6A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
40
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2005
Stephanie Ferlev/KANSAN
Valerie Schurman, Prairie Village junior, gazes at the Art Department Faculty Exhibition at the Art and Design Gallery, west of Budig Hall, yesterday afternoon. The exhibit, which ends Feb. 11, features art from 21 faculty members.
Works by art department faculty on display in teachers' exhibition
Twenty-one professors submit pieces for two-week show
By NEL MULKA
nmulka@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
An urban fairy skates off Kansas City, Mo., buildings and a two-foot ear rests near the floor of the Art and Design Building.
Don't worry, a giant didn't lose his ear, and there isn't a fairy in Kansas City — they are art made by KU art professors Phillip Blackhurst and Maria Velasco.
Blackhurst and Velasco are two of 21 professors in the annual faculty exhibition.
The exhibition opened Sunday and will be open until Feb. 11 at the gallery in the Art and Design Building.
"The opening was very wellattended despite the weather,"said Velasco, associate professor of installation art.
Michelle Lenihan, junior, said that the show was a chance for
art students to see where their professors were coming from while they were teaching class.
Lenihan said it was also a learning experience.
"Here we get a good professional example on how to show your work in a gallery," Lenihan said. "It's exciting to look forward to."
Velasco's piece, "A City With a View" wasn't meant to be seen in a gallery. The five-foot viewer that plays footage of the skateboarding fairy was originally located on Central Avenue in Kansas City, Mo., as part of last year's Avenue of the Arts exhibition.
When people look into the viewer, they see a person, or "urban fairy" as Velasco describes it, skateboarding off buildings on Central Avenue and hiding in windows.
"I thought of how I can make a piece that engages viewers and takes them out of the monotony of and routine of
"We have some people
who just pass through But some people walk through, see something interesting and they linger."
Brian Devine Art and Design Gallery employee
work." Velasco said.
She said her piece needed extra explanation because the art relied on the original Kansas City atmosphere.
The city scape was the springboard for the piece, she said.
Stunts and tricks were made by lavering separate films.
Luke Anderson, Topea sophomore, said the show gave viewers a peek at how the faculty fit nationally.
"I suppose the KU art faculty is just a microcosm of the entire art scene," Anderson said.
Lenihan said that it was sad that a significant amount of traffic for the faculty show were cafeteria customers who had to go through the gallery to get to the eatery.
Brian Devine, a gallery employee, said the location of the cafeteria was helpful.
"We have some people who just pass through," Devine, Laramie, Wyo., senior, said. "But some people walk through, see something interesting and they linger."
Devine said attendance depended on the type of exhibit and the day of the week.
He said that exhibitions had a larger attendance earlier in the week because they were newer and not as many people had seen them.
Potential jurors attempt to avoid Jackson molestation trial
Edited by Kendall Dix
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SANTA MARIA, Calif. — Dressed in a bright white suit and jewel-trimmed vest and belt, Michael Jackson stood before the first group of prospective jurors yesterday. They could decide his fate on charges that he molested a teenage cancer patient and plied the boy with alcohol at his Neverland Ranch.
Accompanied by four defense lawyers, Jackson smiled as he faced prospective jurors. He also greeted the clerk with a handshake.
Outside, several hundred fans pressed up against a chain-link fence and shouted words of encouragement, holding up signs that read, "Dear God, Please Give Michael Justice" and "France Supports and Loves MJ."
Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon, whom Jackson has derided in a song as a "cold man" with a vendetta, did not come to court. A deputy represented the prosecution.
Jackson, 46, is charged with molesting a teenage boy — then 13, now 15 — and plying him with alcohol.
On Sunday. Jackson issued a
court-approved video statement on his Web site, predicting he would be acquitted. His parents also spoke out in his defense yesterday.
"I know my son, and this is ridiculous," his mother, Katherine Jackson, said in an interview broadcast on CBS "The Early Show." She said people who believed her son was guilty "don't know him."
Judge Rodney Melville told the first group of 150 prospective jurors that they might have to serve for about six months, but that it was an important duty.
"Most of us have relatives who
have fought and died to protect this service," Melville said. "Freedom is not free. Jury duty is part of the cost of freedom."
The first group was predominantly white. About a quarter appeared to be Hispanic. There were only three blacks.
Sixty-six members of the first group asked to be excused, but during questioning by the judge, two changed their minds. One woman was excused from the case.
Five hundred more prospective jurors were to be processed yesterday, today and Wednesday.
The judge wants 12 jurors in
"Freedom is not free. Jury duty is part of the cost of
part of the cost of freedom."
Rodney Melville
addition to eight alternates.
Judge
The small-town feel of the jury pool was apparent during questioning. One woman ran a pet shop, while another was in local real estate. One woman said she could get a medical excuse from
her doctor across the street. A few said they had friends who work at Jackson's Neverland ranch.
Other prospective jurors said they had to care for sick relatives or had too many job responsibilities. One woman said that at 75, she was "just too old."
"You don't look a day over 60." the judge replied.
"Your employer doesn't pay
luv service?" Melville asked.
One man said he couldn't serve because his employer wouldn't pay him while he was on jury duty.
"He's an attorney; No sir" the man said.
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University of Kansas Dole Institute of Politics Presidential Lecture Series 2005 "The Reagan Presidency" featuring LOU CANNON definitive Reagan biographer and award-winning journalist
Thursday, February 3,2005
7:30 p.m. Lied Center
(book signing to follow)
Free Tickets Available Now
at the SUA Ticket Office and
the Lied Center (785) 864-2787
Thursday, February 17, 2005 7:30 "Stagecraft Stories: How Advance Work Builds Presidential Image"
Thursday, February 24, 2005 7:30 "Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War Ended"
Monday, February 28, 2005 7:30 "Electing Reagan: The Presidential Campaigns"
(Remaining free tickets for the three Hansen Hall lectures are available now by calling the Dole Institute) (785) 864-4900
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