THURSDAY, FEB. 28. 2002
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 5B
Artist explores racism
By Meghan Brune Jayplay writer
Roger Shimomura, distinguished professor of art, sits in front of an exhibit about stereotypes on which he is currently working. His art show featuring paintings of an interim camp he was in during WWII is on display in Washington right now.
KIMBERLY THOMPSON/KANSAN
Think back to the "Mr. Wong's Kitchen" advertisements of last year. Mr.Wong, the yellow-skinned, unusually hunched Asian character was a spokesperson for Icebox.com, a Web site with animated shorts. For Roger Shimomura, distinguished professor of art, this phenomenon played an interesting role in his research and paintings.
"Looking at the student responses, I found the opinions of Asian students not born in America tended to say that the character was a harmless joke," Shimomura said. "It was the Asian American students who took offense to the stereotypes this character portrayed."
Shimomura said 70 percent of the people in America of Asian descent were not born in America. This means only a small group grew up with Asian-American stereotypes as a part of their lives.
At age 3, Shimomura and his family were moved from their home in Seattle and interned in Camp Minidoka, Idaho, during World War II. His current exhibition, An American Diary, is based on this experience and the diary entries of his grandmother, Toku Machida. The College Art Association of America awarded this exhibit the Most Distinguished Body of Work
award for 2001. The show is finishing its 4-year run in March at the Bellevue Art Museum in Washington.
Shimomura has taught at the University of Kansas for more than 30 years. He teaches drawing, painting and performance art.
As an artist, he works mainly in acrylic paints, but he also sculpts, writes and directs. As a teacher, his personal research is not a part of his classes and he doubts many of his students know who he is on the side.
'The only way I bring my background into my teaching is to encourage my students to create works from their own stories and cultural experience," Shimomura said.
At this time, Shimomura is working on an exhibition that focuses on the stereotypes of Asian Americans during World War II. His research has developed from old postcards and other images collected from this time period. The paintings combine these images with stories of racism from his own life.
Contact Brune at mbrune@kansan.com. This story was edited by Andy Gassaway.
'Othello' actors spend hours rehearsing swordplay scenes
By Mandalee Meisner Jayplay writer
Othello has a bloody finger.
Or, at least the Othello coming to the main stage in the University Theatre production of Shakespeare's famous play.
Kansas City professional actor Walter Coppage, who fleshes out the misunderstood Moor beginning tomorrow, admitted the wound on his right hand was not a result of the many hours of sword-wielding rehearsal he's been doing.
"It's actually from doing dishes," Coppage said, looking down at his blood-stained Band-Aid.
Under the guidance of fight director Marianne Kubik, Coppage and other cast members have been swinging rapists, sabers and daggers — knowing that the seemingly endless repetition will turn into the fluid movement of a perfected battle sequence once showtime starts.
CHRISTINA NEFF/KANSAN
But the seamless spectacle of theatrical combat requires many nights of strenuous group work. For every five seconds of combat during the play, the cast spends one full hour practicing.
"The actors are supposed to look like they're making it up
Aaron Champion, Lawrence junior, left, and Tom Picasso, Overland Park senior, rehearse a scene from Othello as fight director Marianne Kubik watches. Many of the actors in Othello have taken Kubik's movement classes.
like it's all improvised, and of course it's all extremely carefully planned," said Paul
Meier, the play's director. "It's an art, it's all illusion. They're not really fighting, you know, but it's supposed to look spontaneous."
Contact Meisner at
mmeisner@kansan.com. This story was edited by Molly Gise.
Techno CD takes listener to new realm
By Carlos Centeno Jayplay writer
The Brothers are back with their new album, Come With Us. Perhaps in pursuit of a lost talent amidst the crowds of experimental electronica, the Chemical Brothers' new album is varied and exquisite.
The first cut, "Come With Us," is a penetrating big beat mix with violin samples reaching the exploding climax of a powerful kick sequence. Funky breaks are visible in the horizon as the "come with us" vocal sample reverberates in the background.
The next cut, "It Began in Africa," is the single that received enormous acceptance in dance clubs around the world. It has the same big beat sound with the exception of congas and drum solos cutting through the song.
From purple skies to blissful white clouds moving swiftly above us, holy loops and transitions between different guitar peragggios that blend like sugar sprinkles in the mouth introduce "Star Guitar" with the vocals, "You should feel what I feel/ You should take what I take" remind us that it is a song to be shared.
Beth Orton is delectable in "The State We're In," with a laid back, peace irradiating, loving voice within a beautifully arranged collaboration of chillout electronica.
As usual, after the fifth minute, the Chemical Brothers transit into an accelerating dance beat, elevating the listener to a higher rhythmic level and finally setting the pace for the next cut. "Denmark" is a beast from the same breed as "Galaxy Bounce," except this cut is a pure house infection.
Reminiscent of the melody in the Beatles" "Luey In The Sky With Diamonds," "Pioneer Skies" is a scream for hope. If electronic melodies could speak, this one would say: "you're going to make it, don't worry."
One of the best recorded collaborations between a rock star and electronic performers is "The Test" with ex-Verve front-man Richard Ashcroft. It is a global prayer introducing elements of dance, ambient and some sort of slow techno beat.
Come With Us is an invitation, a ticket to the trip of a lifetime. Starting with the basics of electronica, melting into dance, transitioning to pop and morphing into psychodelic-electronica, it is a trip into a fifth dimension, a parallel world where borders are of alien nature and glory is sweet in the arms of the hopeful generation.
Contact Centeno at jayplay@kansan.com.
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