16mm FESTIVAL KICKS OFF: The Michigan Daily- Minimal art gives maximum -Thursday, March 15, 1979-Page 5 reward Cruikshank promises to become the Robert Crumb of the film co-op circuit. THERE WERE several documen- r- By Senn O'C' c March 21 24.1979 Trurcind'I heat re H PM U niversity Sho}wcase~ Productions Tickets $2 at P.T.P. Office in The Michigan League 764.0450 RED ROSES FOR ME By ANNE SHARP Student filmmakers, in their quest for self-expression, are fond of experimen- ting with "minimal art", which is fun and offers a wide range of creative possibilities but in general, is a crashing bore for the viewer. As seems usual in the Ann Arbor 16mm Film Festival, what is accepted as art by the festival's screening committee is the abstract film which avoids the more conventional, plotted-out structure of commercial films. Thus, viewers of the annual 16mm festival in recent years have been subjected to films in which "the camera pans back and forth, back and forth over a brick wall for half an hour, or the same mushroom cloud erupts, over and over, for 45 minutes, or a piece of scratched black leader film runs through the projector for several interminable minutes. Again, the ar- tistic endavor is probably sincere in such films, but audiences find them inaccessible, even offensive. Happily, for viewers at least, the two film exhibitions which opened this year's 16mm Film Festival at the Old A&D Tuesday night featured many amusing, technically creative and highly accessible short films, and this bodes well for the rest of the festival, which runs till Sunday night. Unfor- tunately, many of the films which are competing in the festival will not be publicly shown this week. Some of them have been nudged out of the schedule by some 11 or so films entered bymem- bers of the screening committee, which are ineligible for prizes but are being shown anyway. I have no idea why this is being done; it seems like an in- credibly selfish move on the part of the people who helped put together the Festival. Are these filnis supposed to assure us of the judge's qualifications? One "black leader" film slipped into the 9:00 p.m. show Tuesday, a very ab- stract, seemingly random series of scratches which projected onscreen fir- st a series of swimming dots, then almost blinding slashes of light and dark passing in rapid succession. The audience objected loudly. Someone hissed, another one said ironically, "Let's hear it for the screening com- mittee." Temporary Arrangements by Dirk Kortz opened on a minimalist note. A marshmallow sits on the edge of the table. A lady's hand reaches onscreen, to the accompaniment of a kazoo playing "As The Caissons Go Rolling Along," squeezes the marshmallow, then withdraws. The marshmallow slowly returns to its original shape. The hand appears again, and squeezes it. Repeat, a few more times. A strangely beautiful, delightful image. Caroline and Frank Mouris' Impasse is an abstract animation with dramatic conflict. Its main character is a little, red arrow trying to pound its way into a little white ball, which keeps exploding into brightly-colored geometric patter- ns. Definitely Freudian. Cartoonist Sally Cruikshank, creator of Quasi at the Quackadero, made another entry in the Quasi series called Make Me Psychic. In it, Anita, Quasi's slinky Art Deco girlfriend, buys a novelty store gadget that gives her the power to animate plastic crocodiles and make hor d'ouerves float. With her bizarre, clever little animations, taries shown Tuesday night, including Hush Hoggies Hush, Tome Johnson's Praying Pigs, Returns to Mexico, Labor Day-East Chicago, and Cobra Snake for a Necktie, the latter about blues artist Bo Diddley. Returns to Mexico is the most personalized of the documentaries, and the most unusual in See MINIMALISM, Page 10 r -TONIGHT- America's Longest Running Musical THE FANTASTICKS 9 Thursday * Friday * Saturday March 15, 16, 17-8 p.m. =i CANTERBURY LOFT Tickets $3 at the door 322 S. State St. 1* * ot 06 A ochoof o f ..Ausie and U-AC paesent ~a SoIree" .lar'h 17, 1979 Mtighlgan Union Ballroom 9:00 pm to 1:00o am $7.50 per oup/e $4.00 per single -A jund-ai9nin kets onsoQe jAoach 12 at "Vike(t Cent~aoond theA usie SChoo / - .. a The Social Meaning of Waldorf Education A Lecture by JOHN DAVY Dean, Emerson College, England RUDOLF STEINER HOUSE 1923 Geddes Ave., Ann Arbor SUDAYs MORCH 18-3:00 P.M. Sponsored jointly by the Rudolf Steiner Institute of the Great Lakes Area and the Rudolf Steiner School Association of Ann Arbor. Doily Photo By MAUREEN O'MALLEY 'Limp, the body hung from the pale, pink palate of Gorriser," for the economic fate and well-being of the major axis powers depended on the creatures next breaths. Qu'est-ce que c'est? Within the old A&D, Vicly Honeyman (left), Deborah Gaydos (not left), before they watch the movies. It is hard, oh so hard ... so, just surf's up! J. 'The Abdication tends cou BY JOSHUA PECK The Actor's Ensemble, a formerly independent theater troupe recently in- corporated into the University Ac- tivities Center, will stage the Michigan premiere of Ruth Wolff's The Ab- dication, beginning tonight at the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre. The Abdication is a remarkable play, as it takes bold steps towardkacting out subconscious psychohistory. The script concerns Queen Christina of Sweden, who abdicated in 1655 to convert to Catholicism (the intolerant nature of the times made a non-Protestant Swedish monarch an impossibility). Christina comes to the Vatican hoping to be gladly greeted. Instead, she happens upon a high-ranking car- dinal with opportunistic reasons for giving her a hard time - challenging her eloquently might well win him the papacy. Much of the play is taken up with Christina's confession sessions with Az- zolino, the cardinal. She is forced to mull over her life choices, e.g., her never having married. Her single t tonightv status has led many Europeans to cir- culate rumors about Christina's sexual tastes, cataloging all manner of per- version and sinful excess. THE PSYCHOHISTORICAL aspect of Wolff's work comes into play in a most literal fashion: two actresses play the parts of "Chris" and "Tina" in flashback scenes scattered throughout the play. They represent the masculine See ABDICATION, Page 10 Poetry Reading With CAROLYN GREGORY, JACQUELINE MOORE and PALLINE PLUM reading from their works. THURSDAY, March 15-7:30 p.m. At GUILD HOUSE-802 Monroe Admission Free A Masters Degree in RADIATION PROTECTION at the University of Michigan Opportunities Available for: -Financial support for qualified graduate students -Research in radiation dosimetry and radiation biology -highpaying, interesting jobs in a growing profession in which the demand for graduates for exceeds the supply. APPLICATION SHOULD BE FILED BY: 15 APRIL 1979 Interested students in engineering, physics, biology, chemis- try, pre-med, or any of the other physical or biological sciences should write: Dr. G. Whipple, Department of Environmental and Industrial Health, School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109. WE WANT YOU! Leadership positions available for ambitious, energetic people in a variety of areas including: --Program Planning -Radio Production -communications -Academic Committees and many other areas Come and find out about the most exciting student organizations on campus. East Quad Greene Lounge Thursday, March 15 10:15 pm Sponsored by UAC, MSA & WCBN i NOON LUNCHEON Soup and Sandwiches 75 cents Friday, March 16 Panel Discussion with representatives from PAC (Peoples Action Coalition): "The Resurgence of Radicalism on Campus" GUILD HOUSE--02 Monroe . Frm A Soviet 0 N D Moscow U0 JeruSalem Art Exhibit That Will Not Be Cancelled . . I S P L AY AT THE HILL H I L L E L ST REET FOUNDATION 1429 MAR Cfl 15 - 28 "FROM MOSCOW TO JERUSALEM" is a traveling art exhibit that tells the story of Soviet Jewish Refusenik Artists, arrived home to the land of Israel. In panorama, it shows both the plight of Soviet Jews "FROM MOSCOW TO JERUSALEM" opens on Thursday evening, March 15th, at 8:00 p.m., with a cocktail reception. It can be viewed daily from 1-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. The exhibit is sponsored by the Hillel Foundation and Akts~ia. Action for toyir.h.)'~I- I