She’s an old one, yet she still works, does she have security,

How to save herself, when the time comes,

What will she do when she’s done.

Where is she going and where has she gone…

She, her, The Old One

Brand New

Dear little one as you sleep,

I will watch over you, you I shall keep.

Domestic Worker, that’s what I am,

Here in this amazing land.

A better future is what you shall have

You shall never be like me.

I will send you to school, and you will be…

Whatever you want to be, just not like me.

You will never have someone else take care of your kid,

While you slave away, the way I did.

I miss you my dear, and I hope you know,

That I do this for you, I love you so.

Someday you will grow and then you’ll see,

What it is to be like me.

Domestic worker, that’s what I am,

Here in this amazing land.

I have no rights, and no one see’s

What it is to be like me.

If something bad happens what will I do,

I’ll have to figure out how to take care of you.

There is no security in my job,

There is no protection from the bad.

I cannot do anything to stop this alone,

No matter how much I get mad.

Domestic worker, that’s what I am,

Here in this amazing land.

Identity

Who are you?

I am no one.

What is your name?

I have no name.

Where is your home?

I have no home.

Who knows you?

I have no one.

Where do you come from?

I have no past.

Where are you going?

I have no future.

What do you do?

I am a domestic worker.

What does that mean?

I am the shadow in the wealthiest home.

I am the backbone that holds everyone up.

I am the rudder that steers where they go.

I am the strength, the will to survive.

I am theirs, but I have none unto myself.

I have no rights, no one protects me.

I am no one, I have no name.

The Forgotten

With all the problems within the world of the domestic worker one thing that many people overlook and forget about are the children. The children of domestic workers, like housekeepers and maids, are in the background while the children of the employers are in the foreground. Mothers and fathers concentrate more on the children of their employers then their own children. The children of the domestic workers grow up without their parents, they are raised by other relatives or people. This creates a void between the kids and their parents, which cannot be fixed later in life.

This image is created by collaging pieces of paper together. The child in the middle huddles clinging to her stuffed bear. This represents the longing and loneliness that children of domestic workers go through emotionally. The colorful pieces around her are cut from construction paper. The construction paper is used because it represents how children live their lives. They use construction paper frequently in their art projects and when they are having fun. The organic shapes represent the fun they have. The square in the middle is the original color of my artwork, and then it is surrounded by the same image rendered in different colors that are frequently seen. Red, Blue, Purple, and Green. These four colors are some of the basic colors that are found in many products for children, like markers and crayons.

This image represents how the life of a child should be versus what the life of a child is if they are the child of a domestic worker. Children are usually overlooked in this movement for equality and fair treatment. With this piece I hope to bring to light the plight of the children of domestic workers.