The Bucknellian

By Michelle Joline

Arts & Life Editor

This year, the Samek Art Gallery has improved the quality of art presented in the exhibits it brings to campus. At the beginning of this academic year, the gallery showcased Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ Black List Project, featuring 25 portraits of successful African Americans, seeking to redefine the negative connotations associated with the term “blacklist,” and Myra Greene’s photography conveying the themes of society’s obsession with race and identity.   

The International Collage Center, better knows as the ICC, has brought an exhibition titled “Remix” to the Elaine Langone Center (ELC) with an entirely new perspective on collaging. The exhibition opened Oct. 14 and ends Dec. 4. This exhibit proves that collage is a great deal more than just a third-grade interpretation of paper cutting and glue.

Although the exhibition opened Oct. 14, discussion about the exhibit was held in the ELC Forum last Friday night. Artists Alice Attie and Mark Wagner from the “Remix” exhibition spoke on their own interpretations of the practice of collage, as well as their individual artistic endeavors. Also, on Monday, Nov. 14, the Campus Theatre will be hosting a film screening of “Portraits of three artists included in the ‘Remix’ exhibition—Joseph Cornell, May Wilson and Ray Johnson.”

The non-profit art organization ICC, based in Milton, works to publicize the artistry behind collage and mixed media, making for non-traditional and experimental exhibitions. The exhibition is co-curated by founder and artistic director Pavel Zoubok and director Rachael Lawe, who have utilized pieces from ICC’s permanent collection to create “Remix.” The University is fortunate that it is the first stop on their national tour.

The ICC has funded the creation of this exhibition to unite the philosophies and styles behind past and present movements in art. This plays on the essential idea of collage, uniting alternative mediums onto one surface to form a unique piece of art. “Remix” is an ideal title for this exhibition, which will be an excellent addition to The Samek Art Gallery’s exhibit history.

By Elyas Harris

Writer

From Martincich’s perspective, theatre and dance share narratives through kinesthetic and emotional cues.  As a professor, she has discovered that art, in a university setting, has the ability to broaden perspectives on an emotional and intellectual level.

“Art demands the intersection of technologies with humanity in innovative ways which communicate an experience,” Martincich said.

Martincich received her Masters of Fine Arts from Smith College and her B.A. in Theatre/English from Marquette University. She was invited to the University as a visiting professor in 2007.  The University was in search of a dance professor with expertise in jazz dance, dance conditioning, ballet and musical theatre choreography. Martincich taught in Minnesota for a year prior to being offered a permanent position on campus.

Martincich’s work at the University allows her to teach both theatre and dance courses.

“Every jazz class, I learn something new about natural rhythm and community. Every class I deal with new humans. Setting dance on them informs me because everyone moves differently. It’s always about an individual expressing his or her style,” Martincich said.

In addition to teaching, she spends time researching in both fields and performing as a dancer. In April of 2011, “Then Again,” a collaborative piece by Martincich and her colleague Kathryn Borrows, opened in Chicago. Martincich’s current work, “Lone Windows,” is a physical narrative as an ekphrastic work, inspired by Edward Hopper’s paintings and flash fiction from Joseph Scapellato.

“My favorite thing is collaboration. Collaboration is key. It’s what develops the form,” Martincich said.

Art has been a major influence throughout Martincich’s life, who was introduced to arts at an early age by her mother and father. She identifies her parents as the guiding force motivating her engagement with creative processes. Growing up outside of Chicago, Martincich had an enviable access to the arts. She got her first dance experience training at Shirley’s Dance Studio of Crest Hill in Illinois. There were many quality jazz music and dance offerings in the Chicago area, she said. Martincich’s parents helped her take advantage of the rich arts scene in the region and to connect the arts with issues of social justice. They even recruited her as an emerging artist to choreograph performances for charity and local community events. From those early experiences, Martincich internalized the power of art to address issues of diversity and/or gender inequality.

Martincich attempts to bring to her work here, and to her students, her embrace of the transformative and pragmatic potentialities of art. She sees art as an important aspect of the social balance on campus.

She believes that students are rising to the challenge and noted the “Double Take Project” of Tina Cody ’12, a show which addresses student concerns and experiences on campus.

Martincich believes that after acquiring an artistic and intellectual toolbox, students can begin to integrate arts into everyday life.

“Be educated in everything. Take as many classes as you possibly can. Know that everything can be used. Be able to make connections. Community is where the heart of art is. Synthesize all those connections you make. Research. Be generous. Give as much as you take in. Contribute,” Martincich said.

By Juliet Kelso

Writer

Your Halloween was likely filled with copious amounts of bad candy and dorm-made costumes, but what about new music releases? There must be something to be said about an artist who chooses to drop their latest album around the world’s spookiest holiday. Turns out, it’s not that popular of a move. Florence and the Machine and Down with Webster were two of the only groups to make the statement this year, releasing CDs on October 28 and 31, respectively.  

In terms of notoriety and mass appeal, the headliner of the day was inevitably Coldplay’s “Mylo Xyloto.” The general reaction to “Mylo Xyloto” is that of relief: the tracks are somewhat refreshing, a change from the expected Coldplay conventions. But if you’re like most Coldplay fans and your love of the group is rooted in emotional attachment to their earlier material, you will be very disappointed.

My personal recommendation from the October 25th list is Surfer Blood’s EP “Tarot Classics.” The short six tracks include two remixes and four eclectic songs with a West coast-post-punk-revival vibe. The opening track, “I’m Not Ready,” is a bouncy pick-me-up and “Voyager Reprise” is the highlight.

The Italian indie band A Classic Education has dropped their highly anticipated LP,”Call it Blazing,” which is another must for the adventurous listener. The break-out band exhibits the fashionably ennui style of yawning indie elitism. This inclination is heavily present in the LP: preppy meets a contrasting above-society-coolness, a healthy balance which resonates but lacks originality.

For a busier selection, I would suggest Justice’s album “Audio, Video, Disco” which I have listened to extensively with satisfaction. As expected, Pitchfork graced the album with a scathing review and insulting grade of 5.3 out of 10. Their fickle critics gave a much more appropriately stinging mark of 3.9 to Deer Tick’s “Divine Providence.” Do not waste your time, it’s really that bad. With that said, I have provided a list of new album releases:

A Classic Education, “Call it Blazing”

Florence and the Machine, “Ceremonials”

Down with Webster, ” Time to Win- Vol. 2″

65Daysofstatic, “We Were Exploding Anyway” (U.S.-only two-CD release)

Coldplay,  “Mylo Xyloto”

Deer Tick, “Divine Providence” 

Dub Trio, “Dub Trio IV”

Haken, “Visions”

Junius, “Reports From the Threshold of Death”

Justice, “Audio, Video, Disco”

Kathryn Calder, “Bright and Vivid”

Lights Resolve, “Feel You’re Different”

Roots Manuva,  “4everevolution”

Russian Circles,  “Empros”

She & Him,  “A Very She & Him Christmas”

Surfer Blood, “Tarot Classics”

Tom Waits, “Bad As Me”

Vince Gill, “Guitar Slinger”

Woodsman, “Mystic Places EP”