RTS
Cressman collects
9By KARIN SKAGGS
Larry Cressman is a collector. Not
of antiques or old cars, but of found
treasures, the everyday materials that
most people don't consider. "I'm a
hoarder of things," he said. "I like the
Drawing on Water
University Art Museum
Through March 6
idea that nothing gets wasted."
Cressman, an artist and professor of
printmaking and drawing at the Resi-
dential College, manipulates these
found objects within an architectural
space. His installation, "Drawing on
Water," at the University Museum's
Corridor Gallery is more a construc-
tion of organic materials than an amal-
gam of recycled objects.
Using shards of glass, bundles of
sticks, graphite paper, and wire,
Cressman creates an environment of
contrasting surfaces which envelops
the viewer and invites participation.
Cressman's childhood in Michi-
gan on Lake Huron is perhaps the
.arliest indication of his connection
to water, which has become a recur-
ring theme in his work. Like his pre-
vious installation "Treading Water,"
his recent work focuses upon the
physical qualities of an environment
which is constantly changing.
"There's a certain endless move-
ment to a pool of water," he said,
which relates to the idea of the instal-
lation as a space in which light, re-
*flections, and a viewer's position con-
stantly change. Cressman intention-
ally extends the materials which ex-
tend above the viewer's hey
gest the sense of "being un
to floating," or to being sur
Unconsciously, Cressmi
come an environmentalist.
with the temporary nature o
tion, he reuses the glass, s
wire in current works that we
previous installations. Yet
est in material such as glass
from its organic nature or its
ity than from an interest ini
jects which are normally ov
"When I frame things th
there over the work but it's t
ible material everybody ign
as scraps of this accumulat
studio I started looking at
hmm, this could actually l
part of the image.
"Glass to me is really
and seductive, it's transpar
reflection ... but there's also
ger, this undercurrent ... tha
like," he said.
An integral part of Cr
creative process, drawing
his most immediate form o
sion. "To me, drawing is cri
of it," said the artist who
collection of marks from
reused drawings. He sees t
lation as "an evolution of
surface of the paper out inti
In his work, the line b
physical entity, both lineara
tural. This ambiguity betwe
ing and sculpture has been a
part of Cressman's search.
stallation, you make a dram
put the marks up, and when
them down it's similar to
Moving a mark (becomes) a
almost performance like pro
explained. For him, the in
the everyday
ad to sug- involves pulling the line of the draw-
der water, ing off the paper and out into space.
rounded. The temporary nature of installa-
an has be- tion gives Cressman a certain free-
Working dom. His work becomes less precious,
f installa- more of a process of change. "I've
ticks and taken a work ... and altered it and
ere partof made a new image from it, and then
his inter- done it in four or five stages so that
stems less each time I show the piece it's a new
reusabil- sculptural variation. It allows you to
using ob- destroy a piece and make something
erlooked. new from it instead of feeling that this
le glass is is so precious... this ideaofconstruc-
his invis- tion destruction is important to art ...
ores, and from the destruction something posi-
ed in my tive happens."
it saying, The liberation of artistic defini-
become a tions is an element Cressman intro-
duces to his students in his summer
beautiful course at the School of Art "Alter-
ency and ations, Transformations, Installa-
this dan- tions." One of the reasons he was
t I kind of drawn to this course was that it pre-
sents the possibility for students to
essman's paint, draw, and sculpt within the
has been same setting, a possibility lacking in
f expres- many art classes. This multiplicity
tical to all relates to Cressman's belief that stu-
keeps a dents should have "as much experi-
torn and ence with as many different ap-
he instal- proaches as possible."
f the flat "Drawing on Water" is important
o space." not only for its artistic merit, but be-
ecomes a cause it is rare to see a University
nd sculp- professor's work in the University
xen draw- Museum. Cressman doesn't find it
n integral difficult to be frank. "Faculty try to
"With in- protect their space and it goes against
wing, you the whole idea, in a way, of teaching.
you take I think it's so useful for students to see
erasing. an artist function and show their work
physical, and see the public responding to it."
cess," he
stallation
DRAWING ON WATER remains on
view at the Museum until March 6.
Jazz with friendship and history
The very gifted pianist Vladimir Feltsman also conducted the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra Saturday evening.
Feltsman con-molto brio
Vladimir Feltsman took control of the AASO
By BEN EWY
With players the likes of Marcus
*Roberts, Nicholas Payton, Jon Faddis
and JoshuaRedman, the Lincoln Cen-
ter Jazz Orchestra is a virtual "Who's
Who" of modern day classical jazz.
Combining older musicians with
young burgeoning stars, the LCJO
has created an environment where all
the players in the band can thrive.
Marcus Printup, trumpeter for the
LCJO gave his assessment of the
band's purpose: "We're trying to con-
dense as much of the history ofjazz as
we can into a two-and-a-half hour
concert, starting with the early music
of Louis Armstrong and King Arthur,
all the way up to the music of Wayne
Shorter. We are also doing some com-
positions that Wynton (Marsalis) and
Marcus (Roberts) wrote. We are sim-
ply trying to get as much of this music
heard as possible."
Fueled by a jazz renaissance
started by Wynton Marsalis, the cur-
rent trend in jazz is a resurgence of
older, classical jazz. According to
Printup, there was aperiod when "clas-
sic jazz" was virtually defunct; "jazz
was very dormant after John Coltrane
died in 1957." he said. "There really
was not much swinging music going
on until Wynton came out. He is still
*the greatest today."
This jazz renaissance has resulted
in a renewed interest in jazz among
current day audiences. Crowds around
the world have been delighted by the
music of the LCJO. "Every audience
has been great," Printup said. "It lets
us know that they appreciate the mu-
sic that we're playing, but the audi-
ences also let us know that there are
#ome people in the world who still
listen to, and appreciate jazz."
It may surprise some that not only
are the older audiences listening to
the LCJO, the younger generations
have been listening as well. The au-
diences at the LCJO concerts are a
mix, according to Printup; "its mostly
middle-aged people, but a lot of
youngerpeople are there too-mostly
' eenagers who have just been intro-
duced to jazz through the high school
jazz band." These people are also
appearing to hear the history rejuve-
nating, and the history making LCJO.
Wynton Marsalis may be the Ar-
tistic Director for the Jazz at Lincoln
Center project, but Marcus Roberts is
the director of the Lincoln Center
Jazz Orchestra. Marcus Roberts, a
living legend has inspired'awe in all
who know him, especially Printup. "I
have a higher level of respect for
Marcus Roberts than I do any other
musician that has ever lived. In two
weeks Marcus learned 10
'We're trying to
condense as much of
the history of jazz as
we can into a two-and-
a-half hour concert,
starting with the early
music of Louis
Armstrong and King
Arthur, all the way up
to the music of Wayne
Shorter.'
Marcus Printup,
trumpeter for the
Lincoln Center Jazz
Orchestra
[Thelonious] Monk tunes, and 25
charts by Duke Ellington all by ear. I
don't know if there is any other musi-
cian who could do that. If any sighted
musician had to do that, he'd go
crazy," he said.
The LCJO has not only revived
jazz aficionados around the world, it
has also rejuvenated many older mu-
sicians and inspired many younger
musicians within the band.
"2I was talking to one of the musi-
cians ... and he said 'yeah man, we
really love all of you young cats. You
coming here to play ... keeps us go-
ing' Just hearing that made me think,
wow, this is kinda hip, these are the
kind of cats that played with Mingus
and Monk and they're telling us that
we keep them going. At the same
time, they don't realize that they are
keeping us going," Printup related.
This band is truly unique, because
all of the musicians in the band can
and do solo. Printup described a typi-
cal performance of the LCJO: "a two-
hourprogram featuring solo, duo, trio,
small band (quarter, quintet, septet)'
and big band performances of some
of the greatest compositions written
in the 20th century."
With this many prominent musi-
cians in one place, one would expect
some ego bumping, but Printup in-
sisted that is not the case. "Every once
in a while, Marcus will call up a
battle, between two players of the
same instrument, like a trumpet battle
in the old days. The band is competi-
tive, but it is not competitive to the
point that we are constantly getting
mad at each other. We're just trying
toplay ourown and individual styles."
Although it may seem the LCJO's
goal of giving the history of jazz in
one performance is lofty, it is obvious
from responses - both from critics
and audiences - that their plan is
working. The LCJO is more than the
sum of its parts; it is a historic band
that is filled with performers who by
themselves, would be an event not to
miss. But, in placing all of these in-
credible musicians together, one can
only expect an incredible night of
jazz, history, and above all, the friend-
ship of a jazz community that thrives
because of band like the LCJO.
By MARK KATZ
Vladimir Feltsman the pianist and Vladimir Feltsman
the conductor were one and the same in Saturday night's
performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 with the
Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. As was the practice
when Mozart was alive, Feltsman conducted from the
piano, directing
P O C Vwith his hands
when the solo
Vladimir Feltsman part was idle,
with the Ann Arbor nodding, sway-
ing, and glancing
Symphony Orchestra around when his
Michigan Theater hands were en-
February 12, 1994 gaged.
Sometimes
the difficulties of
Feltsman's task showed, as when he too quickly alter-
nated between conducting and playing and pounded the
keyboard, or in the mechanical quality of the first
movement's prominent scalar passages that seemed to
result from his unevenly divided attention. These infelici-
ties aside, Feltsman didjustice to what is arguably Mozart's
most beautiful concerto.
Particularly well-played was the second movement.
Feltsman's solo work evoked fragility and grief, and the
orchestra mirrored the mood. The delicate wind choir
passage and the gentle off-beats in the strings were perfect
examples of the orchestra's sensitivity to Feltsman's lead.
The lively finale dispelled the melancholy of the
previous movement. With fancy finger-work from
Feltsman and company (hats off to the bassoonist!), the
fast-paced and thrilling movement drew to a close and
subsequently drew cheers from the audience.
The performance of the concert's opening work,.
Beethoven's "Coriolan" Overture, was less successful:
This work juxtaposes violent surges with moments of
repose, and requires a command of the orchestra that was
not always in evidence:It was not that Feltsman failed to
keep the orchestra together, but that the niceties of phras-
ing, dynamics and attack were sometimes neglected.
More impressive was the performance of Beethoven's
Symphony No. 8, the final work of the concert. Feltsman,
has said that this is his favorite of Beethoven's sympho-
nies, and this clearly showed in the vigor with which he
conducted. He gave the work muscle, and led as exciting
a performance as one is likely to hear.
Each movement was rhythmically crisp, with power,
ful accents, and finely contrasted changes of mood. In the
second movement, the violins played as one, down to the
subtle emphasis on the long notes; in the same movement,
the tick-tocking of the winds nicely evoked the sound of
the metronome-like instrument that inspired Beethoven to
write the passage. In the Minuet, the horn playing was
enough to revive one's faith in those capricious instru-
ments. The work came to a close with a properly bombas-
tic peroration, and ended the concert on a high note (an F;
to be specific).
In Saturday night's concert Feltsman revealed his
promise as a conductor, demonstrated his excellence as a
pianist and, not least, highlighted the considerable talents
of the Ann Arbor Symphony.
The LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ
ORCHESTRA will play at Hill
Auditorium on Tuesday at 8 p.m.
Tickets range from $25 to $12, with
student rush tickets available the
day of the performance. Call 763- " "
TKTS for more information.
7
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