Developing a pop up book concept: The Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire
Historical Context
I learned about the Triangle shirtwaist company fire watching the great New York Documentary series by Ric Burns. The tragedy took place on March 25th 1911, in the eighth, ninth, and tenth floors of a building, located on Washington Place, that belongs today to the New York University Campus.
I learned about the Triangle shirtwaist company fire watching the great New York Documentary series by Ric Burns. The tragedy took place on March 25th 1911, in the eighth, ninth, and tenth floors of a building, located on Washington Place, that belongs today to the New York University Campus.
Around 4:40PM, a fire flared up and, as a common practice at the time was to lock the doors to prevent the workers to go away, most of the women got stuck in the building and could not escape the flames. 146 of them died from the fire, smoke inhalation, or falling or jumping to their deaths.
This event occurred after an intensive period of protests organized by women workers and unions of various factories of the city. During the months prior to the deadly fire, workers had taken the streets in an attempt to convince the owners that the working conditions were dangerous and unsanitary. The protest were in vain and the cold winter weather forced the women to go back to work without seeing any improvement of their working conditions. And then, the deadly fire happened. The sad event arose the politicians consciousness and a commission, presided by Al Smith, was set up to analyse the working conditions of the factory workers. The outcomes of the commission led to the first involvements of an american public administration in regulating the private sector. The politicians learned from the Triangle shirtwaist fire marked the start of the modern labor movement and led the politicians to a new governing approach that inspired the New Deal.
The Pop-up Book Project
The Triangle building is located a block from the ITP NYU building. Almost everyday on my way to school, I pass by the building, since I learned about this fire, I can not help but imagining the scene. Every time it feels like my mind is taken by glitches of images and sounds from the event. I imagine the fire flames, the powerless firemen, the onlookers, the horses, the water, the screams of the women. The sound of their bodies landing on the sidewalks.
This spontaneous jump into the past has made me realized how we take for granted what we see. The past is easily erased. My pop-up book project is an attempt to share my feelings and relationship to the fire
I will a mix of archive images and contemporary ones. The content will first be show in the contemporary period, telling the story of a dreamy girl walking in the neighborhood. Then, all the pop-up content will be revealing archival material showing and explaining aspects of the fire. The story of the book will be constructed this way:
Page 1:
The Pop-up Book Project
The Triangle building is located a block from the ITP NYU building. Almost everyday on my way to school, I pass by the building, since I learned about this fire, I can not help but imagining the scene. Every time it feels like my mind is taken by glitches of images and sounds from the event. I imagine the fire flames, the powerless firemen, the onlookers, the horses, the water, the screams of the women. The sound of their bodies landing on the sidewalks.
This spontaneous jump into the past has made me realized how we take for granted what we see. The past is easily erased. My pop-up book project is an attempt to share my feelings and relationship to the fire
I will a mix of archive images and contemporary ones. The content will first be show in the contemporary period, telling the story of a dreamy girl walking in the neighborhood. Then, all the pop-up content will be revealing archival material showing and explaining aspects of the fire. The story of the book will be constructed this way:
Page 1:
- a girl is walking on the sidewalk facing the building as it is today;
- the pop-up options will open a door to the past (pop-up windows at the top of the building showing flames, pop-up side-walk/street revealing a firetruck, a window slider showing scared women, pop-up street showing people watching the fire).
Page 2:
I want to make this book to share the story and find out what is the best storytelling option to combine various time periods in the same piece.
Also, what triggered my interest to this sad event was another one that occured the same month, 100 years after the Triangle fire. On November 24th 2012, 112 factory workers were killed in the Tazreen Fashions Factory fire. Same as in 1911, the workers were locked in the factory and could not escape the flames. Since 2006, more than 500 Bangladeshi workers have died in factory fires.
- from the inside of the building, showing staircases and sewing machines.
- and the girl going up the stairs
- To be determined.
I want to make this book to share the story and find out what is the best storytelling option to combine various time periods in the same piece.
Also, what triggered my interest to this sad event was another one that occured the same month, 100 years after the Triangle fire. On November 24th 2012, 112 factory workers were killed in the Tazreen Fashions Factory fire. Same as in 1911, the workers were locked in the factory and could not escape the flames. Since 2006, more than 500 Bangladeshi workers have died in factory fires.