A Post I Can't Bring Myself To Illustrate With Pictures

Reviewing the arts, to me, entails a lot of things; both in the sense of the physical reviewing process and the mental needs of reviewing. Having just one aspect of a review whether it be technically perfect or strong in content, is not enough to make a good review; both pieces are necessary. Even if you follow the cake recipe perfectly the end result will taste terrible enough you use the right ingredients.

The physical needs of reviewing are critical in crafting a good review. A good reviewer is must seamlessly enter an artistic space and be able to blend in but be a fly on the wall at the same time. If a reviewer sticks out to much he may not be able to get a true sense of the space, but if you get to comfortable in your space then the review is at risk of losing its objectivity. If a reviewer loses their objectivity the review itself is in peril, although from a persona reviewing standpoint I feel I am always teetering on the edge of falling into a personal rant.

Reviewing requires the ability to walk into a space, performance, screening, or other artistic venue and be able to quickly pick up the sense of the space. While you can’t immediately draw conclusions after walking into a space, you need to be able to gleam a general feeling from the venue. After mapping your initial reactions a good reviewer needs to be able to take those veins and follow them to the heart of whatever is being reviewed. A good reviewer is able to both explain the space broadly then also delve deeper into what the space is about. Getting to the deeper meaning within the object, event, exhibition, or media that you are reviewing is the key to the piece altogether. A surface level reviewer will simply explain that base feeling they received upon a quick scan of the space and fail to go any deeper.

From going back and reading through my blogs from this class I feel like I have, for the most part, been able to fulfill both the physical and mental requirements of writing strong reviews. I have however fallen into multiple traps along the way, many of which I set for myself. I would often use too much “I” as I fail in my attempts at removing myself from the review, most of which intentionally. I feel like this class has solidified my writing style in which I am always the main character. While this may be cocky, or even just bad reviewing, I feel like no matter what I write I can never fully remove myself. I also feel like this isn’t always a bad thing.

In reviewing one should never remove themselves. Reviews are not, and should not, be written by robots. The point of reviews is to get someone’s (hopefully an educated someone) take on a certain thing. In the end we are looking for their response to it, what they thought about it, what it made them feel. All of these things go against the idea of removing oneself from said review.
Thanks for all of your support in guidance Doug! I think the assignments did a good job of covering a wide spectrum of the reviewing world and I had fun being able to read the actual assignment and then take it in whatever direction I wanted to. So thank you also for allowing me to that! Not all teachers are as accommodating when students take over the assignments; you’re definitely one of the best English teachers I’ve ever had (and that’s not just to raise my grade, I honestly mean it!). I also hope you enjoyed my random links, I wanted to give you a few good distractions from grading all those Review Essays.

P.S. Don’t count the Red Sox out yet! I’m feeling a strong post- All Star game surge.

I Give Art One More Chance

Art exhibits are the last place you'll find me. Walking around a hushed gallery pretending to understand the canvas on the wall slathered in mud and clay with a dash of pigs blood is not my idea of a good time. I’ve written before about past experiences with fine art exhibits (check out my first blog post if you haven’t been an avid reader of this blog). In short, I’d rather watch paint dry then actually see that paint once it’s been affixed to a toaster and placed in an art exhibit.

But after reading the reviews of Columbia C33’s newest show Access Excess: The Scene Behind the Stage I decided I’d give the gallery - and art exhibits - another opportunity.

When I first walked in I knew immediately that this show was different. The gallery was divided into four sections: The Wall, The Experience, The Road, and Record Shop, each representing a different aspect of the shows overall theme of making the viewer feel as if the viewer is at a live concert. “The visual elements that often fade into the background of rock shows, plays and performances of all kinds - band t-shirts, posters, album art, post-event photos, fashion, advertisements and fliers - are the focus and displayed objects of Access Excess.” explains the show’s Press Release.

The show features work by Sarah Sarsaw, Stacey Huffstutler and Rick Cohen, among others who worked to combine a variety of majors. From photography, graphic design, to illustration and even fashion. The Wall, Experience, and Road sections all were filled with photographs, some mounted in CD cases, others hanging alone. The pictures themselves depict live musical events and are filled with energy, bright colors, and the pure passion that resides within the performers, the fans, and even the photographers taking them.

Another wall, featuring the work of Darron Alexander, Ronda Debbern, Jillian Fisher, Greg Ochab, and Nigel Ridgeway, is covered in band posters representing both the marketing campaigns and the emotional and cultural missions of the performances themselves. One of my favorite pieces in the exhibit was a wall covered by a massive graffiti mural that channels all of the shows energy into a single piece.

I think the reason I can connect to the exhibit as a whole, when past exhibits in this same gallery have not been interesting to me, is because of the feelings that the pieces themselves evoke. While in the past I have felt as if the pieces have required vast amounts of art knowledge and intense thoughts, these pieces are so real and alive they emote both the feeling of actually being at the events portrayed and many of the ideals behind this college as well.

As I walk the gallery my gaze drifts from the pieces to the large windows looking out onto the bustle of Wabash Avenue, then back to more pieces within the space. We as a school strive to unite both the city in which we live and the art we create within it. I think this exhibit displays both of these aspects. On one hand it explores the art involved in putting on a live show, on the other it displays the urbanity of our camps and our art community as a whole. While the show has since closed, the thought behind it emphasizes what I feel should be the driving factor of all artwork; attempting to evoke a feeling of reality within an enclosed medium. Art should transport us somewhere else, even if that place is familiar to us. We should be able to look at a picture and feel as if we are its subject. The pieces within this gallery allow us to do just that.




Photos provided by the Columbia College website.

Columbia's weird, gay, recycled Melting Pot: The Office of Student Engagement

When trying to determine a place that embodies Columbia, the possibilities don’t number very many. Not only the essence of the college as a place for people of all interests, but also as our urban campus set in the middle of downtown Chicago made it difficult to find a central place that is Columbia. The place I was finally able to decide on was the Office of Student Engagement (and no, this time I didn’t choose it just because it’s convenient to me). I feel like the office is truly what Columbia prides itself on; being open, inviting, and supportive of everyone who is looking to turn their dreams into careers in the arts.

Located on the 4th Floor of the newly renovated 926 S. Wabash Building, the Office of Student Engagement, or as it’s affectionately called, the Loft, is the home base of all the student clubs on campus. You and nine of your like minded friends can start a club for just about anything. Columbia already has more then 60 active student organizations. The major clubs include Latino Alliance, EPIC, and Common Ground. Clubs work on issues from recycling to L.G.B.T. rights; basically put, walking the aisles of small desks and computer stations one can see the wide variety of clubs that are here at Columbia.

The school never lets you forget about the Columbia belief of individualism as key and discrimination as evil. While the second tenant in that sentence is pretty much universal, not many schools are like Columbia in the respect, and even the promotion, of truly being you. Waking down Wabash or Michigan Ave you get to see the Columbia student body as we walk to class, work, or home, but in places like the Office of Student Engagement, one can truly see what the Columbia student is all about.

The Loft gives these clubs a home, a place from which to branch out and do what their club has set out to do, whether advance Civil Rights for Gays and Lesbians or celebrating the beauty of Japanese Animation. The college has worked hard to create a space where students can come, work, hold meetings and events, or just hang out and talk with their friends. Filled with couches, chairs, pillows, and a newly installed big screen TV, the Loft just want’s you to come hang out in it’s comfy confines.

As I walked around taking pictures, EPIC (the recycling people) were occupying the small meeting room making buttons for their new recycling education campaign. Later on in the day the Student Government association took over the large meeting area to discuss upcoming Senate Elections. While observing the space a near constant flow of students came into the Loft. They were there both to work on official club business but also just enjoy the space in between classes.

On the streets we see what a Columbia student looks like, but if we’re truly going after the Columbia “spirit” we can’t judge that student by what jeans they’re wearing or what they decide to pierce their body with. Instead we have to see that student in action; doing what they came here to Columbia to do, and more importantly what they do outside of the classroom environment when they are the ones making the decisions. With a student club, it is truly run by the students. While final monetary approval comes from faculty advisers, the clubs decide their own schedules, plan their own meetings and events, and even design their own logos, posters, and merchandise

Not many schools would allow for a club like NORML to advocate for revisions in our national drug enforcement laws. Columbia creates an atmosphere not often found on college campuses. While hearing about how awesome and accepting we all are of everyone can become tiring, the truth of the matter is, at Columbia there is a place for everyone. And not to sound to cliche (or like this is a poorly written ad for how awesome the office is) the Office of Student Engagement is the physical representation of that vague and lofty ideal of acceptance of all. And if Columbia truly does offer a place for everyone, then this office is a pretty good place to start your search to find that place.

Art & Copy: Advertising in the 21st Century

Advertising is all around us. Cliche I know, but its true. We see them on buses, subways, store windows, magazines, websites, even text messages. Escaping ads has become an impossibility in our modern world.

On Monday, April 12th, Columbia College’s Marketing Communications Department teamed up with the Portfolio Center to put on an Art & Copy event at the 1104 S. Wabash Film Row Cinema. The event brought two established advertising executives to campus in conjunction with a screening of the 2009 award-winning documentary film Art & Copy.

The event began with John Tepachio (a copy writer) and Chris Gedress (an art director) talking about their experiences in the advertising industry; where they came from, and how they got to where they are now. They spoke about their moving around ad houses throughout the midwest, before finally ending up with firms in Chicago. Both Michigan State grads, they have since relocated here to the city as their jobs shifted.

One of the most important aspects of the industry that the panel centered around was the importance of being versatile in todays changing ad game. Never before have businesses been able to reach perspective costumers on the level now possible. They explained how, in todays market, an ad creator needs to be able to work many jobs. No longer are the days when you could just write copy or focus solely on the layout. Instead you may be called on to create every aspect of the ad itself.

Following a short question and answer period, the film Art & Copy was screened. The documentary, directed by Doug Gray, focuses on many of the most influential advertising campaigns of the last 40 years. Some of the executives featured in the film were behind such historic and long-lasting campaigns as Nike’s “Just Do It”, New York City’s “I Love NY", and the dairy industries moniker “Got Milk.” Both the panel and the film centered around quasi revolutions in the ad industry. The first being the creative revolution of the 60’s which was a focus of the film, and the current revolution in which advertisers are making the move to Facebook and Twitter to reach new costumers.

Such “revolutions” are what Columbia trains us for everyday. We are tasked with creating art in the ever-changing media landscape of the 21st Century. Whether filmmakers, musicians, or advertisers, we all are all creating works of art with which we hope to move our respective audiences. We as artists must keep up with these changes as we look to creating relevant pieces in a society inundated with so called “art”. As we make these changes we have to not only keep ourselves in our pieces but also bring aspects of modern culture into our work.

This event brought these realities to the forefront of discussion as seasoned industry professionals were able to interact and answer the questions of college students who will soon be entering the real world. We were told the importance of personal websites in order to reach perspective employers as even the ways in which we get hired have changed along with the job descriptions themselves. Most importantly, we have to believe in the art we are creating. As the art itself is ever changing, we as artists must be there to back up what we’ve created.

The Mafiosa's

I guess one show on the trials and tribulations of a group of New York City lady socialites wasn’t enough for Kevin Wade. After helping create the highly successful Sex in the City, Wade decided to copy the very same method, this time minus the sex. With Cashmere Mafia, Wade attempted at make the transition from the foul mouthed booze filled orgy that is HBO to the “comfy” yet censored confines of ABC with Mafia. While the show seemed to copy every other, non-sexy aspect of Sex in the City, they still found a way to wring gallons of drama out of the series’ pilot.

Cashmere Mafia centers around four, high powered female executives living in New York City. Mia Mason (played by Lucy Liu) a magazine publisher, Zoe Burden (Frances O’Connor) is the manager of a Mergers and Acquisitions firm, Juliette Draper (Miranda Otto) is the COO of a hotel and resort conglomerate, with Caitlin Dowd (Bonnie Somerville) a cosmetics V.P., filling out the foursome. These ladies have been best friends since college and have rode each others’ coattails - and contacts - up the New York social and business ladders.

On paper, the show seems like a interesting take on sexism in the work place as these four glass-ceiling-smashing leading ladies attempt to portray. After watching the pilot episode, though, the sheer ridiculousness of the show comes to light. Within the 42 minute pilot there’s a wedding proposal (and later retraction), an affair, a heated promotion, a dance recital, nanny drama, and enough cliche women's power jams in the soundtrack to make even the most loquacious housewife balk. Mafia quickly falls into a daytime soap with a sappy wedding proposal two minutes into the show, only for the happy couple to walk into work a minute later to learn they will be competing for a promotion that will leave one the new publisher, the other without a job. These “dramatic” moments continue to drop throughout the episode, concluding in Lucy Liu receiving the promotion only to see her presumed fiance pull out of the deal because he expected to win. And of course, the episode ends with the Mafiosa’s sitting around “their” table at a posh downtown eatery, sipping on champaign, making a plan to find the perfect man for an affair payback mission.

While watching the show I couldn't help but think to myself, “why would women watch this?” With this realization i notice I’d already made a few huge assumptions about the show. First that the audience is completely comprised of women, the second being that people actually watched it. The second question was easily answered by ABC’s failure to pick up Mafia for a second season. The question of audience seems clear to me as well. I don’t see a man, whether straight or gay, tuning in to watch this show. I honestly couldn’t have estimated its audience to be anybody past housewife's looking to it as a visual interpretation of their wildest dreams. Surely women like the ones portrayed in the show weren't rushing home from their dinner meetings to tune in. Then it hit me that the producers knew their audience and they were going after it full force. Much like with Fox’s new man-centric drama Human Target which chronicles the freelance missions of Christopher Chance, a Fed turned mercenary who can rescue anyone from anywhere no matter if he has to bring down a multi-national corporation or corrupt government in his wake. While Mafia has affairs, champagne, and swanky charity events, Target has guns, explosion, and sexy damsels who always seem to find themselves in distress.

Sometimes, we as TV viewers don’t really want to have to think about what we’re watching. We want to plop down on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and a Bud Light and laugh, smile, and cry for 42 minutes. These shows allow us to simply have fun basking in the ridiculousness that is scripted television. So even if I couldn’t care less about the ladies latest “frenemy” or favorite new restaurant, I’m sure they’d say the same things about the explosions and pretty ladies over on Fox. We watch only what we like and therefore television excecs, bent on getting us to watch their shows, tailor those shows to our every whim; no matter how sad and utterly terrible that whim is.

It isn't always Justified

In FX's new drama Justified, Timothy Olyphant plays a Kentucky U.S. Marshall forced from his posting in Miami to head back home to the heartland. Olyphant plays Raylin Givens, a hard talkin’ fast shootin’ U.S. Marshall who’s a fan of Wild West ultimatums to “get outta town.” In the series pilot, the viewer is introduced to Givens as he guns down a bad guy after not taking Givens up on his life sparing offer to get out of Miami within 24 hours. This killing, while justified as the other man drew first, forces Givens relocation back home to Kentucky. Through the 46 minute pilot, we’re introduced to a cast of White Supremacist characters and Givens’ old flings from before he left the heartland. In the end, another Wild West gunfight leaves one of Givens’ old mining buddies (and White Supremacist leader) on a gurney while Givens saves the life of an old crush.

Whenever Hollywood goes Hillbilly, hilarity often ensues; whether intentional or not. By bringing up decades old cultural stereotypes of gapped toothed, road kill eating, gun toting idiots who’d rather shoot up old soda cans than work a normal 9-5 always seem to find their ways into these shows. What makes Justified different is the ability to move past the predetermined Hollywood norms. While many Red Stater’s will still be angered by Hollywood’s attempt at portraying the backcountry of Kentucky, they don’t (in my opinion) have much to get up in arms about. No pun intended. Yes, they show the extremes of a Kentucky hillbilly, yet through people like Givens’ ex-wife, and even Givens himself, they show that Kentucky ‘aint all bad.

It’s bigger than hip hop, hip hop, hip hop, hip hop

“Attention, Huxtables, there is a block party down the street.”

Dave Chappelle has never been one to back down from a fight, or tone down his act to meet predetermined social norms of what political correctness means or should be. The Chappelle Show always made fun of current racial issues while tap dancing along the line between crude, slapstick humor and biting, socially critical comedy. From skits like The Racial Pixies or the Racial Draft, Chappelle and Co. were never shy about bringing up hot bed issues, and no one or no issue was safe from their wrath.

Chappelle was skyrocketing to fame; a hit TV show, along with it a nice new $50 million TV deal. Then Chappelle defied all Hollywood standards, even common sense itself, and disappeared. Not just skipping work. Not just hiding from the paparazzi - or his boss. He disappeared. Straight gone. He would later show up in South Africa. Not long after his disappearance, and subsequent resurfacing half a world away, Michel Gondry released Dave Chappelle’s Block Party, A documentary filmed at a concert Chappelle put on in New York City in 2004.


The show featured performances by Kanye West, Erykah Badu, The Roots, Common, a surprise performance by the reunited Fugees, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Dead Prez, John Legend, and Jill Scott among others. While Chappelle was the MC and the creative force behind the show, he limited his own exhibition within it. Instead of going into long standup routines between acts, he’d simply come on and make a few jokes before introducing the next performer.

“5,000 black people chillin' in the rain. 19 white people peppered in the crowd. Trying to find a Mexican.” while banging away on the Bongo’s quipped Chappelle.

It was a feast of epic proportions for Hip-Hop fans. Many, if not all, of those who graced the stage that day walk through the Hip-Hop pantheons as some of the best performers of all time. It’s an amazing enough experience to see them live individually (something I can say as I have seen nearly half of the groups live myself) but seeing them performing all on one stage goes beyond just being a “good show”; it was one of the greatest.

As a Hip-Hop fan, growing up in the modern age of the genre when all you need is a good hook and a catchy accompanying dance move to qualify as a rap song, many of the performers in Block Party are the Godfathers of Rap. The Roots, The Fugees, these groups define what Hip-Hop should be.

As a documentary film, Block Party strayed from its Concert Film genre by focusing most of the film on the days leading up to the show and reactions of both the people onstage and those watching it from the crowd. More emphasis was put on the purpose and power of the show then the show itself.

Once the show starts the film bounces between the performances and what is going on backstage. We as viewers get to see and hear what is going through the minds of the performers set to go on next - and how the old ladies from Ohio are enjoying their first ever rap concert.

Being fan of both documentary film and good Hip-Hop, this film is perfect for me. I sat in pure bliss for the 126 minutes it was on screen. In organizing the Block Party, Chappelle was looking to do much more then just put on a good show. He wanted to create an experience; a community on one block for one night, with the hope of spreading that feeling though this film. Whether White, Black, Latino, Asian, young, old, Gay, Straight; it didn’t matter. True Hip-Hop is color blind, ageless, and ignorant of all social dividing lines. Chappelle created something that transcended a singular musical genre, crossing over into the realm of a social environment in which family became a loose term for everyone in attendance.

Many Hip-Hop artists' themselves feel like by simply performing within the genre that they are all members of a certain family. Many of the performers in the film have toured, or at least performed together before. Talib and The Roots performed at Common’s benefit show last year in Chicago (a show that also featured the likes of Will.I.Am and Lupe FIasco). When the the studio wouldn’t clear some of Lauren Hill’s songs for performance, she brought The Fugees back together just so that they could be part of the Block Party, seven years after their breakup.

I feel as if Block Party and Dave’s disappearance are inextricably linked. The film shows Chappelle is his natural environment; the place in which he thrives. Walking around, interacting with normal America. The same segment of people who made The Chappelle Show the highest selling TV show DVD of all time. With the third season looming, Chappelle didn’t like where the show was headed. Rumors emerged that Chappelle was being pressured from Comedy Central Executives about the show’s content, and that just isn’t how Chappelle operates. A completely sane man wouldn’t walk away from $50 million over some creative differences, but at the same time a sane man could never produce the hilarity that is Dave Chappelle and his schizophrenic cast of characters.

In Block Party, Chappelle created the true meaning of what Hip-Hop is, or at least what it should be. Everyone coming together to enjoy both the music itself and the message behind it. The show was free, with Chappelle putting up the money for it out of his own pocket. I’m guessing many of the acts were performing for free, or at least at vastly discounted rates. They, like Chappelle, wanted to put on an event in which we could all join them in celebrating and commemorating life, sorrow, happiness, and pain.

Rap music, on the surface, may appear to be all gangsters and hoes, but in reality, true Hip-Hop centers around issues of race, culture, gender, sexuality, and politics. Rap gets a bad name thanks to people like Lil' Jon (check out this Chappelle sketch on Jon) and Soulja Boy but through films like Block Party the true Hip-Hop mentality comes to light.

“Every comic wants to be a musician. Every musician thinks they're funny. It's a very strange relationship that we have. Some musicians are funny. Some comedians can play. I'll give you an example: Mos Def - funny guy; Jamie Foxx - good singer and piano player. So you never know, you never know what kind of talent a person has. I ain't mediocre at both, but I've managed to talk my way into a fortune. Life, is a funny and unpredictable thing!” - Dave Chappelle

For the love of Justin Bieber!

Justin Bieber. Just those two words are enough to make nearly every teenage girl on the face of the planet squeal in delight, inevitably followed by a flood of tears. The 16 year-old Canadian singing sensation has skyrocketed from obscurity to instant stardom thanks to the user generated multimedia giant YouTube.

Justin Bieber, however, is not an artist you will find in many college guy’s iTunes libraries. He was vacant from mine until this assignment.

He started out at the age of 13, when he and his single mother put up some covers of Usher, Chris Brown, and Stevie Wonder on YouTube for friends and family to see. Those videos were seen by Scooter Braun, a former marketing executive who saw something special in him, flying the young Bieber and his mother to Atlanta, GA to audition with Island Records, where he caught the eye of Usher himself. Braun soon became his manager, and soon after Justin signed a record deal with Island. And the rest, literally, is history,

His first album “My World” was released in 2009. To raise hype, four singles were released before the album came out: “One Time”, “One Less Lonely Girl”, “Love Me”, and “Favorite Girl.” All four reached Billboards Top 40 status on in it’s "Hot 100 list", the first time this has ever happened. Ever.

“My World” went on to sell 137,000 copies in its first week and was received well by critics. Bieber became an instant hit with the key “critics” as well, those critics being the “little girl” demographic; the reason why is obvious. “He’s just so freaking cute” is I’m sure what any 12 year old girl you asked about why she is “in love” with Justin would say.

Bieber would most likely appear on a list of the most marketable performers of all time. For one, everyone loves the story of a nobody becoming famous, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s as cute as the lovechild of Puppy and a baby Panda. Add in actual musical talent and you’ve got little Bieber.

Joined by those four pre-released singles, “My World” contains four other tracks: “Down To Earth”, “Bigger”, “First Dance” (featuring celeb BFF Usher), and “Common Denominator.” After listening through the entire 30 minute album, I was honestly surprised. As a fan of techno and hip-hop, a 16 year-old boy is far from my normal jam, but Bieber displays a surprisingly strong range, showing he’s got some pipes and a damn good marketing team.

The songs themselves are written to hit his fans straight in their little tween hearts; the lyrics are all about that one, special girl out there, whom every girl out there pretends she is; “I saw so many pretty faces / Before I saw you, you / Now all I see is you” goes “One Less Lonely Girl”. While it's not exactly Barry White, the compositions, beats, pop riffs, and Bieber’s ability to perform many years above his age, makes the songs enjoyable, even for a college guy like myself. While I’m not waiting with baited breath for the upcoming release of “My World 2.0”, I have respect for Bieber as an artist. Before today, I never gave the kid a chance. Now, after three listen throughs of “My World”, I actually find myself bopping around in my chair to “Love Me”.

Following him on Twitter, where he constantly updates his 1.3 million Followers about what he’s up to, has given me a little more insight into the mind of the rising star. While most celebs say they care about their fans, it seems like Justin actually means it. He realizes how crazy his ascent has been, and who he has to thank for it. He’s the first celebrity I’ve seen on Twitter actually Follow their fans (he follows 41,595), constantly re-tweeting the messages from tween girl fans from which you can literally wring their tears of joy.

While he has millions of fans, million of others point out that he's a 16 year-old boy (with the voice of a 12 year-old girl... sorry Justin) singing about love, something he has undoubtedly never actually felt (again, sorry Justin, I obviously don't know this for sure... just a hunch, and since you ignored my attempt at getting you to Follow me on Twitter for the sake of this post, I guess our bromance will never blossom past this blog). But once you get over the fact that his lyrics might be a little above his pay grade, he’s got a voice, and a "cute face", and he knows how to use both. Very, very well. Love him or hate him, you’ve got to respect the kid for having a dream and following it, as for now, Bieber-mania shows no sign of slowing down (we’ll deal with the whole issue of going through puberty and what will mean to his precious little voice later).

Living Out Loud

Living Out Loud (1998), directed by Richard LaGravenese, starring Holly Hunter, Danny DeVito and Queen Latifah, is a dramatic comedy about a woman (Hunter) finding an unforeseen companion in her apartment buildings elevator operator (DeVito). Judith Moore has recently divorced her doctor husband and is living, alone, in their Upper East Side apartment. All their friends were really his so she feel

s isolated, finding solace in the soulful singing of Liz Bailey (Latifah), often making the trip to the Upper West Side bar she performs at. After a few failed attempts at male companionship, a conversation with her buildings doorman, Pat Francato, begins what would become the driving relationship in the film.

The most poignant moment in the film is a ridiculous, over the top organized dance number that comes close to the films conclusion. While at a gay club, Judith and Liz move to the pulsing dance beats, lights in seemingly every color of the spectrum bounce and glow around them. The dance floor is so full of women that they all seem to combine into one, singular being. Judith moves to the music before breaking out in a synchronized dance with the women around her as the floor clears to give them space. The sequence ends when Judith finds her younger self on the dance-floor, as they embrace, the floor fills back up and the animal starts up all over again. This scene serves to show Judith that while she has been looking for herself since leaving her husband, she has always truly known who she is.

Through playful tricks like this, aimed at taking the viewer into Judith's mind by showing what she wants to do versus what she actually does begin awkward and out of place but by the end of the film serve as both a playful and poignant aspect of the film. In the begging, they feel like schizophrenic gimmicks, the film seemingly not able to make up its mind between being a continuos classical hollywood narrative and a discontinuous, almost semi-experimental piece. The film leaves the viewer, at times, questioning what’s real and what is fake as the viewer begins to be able to tell when the reality we are seeing is in fact not actually happening.

This film brings up social issues of a single woman as Judith stands up to her ex-husband and doesn’t act as a scared or weak patsy during the divorce proceedings, something that seems to often be portrayed as such in movies and television. By the end of the film she has realized she doesn’t have to be what she sees in the women around her, instead she can be who she wants to be. Ignoring the reactions of her neighbors towards her relationship with Pat she circumvents the norms society has set out for her as an upper class single woman. By returning to her roots, Judith is able to fully understand where she’s come from therefore allowing her to become who she needs to be by Living Out Loud.

My Own Personal Museum

Creating art is why we go to Columbia. Whether that art is a painting, play, or gallery show, its creation is done by artists, either collectively or singular. For me, I like to surround myself with art, whether of my own creation of from others. The most obvious example of “my own personal ‘museum’” is my bedroom.

By the end of the semester I hope to have my walls covered in art and they are well on their way to getting there.

Whether posters from events on campus, team pictures and posters from my past, movie posters, my tack-board with past concert and event tickets, to the large prints of my own photography dominate the walls of my room.

These prints are all shots I have taken over the past year and represent major parts of my life. Surrounding myself in the art I create not only reinforces my drive to create new works but also reminds me of where I came from and what I am building on.








This picture, taken at the ELITE Hockey Training Camp in Northfield, Vermont this Summer, serves as a reminder of one of the best jobs I’ve ever had, while also reminding me everyday of how I got started in filmmaking in the first place. The photo itself is one of my all time personal favorites that I have taken. The depth of field drawing your attention to the young hockey players face; his expression showing his focus and determination. In the background the viewer can make out other players, their sticks in hand yet the focal player sticks out in stark contrast to the rest of the image.
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This photo was taken in August at one of my high school's pre-season football practices. While Marfan Syndrome kept me off the playing fields in high school, nothing could keep me from the coaches box as I managed every possible team I could.

Working for the football team, I became an impromptu assistant coach, managing nearly all off-field activities of the team: paperwork, broken equipment, I was even the team medic. These were two of my favorite photos from the nearly 300 I took over two days during pre-season.

These two were some of the most visually striking. In the first, my friend Loren stared me down from across the field; standind out against the blurred background. A stone cold look on his face, his eyes squinting against the sun. In the second photo Ben and Zak share a fun moment in between plays.
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These two photos are near portraits of two of my good friends, and are the last of the 5 prints I have on my walls. Benny takes to the air snowboarding this past winter while Lee jokes around with me before the 2008 football season.



Surrounding myself with pictures of friends reminds me of home while I am away at school, also serving as a constant reminder as to how I got here. While a jock at heart, health reasons force me to give up sports, but through my video work and managing duties I have been able to stay connected to the teams I love. This reminder helps keep me grounded in both my past and future as a media maker by keeping my photographs and friends constantly in my mind and on my walls.



Moving forward I look to add more to my "personal museum". Building it with time to fill every available inch. Whether those new pieces are recently taken photographs, recent event posters, or new movie posters, I want to constantly surround myself with the art that surrounds my everyday life.

Earth's Elixir

Water can quench our thirst, wash away our grime, it can even turn powder into pancakes with the help of a little heat. Water covers 2/3 of the earth and makes up nearly 60% of the human body. Whether clean and cold, or muddied and luke-warm, water is a necessity of life while being simplistic in nature. A glass of the lovable liquid makes it look as if nothing is there. Water should, in all respects, be clear; free of all particulates, coloration, or any milkiness.

If the water is to be ingested, these

qualities are that much more important. Temperature varies on personal preference. As the saying goes “some like it hot.” While that expression was most likely meant for a different interaction then simply taking a drink of water, the mentality still stands. Depending on a person’s own views, the intake temperature changes. For the most part, people seem to like their water cold. That leads to people believing the water to be “fresh” and or “crisp”.

When the water is being used to wash or clean, again, the clearer the better. No one wants to wash a dirty dish with dirty water; nothing gets accomplished. And again, like with ingestion, temperature depends on the necessary task. When taking a shower or doing the dishes, warm, even hot, water is needed to break down the dirt and grime, while the washing of a delicate silk or frail fabric may require cold water in order to retain the materials structural

integrity.

Water has the complexity of being both utterly simple and very complex at the very same time. Made up of two hydrogen molecules bonded with an oxygen molecule, at its base, water is not intricate it its construction. Its flavor is simple as well, or at least it should be. It should have little to no taste. Water should simply be a cold, crisp, refreshing wave of thirst quenching liquid traveling down your throat. Or a hot spear of scalding liquid ripping that ketchup stain from your favorite sweatshirt. If your water has a taste, whether it be metallic, earthy, or just

downright bad, something is tainting the purity of your product and needs to be dealt with. The problem could come from many locations. Wether the original source (a pond or stream, per-say), the plant it was treated at, or the pipes it traveled through, all the way to the pitcher you stored it in in the fridge. Various contaminations could come from anywhere along this path leading to a sub-par final product. The best ways to prevent such an unfortunate occurrence from happening is to employ a filtering pitcher or, if the space allow, get your water straight from the source and install a well on your property.

Water itself becomes complicated when all the issues of temperature, clarity, flavor, number of bubbles (or amount of carbonation), and the liquids source all come together to form the full

nature of the liquid.

Earth’s elixir is something we cannot live without therefore keeping the available water on our planet drinkable and clean is something we all most fight diligently for. Even if our own personal supply of water appears never-ending, it never truly is. Much like natural gas, our supplies of clean water, while almost never ending, can and will become drastically reduced if our current usage is to continue. In the future, mass purifiers or dangerous melting tactics may need to be implemented in order to quench the worlds near-infinite thirst. We must also think of the millions of people around the world who are not as water-fortunate as we are.

ENGAGE! Student Organization Expo

Columbia prides itself on being different. On being the school that offers things no others can. Columbia strives to bring multiple groups together through their artistic passion. While they say these things and have these lofty ideals, it may be difficult for the school to show off this mentality. One place where this is on full display is at the Student Organization Expo. Held on February 4^th at the Office of Student Engagement’s office on the 4^th Floor of the 916 S. Wabash Building, a space aptly named “The Loft”. (For the purposes of full disclosure, I was at the Expo as the vice president of Student Athletics and am thus a quasi-employee of the Office of Student Engagement.)

The Student Organizations Expo is a chance for the over 60 student run clubs and organizations on campus to come together and meet new and perspective members.

A lot of Columbia’s ideals on who we are as artists angers me, especially when they seemingly love to bring up the fact that Columbia hosts no Homecoming sporting events. In the face of these personal beliefs on the campus atmosphere, going to things like this Expo are why Columbia is what it is. Seeing these ethnically, religiously, and culturally diverse groups all together in one room, recruiting new members, really brings to life the beliefs that I believe Columbia is striving for.

The following is a very short list of a few of the clubs that were at the Expo:

Student Government Association

"The Student Government Association of Columbia College Chicago represents the student voice and endeavors to construct a more perfect union."

Latino Alliance:

“This Columbia College Student Organization works to improve Latino student life by creating a supportive atmosphere through empowerment”

Common Ground

It is the unified goal of Common Ground to create an environment on campus that allows students to fully express themselves without fear of ridicule or judgment based on sexual orientation and identity.

EPIC

"E.P.I.C. strives to promote change and increase awareness of environmental issues for our members, our campus and our communities."

Columbia NORML

"Columbia NORML is an organization attempting to educate students on the actual effects of smoking cannabis, leading discussion away from propaganda and the deep-hearted hatred that came as a result."

Check out the full list of Student Organizations.

Walking around the Expo Columbia’s true colors come to light. Hispanic Journalists of Columbia sitting next to To Write Love On Your Arms or Athletics (aka me) sitting next to the FEMMES (Feminism: Equality Matters).

This event is different then an art exhibition or a play, yet it can still be reviewed because of its importance to the artistic environment of Columbia. The Office of Student Engagement acts as an extension of the liberal arts curriculum of the school. While we may not host any Homecoming games or be the home to any fraternities or sororities, through the dozens of student organizations there is a club or organization for nearly every interest or passion. If the organization you want doesn’t already exist, get 10 of your friends together and start your own.

Pompidou Pieces and Lithograph Lore: An Exhibit Review

I’m going to start this by saying contemporary art often has a negative effect on my brain. Bluntly put, it pisses me off. Walking down the halls of Paris’ Centre Pompidou, I see massive gray canvases, painted down the center with a single white line. I do not call this art. But, for instances such as this, I need to convince myself to go into installations and exhibits with as open of a mind as possible. Since I am going to judge and critic these pieces, I can’t let my prior views to influence me too much, although they ultimately will. At first glance, the “At Close Distance: Labyrinth of Self” exhibit seems modest in scope. 10 to 15 pieces scattered around the space not much larger then a two car garage. Walking throughout the room there are a mix of mediums: lithograph, found objects, photography, digital video. The mix of mediums makes the exhibit feel modern even when many of the pieces look ancient. With that said, I can’t seem to come up with a general theme for this graduate student installation. The name “Labyrinth of Self” implies that each piece is the artists attempt to express some internal belief or feeling, thus leading to my relative confusion as to how the exhibit flows and fits together. A few of the pieces that stick out to me most are Maggie Puckett’s “Lithographs on Paper” and Colleen McGann’s “of Mine: A Ritual of Self.”

In Puckett’s lithograph’s, her beautifully colored and intricate drawings stand in stark contrast against their white backgrounds. Her piece’s of ancient sea creatures and explorers conjure up stories of the deep sea and the “monsters” that inhabit it. They make me relive reading Jules Verne’s 2000 Leagues Under the Sea as a child.

With Colleen McGann’s large format film/digital prints, “of Mine: A Ritual of Self”, the artist has used a manipulation process that turns the photographs into a ghostly, milky, almost paint like finished product. These images are blurred, the women dressed in white dresses bleed into their surrounds in this whimsical set of three prints. They bring up images in my mind of a time long ago. The prints transport me somewhere else, somewhere distant; something that I look for in a successful piece of art.

This feeling of contemporary art as actual art that I can enjoy, for me, only lasted so long. Soon enough I came across a few “Pompidou Pieces” that, to my biased eye, are far from art. This may be harsh. It may be ignorant. It may be wrong. But with Kelli Cousin’s installation entitled “Imaging”, the viewer stared into thee white panels while strange, animalistic, natural, and humanoid murmurs were whispered into their ears via headphones. For me, the only emotion this conjured for me was that of creepiness. While this may in fact be the intended notion, I can’t get past the existence of the panels. For me, art’s function is to entertain, and, like I said earlier, transport us somewhere, anywhere. Whether our grandma’s kitchen or a far off world. To me, these panels don’t serve a useful purpose. I am sure the artist had a very strong reasoning behind placing them there, or they would never have made the piece, but I can’t read her mind; I can’t see why.

Contemporary art has never been something I have enjoyed. Maybe due to my desire to think long and hard about why a massive, inflating and deflating hot water bottle is art (as the Pompidou Center said in one of their installations). This exhibit drummed up all of those prior beliefs on the topic. Overall, I commend the artists as a whole for their work and dedication to their projects, yet I still cannot bring myself to sit for hours in front of a piece figuring it out. Why are those white panels there and why is this creepy lady is whispering aimless sounds in my ear?

by Kevin Hartmann

I heart / I hate

I heart my Motorola Droid; it has changed my life. Before its invention, I was only able to check my email, Facebook, Twitter, daily sports scores in the measly 6 hours a day I spent in front of my computer. I would sit in class agonizing over how the Red Sox were doing or what dumb thing Sarah Palin was going to Tweet next. Now, I have all of that at my fingtertips, 24 hours a day. If I get the urge to Tweet to my followers at 4 a.m. that I am in fact sleeping, thankfully now I can. If you want the way you live your life and how interact with the world around you to fundamentally shift forever, get a Droid of your own.



I hate country music. Growing up in Vermont, with our barren, sparsely populated landscapes, Country seems to seep out of the mountains. I can't stand it. If I wanted to hear about how your wife left you for the mailman as you crashed your F-150 into your trailer while running over both your dog and favorite shotgun in the process... well I would actually never want to hear about that so shut up! Obviously these boots were meant for walking, what the hell else would I do in them?