arts & entertainment

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Without Reservation

Exhibit focuses on contemporary
Native and First Nations art.

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Suzanne Chessler

of Arts and Design in New York,
showcases more than 100 works
completed by some 85 artists with
lien Taubman focuses on contem-
many combinations of historic and
porary projects as guest curator
modern forms of expression.
for an exhibit on view through
There are, as examples, basket
Sept. 14 at the University of Michigan
artists who have incorporated
Museum of Art.
images in their works and a ceram-
"Changing Hands: Art Without
ic artist who uses horsehair as part
Reservation 3: Contemporary Native
of abstract forms.
North American Art from the Northeast
The idea of "changing hands" originally
and Southeast" captures the diversity of
referred to the idea of traditions changing
approaches demonstrated by
hands from one generation to
indigenous artists of more
another as the works in the
recent attention, interpreting
first two exhibits represented
and redefining such tradi-
skills learned through family
tional media as basketry,
members.
beadwork, textiles, wood,
The phrase "art without res-
metalwork and stone, as well
ervation" has to do with artists
as looking to contemporary
crossing into the mainstream to
media such as video, pho-
update traditional ideas. Many
tography, and performance
have earned master's degrees
and installation art.
related to their media and estab-
"I feel this exhibit creates
lished accomplished careers.
some new bases of conversa-
"Changing hands, for me,
Ellen Taubm an
tion so visitors understand
means these artists are giving
that Native people didn't
back:' says Taubman, who will
stop existing at the end of
make a public presentation at
the 19th or early 20th century:' explains
the museum at 6:30-9:30 p.m. Thursday,
Taubman in a phone conversation from
Sept. 4, as part of a panel for the 2014
New York, where she has a home in addi-
Doris Sloan Memorial Program: "UMMA
tion to one in Michigan.
Dialogue: Speaking of Past and Present:
"Native artists have continued to exist
Changing Perceptions and Practices in
and thrive, and they live in modern soci-
Contemporary Native Art:'
ety, whether in traditional cultures or
"A number of the artists are training
urban cultures. My goal is to have their
people who wouldn't have known what
work acknowledged within a broad arena."
the traditions were:' she says. "It's almost
The exhibit, the third in a series divided
a reversal:'
by territory and organized by the Museum
In-depth explorations of Native art will

E

Jews

Nate Bloom

Special to the Jewish News

Tube Talk
Steven Weber (Wings), 53, grew up in

Queens, N.Y., where his father man-
aged Borscht Belt performers. He has
supporting roles in two new series
that debuted last week.
Murder in the First is a 10-episode
TNT crime drama created by Steven
Bochco (NYPD Blue), 70, with new
episodes airing at 10
p.m. Mondays.
Chasing Life, airing
9 p.m. Tuesdays on
ABC Family, centers
on a young journal-
ist who is devastated
when she is told she
Weber
has cancer. The news

50

June 12 • 2014

JN

is delivered by her estranged uncle, a
cancer doctor played by Weber.
New Tony Award winner (for A

Raisin in the Sun) Sophie Okonedo,
46, co-stars in the Masterpiece
Theater British miniseries The Escape
Artist, which debuts at 9 p.m. Sunday,

June 15, on Detroit Public Television-
Channel 56. The title comes from the
nickname of the lead character, Will
Burton (David Tennant), a brilliant
defense attorney who gets his clients
out of tight corners.
Okonedo plays
Maggie Gardner, a
defense attorney
who has a critical
role in Burton's rela-
tions with a danger-
ous ex-client. Born in
Okonedo
the U.K., she is the

cou rtesy of Alan Mic helso n

Contributing Writer

occur through a series of supplemental
programs, including family art projects
(June 21), guided tours (July 20, Aug. 10
and 24), and short films (July 18, Aug. 10
and Sept. 14).
Taubman, whose connections to
Michigan developed after her marriage to
William Taubman (son of local business-
man/philanthropist A. Alfred Taubman),
became interested in Native art while
working at Sotheby's after studying art his-
tory at City College of New York.
"At that point, there was less scholar-
ship, and I like figuring things out:' she
says. "I'd do all the homework and was
able to put together a department. In 1976,
I had my first sale dedicated to American
Indian art:'
Although starting out with a more
historic perspective, she moved on to con-
temporary after seeing pottery by Diego
Romero in Santa Fe.
An independent curator since leaving
Sotheby's, where she had a 20-year career,
Taubman worked on Richard Manoogian's
collection of American Indian art during
the 1990s.
"The show in Ann Arbor has traveled
to seven venues so I've been able to direct
the installation somewhat by knowing

daughter of an English Jewish mother
and a Nigerian father.
The hit FIX cable show Louie, star-
ring and written by comedian Louis
C.K., began its fourth season on May
5. On May 24, C.K. spoke with NPR
Fresh Air host Terry Gross and, for
the first time, laid out his unusual
family history in detail.
His paternal grandfather, a
Hungarian Jewish doctor, settled in
Mexico in the 1930s when he couldn't
get into the U.S. He remained Jewish,
but allowed his children to be raised
in their mother's Catholic faith. C.K.'s
father, Luis Szekeley, an economist
and university professor, met and
married C.K.'s mother, Mary, an Irish
Catholic from Traverse City, Mich.,
while they were both at Harvard.
C.K., who follows no faith as an

Alan Michelson: Phoenix, 2012:

Handmade paper, archive board and ink,
and wood.

the work and galleries and making sug-
gestions:' says Taubman, whose family
has supported Hillel programs at the
University of Michigan.
"I think that it's important for the work
to be clustered. The pieces really need to
interact with one another.
"I'm thrilled to have the show in
Michigan because there are quite a few
Michigan artists in this exhibition. There's
at least one who's an alum of the univer-
sity, and what can be more thrilling than
that?"

❑

"Changing Hands: Art Without
Reservation 3: Contemporary
Native North American Art from
the Northeast and Southeast" will
be on view through Sept.14 at the
University of Michigan Museum of
Art, 525 S. State St. Free admission
with $10 donation suggested. For
complete information on the exhibit
and associated programs, call (734)
764-0395 or go to umma.umich.edu .

adult, was raised "lightly" Catholic by
his mother after his parents' divorce
when he was 10. His father, C.K. said,
went on to marry a Jewish woman
and is now an Orthodox Jew.

At The Movies

Most TV series that have been turned
into feature films have been disap-
pointing or worse. A notable excep-
tion was the 2012 action/comedy hit
21 Jump Street, co-starring Jonah
Hill, 30, and Channing Tatum as
rookie cops who return to their high
school and pretend to be students.
Hill, who co-wrote the film, also is
the co-author of the sequel, 22 Jump
Street, which opens on Friday, June
13. Again, he is paired with Tatum, but
this time they are going undercover
at a local college.

❑

