A Nicer Place (I'm Loving It), Walter Greenleaf

UMaine Alert

Posted: April 19, 2024 - 1:32 PM

At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Friday, April 19, a University of Maine graduate student was struck by a university vehicle on Long Road at the University of Maine campus in Orono. The student reports that they are at a local hospital with minor injuries.

Emergency services, including the Orono Fire Department, University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, University of Maine Police Department, Orono Police Department and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

The university vehicle involved in the incident was a Chevrolet Express van. It was being operated by a university employee.

Counseling services and support are available for students, faculty or staff who may have been affected. The Counseling Center can be reached at 207-581-1392 and the Dean of Students Office can be reached at 207-581-1406.

The scene has been cleared and Long Road is now accessible. An investigation is being conducted by the University of Maine Police Department with assistance from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit. Any witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact Lt. Noel Santiago at noel.santiago@maine.edu.

A Nicer Place (I'm Loving It) , 2020

Walter Greenleaf
McDonald’s uniform, Hawaiian shirt, cruise line promotional shirt, digital prints

Each of the four stages of this piece also represents one of its core themes – Collaboration, Transformation, Imagination, and Connection. Though the stages unfolded as a series of linear, sometimes parallel events, the themes were at play throughout, intermingled, reinforcing each other like woven fibers. Inclusion of A Nicer Place (I’m Loving It) in Encased was contingent on embracing the virtues of these four concepts, and the process of adapting my project for the installation requirements of Encased became a welcome opportunity for further development.

Blurry Image of Walter in a Kitchen, wearing blue, with a red hat

Technical Details

Collaborating with W

This project began when “W,” my roommate, donated his old uniform to my collection of art supplies. Having moved onto the next phase of his academic training, he intended to leave McDonald’s for good, and would have no further need of it. W and I had met each other less than a month before the Fall 2020 semester began, but he recognized this opportunity for us to collaborate and took the initiative of suggesting it. I knew at once that my response to such a gesture would have a lasting impact on our friendship, so I set out to transform the garment into something he would find new value in.

Modifying the Garment

I set out to convert the McDonald’s uniform into a Hawaiian shirt, a prominent symbol of leisure and relaxation, and in many ways the conceptual opposite of the garment’s original purpose. The transformation was achieved first by opening the front of the uniform in order to add buttons and a pocket, then hand-stitching appliqué graphics sourced from a cruise line promotional t-shirt. Assistance with the sewing machine was graciously provided by classmate and Encased collaborator Kathleen Fraize. By lending us her expertise at a crucial moment, she ensured that the project proceeded successfully, and became the first of many personal connections it will help to establish as it continues into the future.

Invoking an Alternate Reality

The title “A Nicer Place” is a direct reference to the events of W’s life – his career progress from McDonald’s employee to medical technician. W and I discussed how the repurposed uniform could be used as a means for him to explore and depict the experience of moving from one phase of life to another. We set up a photoshoot according to his decisions, and the post-process phase of digital image editing drew exclusively from how he wished to artistically re-conceptualize his experiences.

Establishing Contact with the Distant

In order for A Nicer Place (I’m Loving It) to be fully actualized as a creative work, it must take more than one form and exist in more than one space. The modified garment will remain with W indefinitely, returned to him as a gift, representing and commemorating nothing more or less than what he alone experiences from it. The fantastical images we produced will persist, through the Internet presence of Encased as well as its physical incarnation, as three digital printouts. W has been given total creative freedom to inscribe a message onto each of the three images, using the simplest and most economical materials available. Our aim is to evoke the effect of a personal message – vacation photos dashed off to share with friends and family.

It is my hope that, through not just this work, but all elements and facets of Encased, viewers will be drawn in for a moment of connection with memories both real and contrived – fully authentic, and fully fantastical. W and I have sent them a message from a place that both does and does not exist: the nicer place we dream of, and must strive to build.