Friday, August 27,1976
University Daily Kansan
Arts & Leisure
Staff photo by DAVE REGIER
"Day of Birth," a painting by Jane Ashbury, assistant professor, briefly captures the attention of a student making his way through the Kansas University Gallery. In the foreground is a painted portrait of Klaus Wiegandt.
Artist's-Eye View
By LEROY JOHNSTON
You first confront three tall steel figures resembling Egyptian mummies. They are wearing steel overcoats, have right-angle pipes for heads and face east.
"Hirata Tantata, Bentoto Tajakmen, Tiero Tito," their inscriptions sav.
A look around confirms that the first show of the fall semester at the Kansas Union Gallery has opened.
Featuring the work of three University of Kansas assistant professors of art, the show, which runs through September. 12, is part of the sculpture of Richard Gillespie to the complex paintings of Jane Asbury and the intensely personal work of Michael Sims. Elements of the surreal in the works of the artists are among the few unifying elements in their varied approaches.
EMBEDDED IN A matrix of optically reversible blocks, multicolors oozed and spread, creating in a painting by Ashby.
A flurry of short strokes fogly defines a chair and a presence in a drawing by Sims. Gillespie is teaching at KU for the first time this fall. Working in skies he fabricates his dream sculpture from personal experiences that have left impressions on him.
ON THE FLOOR, "Dedicated to Richard Herman," a large steel bird with welded tube legs
reclines in a giant steel matchbox. Gillespie says he buried a bird that way in his youth.
Other references are more obscure. "A Frame" resembles a swinget. Below the cross brace hangs a pseudo-bird with a ladder running into its head. In a small cut-out in the pyramid-like shape below, sits a tiny grand piano.
Among the major influences on Gillespie, besides contemporary sculptors such as Auguste Rodin and Bernard Westerman, are many surrealists. Heronymous Bosch is among them. Certainly there is something of Bosch in all this, but there are also scenes scary, yet childlike, with such images like dogs, anvils, millions of tiny birds and figures who have square holes and figures floating in confined space.
CONFUSING SPACE and creating visual contradictions are specialties of Asbury, whose paintings, drawings, and serigraphs can be bogged in by making and color juxtaposition.
"Search for the Unicorn," a large painting with an underlying structure, diagonally oriented, out of which emerge organic forms resembling the banded stalks of small eyes, with pointed tips on each side of the space, which is logical and clear, yet perfectly impossible.
THE SAME THEMES of visual contradiction, brightness and contrast of colors are the basis for her paintings. Her more recent
works are something of a turning point because the supportive matrix is eliminated, as the softly modulated of Being', the softly form with their careful modeling and inner light source, are reminiscent of the work of Ves Tans a twentieth century surgical.
"I like to set up the impression of illusionism and destroy it simultaneously," Abbury surrs.
HER INFLUENCES are many, ranging from medieval painting and Persian carpets to ancient manuscripts and biological forms. She borrows many of the organic shapes she uses from these sources, as is used most clearly by her serigraphy, which shows whose wrinkled, veined forms
commit impossible spacial actions.
The strange inner lighting within the paintings is similar to that in scanning electron microscopy, where the center and becomes darker near the edges. The coloration of the bulging forms resembles the gaudy and bizarre hues of a dinosaur skeleton to break rules of space.
AKIN TO THE work of Gillespie in terms of its personalism, but executed in two national media, is Sims works.
"The Planets" an unusual piece comprising 12 handmade multicolored paper discs, some like donuts, exemplifies the creative spirit of autobiographical nature of Sims' work. Many of the
references he makes in his pieces are intentionally obscure.
Basically, he says, his work deals with the difficulties of defining oneself as an artist. Frequent images in his works are cats, equally difficult to define.
WHEN PRESSED for influences, he says one of the frustrating things about defining oneself as an artist is feeling the need to locate oneself in the history of art.
In the painting, "The Artist or
the Pentateuch Acquisition of
the Image" by the fitness of
the image conveys the tentative
nature of a promise.
"Giving a promise is a commitment to an idea or a concept," Sims says.
Orleans's newest album fulfills group's potential
By GREG HACK Contribution Writer
WAKING AND DREAMING.
Oreans, Asylum Records,
recorded spring 1976 at the
Sound Factory, Hollywood.
Produced by Charles Plotkin.
It isn't exactly another "Pet
Society" or "Desperado," but
"Waking"
Orreans's new concept album,
should achieve a popular
success to match the critical
acclaim they have had since they cut their first album in 1973.
Orleans is a group of excellent musicians who can play rock 'n' roll that is both precise and free-flowing. It is the only funky rock 'n' roll band good enough to be put in the same class as Little Feat, and the band's top song from the summer of 1975, "Dance With Me," proved its potential for commercial success.
Film year one of worst ever
By CHUCK SACK
One of the most painful experiences in writing film reviews is the tendency of past reviewers to look inward. For example, at the close of the spring semester I wrote a glowing review of "Buffalo bill Indians," and just seen a row of the New York, and thought that
with some judicious editing, it would be terrific.
Instead, the released version arriving in midsummer had gained an unflattering 20 minutes that made it puffy and ponderous. The irony is that, even though I was disappointed with the outcome of my business, my prediction that "Buffalo Bill" would be one of
the most interesting films of the summer still proved true.
PRIMARILY, THIS IS due to the lack of competition. If there were any doubt about the potential influence of this summer's sorry schedule should have dispelled it.
"Missouri Breaks," which opened during finals week last May, and Alfred Hitchcock's
This Week's
Theater
Highlights
1776: A musical comedy with a Philadelphia setting. Peter Keller, David F. Tame, and Howard Da Silva from the original Broadway show are among the principal actors in tomorrow night and Sunday night at a Starlight Theatre in Kansas City, Mo.票价 $2.858
THE HILBILLY: A aunchy
musical comedy celebrating life
in the Ozarks (8.30 tonight at
Fairview, farm. flickes
$3.90 and $4).
MS. PRESIDENT: A musical
pallin for the Presidency (8.30
p.m. Wednesday at Apple Valley,
Parm. Lompong Lim. $45, 1
$30, 45 and $3.50).
THE DRUNKAR: An old-fashioned melodrama in its 17th season. (8:30 to tomorrow night at Farm, Tickets: $3.50 and $4.)
SHABOOM-BOY: A 1950's
musical comedy about a rock
star's rise to fame. (B: 30 Thurs.
Friday) Fawn, Farm, tickets
$3 and $3.50.)
Concerts
THE REVISION CLUB
REHIVE, K.C. JAZZ RENOTE
RISENO the '20s and '30s perform Kansas City-style. (azz. 8 tonight in the Kansas Union football, general admission $4.50.)
TOBY AND THE PREACHER: An old-style tent and family farm. (7 Sunday night at age 5p.m.) Farm, tickets $3 and $30.1
Exhibits
THE BICENTENNIAL OF A BOOK: Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, Watson Library.
THE ART OF BUDDHISM Museum of Art.
FACULTY ART SHOW,
featuring the works of Jane
Hancock, Giuseppe Sims and
Richard Gilliespe, Kansas
Union Gallery.
"WHEN SUBJECTS ARE REBELS," main gallery; "OBSERVATIONS AND DISCOVERIES IN THE NORTH OF AMERICA, northwest of Mexico, CIVITIES," 1926, archives gallery. Spencer Research Library.
PAUL GRAY'S JAZZ PLACE; The Tom Montgomery Trio plays contemporary jazz tonight from 9 to midnight, and Gray's GasLight Gang night from 9 to midnight, harrow night from 9 to midnight.
Nightclubs
MIKE BEERS plays piano and guitar Wednesday through Saturday from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Rubayafy Club, Ramada Inn FYRE, a five-man group, plays dance music tonight and tomorrow night from 9 to 12. Hawk's Nest, Union.
AIRBORNE and STIR CRAZY, rock 'n' roll bands, perform Tuesday from 8:30 p.m. from bumbleys. Bugsy's LILLY SELLY band, Lily Selly nationally known bluegrass band plays from 9 to midnight tonight and tomorrow night. Off-the-Wall Hall. The Hall's session, anyone can perform, is Wednesday night.
talents of every member, Hall and Larry Hoppin both sing lead, and Kelly and Larry's brother Lance provides some soaring harmonies when the guitar is warming to waking. The guitars are again good, with lots of finger-popping hooks.
Films
MURDER BY DEATH-
Mildly diverting whohunit features of Neil Simon's *The Man Who Knew* almost ruined by Peter Sellers' hammy Oriental stichk and the wretched comic timing of the direction. Only Peter Falk and James Patterson keep things on the plus side.
LOVE AND DEATH-Woody Allen and Diane Keaton are all alike. An Allen's show of Russian filmmaking, a German philomilosers, take-off on Swedish film-makers and an American treatise on American neuroses.
tails as entertainment. Charlton Heston has sustained his recent career exclusively with disaster movies, including Pacific Theater explodes in flames around him. The man should be excited to the Antarctic.
THE TAILOR WHO FELI
THE FIRM WHO LOVE
SEA- Steamy love story
starring Krista Krisiofferson
and Sarah Miles is as erratic as it is
THE OUTLAW JOSEY WILLS • Clint Easthaw stars in *Wild Cards* and badly told tale about a Confederate soldier hounded by evil Northerners after Appatoxation. They were separated from sequences well by keeping them brief. Too bad he didn't take this approach with more of the
MIDWAY — Spectacular treatment of the World War II battle is as thin as history and
2001: A SPACE OD-
BILITY THE FILM TAPES
film shows more im-
agination than the SUA
chairman who brought it to
theaters.
"Family Plot" were the only other halfway rewarding films for conscientious film-goers. Those of us who stuck it out in Lawrence were bombarded with the leftovers of late winter ("Gable and Lombard"), the failures of spring ("Lipstick"), the failures of release and a surat of exploitation, and allow troubled theaters to survive ("Revenge of the Cheerleaders").
THE CLOSEST thing to hits offered in Lawrence from June to last week were "Logan's Run," a second-rate story with first-rate effects, and "The Omen," a fourth-rate story with fourth-rate effects and a first-rate TV ad campaign.
ANIMATED FILM SERIES-
A good selection of different types of animation is offered this semester. This week's series includes the excellent GOLDFRAME and THE VIOLOINIST.
THE CAMERAMAN—Buster Keaton's next-to-last silent feature is a delightful romp set in the early 1930s cameraman. Though MGM didn't allow Keaton to direct, his exquisite touch is always evident in this crisp comedy. He was one of the original SABOTEUR—Alfred Hitchcock double bill. SECRET AGENT, though less satisfactory, has plenty of Hitchcock's familiar characters well-supported by Peter Lorre and a villainous Robert Young. SABOTEUR is not as rare, but will please most newcomers, light on the Status of Liberty.
Unfortunately, Hollywood has cut back production to a few high-budget events. The overriding rule of the arts—90 per cent of everything is trash—still applies. But because fewer films are made out, fewer films remain in the redeeming 10 per cent.
Neither of these films were critical successes, but they drew better than other films. For a quick measure of how we stand, compare "Logan's Run" and "The Omen" with last year's summer hits, "Nashville" and "Jaws."
ONE MIGHT logically expect that the multimillion-dollar survivors would receive careful attention, rather than become manufactured from archaic formulas. Yet a glance at some reams of this evidence reveals that none of this attention was given to plotlines.
Slated for release before Christmas are "Billy Jack Goes to Washington," "The
Check ads for showtimes.
Heriec—The Excorist part II" and "Dirty Harry III" which will probably have a different release title. We'll also be faced with the remake of "King Kong," which is using such expense effects that producer Kevin McCarthy already announced that a sequel must be produced if he is to break even.
WHAT I AM driving at is that this is one of Hollywood's worst years ever. I don't just mean the poor box office attendance, which was down one-third from 1975 at the end of June, but the lackluster quality of the films that are being released.
THE BAND'S choice of waking and dreaming as a concept for its fourth album seems wise. It doesn't strait-jacket the band members musically or lyrically, Rather, it allows them to explore new material that flows well, unite their previous album, "Let There Be Music."
The dearth of a decent product hurts the exhibitor in Lawrence, Commonwealth Theatres. All summer Commonwealth's booker has benefited that it would be better to hold back the year's few successes until students returned.
But this year even a marginal draw-like "The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea" was reserved for fall. And already "Silent Movie" and "St. Ives" were runs of "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and "Murder by Death."
THE SIDE IS CAPPED by the "dreaming" song "Sails", which is quite beautiful and airy. Hall's wife, Johanna, who has many of the group's lyrics, is at her album, particularly on the dreaming songs. She does her best job to date of conjuring up images with "Sails" and nine tune called "Golden State."
SO "THEATRIS' Entertainment, Part II," "Murder by Death" and the others have been withheld until they could be released to a maximum potential audience. In itself this isn't unusual, because most years the month from late July club week is left barren while the club saves to impress the students marooned in the Kansas hinterlands.
This should not be misinterpreted as an anti-communist stance. The managers are just pleased to bring Polanski's "The Tenant" as they are to offer a return of "The Computer Maniac" if the former is well-attended and proves profitable.
CLEARLY, COM-MONWEALTH and other exhibitors are having to scrape for films this year. To get "Midway," even without the Sensurround gimmick, Commonwealth had to guarantee the film a three-week run. This seems risky with a movie whose action sequences feature outstretched hands in a film that would have buried Twentieth Century Fox in 1970 if "M-A-S-H" hadn't come to the studio's rescue.
Lawrence deserves more special attention from the Commonwealth bookers but just the September glut. We should be able to get neglected American films here, too.
BOOKERS WILL schedule pap as long as it is safe to do so. They won't give Lawrence special attention until a special move is allowed to exist here. To them it's simple economics either way.
IT WOULD BE better to see some of the interesting films that are passed over because they aren't recognizable hits ("Stay Hungry," "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie," "Smile") than have the screen space available for Violation" and some of the other trash we had to put up with this summer.
The album opens with three main "waking" songs, which should speak well to the desires and feelings of almost everyone. "Reach" talks about having to grow, change, and reach for some new goal. John Hall's easy, riffy guitar work is in evidence, and the addition of Kelly on drums makes the group's percussion better than ever.
The second side doesn't stick to the album's concept as closely as the first, but it is still difficult to know. The album didn't want the concept to overshadow the music or to tell people what to think.
"WHAT I NEED?" talks about the need for the earth, air, water and something much more complex than I'm living for." Hall and Larry Hoppen trade excellent guitar soles, making one wonder how they can play perfect without a constrained or rehearsed
"If I Don't Have You" talks to the need for that "special someone," and is as pretty as any song the band has done. The group is helped on back-up by Linda Ronda, a big fan.
Next comes "Waking and Dreaming," which shows off the group's amazing vocal harmonies and the instrumental
THE SECOND SIDE has a nice reggie number, "The Path" Orleans can play reggae and have a great accomplishment for a white band Kelly's "The Bum," which is great in concert, is nicely done on the album. It is an old-style rake that would make Elysia glad.
The album doesn't have a sure-fire single like "Dance With Me," but "Still the One" has a good chance. The lyrics and melody are catchy, the vocals are excellent, and the songs "good times" feeling reminiscent of the Lovin' Spoonful.
ALTHOUGH the album doesn't sparkle like "I let There Be Music," it is more artistically complete. The previous album was very good, but its melancholy on a commercial level didn't the band live up to its full potential. One hopes the public finally realizes just how good this band is.
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Published at the University of Kansas daily August through May and Monday through Thursday during summer. Two separate classes, paid at Lawrence, Kan., a day before the semester begins, and second-class class, paid at Lawrence, Kan., a day after the semester begins.
A year in Douglas County and $1 a semester or $2 a semester, paid through the student activity fee.
Editor
Douglas County
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