The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
4B - Thursday, October 4, 2007
M-FLICKS
From page 1B
an American team investigating
murder. Louder clapping after a
brutal gunshot ends a terrorist's
life. The exalted cheers were as
relentless as the violence. It was
shocking and disgusting.
Later, characters played by
Jennifer Garner and Jason Bate-
man duke it out with an enormous
Saudi. Fierce violence abounds.
Garner ends the brawl by stab-
bing a knife into the behemoth's
head. A cheer yet tobe paralleled
echoed through Natural Science
Auditorium A, garnished with
applause and one particularly
simian grunt of "Yeah!"
The audience's voracity for
violence and gore was astonish-
ing, and it brings out the most dis-
turbing in M-Flicks crowds, who
continually engage in a participa-
tory celebration of brutality. This
not only makes it impossible to
watch the movie at hand - even
one like "Children of Men," whose
violence is in service of power-
ful allegory - but it hints at an
alarming impulse to find release,
even thrill in extreme violence.
Why did this devolution occur?
"Children of Men" and "The
Kingdom" are very different
movies, but they share violence
as a window into greater social
tensions, and it seems the audi-
ence is unaware of the emotional
ramifications they are intended
to carry. This primitiveness of
University-centric M-Flicks audi-
ences is especially upsetting. It's
not as if we are isolated from this
base and vulgar bloodlust. These
are our peers who are cheering at
the gushingofblood and clapping
at death.
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Engineering freshman Brian Surguine sketches University alum Ray Schnueringer at Alice Lloyd Residence Hall.
Rediscovering the human form
DJ
From page 1B
instrumental and a capella ver-
sions of the fast-paced "Da Mys-
tery of Chessboxin'."
With the instrumental for
"Scenario" playing on one turn-
table, grab the kick, or "one"
beat, of the "Chessboxin' "
instrumental and release it on
the "one" of "Scenario." After
some trial and error, you'll real-
ize "Chessboxin' " is faster than
"Scenario."
Using the turntable's pitch
adjustment, decrease the speed
of"Chessboxin'"until it plays at
the same tempo as "Scenario."
If this process proves too con-
fusing, try it with doubles of the
same record.
Scratching
The aptly titled "baby scratch"
is the first scratch technique that
a DJ should learn. It consists
of isolating a specific sound on
a record (pick up the infamous
Super Duck Breaks battle record
for a wide selection of scratch-
able sounds) and moving it back
and forth against the needle.
While it sounds simple at first,
the trick to executing it well is
not to put too much pressure on
the record. Once your fingers
develop a sensitive touch, you'll
be able to increase your hand
speed and manipulate the vinyl
with greater ease.
The world is yours
The key to becoming a suc-
cessful DJ is to practice every
day, preferably for hours at a
time. A common thread in inter-
views with accomplished DJs is
the allusionto marathon practice
sessions during their formative
years. As with other instru-
ments, the turntables and mixer
require a relentless dedication
and a honing of one's craft.
Once you feel confident
you've mastered the fundamen-
tals of DJing, there are countless
ways to showcase your skills.
Whether it's spinning at a club,
hosting a radio show or making
your own mixtapes, DJing is the
ideal vehicle for you to commu-
nicate your musical vision to a
far-reaching audience.
By KIRA ROSE
For the Daily
Walking into the art studio on the
groundfloor ofAliceLloydResidence
Hall is both exciting and daunting.
Dried paint that
once dripped from
paintbrushes coats Open Figure
the counters and Drawing
floors. Handprints, Workshop
sketches and sig- o o
natures overpower Tuesdays and
the walls. The sink Thursdays
area is an art proj- at 8 p.m.
ect in itself. The At the Alice
atmosphere, com- Lloyd Art Studio,
plemented by the ground floor
sounds of Buena
Vista Social Club,
is a welcoming one.
Yet the Open Figure Drawing
Workshop taught by Mark Tucker,
the "Arts on the Hill" program coor-
dinator and Lloyd Hall Scholars
Program lecturer, isn't for the eas-
ily discomfited. Confirmed by the
occasional giggling of passersby, not
everyone is prepared for what they
witness. Those that attend the work-
shops do not draw still lifes - they
draw nude models.
Arts on the Hill, the workshop's
sponsor, began seven years ago
as a housing initiative spurred by
the need to create extra-curricu-
lar activities. Tucker's Open Fig-
ure Drawing Workshop has existed
since the program began and takes
place from 8 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays and
Thursdays. Anyone is welcome to
grab some complimentary charcoal
and a sketchpad. Although the work-
shops are free and open to the public,
the majority of its participants are
college students.
For the eager beginner, the first
class may be somewhat of a culture
shock.
"It's not like a nudist colony,"
Tucker said. "It is interesting how
in our society, we are exposed to so
much partial nudity that we don't
see it anymore."
For some, observing a live model
rather than mundane objects enables
a heightened emotional connection
to their work. The setup allows for a
conceptualizationofthe humanbody
divergent from the media's desensi-
tizing images. For Tucker, the pres-
ence of nude models also encourages
dynamic instruction.
The involvement of the model,
University alum Ray Schnueringer,,
spans eight years, beginning when
a friend requested that he model for
a course at Eastern Michigan Uni-
versity. Though he found the ordeal
unnerving at first, Schnueringer has
since modeled for figure drawing
and sculpture courses through the
University, Eastern and the Steiner
School. During the hour-long ses-
sions at Alice Lloyd, Schnueringer
rotates between standing, sitting
and reclining poses every five to
seven minutes.
Although Tucker's workshop has
previously employed other models,
Schnueringer's consistent presence
demonstrates his passion for being
a small part of the students' creative
ventures. Having worked together
since the program began, Tucker
and Schnueringer share an amiable
familiarity, strengthening the work-
shop's appeal and its lighthearted,
fun-loving nature.
"He is so patient and works with
people on all different levels,"
Schnueringer said of Tucker. Tuck-
er's priority is helping his students
find their creative voice. Humor and
ease fill his classroom.
The workshops provide a common
arena for artists, whether profes-
sional, practicing or self-proclaimed.
For one hour twice a week, the
blandness of the world can be imi-
tated, shaded over or perfected by a
swipe of the hand.
POP CULTURE
From page 3B
There's an unspoken gap
between the apparent signifi-
cance of the past and the trivial-
ity of pop culture today. As soon
as something becomes history
- whether that's the history of
American politics or TV dinners
- pop culture suddenly becomes
monumentally important. We
read critics like Roland Barthes
and Jean Baudrillard, Sigmund
Freud and Noam Chomsky, con-
vinced we're elevating our minds
to the highest degree, but fail to
acknowledge the richness of our
so-called vapid culture today. We
don't believe pop culture has the
power to shoot up the same way it
can trickle down, at least not until
we turn back to Pop Art of the
'60s. But then again, Warhol and
Lichtenstein weren't considered
the path-paving geniuses then that
they are now.
Pop culture requires a sense of
patience to appreciate its complex-
ities, and it's no less deserving of
our attention than anything else in
which we invest our energies. It's
not a force to be reckoned with,
but a force to digest at leisure or
through invigorated thought - as
pop culture today and history
tomorrow.
- E-mail Hartmann at
carolinh@umich.edu.
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