Three open mic nights give students the opportunity to
perform. The Ark's monthly open mic begins at 8 p.m. with
admission set at $2 for students. At Gypsy Cafe's "Wide Open
Mic," anything is welcome, including poems, songs and readings.
The Tap Room's "Open Mic Acoustic and Electric" is hosted by
the Martindales, and begins at 9:30 p.m.
V
Weekend, etc. Magazine returns with a look at the rich
history of the Blind Pig.
Wednesday
February 17, 1999
5
Artscapade celebrates community o ' artists
By Julie Munjack
For the Daily
Back by popular demand,
Artscapade in Winter has returned,
but not merely for first-year students.
Entering its third year, Artscapade
*roduces incoming students to the
cultural richness of the University.
But as a result of its overwhelming
success, the Museum of Art teamed
up with the University's arts coordi-
Artscapade accommodates many
degrees of artistic interest.
A wide range of activities is sched-
uled for tomorrow night. Participants
may challenge themselves in Arts
Jeopardy and Arts Memory or make a
mask for Mardi-Gras. If anyone is
artistically inclined, he or she can
make a mural. For those who have
always wanted to be the center of
attention, picture can be taken inside
a work of art.
There will be performances by 58
Greene (a local a cappella group) Al
Hill (a renowned Ann Arbor jazz key-
boardist) and David Zinn (a dramatic
reader). While listening to the voices
and instruments of these artists, one
may relax at the "Apse Cafe" and
enjoy free refreshments.
In addition to the museum's regular
exhibits, there will be exciting new
galleries to view and to learn about
during Artscapade. The haunting and
Artscapade
in Winter
Museum of Art
Tomorrow at 7 p.m.
nator to make the
same experience
available for the
entire student
body.
Artscapade
attracted more
than 2,000 stu-
dents last year
for a night of art-
related games,
music, comedy,
faux-tours, a
video festival
and live drum-
ming on the
lawn. It is a per-
powerful photography of Bill
Jacobson's "Portraits, Songs,
Thoughts, 1992-1997" will be on dis-
play throughout the festivities.
For a new perspective on life, one
may view the photographs of Hana
Hamplova in "The Recycled Word,
1979-1987." Her work features
images of paper from a worker's view
at a Prague recycling station. Relating
to the exhibit, David Zinn will per-
form a dramatic reading from a Czech
short story that inspired Hamplova's
work.
The unique style and talent of
"Magdalena Abakanowicz and the
Headless Crowd" may provide an aes-
thetic experience worth remembering.
For those curious about what goes
on behind the scenes in a museum,
they may take a Tour from the Crypt:
the Art Off-View, which provides stu-
dents with a rare glimpse into the
storage rooms of the museum. With
more than 13,000 works unavailable
to the public, this tour is a unique and
incredible insight into the art world.
"The purpose of Artscapade in
Winter is to elevate students' experi-
ence for the arts. Its goal is to answer
the call for all students," said
University Arts Coordinator Mary
Craig.
courtesy of Artscapode
Musuem of Art Director James Stewart (right) speaks to students.
4t opportunity to take a study break,
spend time with friends and to dis-
cover the world of art.
Whether one enjoys music, photog-
raphy or just relaxing at a cafe,
What better way to spend a
Thursday evening than at the Museum
of Art for a multi-faceted night of fun,
growth and learning. Students who
complete activities receive tickets that
can be turned in at the prize table for
a chance to win concert tickets, art
books, film passes, CDs and posters.
Courty a t Artcpde
Students host a round of Arts Jeopardy at this past fall's Artscapade.
Balancing the black and white of social justice
New show questions alien life
"Work of the eyes is done, now
'o and do heart-work."
-Rainer Maria Wilke
I went to see the movie "Dead Man
Walking" when I was a senior in high
school, on a first date with a guy
from a neighboring school. I didn't
know anything about the movie when
I chose to see it, but I admired Tim
Robbins, who directed the film, and
heard that it received good reviews.
It seemed like a movie that would
ve me a topic of conversation with
eone I did-
n't know very x
well.
I guess the
death penalty
isn't really a
good first-date
topic. I have to.
give my date
credit - he
bd the film
t Gas "very
intense" and Jessica
attempted to
sound intellec- Eaton
tual and appre-
ciate the sym- State of
bolism - but the Arts
he didn't really
understand the point of the movie.
The government can execute crimi-
nals? Some criminals don't get com-
ete legal defense? Wow, that's too
Td. So, do you want to go get cof-
fee?
I, on the other hand, quickly
became obsessed with the way the
sensitive, controversial topic was
presented in the movie. I can honest-
ly say that it was the first time a film
changed my life.
The phrase, "dead man walking,"
is the guards' warning of a con-
Omned prisoner on the tier being
moved to the site of his execution. In
1982, Sister Helen Prejean (portrayed
by Susan Sarandon) became a pen pal
to Louisiana death-row inmate Elmo
Patrick Sonnier (in the film, Sean
Penn plays a fictional inmate with
traits of both Sonnier and Robert Lee
Willie, another death-row inmate also
* Join Daily
Arts.
763-0379
There's a whole world
out there!
Explore It with Contikl-
The #1 tour for 18.35 veer olds
advised by Prejean.) Sonnier and his
brother, Eddie, were convicted of
brutally murdering a high school
couple and raping the girl. As the
older brother, Patrick Sonnier was
held more responsible by the courts
and received capital punishment,
while Eddie was sentenced to life in
prison.
Prejean befriended Sonnier, and
while officially acting in the position
of his "spiritual adviser," tried to help
obtain legal aid for him and learned
about the limited rights of prisoners,
especially those unable to afford ade-
quate legal counsel. (Nearly all of the
prisoners on death row are indigent,
cited Prejean in her written account.
In addition, she stated, most executed
prisoners are black Americans who
have murdered Caucasians.) Her
experience with Sonnier, who was
executed in the electric chair in early
1984, and her work with the criminal
justice system led her into years of
activism fighting the death penalty
- be it hanging, electrocution or
lethal injection - as a form of pun-
ishment.
But Prejean was not one-sided in
her compassion and recognition of
the need for help. After working with
prisoners' rights for several years,
Prejean also founded programs in
Louisiana to aid victims' relatives
and to inform them of their rights in
the judicial system.
After seeing the film "Dead Man
Walking," I quickly purchased a
copy (now well-worn and dog-eared)
of the book that inspired the film,
Prejean's written account of her rela-
tionships with death-row inmates
and her beliefs about capital punish-
ment.
Prejean is not naive about the peo-
ple she has dealt with in her work -
she recognizes that as a free, kind-
hearted woman with legal and politi-
cal resources, there are many motiva-
tions for prisoners to take advantage
of her.
But she also recognizes the occa-
sional corruption in the judicial sys-
tem, the often-politically-motivated
government approval of a prisoner's
death, and the way responsibility for
the execution is displaced by
employees who just want to do their
job.
In an ideal world, it would not be
necessary to resolve these opposing
sides of prisoner and society, of bad
and good. In her writing, Prejean
recognizes that the truth is not
always black and white, and strug-
gles to sort through the gray areas.
The film depends on strong visual
imagery to make its statement, and
Penn portrays an unrepentant, self-
proclaimed "victim of the political
system" sacrificed to a bloodthirsty
society. Prejean's written account,
however, is powerful because it
avoids such abstract images and con-
centrates on the facts of capital pun-
ishment - on how biased the judi-
cial system can unintentionally be
and on how fatal mistakes are some-
times made.
I don't admire Prejean solely
because of her stance against capital
punishment. I admire her compassion,
and the way she has attempted to bal-
ance the sides of justice - the right of
a victim's family and of society, seek-
ing vengeance for a violent crime, with
the right of an individual to live. I
admire her energy, and the strength it
must have taken to record her work to
share with a critical public. In my
mind, she embodies what social
activism should be. She works for jus-
tice for all people, without becoming
self-righteous or taking sides.
To Sister Helen Prejean: Thank
you. Without ever knowing it, you
have become one of the most impor-
tant role models in my life.
And to that date back in high
school, all those years ago: I'm sorry
things didn't work out, Nic. It wasn't
you, it was me.
Prejean will be speaking at
Rackham Auditorium on Monday,
Feb. 22 at 3 p.m. See next week's
Daily for an interview with Prejean
and a review of her lecture.
-Jessica can be reached via e-mail
at jeaton@ umich.edu.
By Anika Kohon
For the Daily
Numerous people claim they have experienced alien
probes in virtually every orifice and appendage of their bod-
ies. One man claims he was forced to have intercourse with
an alien being. No, this is isn't "South Park," Cartman isn't
farting fire and it isn't the alien zoo
from "Slaughter-house Five either."'
"Communion" author Whitley
Confirmation: Strieber, who claims to have been
The Hd abucted by aliens, sheds new light on
Evidence of the subject with "Confirmation: The
Aliens Among Hard Evidence of Aliens Among Us?,"
Us based upon the book of the same name.
NBC Opening with an unoriginal high
Tonight at 8 angle shot and a camera dollying down
to reveal a host in a black trench coat,
you know you're watching an NBC
production. Either the special pays
homage to "Unsolved Mysteries" with
the opening or blatantly rips it off alto-
gether. Either way, it establishes that the
subject matter will be other-worldly
Robert Davi ("Profiler") makes an appropriate narrator for
the program. His narrative segments heighten the hyped-up
atmosphere of the program as he walks through a dark forest
shrouded in fog while he speaks.
Davi takes us to Mexico on our first investigative endeavor,
where we meet Jaime Maussan, the host of "Third Millenium,"
a show about UFO activity in Mexico. Maussan describes a
video he received anonymously, shot Aug. 6, 1997, which
reveals a large flying object. Maussan argues for its validity,
while author and UFO skeptic, Phillip Klass, refutes it. Denrn
Muren explains how they could have faked it.
Muren, senior visual effects supervisor at Industrial Light
and Magic whose eight Academy Awards for work on such
films as "Star Wars" and "Jurassic Park," explains it would be
easy for any neophyte with a simple computer-aided system to
create the effect. Essentially, this is a microcosm for the entire
show -someone claims he or she witnessed, experienced, or
observed conclusive evidence of UFO's or alien beings while
someone else goes to great lengths to contradict them.
Although the first two segments are dry, it gets wilder from
there. "Eyewitness" experiences range from seeing bright
lights in bed to repeated abduction and forced intercourse
with alien beings. Two different people liken the probe expe-
rience to a sense of violation or rape, and all of them shriek
horribly while they are under hypnosis.
After footage of an unidentified object being removed out
of a man's shin, he says, "I had this experience of emptiness
sort of like a feeling like a pet had died, a sense of something
missing." Maybe the iron alloy removed from his shin.
Despite the extraordinary material "Confirmation" con-
veys in an exaggerated manner, it is not entirely terrible. There
are many learned individuals on both sides who argue their
cases in a reasonable intelligent manner, giving both sides of
the story. It's not as bad as an anal probe but not as good as
sex with E.T., either.
I -
-"
The diploma you
can- wear.
a4
I BOB fftw..r.