8A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, November 6, 2000

-ARTS

Performance artist
Stelare transcends
his 'obsolete body'

Rancid plays a show
worthy of their name

4

By Elizabeth Lee
For the Daily
Virginia Woolf once said that "I"
is only "a convenient term for some-
body who has no real being." For
Australian per-
formance artist
Stelarc, think
Virginia Woolf,
StelarC only male,
Rackham tech no-savvy,
Auditorium and completely
twisted.
Nov. 2, 2000 Encompass-
ing Ercudian
and Cartesian
philosophies in
addition to
W o o l f' s
premise in his
artwork, Stelarc
pushes the limits of the physical and
psychological parameters of the
human body. At Thursday's illumi-
nating presentation titled "Zombies
and Cyborgs: Absent, Involuntary,
and Automated Bodies," the artist
explored the effects of science and
engineering on art, specifically the

masterpiece that is the human form.
Referring to himself as "this
Body" throughout the evening, Ste-
larc walked the audience through a
barrage of documented footage on
his past performances and graphi-
cally designed layouts of his future
endeavors projected onto a big
screen. All of his projects explored
the possibility of an "obsolete" or
"absent" body where prosthetics are
used as a matter for "augmenting the
body for the purpose of excess, and
not because of a lack."
In layman's terms, his goal is to
have his body become a plaything
for whatever technological whim he
might think up. His experiments
included a six-legged machine
whose movements were controlled
by computerized impulses sent by
the movements in his fingers, a
hydraulic third arm on the right side,
which moved in the same manner of
and was controlled by the muscular
impulses in the opposing arm.
Perhaps the most notable of the
artist's endeavors was his brainchild
of constructing an extra ear. This
appendage, which is still in the

Stelarc in action with some of his prosthetic machinery.

process of research and funding, will
be made out of the artist's own skin
and cartilage, and attached to the
right side of his face, situated just in
front of his other ear. The added ear,
of course, would not be able to heat;
but will instead have the ability to
speak to the other ears and project
sounds off the internet, like Real
Audio, into them as well.
Four audience members were also
chosen in the evening's presentation
to experience what Stelare called, "A
Split Physicality" where one of their
arms were tapped with electrodes
that constricted and extended their
muscles in response to a certain
amount of volts sent by the artist. He

explained the notion of the involun-
tary movements that the audience
members experiences as the "intru-
sion of a technological agent" where
the person's body becomes a host for
technology.
All things considered, Stelarc's
performance for the evening present-
ed a mind-boggling and titillating
culmination of Science, Art and
Engineering as well as a keen com-
mentary on what exactly the "whole
idea of the self is and can how we
construct it," as Plymouth-Canton
high school teacher, Brian Read said.
Furtheir oifortation on the ork of
.Stelrc can beJonidti cat
www.ste/rc.la.cot.au

By David Enders
Daily Ants Wniter
PONTIAC - Friday's Rancid show
was like going to the best deli in town
and only ordering half a sandwich. It
was good, but not filling. Rancid
showed glimpses of what makes them
a great punk
band, but their
set was far too
short.
Rancid Rancid repre-
Clutch Cargo's sents the resur-
gence of punk
Nov. 3 2000 over the last
decade - the
four man Bay
A rea-based
group grew out
of underground
ska sensation
Operation Ivy
(defunct since
1989) and is the essentially' the older
brother of more mainstream groups
like the Offspring and Green Day.
Their 1995 release ...uel Out Come
the Wolves, renewed interest in ska-
punk fusion with the song "Time
Bomb and helped pave the way for a
variety bands.
Friday, Rancid showcased their abil-
ity to play gritty, hard punk, the kind
that appeals to the leather clad, spiky-
haired genre aficionados that showed
tip to create a mosh-pit that would
make Blink 182 fans wet their pants
on sight. Rancid is a punk band. The
real deal.
The monkey on the band's back has
always been the accusations of a seri-

ous "We wanna be the Clash" com-
plex, but Friday's show was untmistak-
ably Rancid. The hard punk was
broken only by samples of the fusion
of hard punk, reggae, ska and the
bouncing bass lines the band meshes
so well.
The band sampled songs evenly
from their entire five-CD catalogue,
from their original self-titled CD
released in 1991 to their most recent
self-titled CD released this summer.
The problem with the show is that
Rancid only played for an hour -
shortly after singer/guitarist Tim Arrn-
strong asked the crowd "What do you ,
want to hear? We can play all night!'
the band left, prompting many fans to
wonder what they had paid for.
Granted, the band played a high-
energy, 24-song set - including a one-
song encore - but it was not enough
from the pre-eminent band in punk
rock. Just when everyone seemed to be
getting into the show, it ended. The
crowd was willing to forgive screw-ups
on new material in exchange for the ,
anthemic songs the band is known for,
but the short set hardly left them time
to hoist a crowd surfer
Highlights of the show were
"Detroit" off their first CD - "I got a
good feeling in a bad city tonight,"
(further proof that bands love playing
in D-town but are still afraid of the
city.) Guitarist/singer Lars Frederik-
sen's solo rendition of "War's End,"
was solid, along with anything else the
band played from their first three
releases, including the opener,
"Nihilism," and harder, less heard
songs such as "Rejected.

S uperfans rejoice: D a sports-buffs e sow

By Jeff Dickerson
Daily Arts Sriter
"Your 2-Minute Drill Begins Now."
From the creators of "Who Wants To Be A
Millionaire" and "Win Ben Stein's Money"
comes a new game show for
the true sports enthusiast.
ESPN's inaugural game
2-Minute show first aired on Septem-
ber I1 and has enjoyed suc-
cess from the start.
Grade: A- "2-Minute Drill," hosted by
ESPN ESPN's own Kenny Mayne,
Mondays and takes thee contestants and
Thursdays at 7 p.m. puts them in the hot seat for
a barrage of sports questions
ranging from the WNBA to
Sugar Ray Leonard.
The show features four
special sports guests who
bring with them a specialty
category to quc'stion the participants. Each con-
testant begins by sitting in the vibrantly lit chair

who reaches the final round is asked a question
relating to their chosen topic. Keep in mind these
are not standard questions. The level of detail
involved in the final question requires an unpar-
alleled knowledge of the category.
For example, "In the 1982 World Series, in
game 7, after the top of the 7th inning, Cardinals
pitcher (sounded out) wah-KEEN AND-o-har
was ushered off the field, screaming at 'the Brew-
er who just grounded out. Who was the batter?
What was the food product the batter called the
pitcher that started the shouting match? How do
you spell the pitcher's name?"
Although it has only been on the air for a
month, many fans of the show are declaring it as
the best sports game show on television.
LSA sophomore Kenny Chung said, "I think
it's great, Kenny Mayne does a great job hosting
the show."
Others give praise to the contestants for their
outstanding sports intellect. "Some of these guys
they put on the show are incredible. I thought I
knew a lot about sports, but these guys are amaz-
ing," said LSA junior Phillip Jefferies.

and faces 20 questions in a two-minute period.
One point is awarded per correct answer and
those who sweep a category receive an extra
point. The two contestants with the most points
following the first round move on.
Contestants are asked to choose an area of
expertise before the game starts. The contestant

Rancid's okay, but Operation Ivy was way better. Come on, everybody knows that.


Stephen
for
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www.stephenrapundalo.com
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