w *1' 0 8B - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, December 2, 2004 The Michigan D New coffee cart sets up shop Protest Art encourages art for people's sake By Puja Kumar Daily Arts Writer In the 19th century, progressive artists used the French phrase, "'art pour l'art," or, "art for art's sake," to describe a style that revered the aesthetic quality of art and resisted a prevailing idea that art should be profound. A couple centuries later, some University students and area artists are rejecting the purely stylistic stance and bourgeois snootiness with protest art. Two Residential College courses, as well as Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Detroit groups and individuals have been working cooperatively to put together a night of visual art, poetry and music that rallies behind a new slogan - art for people's sake. A free show at 8 p.m. Saturday in the Michigan League Underground will feature area artists com- mitted to nonviolence and creative expression. Antic- ipating an evening of awareness and dialoguing, RC junior Negin Salmasi, who is involved with the exhibition, hopes the show will make people realize that art can be a nonviolent tool for social activism, and that it will spur talk about issues presented at the show. The class Protest Art began in October as a study of the Black Arts movement with RC professor Helen Fox and soon evolved into an independent study course centered on community-based art. Fox asked the students to examine an issue associated with nonviolence movements and share it with the com- munity. The students discussed modern art trends, such as grafitti, murals and sticker art, and the way in which getting involved with these types of art move- ments becomes a protest in itself. Their studies were intended to find a way to bridge the gap between art and politics. The show, which is a culmination of the group's course work for the entire semester, focuses on a theme of nonviolence. The works are meant to make social issues more accessible to the public through art and evoke a reaction from audience members that might produce further dialogue. School of Art stu- dents as well as Protest Art students have contributed pieces to the show. For example, one artist showcases an unfinished artwork that will develop throughout the night as audience members are invited to add to the work. Ann Arbor hip-hop group Athletic Mic League, Detroit's DJ Finale and local alt-rock group Lobby Music will provide the musical entertainment at the show. Besides music, there will be a performance artist and readings by local poets, members of Ann Arbor poetry group Wordworks, and some U-Club poetry slam participants. Throughout the evening visual art will be displayed around the Underground. E-mails, flyers and word of mouth were part of a massive networking effort to mobilize people. "We basically talked to everyone we knew and they talked to people," Salmasi explains. "We were contacting friends of friends of friends of friends and trying to get the widest base possible." Getting that base included looking beyond the University community. The University organizes many events to raise social awareness, but many of them are catered strictly to students. Besides featur- ing artists from other cities and schools - including Eastern Michigan University's cathARTic revolution collective - the show is all ages. "We're trying to get high schoolers to come; we're trying to get older community members to come," Salmasi says. "Just to have that dialogue - there's so much that younger people can bring and older people can bring." RC junior Caitlin Brown, who is part of the Protest Art independent study, agrees the bridging of com- munities is an important point of the evening. Besides the goal of exposing art as a tool for social activism, Brown sees the show as being a venue where people can come together. "Expressing social justice is a part, but another big part is the community of it - having everyone come together for this night." Fox recognizes the hard work of her students and predicts a successful show. "The intense student inter- est in creative protest, nonviolence, and social justice is inspiring to me, and I think to many of the older generation of activists on campus. My students have By Shubra Ohri Daily Arts Writer A warm voice greets the customer from a place where twinkling lights warm up a space filled with hot choco- late, muffins, cookies, and a variety of coffees. A friendly greeting will most definitely accompany any purchase. Surprisingly, this cozy, homey scene can be found outside in the cold, on the corner of State Street and South Uni- versity Avenue at a little white cart that goes by the name of Cool Beans. Cool Beans is a refreshing addition to the University campus. Students can find some of the best quality coffees on campus as well as a friendly face. Owner Dina Heller can be found inside her van almost everyday. A former children's book-buyer for Borders, Heller decided to go into the coffee business because "if I could do anything ... I would open a coffee shop." So practically out of impulse, she decided to do so. However, instead of a shop, she chose to open a cart. Coffee carts are popular in Seattle and Portland, Oregon, Heller said, and so she decided to bring the phenomenon here. She went through the necessary process, which includes buying a cart, choosing a roaster and getting permits from the city and the health depart- ment. On Oct. 25, Cool Beans opened for business. The cart serves a wide assortment of hot drinks and will serve smooth- ies when it gets warmer. There is a stark difference between coffee from Starbucks and from Cool Beans. That is because Heller gets her beans from Zoka, a leading Seattle-based coffee roaster. While the more acidic darker roasts are more likely to be found at other coffee shops around campus, Cool Beans uses carefully roasted beans for a more refined espresso. The result is a naturally sweet and low-acid coffee, and an espresso drink that is robust and fla- vorful. Thirsty patrons can choose from cappuccinos, mochas, lattes or a very good plain cup of coffee. For those who are not coffee aficionados, Cool Beans also offers sweet ciders, delightful hot chocolates, or even a can of soda. Regardless of whether or not costum- ers like all the products offered at Cool Beans, there is one overwhelming qual- ity that is attractive to almost everyone; its site. Located across from the Michi- gan Union and in front of Angell Hall, students can pick up something on-the- go between classes, when time is lim- ited. While hot dog stands benefit from students' desire for a quick lunch, Cool Beans benefits from sleep-deprived stu- dents who need a caffeine boost before sitting through an hourlong lecture. And on a college campus, sleep depri- vation can be much more prevalent than hunger. A warm cup of coffee is often also a welcome substitute to an ice-cold soda in the wintertime. The coffee cart should prove to be very convenient to students. Heller has found customers more welcoming that she was expecting. She wasn't sure what the reaction would be, but luckily she didn't have to worry for too long. "Everyone's nice and supportive," she explains. And she has plenty of reason to think so. Since she opened, students have appreciated the reasonably priced drinks as the cold weather approaches. And while they might find themselves waiting a while for their drinks, the wait is well worth the quality and the friendly conversation accompanied with it. '> <';' I SHUBRA OHRI/Daily Residential College students prepare for their collective art show, Protest Art, this weekend. put together a wonderful show that will bring people together across communities and issues as well as helping us all relax after a hectic and emotional se- mester." Though the exhibition ends at midnight, the live music - and awareness - will carry on at Jones Co-op, where New Jersey organization HEP/CAT - homeless empowerment project community action team - is throwing an afterparty that will mix East Coast artists including Random Test and Verbalz with local acts like NowOn and Iggy Ignotius. Entry is five dollars, or three with clothing or a can of food; all money and items will benefit Ann Arbor's Delonis Homeless Shelter. Tabitha Knofski serves up coffee at Cool Beans. Boots liven up winter footweai THINK YOU'RE WITTY ENOUGH TO HOLD YOUR OWN IN A WEEKEND COLUMN? THEN, SEND US YOUR SAMPLES I E-MAIL TWO 800-WORD SAMPLES TO WEEKEND2KS@LmicH. EDU AND APPLY TODAY. WE DARE YOU. Rising up from the Basement By Eric Gale For the Daily Student theatre, it seems, will always reside in relative obscurity. But take a look at the relentless assault of mediocre TV shows and movies - all aimed to appeal to the widest possible audience - and maybe obscurity ain't so bad. Base- ment Arts is a student-run theatre company that performs out of the Arena Theater (Michigan's only black-box theatre) deep in the bowels of the Frieze Building. Basement Arts's no-budget sta- tus keeps the company independent, ensuring an unpressured creative environment for the development and realization of some truly great the- atre (it also keeps tickets attractively free). As with any local creative endeav- or, Basement shows can be fairly hit and miss, but from the looks of it, the Basement has a serious hit on its hands this weekend. "The House of the Blue Leaves" by John Guare, is viewed by many critics as one of the best contemporary comedies of the past 30 years. It is the story of Artie Shaunessy (the hilarious Rob Hess), a struggling young songwriter who has grown too old for the title. He has the soul of an artist but none of his talents, and so lives in a deluded world where dreams of fame and the phantoms of celebrities are more real to him than the truth. Bananas (Katie Johnston) and Bunny (Rebecca Schwartzstein) are the women in his life and partici- pate willingly in his deluded fantasy. The playwright, Guare, writes of "the ridiculous and humorous and des- perate way in which we pursue our dreams and goals and ultimately how those dreams humiliate us." This may all seem like heavy stuff, but tragedy makes for the best come- dy and the cast has mixed the suffer- ing with the sublime in expert style. Today, 7 p.m. Tomorrow, 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. Saturday, 7 p.m. The Arena Theater Frieze Building Corner of State Street and Huron By Jennie Adler Daily Arts Writer Now that winter is just around the corner, it's time to dig the boots out of the closet. Boots on campus are cru- cial, and many students own a pair or two to fight against Michigan's cold winter weather. That does not mean everyone has to wear the same ones. Often, cam- pus is a breeding ground for worn-out and over-copied styles. But this year, there are some popular alternatives to Uggs, last year's foootwear craze. Coming back with a vengeance are cowboy boots, tall suede boots, pat- terned galoshes (for rainy weather only) and possibly even moonboots. The ever-so-popular Uggs-with- the-mini-skirt look has formed a chokehold on the University's female students - at least those with big enough pocketbooks. The prices for this lavish footwear range from $80 to $160, but it has been successful because it offers tremendous warmth and comfort. The staff at Footprints on South University Avenue agreed that the most popular boots-this-winter were This fur-lined footwear is a lit extreme. Michigan weather is ba but enough to skin two dogs? The tall suede-styled boots w buckles running up the side see like a safe enough choice to inv in, but they may elicit comparisc to the footwear worn in "Star War Another option, the pointed toe va ety, could be called "'80s burno boots." With "Napoleon Dynamite" wi ning over young audiences ever where, many have tried to mimic embrace the dorky get-up of Nap leon - moonboots and all. Popu for kids - puffy and warm with laces - moonboots first hit stree after Neil Armstrong's historic wa Decades later, the curious-looki apparel just might make a comebac No matter what the footwe choice may be, the emphasis shot be on practicality and comfort. good pair of boots can be expensiv but their value in winter can not measured. There's no reason w anybody should be forced to trud through the streets of Ann Ari with cold, wet feet all for the sake being stylish. - - } ...........-. Streetsmartchic.com Girls and Guys Top Name Brand Clothing and Accessories at "Unbeatable Prices" t ~ 4 . 77ee -'a~kin 7r69-~5727, zxZa~Swadusar /t-Th 1:30- 7 i t Sata1:3c-11, Sun 12-10 1 Gar/ast a(-S-oi Gazi at Onty Uggs boots are displayed at Footprints on South University Avenue. Uggs, or Ugg look-a-likes. But, now not as an accessory to a mini-skirt to that their popularity has exploded, warm your ankles when it's leg-bar- you can pick up a somewhat compa- ing weather. rable pair at Target or Payless Shoe It seems no boot can escape judg- Source. Still, wearers should remem- ment. Another phenomenon, more ber that Uggs are practical as boots, sickening to see, are the. furr-y boots, .