100 - The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition - September 8, 1998 A2 Film Festival offers choices By Gerard Cohen-srtgnaud saily Arts riter Does' the thought of seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger, spouting one-liners in yet another overhyped, poorly acted and bewilderingly inane movie make you sick to your stomach? If so, you might find solace in the offerings of the Ann Atbor Film Festival, which features a refreshing and eclectic mix of experimental films, documentaries, and animated shorts. as The festival showcases the efforts of talented filmmakers from across the United States and around the world. For many directors, the festival has been a springboard to recog- nition and financial backing. Director Arthur Dong, whose documentary "License to Kill" was shown at the 36th annual festival, acknowledged the importance of the festival. "They showed my very first film" Dong said. "As a young filmmaker, it was important to receive exposure. To know that people were watching my film was very encourag- ing." The festival, Dong said, has stayed faithful to the focus it held when he showed his earliest work. "Ann Arbor accepted works of all kinds, especially exper- imental films" Dong said. "I've always followed the growth of the Ann Arbor Film Festival. The spirit of the festival is intact, as far as focusing on the art of film." ay That attention to art is what many say distinguishes the Ann Arbor Film Festival from more commercial festivals such as Sundance. "We're about experimental film," said Vicki Honeyman, who directed the last festival. "We're not about distributors, contracts or Hollywood We're about the film and the art." sew In the past, the festival has shown the works of many up- and-comers, including George Lucas, Brian DePalma, Andy Warhol, Yoko Ono, and Gus Van Sant, director of the Oscar- nominated "Good Will Hunting." The festival attracts many participants because it is known internationally as a showcase for innovative films. "The festival is really geared to 16 mm filmmakers Honeyman said. "Many filmmakers enter here before any- where else. It's very prestigious to be included:' One major goal of the festival, Honeyman said, is to reward the hard work of aspiring filmmakers. An awards jury will decide which films receive the $12,000 available in prize money. FILE PH Teeming with interesting and imaginative works, the Ann Body piercing has become a popular form of expression In recent years. During the Fail semester many first-year Arbor Film Festival is the perfect place for those tired of the students use their new found freedom to add extra holes to their ears, noses, torsos or other appendages. standard Holly wood fare. Nwscul1.1pture0As from four artissadd varinety to Matthaei Botamc al Gardens ..-0- . w I 0i UAw. W, W . Mo m 0 IDM W m Pool tables * r ieTs a * Mltile V'sGO By Amit Pandya Daily Staff Reporter Attempting to capture attention from Ann Arbor residents and add another dimension to its gardens, the Matthaei Botanical Gardens is displaying sculp- tures by artists from the Great Lakes region. "With the sculptures, we look for- ward to bringing a new audience from the community," said David Michener, an assistant curator of the Matthaei Botanical Gardens. The sculptures "will also give visitors another way to enjoy and take advantage of the gardens," Michener said. The project is a collaborative effort with the Gardens, the University Museum of Art and the University Planner's Office, along with the Great Lakes sculpture community. The attain- -ment and installation of art have been in the works since last fall. Four artists have each donated a sculpture, which have been deemed appropriate for placement in the natural setting of the Gardens. The relevance of each sculpture to its immediate surroundings may not be obvious to the observer, but when con- sidered in a broader context, such as the entire Great Lakes region, the relevance of the sculpture stands clear, Michener said. Tom Phardel, creator of "Arc" a sculpture that has found a temporary home in the Matthaei Wetland, assem- bled his piece with portions directly relating to his environment. "The welded steel (in my sculpture) is a direct response to my environment, industrial Detroit," Phardel said. "The stone comes from Grindstone City - once a boomtown when stone was 'king' making industrial grinding wheels." Phardel believes his audience will see how his artwork naturally compliments its immediate surroundings when they consider the entire Great Lakes region. Another piece, located at the trail entrance, has a direct visual correlation with nature. Jim Melberg, the artist of "Forest Murmurs, Two Figures," used cast alu- minum to "reflect light, colors and shades of the immediate environment." "There is a shimmering effect similar to reflected light on the rippling surface of water or light filtering through the forest canopy of leaves," Melberg said. "Arc,""Forest Murmurs" and most of the other sculptures, will not be perma- nent fixtures at the Botanical Gardens. But Michener said he hopes the project will be "an ever-changing sweep of sculptures and objects." The sculptures are part of a loan pro- gram, in which contemporary artists from the Great Lakes region will be able to submit their work for eventual display at the Gardens. A single piece of art has a permanent place at the Gardens. Michener said the Jane Larue Sundial is a memorial to a longtime staff member of the Gardens. But the Gardens has an admirable ulterior motive in the placement of the sundial. "The sundial represents a time in which people had greater link to nature, when they could tell time by simply looking at shadows made by the sun." Michener said. "Hopefully, regular vis- itors to the Gardens will be able to, in a way, recalibrate themselves to nature." Michener said there are many in opposition to the placement of such pieces in the gardens, since the artwork was not a part of the "original" environ- ment. "If it is a matter of the idea of only plants occurring naturally, many of the Gardens' plants are from Europe and not the Great Lakes region," Michener said. "However, the sculptures, like the new plants are simply bringing another facet of nature to the surface." The Matthaei Botanical Gardens are open everyday, from 8 a.m. to sunset. 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