Page Two
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Fri'rmv J\Anrrh IQ 1474
TH MCIGNDAL
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Black art Studies in liberation
Series ends with Fournier
By JUANITA ANDERSON
Black art is a means of com-
munication; black artists' per-
ceptions of their experiences
and ideals. Black art takes many
forms because each artist is an
individual and thus has differ-
ent perceptions of his situation.
However, their art is linked by
the sharing of common experi-
ences of oppression.
As part of Liberation Week's
aim to teach rather than enter-
tain, eight black artists present-
ed their works and views on the
purpose of art in' a symposium
held yesterday.
An nArbor artist Jon Lockard
explained that he deals with
imagery in his paintings. His
works are primarily 'of black
people, emphasizing their dig-
nity as well as their suffering.
Lockard also deals with social
commentary in his works. One
example deals with the black
man's perception of American
society. It portrays a small fig-
ure of a young brother holding
the American flag, with his per-'
ceptions of the flag's symbols
occupying the foreground of the
picture. The stars are black,
bars symbolize imprisonment,
and the red of the flag is shown
as blood.
Viewing Aunt Jemima on her
pancake box from a black per-
spective, Lockard adds a ban-
dana of red, black, and green,
the colors of the nationalist
flag. A black fist explodes from
the box which bears net weight
of 1,000 lbs., symbolizing the
strain black people have en-
dured. Aunt Jemima does not
smile because "the very idea of
this woman being happy is just
a racist fantasy," Lockard ex-
plains.
Harold Neal, an instructor at
Washtenaw Community College,
believes that "when man's
hands have turned to purpose-
ful things, he can create beau-
tiful things." Like Lockard, Neal
makes social commentary in his
works. One of his outstanding
paintings, from a series on the
Detroit riots, depicts a mother
holding her slain child w ho
was killed by national guards
firing into a dark house when
a cigarette was lighted.
Neal stressed the importance
for black artists to form their
own concept of quality, separated
from traditional white notions.
"We have to be about some-
thing that innovates the aud-
ience we're after," he noted.
James Lee, from Detroit, pre-
sented three of his paintings
which reflect the Islamic influ-
ence of repetitious form. Two of
the paintings were of broken
crosses, systematically formed
by lines and red dots. Lee ex-
plained that the dots, totaling
60, represent the number of
black people killed since 1960
and the systematic way the kill-
ings have been accepted.
The third painting was a
representation of an orderly so-
ciety, through the use of paral-
lel lines. Lee noted that part of
the work was composed of pack-
ing materials from his camera
that were made to come off,
making the painting "self-de-
structable."
The works of Maher Ryder
i n c 1 u d ed drawings, collages
and sculpture, expressing com
mentaries on Vietnam, capi-
talism and the problem of black
people oppressed with drugs,
Alfred Hinton, art professor at
Western Michigan University, de-
scribes himself as a figurative
artist. Frequently dealing in ab-
stracts, Hinton is concerned pri-
marily with form and color.
Hinton relates to black peoples';
experiences in the ghettos in a
work entitled "Message from
Home I"; a sketch of a dead rat
with its social security number
underneath. In "Message from
Home II" he employs the col-
lage technique, adding a wire
screen over the canvas portray-
ing the dead rat.
He also experiments with form
through techniques of "sewing
machine drawing." By drawing
an object, then sewing through
it and leaving some threads
loose, Hinton created "Cool Ben-
ny Make a Face." The lower por-
tion of the collage features a
pair of dirty white Levi cut-offs.
Reginald Gammon, also from
Western Michigan, specializes in
painting black pcople he idealizes
and whom, he feels, have often
been ignored as an important
part of American society. His
paintings include poet Laurence
Dunbar, boxer Jack Jones, and
singer Paul Robeson.
"Because blacks are never in-
cluded in art publications, many
today are not known by black
students studying in art schools,"
said Charles McGee of Detroit.
Concerned with this problem,
McGee has established an art
school in Detroit through which
black students are able to~ pre-
sent their works. His own works
involve explosion of color influ-
enced by African motiff, utilizing
grey color play against brillant
intensities.
Sculpturer James King de-
scribes his steel figures awis pos-
sessingea "quiet arrogan-e." He
explained that his need to deal
with social progress in art was a
progression in dealing with hi
spiritual needs.
By A. R. KEILER
The last concert of the Uni-
versity Musical Society's Choral
Union Series was to have pre-
sented the cellist Mstislav Ros-
tropovich. His recent outspoken
plea on behalf of an artistic
colleague angered the Russians,
and realizing that there is no
place worse than home (theirs,
at least), are keeping Rostropo-
vich from leaving Russia for a
time. We heard instead last
night the distinguished French
cellist Pierre Fournier in a pro-
gram that was made up of the
Sixth Suite of Bach, the Schu-
bert Arpeggione Sonata, the
Sonata of Franck, and some
smaller pieces of Schumann and
Faur6
The technical and musical
mastery of Fournier is remark-
able, and indeed can hardly be
separated in Fournier's playing,
His technical mastery is made
up of his ability to play perfect-
ly in pitch at all times, the con-
trol he exerts over the special
tonal capabilities of all of the
-cello's registers, and above all,
the uncanny evenness and sup-
pleness of his bowing.
Left hand agility is per-
fectly controlled even at. ex-
tremes of soft playing and this
combination of lightness and
agility was especially effective
in the Schumann Three Fan-
tasiestucke, Op. 73, which gave
his reading a particular re-
strained impassioned quality, or
in the Ravel Habanera, which
he played as an encore.
His Bach is not of the new
school, w h i c h stresses among
other things great regularity in
rhythm and phrasing. He was
able to keep the melody flowing
with continuity by the small
rhythmic adjustments he im-
parted to the line. Each move-
ment of the Suite had its own
charactertand the dance move-
ments in fast empo, courante,
gavottes and gigue, had won-
derful vitality and grace.
The Schubert Arpeggione
Sonata w h i c h followed is no
simple matter to bring off. The
trick is to capture the songfull-
ness and lyricism which is never
relieved by the piano part, and
at the same time to give variety
to the more expository passages
that connect all the tunes. I
have never heard a more suc-
cessful performance of this piece
than Mr. Fournier's. He played
it with beautiful tone, restrain-
ed vibrato, and a sense of line
and subtle tension in phrasing
that kept the piece from sound-
ing unending or flabby.
The Franck Sonata is still
heard more frequently in the
violin version, perhaps only be-
cause there are more active vio-
linists around. It received a blaz-
ing and impassioned reading
from Fournier, and it is espe-
ciallyisuited to his gifts. The
restraint and elegance of his
playing and the bright cello
sound which he produces, with-
out anv tecsiv vibatn dnl
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the Sonata seem less dated than
it can these days. The perform-
ance brought not a few of the
audience to their feet and Four-
nier responded with the Ravel
Habanera, and a march by Pro-
kofieff. --peet
- presents
PETER GRIFFITH
gentle sounds and strong
on classical guitar
TONIGHT and TOMORROW
March 19-20, $1.50
8 P.M. 330 Maynard St.
this K______________
Connecti ons' A
writer and his play
NOMINATED FOR
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EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is
a continuation of the review of
"Siamese Connections". Due to the
fact that it was a new play, it must
be reviewed on two levels, 1) the
work itself and 2) the production
of the work. To facilitate this, The
Daily is running the review in three
parts.
PART II
By JOE BRADY
It might be honest to say
The Refusal suffers from the
greenness of its author rather
than from superceded ambi-
~tions.
To explain, take the idea of
inventiveness of character, of
dialogue, of situation - all im-
portant to any drama. While the
Kroners live out their despera-
tion, they do so in a manner
that is often uniquely Reardon,
but occasionally in reminiscence
of Inge, Miller, Albee, and, yes,
Thornton Willer. Reardon has
strong inclinations toward their
denominator. He has, to be sure,
picked the best from among the
best bfstraditionalhAmerican
playwrites, from which to color
his own palette, but until he can
assimilate and then mold their
influences more selectively into
his own, his play will unfortun-
ately smack of imitation.
The greenness of the author
also manifests itself, to my way
of thinking, in his inability to
realize his (and the director's)
grand intentions. So often the
hoped-for satisfaction from a
moment or a scene is not quite
attained, and the results are a
sense of unfulfillment rather
than of- nderstatement. It's not
the same as the difference be-
tween the after-effects of a good
steak meal as opposed to one of
starches, but rather the feeling
experienced after any totally
satisfying meal contrasted with
one which smells and I o o k s
good, but falls short in flavor.
As in all cases dealing with
tastes of one sort or another, a
lot of argument could be taken
here. In fact, in less than
2 blocks from the theatre, no
less than four different violent
disagreements erupted among
four knowledgeable people re-
garding the play's merits. What
was deemed by one as incom-
plete was attributed by another
to subtelty and restraint. What
was argued as unoriginal was
refuted as archetypal. What was
voiced as too obvious was call-
ed well pointed up. And so it
went. You paid your money and
-i
Ali MacGraw-"Ryan O'Nealt
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John Marley &Ray Milland
603 E. Liberty
DIAL 5-6290
Doors Open 12:45
Shows at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9
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and friends
in a St. Patrick's
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1421 HilS ET
3020 Washtenaw, Ph. 434-1782
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cc HIGHEST"!
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SHOWS AT 7 AND9 -wandasHale. New York Daiy News
NEXT: "GOING DOWN THE RAD"
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University of Michigan Film Society (ARM)
presents
a vengeful dollar double bill
PETER USTINOV'S ARTHUR PENN'S
BILLY BUDD LEFT-HANDED DUN
with Terence Stamp with Paul Newman
Robert Ryan Lita Milan
7:30 & il:00p.m. 9:00 p.m.
'
I
WORLD PREMIERE
People's Peace
is here
new 24-page color newspaper of the recent
student and youth conference in Ann Arbor,
and ongoing organizing and action nation-
ally for the PEOPLE'S PEACE TREATY
Asian Political Alliance
The Michigan Daily, edited and man- you took -your ch(
aged by students at the University of
Michigan. News phone: 764-0552. Second Siamese Conne
Class postage paid at Ann Arbor, Mich- a perfect play, for
igan, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, it is a haunting, d
Michigan 48104. Published daily Tues-
day through Sunday morning Univer- And even with ib
sity year. Subscription rates: $10 by it should be seen.
carrier, $10 by mail. I 11
Summer Session published Tuesday
through Saturday morning. Subscrip-
tion rates: $5 by carrier, $5 by mall.
oice.,
ctions is not
r all that. But
disturbing one.
s minor flaws,
REFUSAL
by ransom
jeffrey
TRUEBLOOD
THEATRE
BOX OFFICE-12:30
THRU SAT.-$2.50 TOP
It's not whether you win or lose..'
It's whether you're playing a game.
Friday
Saturday
March 19-20-21
S
unday
761-4751
Robert Williams
Bobby Seale
Ericka-Huggins
Winter Soldiers
GI-Vets Solidarity
D.C. Mayday Collective
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
306 N. Division
CINEMA II
--N-NERAL' MON. -
375N M APLE RD. FRI.
THUNDERBALL-7:00
TWICE-9:15
TWICE-] 0:00
I
"Jules and, Jim";
with OSCAR WERNER and JEANNE MOREAU
Directed by Francois Truffaut
"Jules and Jim is about the impossibility of freedom,
as it is about the many losses of innocence."
-PAULINE KAEL
THREE SHOWS: 7,9,11 Aud. A, Angell Hall
Friday and Saturday March 19, 20.
NEXT WEEK:
Jean Renoir's "LA GRANDE ILLUSION"
Arthur Miller's "A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE"
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
MEN'S GLEE CLUB
presents
OH HAPPY DAY!
Saturday, March 20
Hill Auditorium-8:30 p.m.
THE WORLD'S FINEST GLEE CLUB
IN ONE OF MICHIGAN'S GREATEST
TRADITIONS
Jay Craven, NSA delegate to Vietnam
Allyne Rosenthal on women's role
Mme. Nguyen Thi Binh, chief negotiator
for Provisional Revo. Gov't. in Paris
ON SALE NOW
1 c at U. Cellar, Centicore South U.
UM Film Society screenings
info on street sales 761-9751
an American Revolutionary Media production
BOX OFFICE OPEN 6:30
SHOW TIMES
TODAY & FRI.
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SAT. & SUN.
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COVENANT' rch~prr
drama ftrm
California
111heran .studont cne
corforeSt ue
4~ r andhl
-AM
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
SCHOOL OF MUSIC and DEPARTMENT OF ART
present KURT WEILL'S OPERA
THlE THREE P'ENNY OPERA
(IN ENGLISH)
TONIGHT AT 8:00
"Honestly written . .. Uniquely Gratifying!" "Compelling
-Daily
.. Haunting ... Memorable!"
-AA News
,:
t 1
I i
Tickets Still Available at Box Office
$2.00, $2.50, $H00
THE HAPPIEST DAY OF THE YEAR!
CIii!ABUILD
HOWARD HAWKS FESTIVAL
Friday, March 19
THE BIG SKY
Starring! KIRK DOUGLAS
Adventure in "pre-white man" Missouri, which deals
with relationship of two men.
-Contains the notorious scene in which Kirk Doug-
las' finger is amputated.
iAMneio
0S
I
I
Movement by
Julie Arenal
("Hair" "Indians")
A provocat
new play
ht ni c Rp...:r nn
{
ufimio I
I