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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 1992)
Artist disputes objectivity Work includes themes of war, death and politics By Matthew Grant Staff Reporter Ask most artists what their work means, and they will cither tell you that to seek an explanation for art is to fail to understand it, or start burbling double-talk that only indicates the source of their inspiration. Not so with Rupert Garcia. In a lecture Friday in the Sheldon Art Gallery, Garcia talked about his work as he intended it and disputed the “myth of objectivity.” Garcia,a Latin-American of Mexi can descent, served in Vietnam be fore going to San Francisco and expe riencing the anti-war movement. Consequently, his work is domi nated by themes of war, death, his tory, politics and the mass media. His political art developed as a way of dealing with the confusion of r~— . . i the time, he said during his lecture. “It seemed to me as if I had to dismantle my experience and reorga nize it to find new meaning,” Garcia said. In his work Garcia uses pop art images, often with many concepts contrasted against each other. Many of his “canvases” arc split, with dif ferent drawings on cither side, pre sented as one. In California, Garcia became an active member of the 1960s student Latin-Amcrican art movement, but despite the political nature and origin of Garcia’s work, he said he thought art had a greater role than politics alone. “Art exists because human beings exist — because it is necessary,” he said. The lecture was connected with an exhibition of Garcia’s work, titled “Rupert Garcia Prints and Posters 1967-1990,” wh ich is now show ing at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha. The exhibition will run until Nov. 29. /f3\ /&\ /&\ /&v /r^\ / ___< _ ■ Car theme revs up album Release tries new approach Jude Cole “Start the Car” Reprise Records Jude Cole’s third release “Start the Car” is revving up rockers with his road-theme ballads and driving beat. Cole’s homespun lyrics and compositional arrangement waxes each song to a high shine. “Start the Car,” the title cut, pulls listeners into his vocal ve hicle and gears them up for the next nine tracks. His lyrics gel right to the point. /&\ /?Ss\ “Well, I’m tired of the pressure/ So tired of the pace/Just wanna grab you baby, and gel out of this place... “Start the car, we gotta move/ This ain’t no living, this ain’t no groove/It’s been a long hard road/ Come on baby, let’s drive it home/ Start the car.” After listening to Cole, you might assume his no-nonsense beat and ballads are a strong blend of John Mcllencamp, Bruce Springsteen and Bryan Adams, but his style is his own. He called it “a *• middle-American sound with an edge to it”— a sharply honed edge. The song “Worlds Apart” maps out his unique style comparable to Del Amitri, a slow rockin’ sound „ laying memorable tracks for the 1990s. In “Tell the Truth,” Cole’s smooth, passionate vocals sound somewhat like an American vpr sion of Bad English or Sting. Un derstandably so, since Cole has toured with everyone from The Police to Joe Jackson. “Open Road” incorporates a bit of country rock and proves Cole’s multi-instrumental prowess by picking out a couple of sweet runs on the mandoccllo—amazing man. The liner notes credit Cole with lead and background vocals, all guitars— including acoustic, elec tric, slide and bass — banjo, mandoccllo, marxophone, dulci mer, and the slick harmonica open ing of the folksy, rhythm and blues ballad, “First Your Money (Then Your Clothes).” “I left home on a southbound train/One September in the pour ing rain/A midnight flyer, and agirl named Lori Rosc/Maima said son it won’t last/She’ll be gone when See COLE on 11 @Hey-Halloween is only a few days away! So come to Second Wind now, ®and check out our threads while the selection is good! (g) ^ Second ^ Wind (g) Vintage Clothing and Collectables 720 '"O" Street (Under the Viaduct) (§)(§) UfAjjU|3 1 124 North 12th Street Lincoln, NE 68508 | For going farther, trying harder, and reaching higher no one salutes you more than US WEST. Information Session: Monday, November 2, 1992 6:30 p.m. Nebraska Union On-Campus Interviews: i November 3 and 4, 1992 O 1992 U S WEST int US WEST » «n Equal opportunity Employer If you've got a mind to work for a company that shares your dedication to excellence, talk to U S WEST j-. We re looking for outstanding students in electrical engineering, industrial engineering, electronic engineering technology, and computer science. If you'd like to keep pursuing excellence at one of the leading communications companies in the nation, contact your placement counselor or the Career Services office about U S WEST We look forward to hearing from you. H£WEST making tha moat ot your lima. " Courtesy of Def Jam Records Public Enemy’s “Greatest Misses” was produced by, among others, The Bomb Squad, Hank Schocklee and Carl Ryder. Public Continued from Page 9 remembered on “How 10 Kill a Radio Consultant.” And what can be said about new Public Enemy tracks that hasn’t been said in the past? Produced by the most respected production team in rap, the Bomb Squad, each track is flawless. Public Enemy’s opponents’ lines such as, “Is this art or dangerous pro paganda?" and “Public Enemy is ac tually involved in the violence,” gel thrown into songs. This is the ultimate deface to their foes. The lyrics are just as clear. Chuck D has a gift for expressing exactly what he wants. “Tie Goes to the Run ner” is a track calling for change in the establishment. / Chuck D even sports his views on the election. He says, “I vote for Jim Brown/I know it don’t rhyme/Does it matter that he/in fact he won’t find/ excuses inside Murphy Brown.” “Get Off My Back” is Flavor Flav’s solo song on this album. In his usual way, Flav gets across his point while spitting some crazy rhymes. This song features a sung chorus which is un usual for Public Enemy. Public Enemy stays at the front of the rap pack with this album (al though Chuck D says, “This is not an album. Coming in 1993 the LP titles ... PEACE”). Still the great group of rap, Public Enemy makes music ev eryone should hear. — Greg Schick Gerardo Continued from Page 9 and I really miss you, and you said you’d call, but you didn’t call,” one caller whines. The second song on the d isc, “ Here Kitty, Kitty,” is thoroughly enjoy able. Pauly Shore docs the intro in his stupid, surfcr-slca/.c style. “Here Killy, Killy” is one big eu phemism for sex—a staple of any rap album. But unlike many rap songs about sex, this tune isn’t completely tasteless. “Now I want to play and damn she be frisky/Fcisty, fasty, some say nasty/ So I pet my kilty pel my kitty cal, word/Slroke my kitty kitty till my kitty cal purrs.” And if this isn’t enough, native Ecuadorian Gerardo ends the album with the Spanish version of the tunc, called “Vcn Michu, Michu.” Aftcr“Herc, KiUy, Kitty .’’Gerardo slows things down with a ballad. The Latin lover surprises his listeners with a song — not about cheap, gratuitous sex, but about real adoration and com mitment on “Love.” “Love" was written by Robert Clivillcs and David Cole (of C+C Music Factory), who also produced and played on the tunc. But then he gives the listener men tal whiplash and docs a 180-degree turn with a tune solely about casual sex on “Pepe (Bust a Cap on ‘Em).” At least Gerardo is somewhat respon sible and tells his listeners to “bust a cap on every lover.” The only other songs on the disc worth mentioning are “Tell Me,” a mid-tempo tune about fighting with one’s lover, and “Deja Me Naccr,” which, despite its Spanish title, is sung almost entirely in English. If the views expressed in “Deja Me Naccr" arc Gerardo’s own, then he clearly is pro-life. On this tune, he sings from the point of view of an unborn child who wants to be bom so he can sec the sun — even though his mother is in a bad situation. The remaining tunes—“Sell Out,” “It’s a Latin Thang,” “Hollywood” and “Manejando” — all are medio cre. The songs arc shallow, repetitive or one-dimensional. “Dos” is not going to be the album that rockets Gerardo to super fame, but it’s a boost in the right direction. If Rico Suav6 ... Gerardo contin ues to improve at th is rale, he may one day achieve the celebrity status he seems to think he already has. — Shannon Uehling
