'Strangers' Reign in Murphy Hall
Page 9
Bv Bob Hovt
A gladiator stands in Murphy Hall between the ladies powder room and the coffee bar.
The gladiator is the creation of Jack Spillman of Tulsa University. Near the opposite end of the exhibition gallery is a thing called "Figure," by James B. Clover of the Kansas City Art Institute. Without a nametag, "Gladiator" might pass for something else. But "Figure" resembles nothing so much as a charred human corpse, suggesting nuclear holocaust.
Between these two works are numerous others, created by artists from various parts of the United States. One noticeably realistic abstraction is "Water Buffalo" by Imao Absulmari of the Rhode Island School of Design.
What are the visitors saying?
"Good night! What is it?" one woman asked when confronted by the "Gladiator."
"I DON'T KNOW what it is," her companion answered. "What I want to know is how they do it."
One teacher walking down the hall muttered that the exhibit "looks like an army obstacle course."
"Oh, they pound metal together, and weld it, and things like that."
University Daily Kansan
One man and woman walking hand in hand looked askance at the exhibits on either side of them. "Close your eyes," he said, "and maybe you won't see it."
CHANCES ARE THAT if you close your eyes you will still see that charred corpse.
"Skidmore College it says on this one. Ever hear of that?" "Saw."
One bevy of women giggled in unison when one of them said, "This one would make a good coattack." The man standing near them did not laugh as he looked at a seated metal figure and said, "Looks like she's got her face bashed in."
"This one is a bug," said another man, directing a woman's attention to the figure. "See the stingers."
"Antennaea," she corrected, sounding as if she might be a little perterbed with his interpretation, but not certain he was mistaken in it.
One man said, "I've never been in this building before."
BEFORE THE EXHIBIT is over, many KU students may be drawn to Murphy hall for the first time.
What does the exhibit mean?
As the man said, "I've never been in this building before."
in this building before.
Perhaps the artists exhibited there are saying, 'I've never been in this world before.' Here we write I make of the past. Here's what I feel around me. And here's what I see for the future."
The exhibit is a gathering of creative attempts to express reality in abstract terms. What does that mean? Perhaps it means nothing to those who look for some practical surface value.
If it is a coatrack, it is a coatrack. If it has meaning in terms of the progress of the human spirit, it is difficult or impossible to analyze.
ART IS COMMUNICATION, but it sometimes speaks an unfamiliar language. The artist abstracts from the world around him and attempts to give it symmetry through his medium. Those exposed to it
can only take it for what it suggests in terms of their individual existences.
Perhaps the two eagles in flight and the water buffalo fighting flies means more than the woman with the bashed in face and the charred human corpse. It becomes a matter of taste and experience.
Artists have an irritating habit of looking at the human race in its entirety. Some of what he sees is not too pretty, nor is it all line and shadow or black and white.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, also according to taste, when the artist abstracts, he does not always pick up the hearts and flowers and reject the so-called "bad" things.
Architects Confer On Aged's Houses
Problems of retirement, health, shelter and the government's role in aged housing will be the key topics at the ninth annual State Architects Conference to be held in the Big 8 Room of the Kansas Union, Friday.
Speakers will be Rev. George Nelson, United Presbyterian Foundation of Kansas; Dr. Sidney Spector, Housing and Home Finance Agency; Dr. Donald Rose, KU Medical Center; and Dr. Walter Virett, University of Minnesota.
Tuesday, April 10, 1962
ASC Member-
(Continued from page 1) thought that he would come to us if he had any questions."
MINER SAID THAT HE now has accumulated the experience to become familiar with campus situations, but said he got this on his own initiative and not through the help of UP.
Asked why he ran for the UP in the first place. Miner said:
Hardy said that the situation might have come up through a faulty line of communication. Since UP won only two seats in last Spring's election, few carry-over ASC representatives were available to orient the new members with campus affairs, he explained.
"Anderson and I discussed running for the ASC from the unmarried-unorganized district, and I went to a couple of UP meetings. I wanted to run for the ASC and Vox already had a candidate (Allphin). UP seemed like a good party, they were available, so I entered the direct primary from UP against Mike Thomas. Thomas at the time was the treasurer of the ASC."
AWS Senate Members Meet This Afternoon
The '61-'62 Associated Women Students (AWS) Senate members and the newly elected '62-'63 Senate members will meet at 4 p.m. today in the Dean of Women's office, 220 Strong.
P-T-P Film Set For Tomorrow
The next foreign travel conference sponsored by People-to-People will be held at 4 p.m. tomorrow in the Forum Room of the Kansas Union.
The conference will cover travel in Spain. It will be conducted by Pedro Bonet, Huesca, Spain, graduate student.
The conferences are chiefly for students planning to travel abroad with the P-t-P student ambassadors program, but they are open to anyone planning to travel in foreign countries next summer.
A film is shown at the beginning of each meeting, presenting a broad picture of the country under discussion. A foreign student conducts each of the meetings and is assisted by two or three other foreign students and at least one American student. There is a panel discussion after the film and an open question and answer session follows.
The programs are designed to aid American students in gaining background information concerning foreign countries and customs so they will be able to make the best use of their foreign travel.
The conference scheduled for April 18 will cover Scandinavia. It will be conducted by Jannik Lindbaek, Oslo, Norway, graduate student.
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