4 . +
Page 8- The Michigan Daily-Friday, March 11, 1988
Holocaust
exhibit
mirrors
tragic
By Lauren Shapiro
The past cannot be forgotten.
This is the message Marcia Pollen-
berg conveys in her collection Spe-
cial Treatment now in exhibition at
the Rackham Galleries. In accordance
with the Ninth Annual Conference
on the Holocaust, Special Treatment
deals with the events leading up to
World War II, the Warsaw Ghetto,
and many of the Holocaust victims.
Pollenberg believes, "As human
beings who are aware of our own
historical past and sensitive to the
other people around us, it is our duty
to remember their lives and what
they endured." The title of the ex-
hibit, Special Treatment , originates
with the Nazis. They used the term
as a euphemism for "immediate
death," a treatment given to most
who arrived at the concentration
camps.
Pollenberg explains that one of
the major themes in her work is to
question "what is reality?" The entire
Holocaust situation seems so far
away and long ago that Pollenberg
thimks we can't really absorb the
horrific scenario which victims and
survivors endured. For this reason,
Pollenberg frames the lives of some
Holocaust victims on her canvas.
In her portrait of Lou Ernst, she
throws a spark -of red upon the
woman's chest to represent a carna-
tion Ernst was reputed as wearing
every day - a symbol revealing the
passion and joy within her life. The
last depiction of Ernst, a mug shot
taken by the Nazis, shows her as a
decaying woman looking away from
the joy of life into death.
Pollenberg thinks that "for the lives
and deaths of those who perished in
the Holocaust to have meaning, we
must keep their tragic memories
alive."
The artist combines solemn col-
ors and some abstract shapes with
her more descriptive portraits to
produce a collection which rivets the
imagination toward the gruesome
reality of her exhibit. She uses a
thick black canvas to contrast
against the agony of skeletons piled
up on top of each other. By pasting
xerox copies of real photographs
onto her canvas, she reveals the
sources of her work and reinforces
the reality of this situation. Pollen-
berg also paints the passports of
several of the victims. The most
tragic of these depictions are the
portraits of children between the ages
of five and ten who were killed al-
most immediately at the onset of the
war.
Pollenberg paints with a sense of
surrealistic quality because the
reality in her works is unimaginable
to many of us. She bases her works
on photographs taken by American
soldiers who liberated the
concentration camps in 1945. She
also uses some photographs taken
by the Nazis themselves to
document what they considered a
magnificent feat: the extermination
of an entire people. Pollenberg
combines some literature she
researched with the paintings to
create a strong, emotional, and
moving message for the public. Her
history
works create a sense of awareness of
our vulnerability - what we think
could never happen again is not an
imnossibility.
Marcia Pollenberg's exhibit
SPECIAL TREATMENT will be,
showing at Hillel , 339 E. Liberty
Street, suite 200. The hours are 10
a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through
Friday. You can meet the artist
Monday, March 14, from 7 to 10
p.m. For more information, call
Hillel at 663-3336.
1
fl niVer""is'__:_.: ____:{.____:}:
Apply Impact Jazz Dance
Soph Show
No w for Comedy Company
Starbound
CommitteeTech. Crew
Viewpoint Lectures
Chair Special Events
Ticket Central
Positions: Michigras
Laughtrack
Mini-Courses
MUSKET
Mediatrics
Homecoming
College Bowl
Soundstage
applications are due in the UAC offices
(2105 M. Union) by Friday, March 18 3:00pm
sign up for interview date and time
for more info, call 763-1 107
- CLASSIFIED ADSI Call 764-0557
Records
Viv Akauldren
I'll Call You Sometime
Akashic Records
I'll Call You Sometime, the sec-
ond LP from Detroit's Viv Akaul-
dren, is a masterpiece that passes
through several planes of existence as
gently as a Wells-ian time traveller.
With its mystic touch, hard rock
showcases, and Eastern melodies, the
album covers an impressive span of
ground and still manages to gel in
the process.
As the title suggests, V.A. in-
vokes an element of mystery in their
style. The trio explores cities, cele-
brations, and "inn'er currents." Even
when they get very spiritual sound-
ing, with Eastern percussion and-
PASSPORT
PHOTOS
$7.95
With This Ad.
KINKO'S
OPEN 24 HOURS
540 East Liberty
761-4539
1220 South University
747-9070
other-worldly keyboards that sing
with the sirens' magnetism, the ef-
fect is suprisingly modern, without
any of the '60s rehash you hear in
too many other bands. Keir McDon-
ald's synthesizer arrangements are
beautiful and hypnotic - a few lis-
tens will reveal how much is always
going on.
If tracks like "The Secret" and the
instrumental "The Maker of the Sun
and Moon" delve into a more etherel
mood, then "Firewater," "City
Magic," and the opener "Of," with its
search and destroy guitar tactics,
quickly dispel any doubt that V.A. is
not a rock band. Songs like these
leave the mysticism to the lyrics, and
instead crank with a vengeance. "Is
This It" rides to a propulsive climax
after several key changes, burning to
the beat of Jeff Phry's anguished vo-
cals. The epic "City Magic," a fero-
cious seven minute cut, is a tale of
salvation and voyeurism withy Phry
as omniscient narrator. His guitar
feedback lingers behindDeb Agolli's
tense drumming, pushing the song to
its limit.
I'll Call You Sometime has been
available for a few months now; do
yourself a favor and don't put it off
for as long as I have.
-Beth Fertig
Breaking Circus
Smokers' Paradise
Homestead Records
Dirty, dirty, dirty. But who can
we blame? No one but ourselves.
Without human nature, there would
be no Gang of Four ... no Big Black
... no Breaking Circus.
So we can go ahead and pat our-
selves on the back for creating a so-
ciety which delves in the dirty ...
wallows in rape, murder, and suicide.
Because without it, B.C. might be
releasing songs about something
silly, like love. Fortunately we don't
have to worry about things like that,
and B.C. has been able to do what
they do best, taking these subjects to
vinyl like no band before.
Smokers' Paradise is a terrific
follow up to 1985's The Very Long
Fuse, and 1987's The Ice Machine,
which saw founder Steve Bjorklund
joined by Riflesport rhythm section
Todd Trainer and Pete Conway. This
mini LP also sports line-up changes,
fortunately for the best. Chainsaw
guitars and Gang of Four-style
rhythm paired with Bjorklund's "slap
in the face" vocals create one of the
most powerful sounds to be discov-
ered in years. All the strength of
Naked Raygun with the precision of
Joy Division and Wire.
The mini LP is loaded with choice
cuts, including a tremendous piece
entitled "Shockhammer Thirteen," an
incorporation of jazz, coun-
try/hardcore (somewhat like Gun
Club or Beast of Burbounish), and
grungy dirge noise, proving that this
is one band not stuck within the
constraints of one musical genre.
-Robert Flaggert
Red Lorry Yellow
Lorry
Smashed Hits
Red Rhino Records
An egotistical musical mishap.
The Lorries seem to think that plas-
tering the back cover of the LP with
clips about themselves justifies a
collection of material such as
Smashed Hits. Which is sad, becauset
this album could conceivably be
good, it just seems that too often
not enough work was put into it.
The music has no "meat" to it, and
the vocals are so over produced that
it becomes boring. The Lorries sway
between wanting to be Echo and the
Bunnymen and wanting to be Big
Black, but never choose one path to
follow. Unfortunately they are con-
stantly the victims of this musical
dilemma which trips them up on
every song.
I truly don't think the Lorries are
poor musicians, but they're undeci-
sive, and possibly a bit apprehensive
as to the direction they want their
talents to take them. With better
production and a single solid sound,
the next release could be quite a bit
tighter and truly rock... I hope.
-Robert Flaggert
*1
11
I
f
IC
u
Al
only
at
1122 S. University
L YOU CAN EAT
Chicken Wings
(This Sunday ONLY
between 4 and 9pm)
665-9009
U"
R p sp
The brand-new Michigan Bell CASH CARD.
cards and CA$H CARD phones.It'sthe
super convenient way to make calls. When you buy Michigan Bell
CA$H CARD cards for $2, $5 or $10, you'll be ready for any calls you
8:30
- 93Q
k-
r
Rin o.WY.~i .1 m
" I . I 1118 - M a V A A,