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From
By CYRENA CHANG
In between the "various exhibits of
newly designed engines and other
automotive achievements at the
Society of Automotive Engin'eer's
(SAE) exposition at Cobo Hall this
week, there stands a curious piece of
artistic mechanic marvel.
The structure measures six by four
feet and is a myriad of moving parts.
From the air conditioned sleeper com-
partment, complete with brass bed and
rotating fan, one's eye is drawn past the
spinning glass spheres to the intricate
copper gearing system. This system
controls the pumping movement of the
brass pistons, the flapping of metal
wings, and the restless movement of
the brass pistons, the flapping of metal
wings, and the reckless gyration of ten
wheels.
"I'VE ALWAYS wanted to be an in-
ventor ever since I was a little kid,"
said David Seitzinger, the creator of the
both humorous and mind-boggling
kinetic sculpture. Seitzinger, 37, was
commissioned by Truck-Lite Co., Inc.
to create the sculpture (fantasizing the
ultimate in heavy-duty transportation)
for the SAE exposition. The sculpture,
yet unnamed, took Seitzinger nine
months to build. Aspiring to be
another Alexaner Calder, Seitzinger
has already become quite prominent in
his own right. His works, many of which
are collaborations with partner John
Vahanian, have been exhibited in
national shows as well as the
Dusseldorf-Cologne Art Fair in Ger-
S this
By KATIE HERZFELD
You can't separate the creator from
the created.
This philosophy has been incor-
porated into the lives of five Ann Arbor
women who formed the Mirage Dance
Collective two and a half years ago. In
its classes and choreography, Mirage
focuses on "autobiographical dance," a
"New Age" art form which was "stum-
bled on" when Nina Van Velzor, a
collective member, was working with
Steve Paxton, a professor from Ben-
nington College. Paxton was studying
the creative process and its relation to
personal history. He and Van Velzor in-
terviewed several people and discussed
things from their own childhoods which
related to movement. "After putting
the pieces together," Nina explained,
"we realized that our creations were an
expression of'our personalities."

Van Velzor and the other members,
Joan Derry, Sue Schell, Sara Shelley,
and Halina Udja work to express them-
selves and to help others in doing so
through dance. In a piece called
"Oceans" which was performed last
weekend at the Armory, Sue Schell ex-
ressed her feelings and philosophies
hich stem from experiences with her
ather.
"WHEN I WAS a girl," Sue ex-
lained, "I spend a lot of time fishing
ith my dad. A while ago, during a
ehearsal, we were focusing on per-
onal dances about members of our
amily. I did one which dealt with my
father. In the process of making the
dance and allowing my body to move
while associating the memories in my
head, I realized that I do this movement
all the time - whether I'm thinking
about it or not. And now I understand
that movement is based from the time I
spent on water with my dad. There's a
lot of motion and movement going on in
a canoe."
Nina explained further that "you
usually don't have, the opportunity to
understand where your style of
movement comes from. But understan-
ding makes the movement richer. I
think. that's one reason we all came
together. We all have that philosophy.
We also believe that movement is in-
stinctive and that it comes from
emotions. So we think that everyone
has the potential to be a dancer.
"A lot of people, when they start
taking dance lessons, are detached
rom their bodies. We try to get folks to
Still the Number

The Michigan Daily-Thursday, March 1, 1979-Page 5

I v. t-

-4-1,

the junk pile,
many and the International Art Fair in
Basel, Switzerland
A native of Erie, Pennsylvania, Seit-
zinger has worked as a kinetic sculptor
for nine years. He graduated from the
Columbus (Ohio) College of Art and
Design and after getting his degree in
industrial design, Seitzinger worked at 
Marx toys for four years. A great deal
of his work today is an extension from
his past experience in designing toys.
"With toys, you can develop a humor in
addition to using complicated
engineering and design techniques,"
Seitzinger said.

art is made

NapoleonjIII's
Sumptuous
Second
Empire
Art of 1852-1870
that shaped
American taste
NEWSWEEK:
. .. astonishing .
a celebration of
ornament."
N.Y. TIMES:
the single outstand-
ing exhibition of the
year .
THE DETROIT
INSTITUTE
OF ARTS
Jan. 18-Mar. 18
ADMISSION
General $2.50
Students, Seniors,$1 .50
Hours Tues. through Sun
, 930 am. -5.30pm


SEITZINGER works are included in 4
numerous private and public collec- ~
tions throughout the United States and
Europe. The kinetic sculptures range in
price from $2,000 to over $30,000. Well
known private collectors include ac-
tress Sally Struthers and Mrs. J. Paul ~W
Getty who recently bought one of Seit-
zinger's works for her daughter's bir-
thday.
The largest kinetic sculpture that
Seitzinger ever built was a twenty foot
long dirigible. This immensely propor-
tioned pseudo flying machine was
suspendd by strong wires and was
hung outdoors at the Summer Festival
of the arts in June, 1974 at Erie. "It's
probably the mostdexciting from A pair of watchers observe the spinning, pumping, flapping, and gyrating machine
anything I've ever done," said Seit- sculpture-contraption, which is untitled, is exhibited at Cobo Hall this week.
zinger.
Heading back to his studio in Pen- start work on another unique structure. which is to measure seven by four feet.
nsylvania on Thursday, Seitzinger will The Hammermill Paper Company in Another challenging task ahead of him,
again assembly pieces of copper, brass, Erie requested Seitzinger to build a Seitzinger shall once again transform
metal, glass, and electric motors to lobby piece for their office building his dreams of invention into reality.

Daily Photo by CYRENA CHANG
created by artist David Seitzinger. The

k
r

iirage'

for real ?

really feel their bodies. So our style of
dancing isn't as visually oriented as
most. It goes from the inside out."
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY has always
been part of these women's lives. Sue
Schell remembers doing commercials
when she was little. "I'd go in my room
and put a costume on and come out and
do a whole number for my family. The
movie'd come back on and I'd go back
to my room and put something else on."
"Finally my sister enrolled me in a
ballet class but I quit after three mon-
ths. I absolutely hated it. In my mind,
standing in one place with your hand on
a bar wasn't dancing."
Schell continued dancing by herself,
eventually enrolled 'and stayed in a
ballet class, and entered the U-M dance
program nearly eight years ago. Like
the other women in the collective, she
felt stifled by the structure and com-
petition of the dance department.
Halina was especially frustrated with
dancers who had to watch someone else
to get the movement. "When I was in
school," she explained, "I knew dance

majors who hated improvisation. I
don't understand that. How can you be
a dancer and not want to improvise?
That's your own movement!"
HALINA EMPHASIZED that the
beauty of improvisation is that one
doesn't need experience to do it. In her
classes, she teaches safety skills and
tumbling in hopes that the students
won't be afraid of falling, but other-
wise, she likes for the students to come
up with their own movement.
"That's how techniques are
developed," she explained. "Look at
Martha Graham. She developed her
style by going into herself, understan-
ding her emotional reactions and
building on them. Once you focus on
your own movement, it becomes much
easier to dance since you know .the
process - because it's your own."
When Sue choreographed "Oceans,"
she became aware of the importance of
confronting emotions. "My father died
six years ago," she said, "and the piece
is done for him. At times, I've felt like
he was doing it. I wouldn't know why I

wanted to work on a certain image in
the same way that when.I was young, I
wasn't sure why I went fishing with
him. A lot of times I would've preferred
playing with my friends. In the process
of making the dance, I realized that we
shared a lot more than I was conscious
of. In dealing with the conscious and the
unconscious, "Oceans" acknowledges
that."
I WAS QUITE anxious to see
Mirage's performance after having
talked with the group. But the produc-
tion was disappointing. Un-
professionally, the dancers circulated
among the people who were waiting in
line to purchase tickets before the per-
formance. The "Oceans" piece was
See ARTIST, Page 10

Poetry Reading
with SIMONE PRESS and ANCA VLASAPOLIS
reading from their works
Thursday, March 1-7:30 PM.
GUILD HOUSE-o2 Monroe
ADMISSION FREE
Studio Theatre
presen/s
VANITIES (Act 1[1)
by JAC K HEIIFNER
AND
TALK TO ME LIKE THE
RAIN AND LET ME LISTEN
by TENNESSEE WIL LIAMS
TODAY at 4:10pm in the
ARENA THEATRE, Frieze Bldg.
* PUBLIC IS IN VITED-FREE ADMISSION *

WDEE and
Eastern Michigan University
welcome
Waylon Jennings
and the original crickets
at BOWEN FIELD HOUSE
Saturday, March 10 at 8 pm
Tickets are: $7.50 (general admission)
& $8.50 (reserved seats)
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT: McKenny Union, Paul Webber Rec-
ords in Ypsilanti, and Aura Sounde in Ann Arbor.

A.


t -.