ARTS
'The Michigan Daily Wednesday, January 15,1992 Page 5
Asian painter Tan Tee Chie
moves beyond cultural lines
Science of jazz is a hit
by Aaron Hamburger.
The exhibition Tan Tee Chie:
Recent Paintings, 1988-1991 is an
opportunity to see the works of
one of the foremost painters of
Southeast Asia. They should not
be missed. The universal beauty of
Tan Tee Chie's lush but subtle
colors and distinctive brush
strokes should appeal even to
those who have limited interest in
art of the Orient.
Unlike the works of many
Asian artists, Tan's paintings are
Tan uses the
Chinese painting
style to address
problems in typically
Western compo-
sitions, such as
scenes of everyday
life .., such as nudes
and still lifes.
very accessible to Western art afi-
cionados who know' little about
traditional Asian painting tech-
niques. This is because Tan uses
the Chinese painting style to ad-
dress problems in typically
Western compositions, such as
scenes of everyday life, nudes, and
still lifes.
In his painting Red Blossoms
and Myna Birds, for example, Tan
uses a few swift but observant
strokes drawn from Chinese tra-
ditional painting to describe a
plethora of vegetation akin to
Van Gogh's landscape sketches.
In Landscape with Houses in
the Foreground, his washes of
soft greens, blues, and oranges
(which suggest the Singapore
landscape) are reminiscent of He-
len Frankenthaler's paintings.
Tan uses color to create a strik-
ing, brilliant effect. He tones
down colors like blue and green
by combining them with black.
The cool colors contrast sharply
with Tan's bright, pure reds, and
sometimes with his copper, or-
ange, and yellow hues.
Tan often makes use of this
juxtaposition to create a sense of
depth, or to draw attention to
small details like the tiny figures
which usually dot his landscapes.
Following in the Eastern tra-
dition, Tan uses as few lines as
possible, preferring to use shapes,
delineated by varying colors, to
describe contours. His effective
use of dabs of paint to define
forms can be seen in Singapore
Street Scene, where he describes
different types of trees by varying
the outlines and shades of their
leaves.
In Red and Yellow Gladiolus,
two spots of grey become the
wings of a bee. The young chickens
of In Search of Food, Hen and
Chicks are actually brown-orange
blobs with a few lines added to
provide important details.
The strength of Tan's work
lies in his ability to pick and
choose important shapes and de-
tails which subtly suggest his
subject matter. Punctuated by
dazzling reds, Tan's paintings are
an arresting representation of the
beauty of natural forms.
TAN TEE CHIE: RECENT PAI-
NTINGS, 1988-1991 is on display
at the University Museum of Art
until March 22.
by Richard Davis
Just how good can a band be if they
don't even practice with each other?
In this case, very!
The Tracey Science Quartet, with
Gerald Cleaver on drums, John
Douglas on the trumpet, Mark
Mitchell on the bass and Craig
Taborn on keyboards, have succeeded
in rising to the top of Ann Arbor's
music scene.
Their success is surprising, not
only because they don't practice, but
also because of the type of music
that they play.
Tracey Science specializes in im-
provisational jazz, not the sort of
pop-jazz that you're likely to hear
on most commercial radio stations
and not the type of music that has a
large history of success in Ann
Arbor.
"The improvisational thing sort
of came about in the beginning by
necessity and then later we felt that
it was an interesting way to do
things because there were no precon-
ceptions about what was supposed
to be played," says Taborn.
"Whatever happens musically is
completely of the moment and is re-
flective of that moment - however
we may be feeling or whatever we
may be thinking about musically or
whatever may be going on in the
room - everything. And that
makes the music interesting so we
just kind of pursued that."
Their energetic, spontaneous per-
formances have made the Tracey
Science Quartet extremely popular
with Ann Arbor audiences. The
group has managed to pack area
clubs so often that even Taborn is a
bit surprised.
"(Our success) is one of those
things that is really surprising to
everybody in the group," says
Taborn. "I don't think it's some-
thing that we ever really worried
about. We never really thought that
that many people would come out.
We just thought that we could do
something that we enjoyed doing,
and if a few people showed up it
would be cool and we could just
keep doing it.
"But the response has been much
more enthusiastic than anybody re-
ally thought it would be. It's nice.
It's nice to have people enjoy it and
want to come out to hear us."
Even with all of this success,
Taborn admits that he is sometimes
'Whatever happens
musically is
completely of the
moment and is re-
flective of that
moment - however
we may be feeling or
whatever we may be
thinking about
musically ...
everything.'
-Craig Taborn
Keyboardist
bothered about the make-up of the
group's fans. Even though the quar-
tet is made up of African-American
musicians and they perform music
that was pioneered by African-
Americans, this is the one group
that is not represented in the audi-
ence.
"It gets frustrating," Taborn
says. "I think that the Black com-
munity supports the music it wants
to support. And I think it explores
things that it relates to on a cul-
tural level. I don't know if a lot of
people see the relevance of jazz
within their own lives. They don't
see the relationships that exist and
so therefore they don't get much out
of listening to it. I think that the re-
lationships definitely exist.
"There's a lot of different fac-
tors that come into play. There's the
factor of what the media puts out as
being jazz. A radio station like
WJZZ will play what I would con-
sider, and not to put it down, in-
strumental popular music as op-
posed to being jazz music.
"If you take a musician like .
Kenny G or something and what
they're playing, and if you put
Whitney Houston in the place of the
saxophone, it would be a pop song
and that's what it is. And not to
have any judgement about that, but
it's not the same as what someone
like Geri Allen ... is doing which is
a totally different ballgame."
"I don't know, it doesn't bother
me - the people that are there,"
continues Taborn. "One thing, and
this is going to open up a whole can
of worms, but there are different
situations where the Black commu-
nity does not like to go.
"We play rock venues like the
Blind Pig, and that is not the kind of
venue that a lot of Black people feel
comfortable going to. They kind of
shy away from that for a number of
reasons, so it becomes a problem.
But I do wish that more people
would come out."
Taborn admits that playing live
is what Tracey Science does best,
which unfortunately leaves the pos-
sibility of a recording project far in
the distance.
"It would be nice (to do some
recording), but we don't have 4ny
specific plans. I think it might be
good to try to do a recording of one
of our shows because that's all we
do, you know," Taborn says with a
chuckle.
By not pursuing a recording ca-
See SCIENCE, Page 8
Still Life
I --
Raising Arizona (1987)
dir. Joel Coen
Movie-goers who disliked Rais-
ing Arizona, the Coen brothers'
(Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink)
second and most fun film, com-
plained that the movie was stupid.
Members of the cult that worships
and quotes constantly the wisdom
of H.I. "Hi" McDonough know
that that's one bonehead name.
Hi (Nicolas Cage) just can't re-
sist robbing convenience stores. Ev-
ery time he's arrested, a kindly po-
lice officer named Ed (Holly
Hunter) takes his finger prints and
mug shots.
The two fall deeper in love with
each trip Hi takes to the Maricopa
County Maximum Security Correc-
tional Facility for Men, and marry
after the prison doors finally swing
wide for Hi.
The couple is desperate to have a
baby, and Ed especially is crushed
when they learn that her insides are
a rocky place where Hi's seed can
find no purchase.
Upon hearing that quintuplets
have been born to the wife of the
unpainted furniture and bathroom
fixture magnate, Nathan Arizona
(the late Trey Wilson), Hi and Ed
decide that it's unfair that some
should have so many while others
have so few.
Planning to raise him as their
own, Hi and Ed kidnap young
Nathan, Jr.; y'all without sin can
cast the first stone.
Raising Arizona is a hysterically
fanciful story set in a world gone
gun crazy and baby mad. The Coens'
cartoonish rendering of suburban
Tempe is wonderfully playful and
irreverent; imagine a live-action
episode of Road Runner that sends
up white belts and trailer parks.
The directors are clearly making
fun of middle America, but they do
it without priggish airs. The film
has a fondness for its characters.
Barry Sonnenfeld's gaudy cine-
matography brilliantly embellishes
the Coens' vision of a Southwest
decked out in Hawaiian shirts. The
Coens' script - which quotes the
Bible and Flannery O'Connor --is
highly literate, and the emotions at
the movie's end are vital and quite
touching. , 5
Of course, it's difficult to main-
tain intellectual concerns once you
see Nicholas Cage charge out of the
convenience store he just held up
only to find he's locked his keys in
the get-away car.
See CINEMA, Page 8
4
.J
Ann Arbor Civic Theatre
s- P RE SE NTS -
zBRIGHTON
EACH
:MEMOIRS
NEW S ..¢i
by Neil Simon
Directed by Wendy Wright
Jan. 22-25, 1992-8 p.m.
Sat. Matinee-2 p.m.h
LYDIA MENDELSSOHN
THEATER
For Ticket Information:
before
Jan. 20-662-7282
after Jan. 20-763-1085
-q
"Y'all without sin can cast the first stone" - H.!. McDonough
OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDERS?
Volunteers needed for test of new and promising medicine to relieve
intrusive, repetitive, nonsensical thoughts or overpowering urges to carry
out repetitive nonsensical actions. Those qualifying will receive free
medical and psychiatric assessment, free psychiatric treatment during the
study and free recommendation about treatment afterward. Must be at
least 18 years old, in good physical health and able to interrupt any
current treatment with psychiatric drugs.
For information call: Shannon at (313) 764-5349 (U-M Anxiety
Program) between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday.
I(EY
S TJ 'THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE (R)
- - i4:457:00 9:30
THE LAST 80Y SCOUT (R)}
Comfort 5:40 700*9:3
4:45 7:15 9:45
For Reservations,a
call 1-800 -695- 5150
or 1- 305- 294 - 3773f
OFFICE FURNITURE
& EQUIPMENT AUCTION
Chairs * Desks * Truck * Jeep * Tools
We will sell the following at public auction at
3438 Ellsworth Road, Ann Arbor, MI
(1-94 to US-23 North, Exit 37-A to Washtenaw. South on Carpenter to
Ellsworth, West between Platt & Carpenter)
Saturday, January 18th, 1992 at 10:00 a.m.
20 American seating work stations -
loaded -1 year old
350 office chairs including executive,
secretary, swivels, waiting room -
new to used condition - great colors
& styles
150 used metal desks - brand names -
excellent selection
90 new & used file cabinets - all styles
40 new & used credenzas
15 mobil rolling tables
New Computer work station
Office privacy partitions
Microfilm reader
Computer stands, book cases
Office supplies
10 rolls of carpet
Quantity of oak shelves
TOOLS
Portable power washer
Heavy duty floor model drill press
Floor polisher
8 fluorescent light fixtures
2 upright air compressors - 5 hp -1 ph
Carpet Cleaning Equipment
Apollow L.P.V. low pressure paint
system
Binks spray guns
K
u* *u
HOW MICHIGAN
STUDENTS FEEL
ABOUT SPRING
BREAK BEFORE
AND AFTER
'B'
The University of Michigan Department
of Dermatology is seeking volunteers ages