Susan Dobinsky Collection

Dobinsky 056

Collection Items

Browse All Objects
Little Village Street Scenes + Smash Plan 21 Cutaways / Murals 10/29
Film
Little Village Street Scenes + Smash Plan 21 Cutaways / Murals 10/29
1988
New Murals I
Film
New Murals I
1989
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To request more information about the items in this collection, please contact the archive at info@chicagofilmarchives.org.
Items with Viewable Media
Collection Identifier
C.2021-10
Extent of Collection
60 16mm film reels totaling approximately 24,700 feet; 40 open reel audio tapes.
Language Of Materials
English
Custodial History
The films were transferred to CFA in 2021.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open to on-site access. Appointments must be made with Chicago Film Archives. Due to the fragile nature of the films, only video copies will be provided for on-site viewing.
Creators
Dobinsky, Susan (was created by)
During her time as a graduate student at the University of Illinois Chicago earning her Master's degree in Spanish, Susan Dobinsky became interested in photographing murals and talking to community members about them. She then worked with colleague Julie Kurtz, a translator with a background in Spanish language and folklore, to try to "decode" the visual language of images depicted within murals, producing several articles for academic journals on the subject.

One of the articles, published circa 1986, caught the eye of then Chicago-based filmmakers Ronn Bayly and Susan Regele, who became interested in working on a film about the topic. The group received a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, and began filming soon after. In 1990, the group ran out of funding, and were thus unable to finish the film.