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(04/16/08 12:00pm)
Holman Hall's Art Gallery was the host of a very special event this past Wednesday: the 2008 Art Student Exhibition. The annual exhibition is the only time underclassmen can show off their artistic talent (the BFA Senior Art Show, the only other show that features students, is reserved for seniors). Of the 150 works submitted, 24 pieces were chosen.
Since the show was a "juried" art show, an outside juror chose which pieces would be featured in the show. This year's juror was Amy Adams, executive director of Vox Populi, a member-run artist collective founded in Philadelphia in 1988, and curator of exhibitions at the Esther M. Klein Art Gallery at the University City Science Center in Philadelphia.
Adams' main goal, as she wrote in her juror's statement, was to find a meeting of both rebellious and traditional efforts.
The four awards up for grabs were the Faculty Merit Awards, the Dean's Purchase Award, the Provost's Purchase Award and the President's Purchase Award. The Faculty Merit Awards represent the art department faculty's favorite pieces. As for the latter three, the dean, provost and president all picked the pieces they would like to purchase and those pieces those were then added to the permanent collection of student artwork found all around campus.
There were five recipients of the Faculty Merit Award. Sara Bennett, senior digital arts major, picked up an award for "Red and Green," a collection of digital images of a girl in various red and green clothing. Next was "System(01)" by Andrew Lubas, sophomore digital arts major, a digital photography slideshow of himself in various outfits that Adams described as "evok(ing) traditions of time-lapsed photography, aging, change and the frantic pace of modern day life."
The final three awards were given to Arthur Romanchuk, junior biology major, for "Limbo Hotel," a compilation of pictures from different areas of different hotel rooms; David Sankey, senior graphic design major, for "Self Portrait - The Artist as Tree, a 21st Century Allegory on the Sentiments of Pollock," a self portrait with human limbs replaced by tree limbs and a dove in one hand and an electrical cord and plug in the other; and "Green," an acrylic portrait of rolling green hills and a tiny brown house perched at the top, by Dana Vachon, senior fine arts major.
"I'm really honored to receive this award, what with working with such high-caliber peers - a great honor," Vachon, who also helped coordinate the event, said.
Devon DeMarco, senior fine arts major, won the Dean's Purchase Award for "Church Series, 1 & 3," two digital photographs of church signs that are almost directly next to liquor store and adult video store signs.
"It's the juxtaposition of the two worlds that makes this piece work," Sarah Cunningham, art gallery coordinator, said about the pieces. "It wasn't photoshopped. This is what she found."
Michelle Nugent, junior fine arts major, won the President's Purchase Award for her enormous collection of paintings "Can't See the Forest for the Trees," which consisted of three large spray-painted trees.
"The scale and use of color are incredibly important here," Cunningham said. "They cause the person to become engaged with the landscape."
Ryan Weber, junior art education major, won the Provost's Purchase Award with "Two Brothers," a combination of his ink and his brother, Christopher's, words.
"The shape of the book supports the content of the book," Cunningham said. "It's very linear - from the beginning to the end."
"We really look forward to having more student artwork available all of the time," Cunningham said. "We're just so proud of our students."
(04/09/08 12:00pm)
"We're gonna tear (them) apart," famed poet and author Gerald Stern joked, kicking off a "Master Poetry Class" held in the New Library Auditorium last Thursday by the Creative Writing Department and Jess Row, professor of English.
A "Master Poetry Class," Row explained, is a class in which a "master," in this case Stern, critiques advanced students in the arts. Four poetry students stepped up to the plate - Andrew Justin Croft, senior English major, Melissa Mijares, junior English major, Ariel Matos, senior English major and Tom Dunford, Signal News Editor.
First up was Croft, who read his poem, "Abraham," a retelling of the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac with psychological overtones. As soon as Croft was done reading, Stern said, "The killing with the knife reminded me of Bush." After that ice-breaking comment, he told Croft he liked the poem, but not some of his word choices.
"I want words to be resonant, to make my mind leap," he said. "I don't like words to get in the way of my reading." Stern liked the poem's vagueness since "a poet doesn't get printed nowadays if it isn't vague, ambiguous and hard to read," and he really liked Croft's line about Isaac's first cry as a child in which he wrote: "It scared the birds away."
Croft said he was "satisfied" with the critique.
Next, Mijares read her poem, "It's Creepy," in which she describes an uncomfortable situation where two generations and cultures collide over a roast pig with an apple in its mouth. Stern's main problem with the poem was that he felt it didn't go anywhere.
"The poem decided to end itself because it didn't know where to go," he said. "The worst thing that can happen in a work of art is for nothing to happen."
Stern, however, liked the part in which Mijares described the pig itself, writing: "Suddenly aware of the eye sockets/the oven-dried jaw askew/the belly ripped and jagged/I feel the urge to throw a blanket over it."
Stern finished by commenting that the "poem (was) yet unwritten" and encouraged Mijares to finish it to the best of her ability.
Matos was next with "Down the Scarlet Brick Road," a poem about a man's female boss who is on her period, and is therefore making him fear for his life, included with "Wizard of Oz" references and imagery. Unfortunately, Stern's first question was, "Is this a good subject for a poem?"
He then went on to say that while he thought it was good to make people uncomfortable, he thought the poem was "too literal and prosy." He added that one "cannot meet a subject dead on," but should take evasive maneuvers. He did, however, like the last two lines of the poem, when the man is exiting the boss's office: "navy tie hanging loosely between his legs/desperately in need of courage." To these, Stern said, "I applaud (them)."
Last to read was Dunford with his poem, "g= -((mG)/r_)r" (or as Stern called it, "G equals dodadodado"), a poem about a man whose roomate threw himself out a window and is contemplating the physics of falling bodies. Stern decided the poem was "very distant, an intellectual distance used to cover up emotional fear or terror" and that Dunford's "technical talk adds to the distance that he's taking."
Stern's favorite line was the last one: "But tonight, it's a secret you can keep to yourself."
He ended by simply saying, "It's kind of a nice poem."
After the four student poets were finished, Stern read some poetry to the audience, both his own and some of his favorites by other poets. He then fielded some questions; When asked what his advice to aspiring poets was, he spoke these words: "As an artist, you need more than skill. You need will."
(04/02/08 12:00pm)
Thanks to the creativity and talent of TCNJ Musical Theatre's writers and director, George Lucas' classic trilogy has gone where no musical has gone before: a galaxy far, far away. "Star Wars! The Musical," which played on Kendall Hall's Main Stage from March 27 to 30, was a self-professed parody. It was stupid. It was nonsensical. It had Darth Vader in a flowered apron and pink oven mitts. And it was also the funniest thing I've seen in my entire life.
Unfortunate sound problems aside, the show was practically perfect from start to finish. The staging was creative and the music was superb. None of the songs in the play were originals, however.
Song highlights from Act IV were: "A Blown Up World" (borrowed from Disney's "Aladdin"); a touching duet between the evil Grand Moff Tarkin (junior music major Brian Michalowski) and Princess Leia (sophomore communication studies major Elaine White) as she watches her home planet destroyed by the Death Star; "Greased Falcon," where Han Solo (sophomore English major Ray Fallon) tells his newest customers about the merits of the Millennium Falcon through song and suggestive hip movements ? la Danny Zuko; and "Evil Sith Lord," where Darth Vader (junior business major Dan Keyser) is as close to a "Sweet Transylvanian Transvestite" as an evil Sith Lord can get.
The mayhem continued during Act V - "The Empire Strikes Back" - when Yoda (sophomore computer science major Vincent St. John) informs Luke Skywalker (senior marketing major Maria Aromando), "A Friend in Me, You've Got," the only song I've ever heard make use of inverted syntax (Yoda-speak). At the end of the act everyone decided to not give up and to rescue Han just so they could sing the rousing "We're All in Space Together" (yes, even "High School Musical" made an appearance), which brought the younger members of the audience to their feet to dance.
And finally, Act VI, in whichthe Jedi return, featured "It's the Ewok's Life," performed by teddy bears gone horribly, horribly wrong. During Luke and Darth's climatic fight scene, the rebels and the empire figuratively duel with opposing songs: "Luke, Be a Jedi" (from "Guys and Dolls"), and "Sith" (from "Fame"). Three guesses who wins. And finally, an emotional duet performed between father and son - "For Good" (from "Wicked"), which includes the infamous line, "Because I dueled you, I will be dead for good."
This show would not have succeeded if either of the following occurred: one, the actors took themselves too seriously, or two, the actors took themselves too seriously. Every performance was no-holds-barred and each part was perfectly cast, but a few performances stood out.
C-3PO, played by Jason Beers, sophomore mathematics major, was properly annoying and British with his ever-present line, "I've got a bad feeling about this." Rudy Basso portrayed Obi-Wan Kenobi as a horny old man with words of wisdom like, "So? I died in Act IV and here we are in Act VI, chatting away," when Luke is distraught over Yoda's death. Junior history major Vincent Scafuto was scarily accurate as Emperor Palpatine in both looks and voice. And Aromando played Luke Skywalker, one of the most fabled heroes in cinematic history, as a whiney, annoying little brat.
As the least-parodied character, White was a great Princess Leia with her sympathetic looks and her easy handling of Han Solo. Speaking of Han Solo, Fallon was the perfect tough, swaggering space scoundrel who had Leia (along with all the girls in the audience) swooning after his every line (including his "Yahoo!" which put Harrison Ford to shame).
Two people, however, clearly got the loudest ovations from the audience during curtain call. St. John, though playing the small part of Yoda (with an equally small puppet), had a Yoda voice so impressive that you'd have thought he was channeling Frank Oz, and he mastered all of his difficult backward lines like he'd been speaking that way all his life.
And finally, well, what can I really say about Keyser? He played the role of Darth Vader as if that was all he was born to do. He was flamboyant, overtly sexual and the nicest Sith Lord to ever try and conquer the galaxy. He had so many one-liners and sight gags, it's literally impossible to choose one above the others.
Through it all - the lightsaber duels, the singing, the dancing and the Ewoks without pants (it's Ewok Rule Number 37, after all), "Star Wars! The Musical" was an amazing and remarkably enjoyable experience. As one crazed fan, played by Rowena Briones, senior communication studies major, said, "Term papers come and go, but 'Star Wars' is forever."
(02/20/08 12:00pm)
On Feb. 14, a 1920s British living room took up residence in the Don Evans Black Box Theater. 1920s-style music played lightly in the background and audience members, both young and old, spoke in hushed voices, almost afraid to break the spell the small theater was under: the spell of "The Constant Wife," Shakespeare '70's newest undertaking at the College.
Opening night is always exciting and Thursday's performance was no different as the crowd filled the seats in waves, quietly chattering in anticipation of the performance. As soon as Tracy Hawkins, portraying Mrs. Culver, walked onto the stage, the previous spell was broken, and a new one cast: that of the story of Constance Middleton, a woman in her late 30s who discovers her husband is having an affair, and does nothing but attempt to hold their marriage together, but not for the reasons one would think.
"It's nice having a man around the house - it's nice to have someone to tell you you're quite right when you know you're . quite wrong," Mrs. Culver said.
Quips and subtle moments like this saturated the characters' conversations. A particular highlight was the moment when John, Constance's cheating husband, walked in and asked Mrs. Culver, "Ah, how's my mother-in-law?"
And she firmly answers, "Mother-in-lawish."
While the play was a company effort, a few of the actors' performances stuck out from the crowd. Carol Thompson was a pure joy as Constace. She is one of those actresses who delivers a line and it takes the audience a moment to realize it's a terribly funny joke because she said it with such a straight face.
"I think husbands and wives tell each other far too much nowadays," she said after discovering her husband's infidelity.
Her stage presence and smile lightened an already luminous play.
George Hartpence, playing Carol Thompson's husband John Middleton, was funniest when he wasn't speaking. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then his facial expressions are worth a million.
Tracy Hawkins was the perfect sarcastic but caring mother as Mrs. Culver. She had some of the best lines in the play, including her philosophy on telling whether one is in love with a man or not: "Could you use his toothbrush?"
Recent College graduate Gina Yanuzzi, who played Martha Culver, Constance's unruly but worried sister, was annoying enough to leave little doubt that she was, in fact, Constance's little sister. Meanwhile Heather Duncan, sophomore English major, didn't have a large role as the Middletons' maid, Edith, but her scene dragging luggage across the floor was one of the funniest in the play.
"The Constant Wife" is playing at the Black Box Theater on Feb. 21 through 23 at 8 p.m. and on Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. With its subtle humor and cultural references, it is admittedly not for everyone. But anyone who enjoys tongue-in-cheek period plays about manners and motives should definitely check out this piece.