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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 4, 1994)
Nebraskan Monday, April 4, 1994 ArtscoEntertainment Musician teaches importance of creativity By Pauia Lavigne Senior Reporter_ Dressed in his homemade ward robe of native African attire, 42-ycar oldKahil El’Zabar stretched with ease to grasp his right foot while chatting about his recent studies in Africa. He writes poetry. He makes cloth ing. He lobbies Congress. He sings, dances and plays a variety of instru ments—amajorityofwhichEI’Zabar made with his own hands. If given a form with a blank that said “Occupation,” El’Zabarsaid he’d fill it m with “creative artist” or, spe cifically, “musician.” El’Zabar will be working at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on a variety of creative projects involving students and faculty. The projects will be presented throughout the week. “Everything I do is connected to the ccnterof my art form. It allows me to adapt to other areas and develop my skills,” he said. El’Zabar’s work focuses individu al creativity and nurtures that creativ ity in society while promoting various foreign cultures. m caui ui us anu our oiesscu genius, we just have lo take a chance on ourselves and our infinite capaci ties.’’ El’Zabar said. “Lots of times, we allow experiences that we’ve had stifle our creativity. “We are all creative. Everything you see on this earth has creative genius within it,” he said. “Some times it’s misdirected, and sometimes it's held in.” Children, he said, should be made aware of this great personal resource early in life. He said they had to realize everyone was special. and people could benefit from one another’s unique qualities. “Picasso had a statement, ‘As chil dren, wc arc born artists. Such a shame we grow up,”’ he said. “What happens on a very physical level is our bodies are supple in youth. Due to stiffening we experience as we grow up. we lose that suppleness.” He said this stiffening happened on a mental level as well. Through soci ety’s conditioning, people’s creative minds are inhibited, El’Zabar said. Phis aging process must be stopped before the creative process in endan gered. As part of President Clinton's Task force of Arts Presenting and Educa tion. Ll’Zabar said he strived to make people realize how important this ere - 4* In each of us and our blessed genius, we just have to take a chance on ourselves and our infinite capacities. Lots of times, we allow experiences that we ’ve had stifle our creativity. — El’Zabar — -tf - ativity was. “Through our educational systems we need to find the ways and the vehicles that would limit the kind of inhibitions we find at this point,” he said. i ne nrst area educational mstitu tions look toward when facing budget cuts is the fine and performing arts, he said. “Arts are not only for entertain ment. They are also for intellectual development,” he said. “People don’t understand the utility of arts in our environment.” At the university level, El’Zabar said it was important to expose stu dents to various ethnic and racial cul tures. “You can never hurl yourself by broadening your palette,” he said. “You can make it in life, but you limit the potential of what you really have in side.” El’Zabar, who has worked with UNL’s University Foundations pro gram for the past five years, said sev eral of the students had never been exposed to someone like himself. El’Zabar said he already had seen success with the students in his pro gram, as they were taking advantage of the creative arts on and off campus. “Creative arts have a place in aca demic institutions,” he said. His role in bringing creative arts to students is one El ’Zabar said he deep ly valued. Instead of using textbooks and other standard teaching materi als, El’Zabar uses a unique leaching Kk)I — music. Known as one of the most innova tive ja/z players to take traditional lazz and mix it with all types of new styles. El’Zabar said he had worked kVith artists such as Bobby McFerrm, Jay ualderG,,/UN Artist-musician Kahil El Zabar improvises vocally while working with students last Wednesday. El’Zabar is working with University of Nebraska-Lincoln students. Paul Simon and many other musical greats. When the National Endowment of the Arts declined funding for various art projects found to be offensive, El’Zabarsaid he took part in ensuring the First Amendment rights of all artists. Along with serving on the NEA Board of Directors, El’Zabar founded the Campaign for the Freedom of Expression, an artist’s lobbying group, and won the first censorship case against the federal government. In order to preserve trecdom ol expression for the future, El’Zabar said, we must work with the technol ogy of today toexpose and advance the nation instead of desensitizing it. “The media often deals with medi ocre and mundane perspectives, lack ing intellectual stimulus. We need to create programming that would in spire our children instead of urging them to murder.” He said the media should deal with subjects that promote social harmony and respect for multicultural perspec tives. “If we take advantage of our tech nology, we will be a very advanced community in the next century, but if we deal with the kinds of policies we have in the past 20 years, just so advertisers can make money, we will limit the potential of the intellectual abilities of our community.” El’Zabar plans on being a strong part of this revolution. Even while El 'Zabar is at UNL, his itinerary looks 1 ike a daily flight schedule forO’Hare Airport. Motivation is a key asset, he said. “You need to have balance and a love for living and knowing how to -44 The media often deals with mediocre and mundane perspectives, lacking Intellectual stimulus. — El'Zabar -tf - lake time out. 1 travel with my kids to reconstitute myself. I create silent time lo read and exercise ” El ’Zabar will be reading his poetry Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in the Andrews Hall lounge. He and a group of UNL Uudcntswill present their final project it the Culture Center at 8 p.m. Friday. \dmission is free. Chemistry brings laughs in film about first lady “Guarding Tess” ★★★ Take one domineering, cynical former First lady, one bored Secret Service agent assigned to protect her, throw in a sprinkling ofbrokcn rules and a dallup of humor, and what do you get? You get a charming little con coction called “Guarding Tess.” It is the latest TriStar Pictures release to hit the big screen. DougChcsnic, played by Nicolas C age, has met his match in an assignment from hell. Duties call him and six other agents to a sleepy Ohio town to protect a so-called national treasure. Shirley MacLaine is Tess Carlisle, a matronly old witch behind closed doors whose design is to spark Chcsnic’s every last nerve. A rare chemistry definitely ex ists between the two. You’ll be laughing the duration. Toss’ plight is one felt by many people under the protection of the government. She’s surrounded by people who are at her beck and call, but she’d rather have her privacy. It rankles her that the taxpayers arc paying for protection she despises. But the president and the American public want it that way, and she goes along with it. Nevertheless, Doug’s three-year detail is not enough, and Tess wants him back. This is where the fun begins. Doug is Tess’s equal, and they both know it. And that makes the chemistry. Tess wants to play cal and mouse with Doug, which is what makes it so difficult to fulfill his task. The premise is good. In fact, it’s excellent, but every movie needs some down-in-the-dirt action. The film tends to unravel toward the end, as the story heats up. It’s a patchwork of odd events haphaz ardly threaded together. All in all, “Guarding Tess” is worth your time. — Marissa Jorgenson Book exposes political perks N. ION WISH k Irks Tout Tmbuci in BnMBii Fiau and Eimmm ftmusa » Out Pune Stmum “Congress: America's Privileged Class” H. Lon Henry Prima Publishing H. Lon Henry has stuffed 125 pag es with information about congres sional perks, privileges and waste into “Congress: America’s Privileged Class.” Henry put long listsofdata, usually perused only by citizens’ groups, into a book any American can easily read. It also helps any American become angry. Before “Congress,” it was hard to find spec i fie lists of perks senators and representatives enjoy — or enjoyed before a scandal canceled or reduced them. Henry listed not only money and free services members of Congress received, but also travel-related ser vices, legal exemptions and seniority benefits. Much of the information he included, though not necessarily sur prising, is upsetting, to put it lightly. It may not be upsetting to anyone outside Washington, D.C., that in come earned in tne district by nonres idents is not subject to District of Columbia taxing, or that its federal tax-paying residents have no voting representation in Congress. Only the tourist may resent Con gress’ policy of keeping its own doc tor’s office in the Capitol, in which lawmakers receive free treatment and drugs. An injured tourist in the build ing is not allowed to seek treatment. It may upset Americans to know what sort of payment Congress gives itself, even after its members leave office. Sen. J. James Exon (D-Neb.) may receive lifetime retirement bene fits totaling as much as $1.05 million after leaving office. Rep. Doug Bercuter(R~Neb.) may receive as much as $1.6 million. The general populace might be upset when they find out Congress is exempt from the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which requires all employers to pay men and women equal money for equal work. These are only a few of many ex amples Henry gives in “Congress,” and they arc upsetting enough. Henry wrote his book with a mix ture of cynicism and sarcastic com ments. On one hand, this style makes the book look like a feeble attempt at a work of humor. On the other hand, it’s the only thing that makes the book different from long, cold lists of facts. At any rate, the book is not a liter ary masterpiece. But then, it hardly needs to be one. Its purpose is to make the American people good and mad. Whatever bad writing the book has will hardly stand in the way of that. One doesn’t have to be a fan of either Rush Limbaugh or Gloria Steinem to be moved and angered by “Congress.” Whatever the reader’s political persuasion, the book is a 125 page argument in favor of term limits and the line-item veto. SufTice it to say that those who read “Congress” will react in one of three ways. Some will be horrified and ap palled at what our Congress has done to us. Some will not care. The rest will go into politics so they can be elected to Congress and live like kings at the taxpayers’ expense. — Jan Calinger