Arts ©Entertainment
Monday, November 14,1994 Page 9
Artist offers sweet treats
iy Paula LavUnt
Senior Reporter
As Alice strolled through
Wonderland, so should a visitor
to the world of Wayne Thiebaud.
The Sheldon Memorial Art
Gallery opens this world with
“Wayne Thiebaud: Observations
and Memories.” The exhibit pre
sents 50 Thiebaud prints dating
from 1964 to 1991. The exhibit
will run until Jan. 15.
Thiebaud, one of the most in
fluential visual pop painters of
the 20th century, captures the es
sence of domestic contemporary
life from the freeway to the lunch
counter.
His 1962 oil paint “Salads,
Sandwiches and Desserts” is a
featured work in the gallery’s per
manent collection.
The vibrant colors of cherry
topped parfaits and concentric
black olives resting on the lay
ered sandwiches make the paint
ing come alive with happiness
and warmth.
Thiebaud’s work spans vari
ous mediums, from colorful
woodblock and oil prints to
black-and-white etchings. He
manages to create a smorgasbord
of cakes, pies, candy, toys and
animals and mixes those with his
city and landscape depictions.
The stark simplicity of his
shapes, combined with the con
trasting black and white of the
scattered etching lines, make his
1964 woodblock “Chocolate Pie”
a sweet treat for the eye.
Thiebaud uses an interesting
palate of color. He contrasts or
anges, purples, blues and yellows
in many of his paintings, includ
ing his 1970 painting “Gumball
Machine.”
Thiebaud has an affinity for
circles, ranging from his shiny
gum balls and pimento-stuffed ol
ives to his 1979 work “Boxed
Balls” and 1971 ’s “Big Suckers.”
Part of his world is like look
ing through a kaleidoscope into
a candy-land fantasy, where ev
erything looks as if it has been
kissed with technicolor.
Perspectives are turned to a
different angle in works such as
his 1989 “\hn,” in which the ob
server looks upward from behind
a van on a dotted, yellow-line
highway. His cityscapes and free
ways curve and wind around the
canvas.
All of Thiebaud's works are
captivating and entertaining.
They have an air of innocence
and pleasure and are a delight to
absorb.
Thiebaud spoke at the dedica
tion of the College of Fine and
Performing Arts in April. He said
painting required a human being
to look at an exhibit as if he were
finding shapes in clouds.
If one were to see into any ex
hibit at the Sheldon Gallery this
year, “Wayne Thiebaud: Obser
vations and Memories" should be
it.
Travis Haying/ON
Sulla Saar, right, talks about bar documentary film “Warrior Tha Ufa of Leonard
Peltier” Sunday at tha Mary Rlepma Ross Theater. Saar was part of a panel that
also Included Eric Jolly, loft, director of tha affirmative action and diversity of
flea at UNL, and John Snowdon, a UNL law professor.
Film depicts life of jailed Warrior’
By Jim CINf
Staff Reporter
“Every one of you could be in
jail like Leonard Peltier, if you
had enough people mad at you,”
UNL professor John Snowden
said.
The Mary Ricpma Ross Film
Theater was Tilled to the brim
Sunday for a screening of “War
rior: The Life of Leonard Peltier”
followed by a panel discussion
featuring Snowden and film
maker Suzie Baer.
“We all could be in the same
position,” agreed Baer. “It’s re
ally frightening. But you can’t
stop fighting.”
Relying heavily on interview
footage, the film methodically
and effectively tells the history of
Leonard Peltier, a member of the
Turtle Mountain Chippewa tribe
who is currently serving two life
sentences at Leavenworth prison.
Featuring a barrage of talking
heads, the documentary covers
some of the same material as a
madc-for-tclevision movie cur
rently running on TBS. Relying
on facts and real-life figures
rather than actor portrayals and
re-enactments, “Warrior” pre
sents a more compelling narra
tive.
Peltier was convicted of shoot
ing two FBI agents at Wounded
Knee. One Native American was
also killed during the standoffbe
tween federal troops and mem
bers of AIM, the American Indian
Movement. Subsequent evidence
has undermined strongly the de
cision of Peltier’s case, leading to
several appeals.
At the panel discussion aAer
the movie, Snowden said that the
appeals courts decided that there
had been questionable govern
ment conduct in the case, but not
enough to warrant a new trial.
Peltier’s only chance for freedom
now is if the president grants him
clemency.
After the film, Baer and
Snowden answered questions
from the audience in a panel dis
cussion moderated by Eric Jolly,
director of the affirmative action
and diversity office at UNL.
Baer said she was inspired to
make the film after reading “In
the Spirit of Crazy Horse,” a book
about Peltier by Peter
Mathiesson, who she interv iewed
in the film.
British director Michael
Apted has recently made two
films about Peltier,
“Thunderheart” and “Incident at
Oglalla,” but “Warrior” is the
first to examine in-depth some of
the potential reasons for keeping
Peltier in jail.
The film shows that the Rose
bud and Pine Ridge Reservations
were originally part of a huge ter
ritory set aside by treaty to be a
sovereign Sioux land. But the dis
covery of gold and other natural
resources led to the acquisition
of Sioux holdings by corpora
tions.
“The Indian Wars are not
over,” Snowden said. “They arc
being fought by lawyers and poli
ticians.”^__ .
See PELTIER on 10
Qarik Parmala/DN
Adam West, television’s Batman, stands In front of a
Batman clock while ha talks to the madia and Invited
guests on Friday at the Folsom Children’s Zoo. West
was In Lincoln promoting Ms new book, “Back to the
Batcave."
TV’s Batman visits
Lincoln zoo, talks
about bats, series
7
By Jo«l Strauch
Senior Reporter
Adam West, television’s
Batman, came to Lincoln’s bat
cave at the Folsom Children’s
Zoo this weekend.
West was just as impressive a
figure as philanthropist Bruce
Wayne and his nocturnal alter
ego. He walked in and checked
the “Batclock" that was behind
his chair to make sure it was
right.
“Superheroes are always pre
cise,” he said.
City Council member Cindy
Johnson presented West a key to
the city on behalf of Mayor Mike
Johanns.
West said, “I hope I have a
chance to use the key — not to
get out of town, of course —
many times in the future.”
Johnson also announced that
27th Street from A to C streets
would be renamed Bat Boulevard
in honor of West’s visit.
West then spoke about the
importance of exhibits like the
zoo’s Masters of the Night dis
play.
“Bats shouldn’t terrify people,
but I would have been out of busi
ness if they didn’t scare some
people,” he said. “It is important
that kids everywhere learn the
importance of not only bats but
other diverse species."
West was then honored by
Secretary of State Allen
Becrmann. On behalf of Gov.
Ben Nelson, Beermann made
West an admiral in the navy of
the state of Nebraska.
Becrmann explained that
Nebraska’s navy consisted of two
boats: Nikita Khrushchev’s
power speedboat and the USS
Nebraska, a Triton-class subma
rine.
West asked Beermann if his
new status as admiral would get
him out of a ticket.
Beermann said no, but he
guaranteed West a free trial.
After that exchange West an
swered questions about himself
and his TV scries. He explained
that when the series began in
1966, it ran twice a week during
prime time and was in color.
He said the longevity of the
scries was due in part to its high
entertainment value and the
moral messages it provided.
“The show touches on every
thing from good dental hygiene
to how to cross the street,” he
said.
West was asked what his fa
vorite “Holy!” phrase was. He
said he had always liked “Holy
Guacamole!”
“The thing about the ‘Holy!’
phrases is they gave Burt Ward
(the actor who played Robin)
something to do,” West said.
“Burt would go through and try
to think of better ones than the
scriptwriters had.”
West also talked about his fa
vorite episode.
“I liked doing the pilot the
best,” he said. “1 was fighting to
make people understand what it
was all about.
“The fun, the struggle to get
it going right, was what I liked
best,” he said. “It was also great
to sec all the humongous props
and the wonder of all the color
and special effects.”
West was asked if he or Ward
See ADAM WEST on 10