Thursday, September 5, 1974
THE MICHIGAN UAiLY
Page Seven
Thursday, September 5, 1974 THE MICI-IIGAN UAILr Page Seven
Loneliness on Saturday night
Local galleries delight art
lovers, nature enthusiasts
By BETH NISSEN
The best part about Saturday night
is Sunday morning. Most students can
escape the electric nagging of their
,alarm clocks and leave themselves
umpled in bed until noon. Getting
happy and tired enough to necessi-
tate such slothfulness is part of the
American institution of 'Saturday night.
For those who have the security .of
an assured companion for the weekend,
or those with a well-established and.
stable circle of friends, Ann Arbor is
a .tolerable place to spend a Saturday.
There are several good places to go
with friends to laugh, dance and drink.
'BUT FOR THOSE who are still rela-
tively new here, those with no backlog
of homework, or friends from Back
Home, Ann Arbor can be a social dust-.
bowl.
If you live in a dorm, chances are the
majority of the inhabitants will be out
late Saturday night, leaving you to
wander morosely through the halls in
search of another wanderer :or lie on
the floor of the television room smiling
stupidly at All in the Family reruns and
off-color commercials..
If you want to feel particularly self-
righteous and in control, you can pick
up books and reading glasses and head
for the cloister of the library, where
you can read last week's Poli Sci as-
signment and the March 3 issue of
Time.
THERE IS ALWAYS the inner sanc-
tum of your room, where you can
scrape Tuesday's peanut butter off the
knife, write a newsy letter home or
pace back and forth on the six by four
piece of carpet you can call your own..
Somehow being alone on a Saturday
night denotes a personal failure and
social leprosy, The sixth night of each
week is the traditional ritual day to
prove and 'celebrate personal mastery
of the social graces.
Social interaction is expected; com-
mercials on television insist you can-
not be happy or even well-adjusted un-
less hand-in-hand with a lover and a
balloon in a sunny park or giggling
with a gaggle of compatible friends.
The students who feel very much
alone have few alternatives. They can
walk confidently into a bar, order a
drink and try to pick someone up -and
end up staring through' the bottom of
the glass. There are parties, if one
knows where to go and when, but a
solitary merge into the chattering traf-
fic of strangers is not an easily execut-
ed or comfortable maneuver.
If a student gets desperate for com-
panionship, there is a computer dating
service that matches you with some-
one who looks like your cousin for
$15.00 a night.
YOU CAN PUT a heart-felt plea into
the Daily personal column and will pro-
bdbly get a high-pitched voice asking.
you over the phone how you and a can
of Reddi-Whip would like to spend an
evening. If all else fails, you can Flair
your name and number on an Angell
flall wall and take a layer of skin off
your knees praying for a miracle con-
tact.
Being alone has its undeniable good
points; privacy on a standing-room-
only size campus has some value. But
there are time when even the most
Orthodox. hermits become bored with
themselves and want to reflect other
personalities instead of wallowing in
their own.
Finding a satisfying social life in Ann
Arbor is a challenge, even to the de-
voutly friendly. There is no proven
answer, no infallible solution, only ter-
minal relief in feeling very sorry for
yourself.
By JANET HARSHMAN
If you have a desire to be
"cultured," but can't tell the
:lifference between a Picasso and
a Rembrandt, don't be discour-
aged. You don't have to- be an
artist or a sharp-eyed, critic to
enjoy going to an art gallery-
especially in Ann Arbor. Offer-
ing a wide variety of art styles
and specialties, the city's gal-
leries have something for every-
one from the Bob Dylan sketch-
es to Eskimo soaps one carv-
ings.
* * *
Union Gallery
If you want to visit an art
gallery that doesn't "cater to
sophisticated or s' n o b b i s h
needs," go to the Michigan
Union and walk into the Union
Gallery on the first floor. In
contrast to many other com-
mercial galleries, the Union
Gallery was established two
years ago to aid local emerging
artists and to provide a place
for students to exhbit and sell
t h e i r art. Representing the
widest variety of art styles and
forms, the Union Gallery has
something for everyone, includ-
ing oils, lithographs, ceramics,
macrame, batique, jewelry, pho-
tography and blown glass. Be-
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ore the beginning of each
nonth, 'submitted works are
uried andthen selected for dis-
play. Prices range from $1 to
$2,000.
Collector's House
of Art
Located on Liberty Street,
this gallery offers a different
kind of visual experience. Na-
ture buffs will love it, for the
walls are bedecked with color-
ful detailed prints of wildlife
and other nature subjects.
All the works are "limited"
edition prints" which means
that only a certain amount are
produced.
"This makes. the work mpore
valuable," says Susan Hensel,
an associate of the gallery.
"These prints are not just pos-
ters.
As you wander through the
gallery, your eye will also catch
some other rather rare sites,
including E s k i m o soapstone
carvings from Quebec, bronze
sculptures, enamel jewelry, and
porcelain flowers. Prices range
from $12 to $60.
L .antern Gallery
Housed in a small shopping
complex on Main Street, the
Lantern Gallery displays a va-
riety of media sincluding oil,
sculpture and prints. A large,
plush, carpeted room with high
celings lends atmosphere to the
gallery which contains works
from all over the world. Every
three weeks a different ;how is
featured. The gallery also has
a Collector's Club for those who
are interested in knowing more
about what's going on in art.
Prices have range from S5 to
$5,000.
* * *
Forsythe Gallery
Located in Nickels Arcade and
Gays confront stereotypes
By BETH NISSEN
There is, first of all, a problem of com-
munication. Anything written on 'homo-
sexuality by someone who is not a homo-
sexual is at best an attempt at interpreta-
tion of ideas and attitudes the writer can
never completely identify with. No matter
how accurate the writer's perception is,
much of the real meaning is lost in trans-
lation.
Homosexuality is a skeleton in many a
family closet, and efforts of organizations
like the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) and
the Gay Awareness Women's Kollective
(GAWK) to bring it out in the open has
incensed many of those who are legally or
morally opposed to what they believe is
a sexual perversion.
BECAUSE GAYNESS is such an uncom-
fortable subject, it has usually been pub-
lically, ignored and privately whispered
about.' A mention of homosexuality in a
crowded room.will probably bring a few
jokes to cover embarrassment, or un-
easiness - and.a quick change of sub-
ject..
In Afln'Atbor,'GAWK and GfL Mte pro-
vided much' of the fuel for the local gay.
rights movement. In past years, they
have sponsored such events as "Gay Pride
Week", and the "Gay Spring Conference"
- a' week-long affair devoted to forums
and educational workshops.
The two groups also serve as social
organizations, frequently holding commun-
ity dances and parties..
AS EFFORTS' OF groups like GLP and
GAWK prove increasingly effective, many
non-homosexuals are finding it more dif-
ficult to lock the subject away in their
own mental closets. Some are even be-
coming physically hostile 'oward gays.
Homosexuality still suffers from an im-
age of a mental and moral disease that
can be "cured". Gayness itself 'is more
than a sexual preference; being gay is not
necessarily based solely on: personal sleep-
ing habits. Gayness is ati attitude and a
lifestyle as well.
Public rejection of the gay lifestyle is
probably due to the fact that gayness
breaks the number one social law - it
differs from what is generally accepted.
MANY NON - HOMOSEXUALS,. or
"straight" people, stare at two females
kissing or holding hands with a gauche in-
terest in something considered grotesque
and freakish. To see a male imperson-
ating a female in actions, mannerisms,
or dress shakes the carefully programmed
idea we have of what is "right" and
"nor.mal", and often brings uneasiness,
shudders of disgust or a shameful feel-
ing that urges one not to look.
From a detached philosophical or rhe-
torical viewpoint, gayness can be accept-
ed and understood by the "straight" com-
munity. But personal emotional accept-
ance and understanding is more difficult.
GAYNESS IS FAR from being some-
thing mothers wish for their sons,' and it
still holds a strong claim for closet stor-
age space. But the issue of hotnosexuality
is more complex than a uueition of what
the straight population is' comfortable dis-
cussing.
The existing attitudes toward homosex-
uality are hindering the personal growth
and self-acceptance of the gays them-
selves, who struggle against the societaal
label of a social leper.
"If it bothers you to think of us as
male relating _to male," said one gay,
"think of us as people relating to people."
For more information on GAWK and GLF,
contact the University Human Sexuaity Ad-
vocates at 763-4186.
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one of the oldest galleries in
Michigan, the Forsythe Gallery
is a perfect example of the
"something for everyone" for-
mula. It offers a wide variety
of contemporary paintings, cer-
amics, sculpture, graphics, and
prints-all originals.
On display are works by art-
ists from all over the world, as
well as by a number of Univer-
sity faculty members.
Prices of the work range from
$5 to $6,000.
Becrfu ihfire:
The~re are babes
in the woods.
ARKANSAS, A GIRL'S
BEST FRIEND
LITLE ROCK, Ark. A') -
Arkansas is the only diamond
state in the nation. Diamonds
can be found in the kimberlite
soil of Southwest Arkansas.
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thy
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This is a religious precept that
challenges the mind. Love my en-
emy when I can barely deal calmly
with my in-laws? Yet this hard say-
ing has validity in a world where
even a small act of violence has
such unforeseeable repercussions.
Scientific advances have heighten-
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love and non-violence can sustain
us. We may concede violence is in
all of us. So is God. Try His way.
It works. Get together with your
family, friends, neighbors, or co-
workers to discuss the problems of
violence and how you can work to-
gether to help solve them. For a
helpful discussion guide and fur-
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