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University Daily Kansan
Arts/Entertainment
2.
Thursday, April 24, 1986
Spencer buys new art
By Grant W. Butler
Staff writer
Japanese calligraphy, at a quick glance, can look like simple, indiscriminate ink scratches.
But the curator of Oriental art at the Spencer Museum of Art says calligraphy is an art form that deserves a longer, more careful look.
"Once people realize that they don't have to be able to read it, they'll see it is really beautiful," Patricia Eister, the curator, said Tuesday.
Ester, the curator,
"Even if you don't know anything
about calligraphy you can appreciate
it for the sheer graphic beauty."
A rare scroll of calligraphy by Tokai Okin, a 19th century female artist, recently was acquired by the museum, Foster said. It was purchased with three other letters to whom he who used their calligraphy to memorialize Okin.
"Calligraphy really hasn't been collected that much in the West. so in comparison with paintings, the prices are actually a little better," Fister said.
camg app.
The works were bought from a Japanese art dealer, she said. While the works were by an important artist, their acquisition was at a reasonable cost for the museum.
aster said.
The four scrolls will be on display in the fourth floor area for new museum acquisitions during May and eventually will be moved into the Oriental gallery, she said.
"Unfortunately our Oriental gallery is rather small so we have to rotate our works." Pister said. "We can't be in there immediately."
immediately
The administration of Japanese
custody is important for the
museum, said Stephen Adiss, chair-
man of the department art history.
"Calligraphy has often been regarded as the highest form of art in the Far East, partly because the artists will reveal their true character in their brushwork." Adds said, "So it's a way of communicating with the artists, scholars and sages of the past in the most direct method possible."
The works are important because they provide a way to study another culture as well as being beautiful, he said. But the beauty is in the art of the handwriting, not necessarily in the content of the scrolls.
Calligraphy is a way to convey information. Fister said, but it shouldn't be thought of as functional art.
"The beauty of it is in the dance and the lines of the words on paper." Addiss said. "A beautiful poem written badly is bad art, but a bad poem written beautifully is beautiful art."
"A lot of art is functional, but this is aesthetically beautiful." Fister said. "I would characterize calligraphy as beyond functional.
calliphora. I write a letter I'm not trying to be aesthetically beautiful. But they cared a lot about the brush strokes and the balance."
The scroll by okon was drawn when she was 63, and tells how she gave up her career as an artist to satisfy her husband. But when her husband lost his job, she used her skills as a calligraphist to support her family.
Of the five types of scripts used in Japanese calligraphy, Addiss said, Okon was a master in the use of curative. The rhythm of her brushstrokes was admired by scholars.
was damn content with
While the content of Okon's scroll reveals the details of her experiences, Fister said, the actual strokes on the silk reveal more about her character.
her character.
"It goes beyond what is being said by the brush strokes," Fister said. "It's from the heart and the body."
'A Sunday' depicts value of the simple, mundane
By Grant W. Butler
Staff writer
A Student in the Country, 2 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m.
Monday and Tuesday in Woodruff Auditorium
in the Kansas Union, Rated FG, 90 min./课
Not very much happens in "A Sunday in the Country." It is a quiet film about a day in the life of an old, widowed artist during the summer of
But the dialogue in this French film, directed by Bertrand Tavernier, lifts the film above its lack of action. What is depicted is the purity of a time when Sundays were $^{a}$
Review
chance to spend time with family members, eat a large meal and select on the values of life, rather than endure the rattings of screaming football announcers and "60 Minutes."
Minutes.
For the frail Monsieur Ladmiral,
played by Louis Dureux, each passing day is a gift that presents opportunities to observe the simple and mundane.
Dureuxe's performance is a careful study in the use of the face as a window to Ladmiral's emotions and opinions on this simple world. The slightest raising of an eyebrow depicts varied feelings.
The effective but relaxed performances by Dureux and the other成员 members fit in with the serenity of the country setting and costum-
ing, to give the film a lazy, wispy quality. The film looks more like a French impressionist's painting than a work for the cinema.
On this one particular day Ladmiral goes to the train station to pick up his son and his family who are coming to visit him.
After showing his daughter in-law, played by Geneviève Mnich, his still-life painting of a couch, he endures her criticism and suggestions.
her criticism and suggest that Admiral accepts that he can be nothing other than a second-rate artist, but wishes to be spared the inconsiderate commentary on his works.
The peace of the country setting is broken when Ladmiral's vivacious daughter Irene, played by Sabine Azema, bursts into the film with her loud automobile and eager chatter.
In the film's most beautiful moment, Irene takes Dimalira away from his annoying nephews and crabby daughter-in-law for a dance at a nearby roadside inn. The glitter of Irene's outward appearance is stripped away, and the true beauty of her character is shown.
character is so soft. A sudden call from a lover pulls Irene out of the film as abruptly as she entered it, and ultimately, the rest of the Ladmir's family leaves him alone on his estate with his paintings.
He goes into his studio, takes down the couch still life and replaces it with a blank canvas. He must forget about the style of art at which he can never be successful and forge ahead in his own style.
'Love In' to recreate 1960s
By Monique O'Donnell
Staff writer
Finals are approaching and for me students the pressure is on it's the perfect time to spur students to think "love" for a day, a member of Student Union Activities said recently.
Beanbags, lavalamps, films, body paints and psychedic music will recreate the atmosphere of a 1960s "Happening." Tomorrow's "Love In," sponsored by SUA in the Kansas Union Gallery, will be a musical and visual introduction to psychedic visions, love, sit-ins and heightened political awareness.
Steve Callahan, Parsons senior who organized the event, said the "Love In" was an effort to make art fun and accessible to everyone.
"People won't have to have had art or art history classes to enjoy what we're doing." Callahan said. "Everybody can appreciate the capabilities as they listen to music or entertain themselves with body paints."
me," Cailhan said. "Actually I put on some sort of things to keep myself entertained. I find it immensely amusing."
Callahan said many people had asked him if this event had any political implications. Although the '60s era incorporated many political issues and stands in contrast to political ideals of today, he said, the event was supposed to be a political forum.
Some of the films to be shown are collages of events from the '0s, such as clips from Woodstock, protests and speeches. The music will be broadcast by KJJHK FM directly from the gallery and will feature old and new psychedelic music.
ornum.
"I hope no one will be angry with
Mark Lipsitz, Overland Park senior and station manager from KJHK-FM, has selected the music and will be conducting the broadcast from the gallery. He said the event should be viewed mostly as a "paiseis happening" rather than a political rally.
peace.
Important issues of the '60s,
Callahan said, were the civil rights
movement and the Vietnam War.
But the most important event of
the '60s was the emergence of
"free love."
Callahan said that staging a "Love In" was timely and appropriate. "Make love not war" was a phrase often heard in the '60s, and it is as relevant now as it was then, he said.
Callahan said he viewed the era as a creative explosion and he hoped to display a showcase of the past.
to be a resurgence of '60s themes in fashion, music and art. He said that holding a "Love In" was a popular thing to do.
"I know some people might think I'm being silly or superficial," he said. "But I don't think there is anything wrong with examining it from an '80s point of view."
Callahan said that some people had accused him of romanticizing the 60s. But, he said, there seems
Todd Rowlett, Topeka freshman, helped make some of the posters for the event and said he planned to participate in Friday's event. He predicted that a lot of people would stop by the "Love In," which begins at noon and ends at 4 p.m.
at 4 p.m.
He said that this would be one of the more progressive events staged on campus and that it might serve to have people reassess political attitudes today.
"Many people seem to be so oblivious to international politics," Rowlett said. "It would be great if we could spark some change in the '60s, even if the event itself is promotional and commercial."
Rick Lindley, Overland Park senior and member of SUA, said the decoration in the gallery would be colorful and would indicate that this was a fun and light event.
"Most students don't remember the '60s because they were too young," Lindley said. "For many it might be an educational event."
Snapshots
Classical themes used in Marionette Theater
Fraud, deceit and revenge motivate the characters in Aristophanes' "Clouds." The themes will be revived in a marmotte theatre production of the classical work at 8 p.m. Saturday in Swarthout, Recital Hall in Murphy Hall.
Rectify his "Clost" is the story of a dishonest farmer, Stresiades, who decides to study with Socrates in hopes of learning how to defraud his creditors. He is too stupid and self-centered to learn anything, so he sends his son to the great teacher. Socrates hands over the son to be instructed by True Logic and False Logic. With the help of what his son learns, the old man outwits his creditors. The tables are turned on him when the son uses his learning to turn against his father. The old man, disgusted with the New Learning, sets fire to Socrates' school.
Peter Arnott, professor of drama at Tufts University, founded the Marionette Theater in 1948 to exploit the possibilities of this neglected medium for the purpose of staged drama. He participated to use the Marionette theatre to recreate works from the Greek and Roman repertoire.
repeater
$2 for students for the mariante剧院
production are $1.50 for KU students,
$2 for senior citizens and other
students, and $3 for the public.
Arnott will lecture on "Sight and Sound: A Problem in the Greek Theater, at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday," at The New York Botanical Library auditorium. The lecture is free.
Distinguished pianist to play benefit concert
The pianist who will perform at the University of Kansas this weekend is in demand as a teacher, solo artist, orchestral soloist and recording artist.
Sequira Costa is also the Cordelia P. Meryl distinguished professor of physics at KU. He will perform a concert of the works of Chopin, Debussy, Beethoven and Albenz at 3:30 p.m. Sunday in Swarthout Hall.
As a soloist, Costa has performed with the Moscow and Leningrad Philharmonic orchestras and performs regularly with the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Portugal. He has performed at music festivals in Iran, France, Yugoslavia and England. He recently completed a tour of Brazil and the Far East, made appearances with the Delaware and Erie orchestras and performed all the Beethoven concertos in Lisbon.
for his KU performance, Costa will play Beethoven's *Sonata Op. 26 in B-flat Minor*, Chopin's "Sonata Op. 35 in B-flat Major", *Debussy* or *Bergamauque*, which includes "Clair de Lune"; da Motta's "Cantiga d'Amor"; and Albenziz's "El Polo" and "El Albaicin".
Palo and E. Bokken.
Tickets for the benefit rectal are
$4 for KU students, $7 for senior
citizens, and $8 for the public.
SUA gallery to exhibit winning works of art
The Kansas Union Art Gallery will display paintings, drawings, photography and sculpture of the annual Art Department Scholarship show.
The show will open at 4 p.m. May 1 in the art gallery on the fourth floor of the Kansas Union. It will feature the winning art works of the undergraduate scholarship competition. A reception will be held at the opening.
Vaughan to perform at KU
Sarah Vaughan, jazz vocalist,
will present a program of jazz,
gospel and pop music at 8 p.m.
Saturday in Hoch Auditorium
as the final performance in this
year's KU Concert Series.
Vaughan will be appearing with
her own jazz ensemble.
For more than four decades, Vaughan's four-octave voice has belted out a wide array of music, performing on numerous wings in jazz concerts and concert jazz musicians as well as symphony orchestras.
An innovator of the bebop style of singing, Vaughan has appeared with Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Ry Oldridge, Charlie Parker, Gene Ammons and Billy Eckstine
Her recent album, "The Planet Is Alive . . . Let It Live," was recorded live in Dusseldorf, West Germany, in 1984. The album is a collection of songs that world peace organizations are based on poems written by Pope John Paul II when he was a young priest.
prize:
Vaughan holds an honorary doctorate in music from Howard University, and she has won Grammany and Emmy Awards for her work. In 1981 she won the Downbeat Award for best female vocalist for the 18th consecutive year.
Vaughan's performance in the series was scheduled after vocalist Cleo Laine cancelled her scheduled performance before the recording of "The Mystery of Edwin Drood," a Broadway musical in which she participated.
and $14 for senior citizens and other students, and $13 and $15 for the general public.
Tickets to Vaughan's performance can be purchased at the Murphy Hall Box Office, and cost $6.50 and $7.00 for KU students, $12
If tickets remain on sale the night of the performance, the Hoch Auditorium Box Office will open at 7 o.m.
For ticket information call 864-3381 Murphy Hall Box Office, Jodi Behrels, box office manager.
Metallic rock, pop of Husker Du is latest evolution of band's style
By Brian Whepley
women. Since 1981, when it released its first record, Husker has become critical and a college radio favorite as it has grown from a high-speed thrash band to a band that plays charging metallic rock and pop.
Staff write
metal rock and pop.
The members of Husker Du, Bob Mould on guitar, vocals, and keyboards; Grant Hart on drums, vocals and keyboards; and Greg Norton on bass, have earned a republic as some of America's most prolific and hardest-working musicians.
Staff when
Du will bring its swirling
and racing mass of guitars and
vocals to the Kansas Union Ballroom
Wednesday.
and the band has released seven albums, four of them since July 1984. It has toured constantly. Self-managed and produced, it gets satisfaction because it did it on its own. Mould said recently.
own, Mould said. "That's the thing we're most proud of." Mould said.
On "Candy Apple Grey," its first label release and its most recent, the vocals are in the forefront and experiment with a variety of
the songs have hooks that are deep soak by Mould's buzzing guitar and the driving rhythm section.
Some of the album's songs, such as
be pigjoonhoeon, mountain
His first album, "Land Speed Record," was appropriately titled,
and the band became a favorite of the hardcore-punk-thrash underground rock scene.
rock scene.
"Somehow we got embraced by the hardcores," Mould said.
Husker Du always has insisted on its independence and doesn't want to be nidleenholed. Mould said.
ing space. But to Warner Brothers from the independent SST label was inevitable, Mould said. Although SST was able to provide the band with a lot of outlets, it couldn't compare with an industry giant like Warner.
about.
"The first rule is there's no rules,"
be said.
tresses, muddied her.
The band got tired of the hardcore scene because rules started to be made, he said. You had to have certain political philosophies or a certain hair length to be accepted and that wasn't what Husker Du was about.
Hart's "Sorry Somehow," deal with the pain and anger of broken relationships. Still, the songs affirm that life goes on after the love is gone.
World" stated the band wasn't going to play by those rules.
Mould said he started playing rock 'n' roll because he wanted to be a musician not because he wanted to espose political beliefs.
espouse positive change in 1983's "Metal Circus," the band started to break away from the thrash crowd and the mold it entailed, Mould said. Songs like "Real
The change in sound and attitude wasn't conscious, Mould said, it just happened.
the 1984 double album "Zen Arc" showed the band experimenting even more with its sound and its lyrics. Acoustic guitar, keyboard and instrument were showed that experiment was willing to experiment and was successful at it.
to plead with them. I talk about anarchy and take up a fight, Well I'm afraid of things like that. I lock my doors at night."
happened.
"Now, looking back, some of the changes were foreseeable." he said.
the fuzz-to-laden guitar and the throaty, manic vocals of Mould and Hart became a Husker Du trademark. They didn't have to sing pretty to get the feeling across.
pretty to get the feeling "I guess that's just the sound that's appealing to us," he said.
Mould doesn't want listeners to take their songs as gospel. They're open to interpretation, he said.
"We don't have the answers; we don't give the answers," he said.
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Tickets for the 9 p.m. concert are
$7 with KU L.D. and $8 without one,
and are available at Exile Records,
15 W. Ninth St., and at all CATS ticket
outlets. Lawrence's PedalJets will
open the show.