The Michigan Daily-Saturday, November 19, 1977-Page 5
Artist's
By KAREN BORNSTEIN
A DJA YUNKERS' poetry is not
something you read. Yunkers'
poetry is something you feel. You feel
it in the limited colors and reduced
forms of his beautifully _textured,
deeply embossed intaglio print sur-
faces. These recent works are on
exhibit at the Alice Simsar Gallery,
301 North Main St., through Decem-
ber 7.
Yunkers, born in Riga, Latvia in
1900, did not pursue a typical route of
various art degrees. Instead of
learning about Expressionism, Yun-
kers studied with the German Ex-
pressionists during the World War I
years. Coming to the U.S. in 1947, he
taught at numerous universities and
worked intimately with the Abstract
Expressionists. He has had many
one-man exhibitions and is currently
represented- in the collections of
eighty museums.
Yunkers' most recent prints are in
the tradition of the Absolutists. He re-
duces subjects to their innermost
core and essence, translating them
into forms which are extremely
simple yet entirely self-contained.
THE SUBJECTS Yunkers conveys
are made visible through one or
several thick wide lines of varied
depths, deeply and intricately em-
bossed to render an image of rope.
This rope beautifully reveals every
I
worKs g
line of every knobby, braided strand
that together creates its whole.
One print contains a line or rope
image that is curvilinear, flowing,
and contains many sensual overlaps.
On the side of the printed background
surface is largely printed MER, the
French word for sea. The simplicity
of the rope image in conjunction with
the rolling sound of the word, clearly
represents the curving, gentle, hyp-
notic effect of the sea.
THIS WORK plays magically back
and forth with another print in which
the embossed rope surface is
straight, taut and so disturbingly
rigid that the frayed ends stand
upright. This elevated segment is a
visual representation of tension and
suppressed energy. Alongside the
work is printed GIB, a letter combin-
ation Yunkers describes as magic in
its power to complement the image
and contrast so perfectly against
MER.
Nearly everyone of Yunkers' prints
is reproduced four times in generally
the same four color schemes. In each
print series he chooses either the
glossiest and deepest blacks, black
being his metaphor for pure, raw
emotion.
By duplicating one subject four
times with different colors, different
feelings and impressions concerning
orgeous
the subject are evoked. In the gray
works, the blacks and whites create
an aura of control and self constraint
due to the borders created by placing
one behind the other.
THE PINKS and mauves are
subtle and musically flow in and out
of one another, intensifying unstabil-.
ity, and dream-like qualities. The.
pure black images are dramatically
intense, often even sinister, while the
absolute white works seem to extend'
forever into space, emanating peace
and tranquility.
In some prints Yunkers places
pieces of tape over the embossed line
in attempts of distorting the viewers' O
perception, making the rope image
appear as an external element
placed upon the print, rather than a '
portion jutting out from the actual
work itself. Yunkers does this for fun:
and effect, demanding the viewer
regard his works with intense inspec-
tion.
Adja Yunkers' works do not reveal4
a direct progression of one, work
evolving into another. The 77-year-
old artist reveals a relationship,
between and within his works. A
relationship where corresponding
rhythms, colors, visual oppositions
and textures pursue each other. A
relationship where subjects create
space and play back and forth from
print to print. A relationship that
must be seen to be felt.
RISING STAR
a poetry and
translation
journal
is accepting
submissions for
January issue.
1st floor of
Student Publications Bldg.
420 Maynard St.
OR
444 Mason Hall
Deadline Nov. 30
The Ramones
Twilley excites crowdI
The Ramones will appear along with Eddie & The 'Hot Rods and Talking Heads 8 p.m. Wednesday, November 23 at
Masonic Temple in Detroit.
ELO'sbig
By OWEN GLEIBERMAN
JEFF LYNNE, musical mastermind of the Electric
Light Orchestra, has finally out-techniqued himself.
Out of the Blue, ELO's new, two-record release, is so glut-
ted with synthesizers, special effects and various other
examples of studio wonderment that the album scarcely
has a chance to breathe. Everything from the laminated
2001-like cover to a list of instrument credits that reads
like a virtual synthesizer catalogue smacks of slick,
robotic over-production, and the 17 songs included are
practically without exception synthetic, emotion-drained
creations.
ELO has seemingly suffered from the Elton John syn-
drome, although even he never reached a point so far
removed from creative inspiration. The Orchestra
arrived on the music scene with an undeniably unique
sound, a potential road to superbly innovative rock music.
Although Jeff Lynne (who writes, arranges and produces
all the songs) never expanded his musical horizons to any
great extent, he still managed to utilize the formula with
success: Face the Music, the inspired wall-of-sound re-
lease, exhibited a wealth of rich harmonic textures, and
successfully intergrated more energetic rock rhythms
with the lighter, pleasant elements of pop music.
As it turns out, a good idea can only go so far. ELO's
sound - largely a product of the ever-present strings and
choral arrangements - has completely stagnated, to the
point that there's nothing the least bit new or inventive
about it. They're now as instantly recognizable as the,
latest Foghat release.
Out of the BLue for all its fancy mixing and special ef-
fects, virtually scrapes at coming up with material any
more intense than cardboard. Only three or four songs
have the slow, sentimental quality of "Strange Magic"
opu.s flops
and "Telephone Line," leaving the rest of the space for a
vapid display of pyrotechnics.
AS BIG a production as Out of the Blue is, the effect of
Lynne's arrangements is strangely sparse.. Some of the
more inventive numbers might have been saved by the
lush, Phil Spectorish sound formerly brought to "Night-
rider," but Lynne does just the contrary and pulls back.
"Turn To Stone," after a pleasant enough verse, delivers"
a dry, overly rhythmic chorus that doesn't do much ex-
cept pulsate. Not exactly something you'd want to sing
along with.
Other completely mechanized cuts include "Sweet
Talkin" Woman," "Jungle" and "Birmingham Blues,"
which opens with such\ a blatant rip-off of Gershwin's
Rhapsody in Blue I'll be surprised if Lynne doesn't get
- sued by the composer's survivors. Generally speaking,
Out of the Blue commits more acts of "borrowing" than
any album of recent memory, as Lynne apparently had no
qualms about lifting melodic and chordal riffs from sour-
ces as diverse as The Beatles, The Temptations and (by
no means least of all) himself.
The third side is subtitled, pretentiously enough,
"Concerto for a !IainyDay," and is the only one to ap-
proach listenability. The opening few, minutes are in-
strumental, and there's a nice pattern of descending
chords vaguely reminiscent of "Poker." The side un-
fortunately concludes with a ditty called "Mr. Blue Sky,"
an excrutiatingly insipid piece that would sound more ap-
propriate as a television sit-com theme.
As far as I'm concerned, Out of the Blue represents
the artistic fall of ELO, a fate that's superimposed itself
on many a rock artist during the last few years. About all
one can hope is that Jeff Lynne comes out from behind his
wall of synthesizers and electronic gizmos. As it stands
now, there doesn't seem to be much else there.
By ALAN RUBENFELD
ROCK AND ROLL is alive and well.'
The Dwight Twilley Band de-
livered their infectious brand of rocka-
billy rock and roll Tuesday night at Sec-
ond Chance, performing a fifty minute
set of no-frills music. On the road since
August, the band appeared a little fa-
tigued, but still delivered a classy set of
the home-spun music that has drawn
critical raves all over the country.
Drummer Phil Seymour and Twilley
shared the lead vocals on all the band's
numbers.
Twilley appeared as a 70's Elvis as he
pranced around the stage, shaking
while cutting a sloppy but effective
rhythm guitar for motionless Bill Pit-
cock IV's economical lead riffs. The
band's better songs included many cuts
from their recent Arista release, Twil-
ley Don't Mind, including the title song,
"Rock and Roll '47," "Here She Come,"
and "Invasion."
Seymour related the story of their be-
ginnings: going to Nashville as teen-
agers with a homemade demo tape, and
eventually landing a record contract on
Shelter records. Their first album, Sin-
cerely, contained their biggest single to
date, "I'm On Fire," which propelled
the band to national prominence. The
band did a rousing rendition of the tune
Tuesday night. "We've gone into bars'
and have heard the local bands do it
better than we do," Twilley joked. But
those bar bands were not the ones play-
ing it all over national radio.
It is only a matter of time before the-
Dwight Twilley Band becomes more
than a warmup band at concerts or
headliners at small clubs. The crowd at
the Second Chance Tuesday night got a
unique opportunity to observe raw-pow-
ered rock and roll at its finest.
Mediatrics
SLEUTH
Two men playing a Russian roulette of games within games
which become progressively more deadly as each tries through
deceit and disguise to humiliate the other. Think of the per-
fect crime . . . Then go one step further. With SIR LAURENCE
OLIVIER.
SAT. NOV. 19-7:00 and 9:30
Natural Science Aud.-$1.50
batest Yes uninspired
SEDENTARY AMERICANS?
By AUSTIN VANCE
Y ES FANATICS are not your nor-
mal rock and rollers. Before see-
ing Yes earlier this fall I met what
remains in my mind as a typical Yes
lover. While engaging in some stren-
uous pre-concert partying, when that
deathly silence that accompanies the
end of the record was noticed, a
serious debate of the next subject
matter to be played ensued. She told
us that she felt it was important to
listen and understand the album
before going to the concert. This was
my first taste of Going for the One
(SD 19106), a record which I enjoyed
but didn't find exciting.
Later, while we were listening to
something else she listened to Going
for the One through headphones and
studied the lyric sheet that comes
with it. Yes's biggest critics are their
fans; the band cannot release an
average album and try to let it slide.
That night I was captivated by Yes
in an incredible concert that saw
everyone drained by its conclusion
"Parallels" and "Going for the
One", songs that held no unique
distinction earlier, were transformed
into an experience controlling the
sense of sound and sight. So I became
a Yes fan; I still don't understand the
lyrics.
lacked the spark that makes a
technically exact record into a
listening experience; not so with this
one. Rick Wakeman, who after
several solo efforts that just simply
didn't sell at all, has returned and
added his keyboard talents to the
group.
There are only five songs on Going
for the One, which means there is
enough time devoted to each song to
do it justice. The title track starts off
with a guitar solo reminiscent of 60's
rock, and changes into the flowing
lead that is Yes's trademark.
Steve Howe is featured on "Turn of
the Century" playing acoustic guitar
with a grace that would not be out of
place on a classical recording. About
halfway through it seems to lose
direction, however.
"Parallels" is the song everyone
has been hearing via the FM air-
waves. Starting out with Wakeman
playing a church organ in St. Martins
in Switzerland, it reaches a fast pace
immediately and maintains it
throughout. Each member of the
band combines perfectly meshed
solos and the result is an excellent
piece of music.
The shortest and most mellow
piece is "Wondrous Stories". It's a
showcase for Anderson's voice with
the rest of the band playing back-
ground music.
BOSTON (AP) - Many Americans
may be leading such sedentary lives
that they are "virtually motionless,"
moving about little more than if they
remained in bed 24 hours a day, Dr.
William Kannel, director of the
famed Framingham Heart Study,
said here recently.
Kannel said 16 per cent of men and
21 per cent of women in a group
studied in Framingham achieved ac-
tivity scores of 29 or less. He said that
spending 24 hours in bed rates a score
of 24.
Now known as the Boston Univer-
sity-Framingham Heart Study, the
project has involved studying several
thousand Framingham residents for
27 years, first under federal sponsor-
ship and since 1971 under private
auspices.
Kannel told a symposium on
leisure time sponsored by the Massa-
chusetts Medical Society that even in
the group scoring the highest levels
of activity, with scores higher than
36, few would qualify for a high level
of physical fitness. If these people
are typical, many Americans are
unfit, he added.
Despite the lack of scientific
evidence on exact relationships be-
tween activity and fitness, he said,
"it is of interest that the greater the
dose of those sedentary traits, the
greater the risk of cardiovascular
disease."
FINAL PERFORMANCE g p.m.
{
An Evening with Shakespeare, Congreve,
Dickens, Chekhov & Coward; starring
Nicholas Pennell and Marti Maraden
by arrangement with Stratford Shakespearean Festival Foundation
Devised by Michael Meyer
Trueblood Theatre, 8 p.m. Fri. & Sat., November 18-19
The University of Michigan Professional Theatre Program
Tickets at P.T.P. Office 764-0450, before 5 p.m.; and at Hudson's Stores
Tickets at Trueblood Box Office (313) 764-5387, 6-8 p.m.
Cont'icoro,
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