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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 2000)
Two friends create colors of the night BY CRYSTAL K.W1EBE Itoo childhood friends have come together to create an art show aimed at conveying the mysterious colors of the night’s sky "Borealis” is an installation art exhibit created by a pair of artists who, as children, took Saturday morning art classes together at Morrill Hall. Although Judith Andre and Michele Angle Farrar have known each other since they were toddlers, "Borealis,” which is on display at Gallery Nine, 124 S. 9th St, is their first joint show. "We’re finally at the same place at the same time (with our art),” Andre said. Farrar described installation art as an attempt to "create an environment where the overall effect is more than the individual piece.” Andre said they want the i_, .. . ... . ;fy . .. . Borealis Au Installation_1 -(Where: -( When: —( Cost: exhibit, which includes about 30 pieces, to be experienced “not just as separate pieces hanging on a wall, but a complete immersion into die idea.” "We’re trying to do the whole thing around a theme (and) make the whole show work as well as separate pieces,” she said. The women decided to use a night sky theme because it lent itself well to different interpreta tions within their individual art forms, including painting, sculp ture and kiln-formed glass. Farrar said the photographs she found while researching bore alis made the phenomenon seem “curtain-like,” so she decided to create scrolls to replicate "hanging brilliant color and sky.” Farrar is also responsible for Ice Jam, the central part of the exhibit, which represents an ice berg. Constructed of everything from plywood to plaster casting material, the blue puzzle-like sculpture is meant to be displayed on a wall with space between each individual piece. “Our thought was the fact that it’s (borealis) something so spec tacular that takes place in the sky ... the iceberg grounds it,” she said. Andre’s contribution to the exhibit is a collection of kiln formed glass, something the artist describes as “somewhere between stained glass and blown glass.” To create each piece, Andre said the glass is assembled cold and then put into a kiln and fused together. Each piece goes through two or three firings. Recently acquiring a larger kiln made it possible for Andre to create a hanging three-paneled piece called “Northern Lights." Most of Andre’s pieces look like plates of different colors of intricately designed glass. She often uses a diamond saw to cut shapes like stars into the glass. Although neither artist has personally witnessed borealis, both enjoy exploring new materi als and working together. Farrar, who also illustrates horticulture books - something she likes but calls “meticulous" - said the independence of the exhibit is evident “It was really nice to do some thing that was freer.” Student's career in filmmaking comes into focus SIMMONDS from page 8 learned the ropes in a number of technical aspects - lighting, sound, camera movement -and, at the same time, got a working knowl edge of film crew operations. When to speak up. When not to. When his two cents were appreciated. When they weren’t MI was reassured after a month in that this was what I wanted to do,” Simmonds said. “I didn’t imagine it was going to be as hard as it was. But I learned what a crew was capable of in independent filmmaking.” Said Endacott, ”1 think (Brett) realized how little he knew. There was a lot he needed to learn about the technical side. A lot of people want to be the artiste - not worry about the technical side. But the two, they go hand in hand. It’s like a painter only painting with one kind of brush, that’s the analogy I’d make.” Simmonds parlayed the experience into another summer opportunity, working as an electric on “Easter,” shot in Hastings. Some of it was grunt work, but he again learned technical details from “an amazing crew.” Beyond expanding his thirst for film, Simmonds better understood the assort ment of available jobs in-the industry, many of which include years of due-paying to reach a position of comfort. Like most aspiring filmmakers, his dream is to direct - his favorites include technically masterful director Michael Bay - but if it falls through, he’d prefer a career in editing over other technicaTdepartments. “You can save a bad film with good edit ing,” Simmonds said. “I don't think people realize how much can be done on the cutting room floor.” * That affinity, along with Simmonds' appreciation for the technical aspects of film, reveals a visual enthusiast who prefers sight to words. In his book, a good script can be ruined by bad directing, but fluid camera work can rescue a shoddy setup. Hence, his enjoyment of Bay's work, which includes “Armageddon,” “The Rock” and the upcoming “Pearl Harbor” in 2001. Simmonds likes old film noir, too, like “The Third Man” and “The Maltese Falcon,” which put a heavy emphasis on deep, angular shadows. InH&OOO, Simmonds has been most impressed by “Gladiator,” the Ridley Scott epic that will likely gamer Oscar nomina tions in a lean year for movies. The master plan includes the 20-year-old Simmonds eventually reaching that type of career plateau. He'll pay some more dues this summer, he expects, on a few more films, then consider a move to one of the coasts (New York or Los Angeles) or a trip to film school after his senior year concludes. The immediate future includes a few more short films in the spring and a possible reworking of “Three of a Kind,” a short about playing cards with the Devil. It needs an orig inal score, Simmonds said, to replace the current music. He's already edited the movie an estimated 30-35 hours for a completed five-minute version. "There’s some parallel editing in it," he said. "So that took awhile.” Sometimes, that’s what a wager is worth. Ait allows audience to make their own conclusions BY BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON It’s one big ball of confusion at the Nebraska Union's Rotunda Gallery for the next two weeks. And that's exactly how its featured artist, John Wenderoth, likes it "I like things that are confus ing; that don't necessarily give an answer,” Wenderoth said. The chaos begins today and runs through Nov. 16 at the Rotunda Gallery. Wenderoth received his Bachelor of Arts from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa and is now a graduate student in the art program at UNL. The title of his exhibit is “Beau Coup.” “Together, beaucoup is just mush,” Wenderoth said. “However, you separate the words, and it is almost an oxy moron meaning beautiful upset” He hopes to challenge view ers to look beyond a simple common object and let their minds conjure up their own imaginative ideas. Tiffany Warner, freshman business major, said her imagi nation was challenged by the art she saw as she looked at Wenderoth's work. “I like looking at things where you can make up your own ideas. It's not clear to me what this represents, but it reminds me of something,” Warner said as she looked at some sculpted, painted concrete blocks stacked on die ground. That’s exactly the reaction Wenderoth craves. “This work is open to inter pretation; there is not one meaning,” he said. “I think work Beau Coup, art k by John Wenderoth, like this triggers a different thought process to everyone. " Wenderoth doesn't have to travel far to find ideas for future art creations either. “I like to make vernacular things,” he said. “I see a common element when I'm walking around and get an idea off of it.” He sees a cement block and paints it, sculpting it to his liking. The rest is up to the viewer. The work will feature sculpt ing as opposed to painting, which used to be Wenderoth’s main interest. , “I came to the department as a painter, but when I was spend ing time in China, painting just seemed worthless to me and I became more interested in sculpting,” he said. He's also excited about show ing his work at the Nebraska Union, while UNL’s Richards Hall is in the renovating process. “I am glad I am showing here, where a variety of people can make their own conclu sions,” Wenderoth said. “It will probably be a more diverse audience here as opposed to Richards Hall. "I love the process of making the art and then exhibiting it” i ■ ■ Actresses pack bite, punch onto drab movie screen AN€ELS from page 8 original three from the TV series - Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith - placed them selves firmly in the television pantheon. “Charlie's” sells its sex appeal in the first 10 minutes as Natalie (Diaz), Dylan (Barrymore) and Alex (Liu) each have their own establishing scenes. Diaz looks a little bleached out making her bed, but still molded out of pure gold, while Barrymore throws her fiancee Tom Green a cameo bone. Wisely, these end, and the investigative assignment revs its engine, as the faceless Charlie (voiced by John Forsythe, just as it was in the TV series) offers a mysterious kidnapping case of a computer billionaire Eric Knox (Sam Rockwell) Which never becomes quite clear until we realize it was all a ruse for some thing else, and then are left with a sense of feeling cheated. Never mind it. Is there any thing else rolling around in the brain when Diaz strips down to fit into a full white bodysuit? Or when Barrymore slinks in satin robes? Or when Liu holds court in full body leather? If there is, or if there would be, "Charlie’s Angels” becomes quickly tiresome; its childish, poke-fiin-at-itself tone essential ly means a lot of inside joke gags '$t jr; *§;1 • jjfeaj from one of the three writers, and a lot of long scenes that bust chops at the nature of the series itself. If there is a flaw to all of this, it’s that not much of it is funny, and yet it tries to be over and over again. Murray’s performances no longer rely on sheer humor; he’s become too subtle and nuance to make a nothing role like Bosley go over. Diaz’s character is a geeky version of her role in “There’s Something About Mary,” so it’s geared for laughs, and yet it seems Barrymore would have fit that role, with Diaz as the siren that Iiu becomes. While they seem mis matched, these Angels are game, Courtesy photo From left: Drew Barrymore, Bill Murray, Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz star in "Charlie's Angels," which opened this weekend. The action-packed movie is based on the popu lar television show, which ran from 1976-1981. and more importantly, gluttons for the physical punishment the stunt crew puts them through for the fight scenes - whirling, quickly edited dervishes of fist and feet, plus a sword cane that belongs to Angels' henchman nemesis, the Thin Man (Crispin Glover, who speaks nary a word of dialogue). There are six or seven separate battles of note in “Angels" and a few skirmishes on the side. The action centerpiece includes a race car duel between the Thin Man and Diaz through the streets to a bridge. And McG retraces the possible death of one angel with a nice set of imag inative camera tricks. The movie glows like a Michael Bay picture might, and yet, McG seems to have more restraint. There’s still a lingering sense of the real world. But it’s a diverting real world at the same time. “Charlie’s Angels” moves along at a quick pace, it ends, then wafts away from the mind. Purposeless as it seems, outside of making some money, it nonetheless works a popcorn flick, about the highest distinction an event movie can aspire to. ■ 1 i for a 11 o f you news dailyneb.com 'Bagger'bores despite lavish of set details BY SAMUEL MCKEWON It’s tempting to praise Robert Redford’s “The Legend of Bagger Vance” for its lush cos tumes, its detailed re-creation of Depression-era Savannah, Ga., and its photography of sea side golf courses melting dra matic oozing sunsets. It's the best looking movie about golf that could have been imagined. But, in equal proportions, it is agonizingly boring. Transcendently tedious, really. Shove everything else aside in movies, and you still arrive at the question: Does it work? One would be hard-pressed to hang a yes on “Bagger Vance” because the lushness doesn’t really mat ter if nothing’s really happening. Well, a few things happen. But not a whole lot. The story is built around a golfer named Rannulph Junuh (Matt Damon), who ruled the South golf circuit before heading off to World War I, where it all went bad and shriveled up Junuh’s persona and emotional stability to that of a com kernel We don’t see the movie through his eyes, though, but that of Hardy Grieves (J. Michael Moncrief), who nar rates the film looking back into the past. His elderly alter-ego is played by Jack Lemmon. Lemmon is a fine actor, but his jellied voice does the movie no favors; his narration sounds like a hot dog commercial. So Junuh returns to Savannah, after a 10-year hia tus, a gambling drunk. His old flame Adele (siren Charlize Theron, moving in and out of her Southern belle accent) is left with a massive golf resort and no one to play it, as her father commits suicide after discover ing he’s on the verge of bank ruptcy. one cuuies up wiui a puui iu run a $10,000 exhibition at the resort, invite then-stars Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen, and get washed-up Junuh to play for the city. What of Bagger Vance? He doesn’t show until act two, and he’s played by Will Smith in a performance so understated he might as well disappear. He walks out of the darkness, agrees to caddy for “five dollars guaranteed" and set Junuh’s world straight. A good majority of his lines border on Zen mysticism - “A man’s grip on his dub is like his grip on the world” - and Smith ambles about like he's 30 years older than he is. It'd be tempting to praise his acting if it left any sort of impression 10 minutes after. There's not much more plot to divulge. The golf match con sumes the movie's final hour, grinding to a halt for several unrelated locker-room scenes between the three golfers. Small details seem to be thrown around arbitrarily-a trait about Jones is tossed in here, one about Hagen there - that never add up to much. Damon has a thin character to work with, as does Theron, who can’t manage to go deeper than her button cute face. Nothing much sticks in “Bagger Vance.” This marks the second consecutive letdown, in my book, for Redford, the direc tor. His previous effort, “The Horse Whisperer,” was long and ponderous, with a love story at its core that developed at glader pace. i ms is worse, inougn, because the whole movie devel ops that way, and somehow, for as long as the expository first act is, major character traits seem left out. “Bagger Vance” is left intentionally vague, as he stands for all that is wise and probing into the nature of man. And if nature of man is based on, as the movie seems to purport, the rules of Royal and Ancient St. Andrews’ book of golf regulations, God help us all. Because there’s too many loose impediments in life to worry about them all. “Bagger Vance” is certainly one you shouldn’t concern yourself with in the least UNL students'artwork featured at local dub Seven students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are the featured artists at a new art show at Club 1427,1427 O St The show, titled “Addiction,” features one piece of art from each of the seven artists. The fea tured artists are: Shawn Ballarin, Scott Eastman, Melanie Falk, Jake Gillespie, Jen Helzer, Nick Krauter and Jerry Morgan. The show runs until Nov. 14. A new show, “Archetypes,” fea turing different pieces of art from the same artists, will run Nov. 15 29. Admission is free. UNL professor re-elected to serve on NASAD board A UNL professor will contin ue to have his say in the direction of art and design education. Joseph Ruffo, chairman of the UNL department of art and art history, has been re-elected to a three-year term on the Board of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. The association was estab lished in 1944 to improve educa tional practices and maintain Droppe high professional standards in art and design education. It consists of 219 schools, col leges and universities that offer art and design studies and estab lish standards for undergraduate and graduate degrees and other credentials. Ruffo was instrumental in bringing UNLs art and art histo ry department into the associa tion, and he said it was well worth it “The UNL Department of Art and Art History has gained great benefits from our association with NASAD,” Ruffo said in a release. “NASAD membership brings to UNL the prestige of being a member of a select group of visu al arts institutions in higher edu cation who focuses on the deliv ery of high quality educational opportunities for students in a variety of art and art history dis ciplines.” UNL's membership in the association assures parents and students that its program meets the highest national standards. ■ ■