Friday, April 16, 1982
Page 10
Daily Nebraskan
Arts & Entertaimmemt
Artists stuck inside creative
vacuum of same techniques
By David Thompson
When taken as a whole, the Master of Fine
Arts Candidates Exliibition currently on
display at the Sheldon Memorial Art Galle
ry presents quite a variety. The six rooms,
two of photography and four of prints and
paintings, are all strikingly different from
each other. If one were to plop oneself
down on a bench and sit a spell in each
Art
Review
room, however, it would become apparent
that several of the artists have sealed them
selves up in a creative vacuum, exploring
the same subjects and employing the same
techniques over and over until the artistic
validity of their work has been lessened.
A good example of an artist forever
chasing hi;; own tail is William Reed Weid
ner. His subject is his friend Denise. Denise
is caught in pose after ordinary pose in the
bathroom, living room, bedroom and kit
chen. The drawings are technically well
done and the paintings are nice, with the
suburban brightness of David Hockney's
work, but they show little variation in
composition and no variation in subject
matter. As the viewer scans the room, the
similar tones run together into a lifeless
pastel stream.
Another swimmer in this monotonous
stream is Cheryl Wall. Her work presents
quite a contrast from Weidner's but be
comes a cloud of crepe paper when looked
at alone. The colors arc bright and the
movement is swift, but it loses its appeal
through repetition. These are the kind of
paintings hung in office buildings, and one
gets the feeling that Wall beat her theme to
death so that she can sell to as many cor
porations as possible. The effect is not un
like eating jelly beans. After an overdose of
them, they don't look so good.
Rob Friedman has chosen to serve up
Cream of Wheat instead of candy. He has
chosen buildings as his subject. There is
little of the clever interplay of contrast,
light and shadows that makes photography
of this type notable. These stark forms
have little effect on the viewer.
The sharpness that is evident in Fried
man's work fades into soft obscurity with
the paintings and prints of Fred Hagstrom,
a more versatile artist than the three al
ready mentioned. Blurry, distant, dark hu
man forms inhabit his work, dominating it
as in "Woman Moving II" or permeating it
as in "Woman's Profile." The faces are fad
ed and the colors are full of remorse and a
pensive depth.
Human forms also fill the work of Caro
line Mecklin. Like Andy Warhol's portraits,
she has done little to change the shapes of
the bodies but instead concentrates on fill
ing them with an array of colors. Unlike
Warhol, she neglects faces and concentrates
instead on other parts of the anatomy;
V7?
Trees" by Scott W. Pederson
feet, legs and hands are caught in original
poses.
Anatomy also plays a big role in the
work of Dean Hutchins, and the results are
displeasing to some. "That really is horri
ble," said one viewer upon taking a gander
at a series of photographs entitled "Defini
tions." Hutchins' subject is homosexuality,
and his explorations of the subject are too
probing for some.
The photographs are blatant and the art
ist underscores them with words, bold
statements, editorializing that is unartistic
and unnecessary. The shock value attracts
rather than the works themselves, which
are not outstanding.
It is a matter of subject matter obscur
ing art. The viewer does not need to be
bludgeoned, and Hutchins is most appeal
ing in subtler, more creative works such as
the series of photographs entitled "Steve"
and some of his pottery.
The rest of the gallery is filled with a
multi-media menagerie of work from sen
iors in the UNL Art Department and the
College of Home Economics from the UNL
and UNO campuses. The collection of
paintings, fabrics, sculpture and graphics
proves to be more' interesting than the
work of the graduate students.
Scott Pedersen's dabbles in Fauvism
and Jim Fuerhoker's emotion-charged
work merit attention, and Craig Lee's
paintings are perhaps the best in the galle
ry. They amply demonstrate the energy
that emanates from the point where paint
touches canvas. Better hush up, though, or
Haig will find a way to harness that energy
and make bombs out of it.
ft. v
Now for something completely
different . . .Graham Chapman
Graham Chapman
By Bob Crisler
The Monty Python comedy troupe is presently em
broiled in creative activity, according to the Flying
Circus' second-tallest member, Graham Chapman, who
was in Lincoln this week for a question-and-answer ses
sion and showing of Python clips for the Foreign Film
Series at the Nebraska Union.
Due in July is "a film of a live show which we did
at the Hollywood Bowl a year ago last September," he
said.
Last year, Chapman toured 22 university campuses
across the nation.
"I'd never stood up on my own and chatted for an
hour and a half, and the idea frightened me, so I
thought I'd better do it."
"I was curious, and I felt myself to be rather ig
norant about America. I wanted to Ret out and see
what a Bible belt really was. Whether it actually existed
or not," said the Cambridge-educated Chapman.
"I think the closest I came to it was in San Angelo,
Texas. I was wearing a handgun coalition badge. I felt
a little bit exposed, being an ex-blasphemer as well as
having an association with gay liberation. I could have
been slaughtered in the streets at anytime, but no -the
people were fine."
Chapman founded the publication Gay A'ews in
1972, while still doing the Python show for the BBC.
He describes himself as "75, maybe 80 percent" gay.
"The gay movement's monstrous, really. The
Church of England now just decided that gays are ac
tually merely handicapped, and should be helped in
every way possible, which is quite a turnaround."
Chapman finds his government's current dealings
with the Falkland Islands and Argentina a bit non
sensical. "Mrs. Thatcher's never been a favorite of mine. I
think she's a very stubborn lady. It's such a strange sit
uation. The oil there could be one reason, but I think
the main reason is. . .wanting to show the bleeding
bulldog spirit, to give the royal Navy one last chance to
have a battle. It's just that, which is pathetic."
The six-man Python troupe has been keeping the
world's minds off of such things via humor since 1969,
when the first 30-minute show was taped for the
BBC.
"We did 45 shows from '69 to '74, and at that point
all of us felt that we could do some more shows that
would be about as good, but no better, so why bother
to do any more?" Chapman said.
"Since then it seems to work out that we do anoth
er movie together about every four years." Currently,
the Circus is lining up shooting locations for their next
film, "which is modestly entitled Monty Python: The
Meaning of Life. It's about birth, sex, war and death,"
said Chapman.
In his spare time, Chapman likes to go mountain
climbing, but when he can't round up any adventurous
cronies for that pursuit, he listens to the latest in
British rock music.
Chapman has recently had a book come out, titled
A Liar's Autobiography. "There are some lies in it, just
to comply with the trade description. It's an account
of some of the appalling things I've done or had hap
pen to me."
'Bandstand' baron evades hot-shot executive's ax
By Pat Clark
(The scene: Christmas Eve in Los Angeles. Veteran
American Bandstand kingpin Dick Clark has just tucked
himself into bed for a good night's sleep. His eyes just
close for a short time when a shadowy figure enters the
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room. Clark, sensing a presence, sits up in bed.
"Who goes there?" Clark says.
"I am the ghost of Bandstands past," says the shadowy
figure.
"Oh, come on," says Clark. "We've got enough Christ
mas Carol remakes already."
"Okay, Im not," says the shadowy figure, pulling off
the faded white sheet to reveal not just a shadowy figure,
but a shadowy television executive. "I'm not the ghost of
Bandstand past but you are."
"Huh?" counters Clark cleverly.
"I'm trying to find a delicate way to put this, but 1
can't. So I'm just going to tell you straight out, no holding
back, no holds barred, no beating around the bush . . ."
"Would you quit telling me that you are going to tell
me what you are going to tell me straight out and tell me
straight out what you are going to tell me?" says Clark.
"Ill bet you couldn't say that again," says the execu
tive. "You're right," says Clark.
"At any rate, what I want to tell you is that you're
getting too old for this stuff."
"How old is too old?" says Clark.
"I dunno, but whatever it is, you're past it," says the
network executive."
"I've got lots of years left," says Clark. He flicks on the
bedroom light.
"Look at this head of hair," says Clark, pointing to his
head. "There's no more grey hair on there now than there
was when Sam Cooke was twistin' the night away. I give
this hair a 98. It's got good body and it's easy to comb
through. This hair belongs on a guy who still needs Clear
asil." "Sure, you look great for a guy your age," says the net
work executive. "But a guy your age is still a guy your
age. Maybe if you did a weekly golden oldies show . "
"Golden oldies!" screams Clark. "Listen pal, I was on
this network when you were waiting to get your learner's
permit, and I'll still be around when you get put in a nurs
ing home. Sure I'm older than I was. I'd better be. But
there isn't anybody else in Hollywood who could have
stuck it out for this long with a Saturday afternoon dance
show. Now get out of here before I get you demoted to
answering fan mail."
