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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 2000)
Panel allows artists to draw on experience ByJoshKrauter Staff writer Three UNL graduates and a current student will present their work in print making and discuss the history of the art form in the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery Thursday. The panel discussion, “A Printmaking Workshop Continuum,” explains the history of printmaking as an art form and gives a chance for University of Nebraska-Lincoln alumni to exhibit their work in printmaking, said Karen Kune, a professor of art and the moderator of the discussion. . n , “I think it should be of interest in r rintmSKinQ rSUlGI educating people about prints and their Discussion history,” Kune said. “It’s a fascinating, LMOUJOOIUI unique world.” The panelists are Tony Crowley, a WHERE: Sheldon professor at Grinnell College, Kate Memorial Art Gallery Leonard, an assistant professor at ^ Auditorium Colorado College, independent artist „ ^ ’ Todd Peterson and current graduate stu 12 & R Streets dent Holly Jerger. WHEN: Thursday, Feb. to Kune said she invited the panelists from 3:30-5 p.m. because ftey are all featured m the cur , rent exhibit, Master of Fine Arts COST: free „ Portfolio. Past and Present,” and their art THE SKINNY: Artists in covers a wide time frame. Crowley stud Sheldon exhibitions discuss at UNL in the early 1980s, Peterson ... in the late ’80s and Leonard in the early printmaKing. ’90s. Kune said the panelists will discuss what their art is about and how working at UNL influenced them. She said each artist’s work occupies a different niche. “(Crowley) has always had a very classical, minimalistic color aesthetic, and (Peterson) uses a representational, almost fantasy-like collage of memory and popular images of natural life,” Kune said. “There is almost a nostalgic mood to them.” 0 * Kune said Leonard’s art is a structuralist look at her environment, including landscapes, mountains and “lonely rocks.” Jerger, the only panelist currently attending UNL, rounds out the panel. “She’ll present her ideas that have dealt with the study and preservation of memory and life, using non-traditional formats and materials,” Kune said. Jerger said she will discuss the common theme of her work. “I will focus on one issue that runs throughout my work - memory,” Jerger said. Jerger said she has started combining printmaking with other media, includ ing woodwork and casting. “I’m really interested in layering,” she said. “Adding two-dimensional images gave my work a clarity I’m interested in the flux of imagery that happens in our memories.” Kmc said the panel discussion will begin with her giving a history of print making, followed by briefpresentations from each artist. The rest of the time will be spent taking questions from the audience. The discussion begins at 3:30 p.m. and will run until 5 p.m. on Thursday. “I think it’s really great,” Jerger said, “because it ties to the exhibitions of the MFA very well, and it shows the historical side and how it’s evolved in today’s world.” mmm r Scott Eastman/DN same ideas as film By Shelley Mika . staff writer? , ^ . In the liner notes to the “Magnolia” soundtrack, P.T. Anderson, the director ■ of the film, writes, “I sat down to write ■ an adaptation of Aimee Mann songs. \ Like one would adapt a book for the screen, I had the concept of adapting Aimee’s songs into a screenplay.” There’s no doubt the soundtrack ! and the film are closely linked. But ; “Magnolia’s” soundtrack doesn’t need a memorable movie moment to register [ with listeners. All the credit here goes to Aimee \ Mann, who wrote three-fourths of the ! album. In fact, this may as well be an \ Aimee Mann EP. For starters, Mann ( delivers a chilling cover of Harry Nilsson’s “One.” “One is die loneliest number/That you’ll ever do.” Isolation rings through Mann’s voice, and right away we know we’re listening to a singer we can trust At the same time, the listener is drawn in because, as depressing as it may be, this is a catchy song. Mann takes the rapport she estab : lishes in the first song and keeps the lis tener moving along with the music, even as she’s playing tricks with her vocal style. “Momentum” runs imme diately from the first track and into a jazzy number with Mann’s powerful voice. Here the subtle beauty of her song-writing comes out.. -*•-? On the first listed one would think the song has is motivational. Not so. Mann writes, “And so, for the sake of momentum/I’m condemning the future to death so it can match die past.” From here out* Mann weaves sim ple, yet brilliantly articulated lines throughout each song. P.T. Anderson sums it up well again in the liner notes/ when he writes, “She writes lines that'; are so simple and direct that you are convinced that you have either A) heard it before, B) said it before, or even C) thought of it before (and just never wrote it down).” • For instance, a line from “Build That Wall:” “She’s been a long time on j the phone/Courting disaster with an undertone.” Or from “Deathly:” “Now that I’ve met you/ Would you object to /Never seeing each other again.” Little. I surprises like these are tucked away in just about every line Mann writes. Equally as notable is the subtle, yet diverse ability of Mann’s voice. Each song lets us in on another ' vocal capability. The eerie tones in “One,” the strong show-tune vibrato of “Momentum,” the lilting sincerity of “Build That Wall” and the collected and yet in-your-face warning of “Deathly” all lead us in different directions. In the first part of the album, Mann’s lyrics are somewhat self loathing, and a depressing tone sticks throughout the album. But the lyrics are contrasted by an admonition Liz Phair style in “-Deathly:” “I can’t afford to/Climb aboard you/Nobody’s got that much ego to spend.” Instead of abandoning the trust we have in her as a songwriter, Mann’s complexities come out, and we appreci ate her ability to represent a variety of emotional states. The second portion of the album abandons the confessions of the first and takes on a different tone, yet again displaying Mann’s chameleon abilities. The second portion is more like an advice column written without the cheese. Mann’s tone switches accord ingly, and here is where we really get a true singer and songwriter feel from her music. Following in the tradition of Carole King, Mann’s voice carries us through the emotional turmoil. . Mann’s final track on the album, “Save Me,” culminates in the gorgeous voice, witty lyrics and natural melodic sense we hear in all of her songs. This one is sure to stick in anyone’s head. The drawback to the “Magnolia” soundtrack is the songs written by other people than Mann. Not to say that these songs are bad, they simply don’t fit the mood Mann establishes. Supertramp contributes two tracks rtusic from the Motion icture Magnolia” ARTISTS: Aimee Mann, Supertramp and Gabrielle LABEL: Reprise * GRADE: A FIVE WORDS: Mann hm rocks, skip the rest. in its hike-up-your-shorts ’70s falsetto (nothing like the honesty in Mann’s voice). And then there is the awful track, “Dreams,” by Gabrielle. Its corporate pop sound is like sticking Brandy and Monica on an Ani DiFianco album. Though these songs don’t fit Mann’s mood, those who have seen the movie will probably understand their meaning. My guess is that with all of “Magnolia’s” publicity and success, Mann will get swept up in the attention. And deservedly so - this is one of die best soundtracks made since “Reservoir Dogs,” but with a lot more emotion and creativity.