The Michigan Daily-Weekend etc.-April 1, 1993-Page,5
End of the Simsar era
by Charlotte Garry
After 24 years, the Alice Simsar
Gallery on North Main Street, known
for its commitment to contemporary
American art, will be closing. As a
tribute to the gallery's long service to
the Ann Arbor community, a final exhi-
Twenty-Four Years:
A Closing
Alice Simsar Gallery
bition, "1969-1993 Twenty-FourYears:
A Closing," has been assembled. The
exhibition highlights the wide range of
works thathavefrequented the gallery's
walls over the years.
The artworks comprising the show
include many different mediums and
styles. From oil-on-canvas pieces to
multi-media works, from cubism to
pencil sketches, all walks of contempo-
rary art are represented. As Alexa Lee,
associate director of the gallery, said in
an interview, "The exhibition is basi-
cally an inventory of all the framed
pieces of the gallery. It shows the range
of what has been done over the years."
Although the exhibition is a little
overwhelming due to the quantity of
pieces and the number of artists, the
variety is refreshing. Where else could
you finda10-foot multi-media mobile?
Gerome Kamrowski's "Mobile" em-
ploys a black metal base to suspend
unique wooden winged creatures of wild
colors. The various animals, patterned
with bright colored paint and marble-
like beads, hint at an outrageous and
off-beat creativity on the part of the
artist. The piece seems a magnified and
dramatized depiction of what a crib
mobile would look like to a tiny baby
peering up atstrangeandunknown float-
ing objects.
In extreme contrast to Kamrowski's
"Mobile," the exhibition also contains
thesignificantly smallerpencil sketches
of artist Don Wynn. "Interior with
Chair," while simple in its subject, is
provoking when closely studied. The
flowing lead strokes which confront
and divulge into each other echo, what
seems to be, a free-flowing, careless
mindset and style on the part of the
artist. The work portrays the curiosity,
talent and commitment of the artist and
presents an interesting study into. the
complexity of shading and line.
From Wynn's sketches to
Kamrowski's "Mobile," the variety of
this exhibition is as unparalleled as the
Alice Simsar Gallery itself.Thisgallery
is matchless in Ann Arbor, and will be
missed by patrons who have been loyal
for over two decades. "1969-1993
Twenty-Four Years: A Closing," while
prompted by the sale of the building that
houses the gallery and the consequen-
tial closing, is acelebrationoftheartthe
community has been blessed with
through Alice Simsar. Her work and
commitment will not be forgotten.
.'- rit'lwm -e v71%v7~
1969-1993T WENY-FOUR YhARS:
A CLOSING runs through April 29 at
the Alice Simar Gallery, 301 N.
Main. Call 665-4883.
The Men's Glee Club is not only stylish and debonair, but they're also amazing singers.
The other side of Men's Glee Club
i
I
I
by Melissa Rose Bernardo
So we already know that the Men's
Glee Club is an amazing choir. But
beneath their success, what makes them
such a superior choir? Conductor Dr.
Jerry Blackstone illuminated the "other
side" of the Men's Glee Club (MGC).
"I think the Michigan Glee Club
* particularly has a strong sense of mis-
sion, a strong sense of dedication and
camaraderie," Blackstone said. TheAs-
sistant Professor of Conducting and
Coordinator of the Conducting depart-
ment is in his fifth year conducting
MGC. He also conducts the University
Choir in the School of Music.
"There's a uniqueness of an all-
male singing group ,- the sound,"
Blackstone said, "So that's part of the
distinctive, what makes it popular."
There are, unfortunately, very few all-
male choirs in the country. "Another
aspect is just how many years it's been
around - in 134 years you build up
quite an alumni base," Blackstone
added. Atone pointinhistory-clearly
before basketball - the MGC's fall
and spring concerts were the two social
events on campus. MGC also has, ac-
cording to Blackstone, "a tradition of
beingverymuchtiedtowhatisuniquely
'Michigan."' Many of the Michigan
songs were actually written for the MGC
- most notably "The Hymn," which
was composed for the group's 100th
anniversary.
Blackstone pointed to touring as an
agent for building tradition and cama-
nraderie inthe group." The group devel-
opsareal'espritdecorps' whenthey're
away togetherforan extendedperiodof
time ... it becomes a bonding sort of
experience," he said. For their weekend
Wintertour, this pastweekend the group
traveled to Smith College in North
Hampton, Massachusetts, where they
performed two Brahms Orchestral
works with Smith'sWomen's Glee Club,
in addition to performing their own
pieces. MGC also performs five con-
certs yearly in cities around Michigan.
Beyond the concert aspect, the group
also works as a club. "The Glee Club is
an exceedingly organized institution,"
Blackstone pointed out. The officers
meet officially with Blackstone once a
week. Each January, MGC hosts a"Male
Voice Day," in which high school male
singers work with Blackstone and the
MGC. Add that to contacting alumni,
planning tours and organizing scholar-
ships. "It's very organized," Blackstone
re-emphasized, "To get all of that done
'I think the Michigan
Glee Club has a strong
sense of mission.'
Dr. Jerry Blackstone
just takes a lot of work."
And then there are the Friars. "The
Friars are theirown organization in terms
of all of their concerts and tours and so
on," Blackstone explained. The Friars
are all members of MGC, but choose
their members, arrange their music and
rehearse as a separate entity from MGC.
All work and no play for the MGC?
Not a chance. After every Thursday
night rehearsal, the guys get together at
Pizzeria Uno to "sing, eat, and have
good times together," Blackstone said.
Blackstone feels thatthe group main-
tains a good balance between the musi-
cal and the non-musical. "I would guess
and hope that most of the guys would
say that music is the primary reason that
we work so hard together, and that we
have to be as terrific as we can be
musically.
"But then what makes it very special
and whatmakes it a unique choral expe-
rience is the tradition that has been for so
many years," Blackstone concluded.
MGC has over 1000 living alumni with
whom they keep contact - what
Blackstone calls "a remarkable link to
the traditions of what's gone on here on
campus for so many years." Blackstone
considers MGC a family.
Blackstone discussed their upcom-
ing concert program with great antici-
pation. Pieces include aNigerian Christ-
mas song, two Verdi opera choruses,
folk songs, seashanties, selections from
the Friars and (of course) the traditional
Michigan songs. Does the MGC ever
tire of the Michigan songs? "No,"
Blackstone responded, "It really does
something special in the bonding pro-
cess... when we're singing a Michigan
song and look out at the audience, you
see people for whom those (songs) are
very dear. It's not uncommon to see
tears in people's eyes ... and I find that
very touching," he said.
The Men's Glee Club is more than
your average choir - it's the music,
tradition and camaraderie rolled into
one. Yeah, I know it's Final Four week-
end. But if you can tear yourself away
from the TV, you'll discover that the
Men's Glee Club represents Michigan
just as much as the Fab Five do-ifnot
even more so.
THE MEN'S GLEE CLUB will
perform April 3 at 8p.m. at Hill
Auditorium. Tickets are $10, $8, $5,
$3 (students) and are available at the
Union or the Hill Auditorium box
office. Call 764-8350 or 763-TKTS.
"if your hair isn't becoming to
you, you should be
comin to us "
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Liberty off State 668-9329
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