I The Michigan Daily-Thursday, January 12, 1978-Page 7 Union Gallery offers local art collections By KAREN BORNSTEIN LASSES HAVE BEGUN. The University Cellar is filled to capacity with hyper students contributing to a mass of confusion. After facing this onslaught of hysteria, unwind and relax at the Union Gallery by experi- encing the unique collection of drawings and prints by three Ann Arbor ar- tists, on exhibit January 6-29. Larry Cressman, currently a lecturer in printmaking in the Residential College, has also taught drawing and printmaking at the U of M School of Art. His works range from pastel and pencil drawings to mixed media con- structions. Each piece effectively reveals a harmonic balance of shape and color. In his various pastel and pencil drawings, two dimensional, square and rectangular outlines are drawn with precision over a background of foggy, washed-out gray. This field of faded color is incredibly soft, wavering so sen- sitively from tone to tone that the effect is one of water mystically rippling and flowing. Cressman uses an innovative style to continue working toward balance in his Line Drawing series. Rows of boxes made of transparant paper are filled with three or four thin strips of black paper. These strips are arranged creatively and uniquely in each box. As a result, each box is an isolated work of art demanding full attention, as well as an isolated section, helping to develop the work as a whole. UNLIKE CRESSMAN'S ABSTRACT studies in balance and form, another Ann Arbor artist, Joyce Schlesinger, works with subjects of a more literal nature. She isolates parts of objects, reproducing them in a surreal manner. Schlesinger, holding a Master of Fine Arts degree from the U of M, takes everyday objects such as dogwood, an electrical fan, an old vanity lamp and a portion of a frayed patchwork blanket, and makes them almost unrecog- nizeable by drawing their finely detailed, extremely small, isolated sections, and accentuating shapes and curves. For example, Hospital Plant focuses on a branch that is so exaggerated, its winding and sinuous shape seems like a contorted limb, ready to menacingly reach out and clutch the viewer. SCHLESINGER'S COLORS are predominately neutral, intensifying the errie and frightening aura of her works. The muted gray, taupe and beige shapes creating a Mexican blanket are interspersed with faded yellow and pink embroidery reminiscent of heavy coated dust and age. Bill Charland, a Master's Degree candidate at U of M School of Art, produces something entirely different by demonstrating that printing need not be restricted to paper. His intriguing three-dimensional intaglio prints on large, tin, fan-shaped and butterfly-shaped configurations cover the gallery walls and are similar of flattened sculpture or a Calder stabile. Charland also has three drawings on exhibit which aren't quite as suc- cessful in captivating the viewer, and lack in a sense of immediacy. However, they tend to be interesting to observe. THE DRAWINGS, each entitled Transformation, are a study in metamorphoses. Lines,' shapes, curves, patterns and shapes of gray are drawn with precision and travel up the large paper area. Half-way up the paper a change occurs. The straight, rigid lines become haphazard squiggles, light tones turn dramatically darker, and narrow pathways resembling roots become rounded bulbs. The change is immedi- ate,. void of any degree of smoothness. Ironically there is an interesting stability in this expression of abrupt change and movement that makes it easy to relate to. One need only make the journey from the chaotic University Cellar to the calm atmosphere of the Union Gallery. Travolta ignites feverish flick By DOBILAS MATULIONIS S ATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (at Briarwood) hay just turn out to be the sleeper movie of the year. The current popularity of the film has been carefully calculated, but the moderate critical success it is enjoy- ing comes as a mild surprise, especially when one considers the film's venal beginnings which threat- ened to expand the definition of "crass commercialism." The movie, and its public image, is oozing with every hook imaginable - the bankability of John Travolta, the immense popularity of disco ( not to mention the Bee Gees), and a disgusting media blitz that was- capped with an hour-long vainglori- ous TV special aired just before the film's nationwide release. Interest- ingly enough, Saturday Night Fever manages to transcend its faddish, ephemeral nature and become a truly memorable, entertaining, even exciting experience. The star of the film is John Travolta, but it is a new Travolta, one that is all but unrecognizable to any oft his die-hard Kotter fans. In Saturday Night Fever, Travolta ex- plodes with formerly latent acting and dancing talent. His previous performance in Carrie was abomin- able, but in this film he acts with sureness and directness, never once wi slipping out of character. TRAVOLTA'S portrayal of the cocky, unsettled Tony Minero, king of the discos, is effortlessly smooth and believable. Perhaps it is this almost careless acting that will cost Travolta an Academy Award, since his performance lacks the forceful, dynamic tension that Academy members favor. However, it is Travolta's remark- able dancing that steals the show. His considerable dancing expertise was honed with daily six hour practice sessions, and the cinematic result is superb. The dancing scenes, imagin- atively choreographed by .Lester Wilson, are a celebration of un- bridled athletic energy, something audiences have always found excit- ing. Douglas Fairbanks and Bruce Lee built whole careers out of their physi- cal prowess, and although it is unfair, as yet, to compare Travolta to such gigantic talents, his charisma is based on the same principle. Direc- tor John Badham (Bingo Long) wisely eschews fancy expressionism in the disco scenes; he simply pulls his camera back to a safe angle and lets Travolta dominate. Travolta's dancing talent also en- ables him to act more effectively, as the physical side of Tony Minero's character contributes much to his total personality. Travolta is able to actually live his part, and this helps the film considerably. A double in the musical numbers would have caused a split, however slight, in the Minero character, and the result would have weakened the movie. BADHAM AND scriptwriter Nor- man Wexler have given us an inter- esting view of New York, one which lies somewhere between the dark paranoia of Marathon Man and the sleaziness of Midnight Cowboy. The Brooklyn 'of Saturday . Night Fever jumps and moves with the highly percussive disco beat, and nowhere is this more evident than in the opening scene of Travolta sauntering down the street to the tune of "Stayin' Alive." However, this slick facade almost, but not quite, smothers the inter- personal relationships present in the film. Characters are quickly delin- eated with bits and pieces of dialogue and their interactions are fast and real. Travolta's cocksure presence seems to crack a bit under the accu- sation of dancing partner Stephanie (Karen Gorney) that he is a "nobody going nowhere," but basically his character remains faithful to its quick development early in the film, and thus is very believable. The film moves with impressive speed considering its relative com- plexity, and its various subplots usually mesh well with the main narrative thrust. Saturday Night Fever, consequentially, is more than an inside look at a disco; it is a depiction of a group of youths who are confused and trapped by their lifestyle and find a night's freedom in their weekly Saturday night blowout. Although Saturday Night Fever is not a "great' movie in the classical sense of the word, its audacious con- fidence in its subject matter, along with its energetic flair,; make it an impressive achievement. The film is a fine example of cinematic enter- tainment, as well as one of the few films of the year that has ultimately managed to live up to its hype. nY b M cYi.v^ M r 'Telefon 4 By MICHAEL BROIDY F EW DIRECTORS (if any) have had the opportunity to work with Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, and Charles Bronson. If there is anyone who could accomplish such a feat and live to tell about it, it's Don Siegel, a veteran director who is noted for his hard-hitting action films such as Dirty Harry (Eastwood), The Shoot- 1st (Wayne), and his most recent effort - Telefon with Charles Bron- son. It's no accident that Siegel works with today's mythic heroes. His lean, no-frills style is beautifully compat- ible with the acting of an Eastwood, Wayne, or Bronson. Plot necessities are often sacrificed in a Siegel film in order to keep the film fast-moving and energetic, and Telefon is certain- ly no exception. Adapted from Walter Wanger's novel, the plot is sometimes in- triguing, yet this silly premise has an old-line Stalinist officer (shrewdly played by Donald Pleasance) who is resisting detente with the U.S., and has activated an ultra-secret and long abandoned plot which, if carried out, would be likely to cause World War III. This plot would cause deep- cover spies planted in the U.S. some twenty years earlier under drug- induced hypnosis to blow up key mili- -tary sites on a telephone cue (telefon is Russian for telephone). For rea- sons not explained, the cue involves a Robert Frost poem. BRONSON, playing a Russian KGB agent, is recruited by the two officials who are still aware of the plan to eliminate Pleasance and the potential closet Soviet agents. Yes, it's silly and far-fetched, and under another director the plot loopholes would have surely done the movie in. Yet this is a Siegel film, and the director's rapid-fire cutting and brutal set pieces bury these loop- holes under a sea of powerful action scenes that pummel the senses. Particularly memorable is a se- quence where Bronson is shown stalking an executive who has just re- ceived the telephone cue from Plea- sance. Trailing the executive to a plush hotel, Bronson remains a few steps behind his quarry as Siegel masterfully cuts from Bronson to Pleasance to the executive. FOLLOWING is a sequence that leaves the viewer almost breathless as Bronson blasts through scores of people after realizing that his quarry is about to get away. Fluid camera work and tight editing come together to create a powerful five minutes as Bronson corners the executive in a explosive garage. Explosions, car crashes, and other fiery goings-on ensue, all the while our hero remains just as cool as ever in true mythic fashion. Siegel's control of the action scenes is matched by his direction of less explosive sequences, where tight framing and tense acting leave even such "quiet" scenes as where Bron- son is shown poring over a stack of newspapers hoping to gain a clue to Pleasance's whereabouts, vibrating with suspense and energy. Bronson as the supercool agent is no stranger to this type of character, and carries it off with typical aplomb. It's easy to say, after seeing a movie like Telefon, that he is capable of little else, yet such roles as the inept bank-robber in From Noon 'til Three bely such statements. Bronson is a presence that adds mythic qualities to a character, even overwhelming the accomplished emoting of Lee Remick playing a double agent, and the smooth per- formances of such character actors as Alan Badel, Donald Pleasance, and Patrick Magee. Along with Siegel's tight direction and Bronson's performance, Telefon is easy to underrate. DETROIT (AP) - "Fake" may be a bad word to art museums and collectors, but it's going to put money in the till of the Detroit Institute of Arts. Capitalizing on the public's interest in spurious art, the Institute is planning a display of famous fakes as a fund-raising promotion. The Insti- tute of Arts, which houses some of the finest examples of genuine art in the nation, will stage a one-night display Nov. 3 of fabulous phonies, with tickets for $12.50 and $25 entitling patrons to see Orson Welles' "F-For Fake," a movie about art forgery. The Carla Bley Band in her American Debut . IN CONCERT on Sat. Jn.14, n z Pease Aud. Reserved Seats: $4.50 and $5 50 Available at: h YPSILANTI- McKenny Union Box Office Wherehouse Records ANN ARBOR- Michigan Union Schoolkids Records Discount Records (on S. University) Dearborn-Dearborn Music Presented by: Jade Productions, Office of Campus Life, Division of Student Affairs, Eastern Michigan University For more information call: (313) 487-3045 TREAT YOURSELF AND A FRIEND TO THE FINEST!." The Professional Theatre Program VARIETY AND EXCELLENCE IN ENTERTAINMENT FI.) Broadways Family Musical Hit! Tonm Mallow and Gordon Cro we present i" b er. u.,, .1des*reone p *- Q4- a foot-stompin musica ,aBook and Lyrics by Musc by ~ALFRED UHRY ROBERT WALDMA EDRA WELTY -1 * -SPARKLING! UNUSUAL! STYLISH! FAMILY FUN!" . LIVELY' SASSY! JOYOUS! 5 7 A HUMDINGER!". A BROADWAY R)MP! I LOVED IT! I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT' TONY AWARD WINNER! sun.,jan.22 2&8pi at! EDWARD ANNE MULHARE ROGERS LERNER O LOEWE5 ja28pu. . 28&29- ~28m. Queen I- _ A N ew Ne By TIM YAGLE UEEN HAS been known as a good rock band that can change from a so Freddie Mercury piano ballad to 'the hot guitar licks of Brian May with- out batting an eyelash. The band's new release, News of The World, contains nothing really new, and doesn't turn me on like their previous couple of discs. Don't get me wrong. It's a good album, but somehow, I was expecting more from this quartet. Played in the grand "Bohemian Rhapsody"/Somebody to Love style, "We Will Rock You" and "We are the Champions," currently the hottest set of musical twins around, open this spontaneously-composed LP. This com- bination was just recently the most re- quested pair of tunes in Detroit. If you are a New Wave fan, "Sheer Heart Attack" (the title of their third LP) should keep you glued to your headset. With it's savage guitar and vocals, it sounds similar to music the Ramones would blast you with. Listen for the end of this tune. It'll catch you by surprise. "SPREAD YOUR WINGS" sets itself in the typical Queen mold, with a mas- terful blend of heavy guitar, soft piano and crashing cymbals. Unfortunately, lead guitarist Brian May doesn't help the song any with a dull solo at the end. "Right From The Inside" begins with all kjnds of bizarre guitar sounds, then flows into a smooth rhythm. However, the song sounds overmixed. Everything sounds as if it was haphazardly thrown together. s no news Perhaps one of the crudest songs I've ever heard, "Get Down, Make Love" is a punch and raunchy rocker with lyrics about people "getting down" and going at it. The way Mercury sings it, he sounds like he's doing exactly that. What is really strange about "Get Down" is its midsection, which features odd synthesizer sounds and demonic voices popping in and out saying "make love." Seemingly back from their "off on a tangent" music, "It's Late" sounds more refreshing with its superb har- monies (so what else is new), rhythm variations combined with grinding guitar, and well-placed crescendos. In case you're still trying to figure out the album cover, the members of Queen are avid science-fiction fans, and found the design on the cover of a 1953 science fiction magazine. PTP TICKET OFFICE MICHIGAN LEAGUE MON-FRI 10am-1pm & 2- TICKETS ALSO AVAi1LABLE THROUGH HUDSONS FOR FURTHER INFO.,CALL(313)764- 0450 1NIVERSITY MUSICAL 8OCIETY presentS Creative-Opportunities UNIVERSITY ACTIVITIES CENTER (UAC) is now ac- cepting applications for the positions of President, Personnel Vice President, and Financial Vice Presi- dent for the 1978-79 academic year. UAC provides cultural programming and entertainment for stu- dents at the U. of M. Four energetic and respon- sible individuals are needed to coordinate this to- tally student run organization.