8A - Monday, November 26, 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Symbols
of the
everyday
The Gallery Project on
Fourth Street sheds
new light on
common sights
By MICHAEL DOYLE
For the Daily
The current exhibit at the Gallery
Project on Fourth Street, "Signs,
Symbols, Ges-
tures," is based on Signs,
something inex-
tricably linked Symbols,
to our lives. The Gestures
artwork in the
exhibit, running Through Dec. 2
through Dec. 2, At the
addresses the act Gallery Project
of finding mean- Free
ings in symbols,
often arbitrary
ones, which are woven into the fab-
ric of everyday life. Such symbols
can be as banal as traffic signs or as
perplexing as the emotions evoked
by a McDonald's "M" penetrating
the skyline.
The works deconstruct the notion
of a symbol, but don't be put off if
you're not familiar with the inter-
workings of semiotic theory or the
nuances of the post-structuralist
paradigm. Most of the art here is
accessible without knowledge of the
theory behind it.
Material providedby the museum
succinctly describes the scope of the
works, saying they range "from the
investigation of brand identity sys-
tems and scientific symbols to the
secret language encoded in signs;
from evocative markings of the
human hand to the subtle gestures
of body language."
The exhibit brings together art-
ists ranging from University art stu-
dents and professors to more widely
known professional artists. Each
artist brings to our attention differ-
ent aspects - sometimes philosoph-
ical, other times pragmatic - of the
symbols and concepts we experi-
ence each day. The variety of the
artists on display corresponds to the
wide breadth of media employed,
including paintings, photographs,
sculptures, installations and mixed
media.
Art & Design Prof. Marianetta
Porter is the curator of Signs, Sym-
bols, Gestures as well as a contrib-
uting artist. "No Time to Die" is a
wooden ironing board set vertically
against the wall with an ancient
African symbol meaning "endur-
ance" at its head. The rest of its sur-
face is covered with countless hash
marks that seem to allude to a cast-
away counting the days he's been
stranded on a desert island. The
combination of the tattered board,
the African symbol and the hash
marks heighten the sense that these
symbols, not individually decipher-
able, hint at a narrative of eternal
patience.
Artist Matt Siber focuses on the
logos and advertisements we take
for granted. "McDonald's" is a digi-
tal composition of a golden, arching
"M" seemingly floating in the mid-
dle of a light blue sky. The dramatic
upward perspective with the sym-
bol for America's favorite fast-food
restaurant is intimidating, to say the
least. The contrast of the McDon-
ald's symbol with the innocent blue
sky evokes an eerie sense of an inhu-
man corporation perpetually hover-
ing over an anonymous public.
In reality, what's depicted is just
the symbol for the letter "M," but
within the context of the piece,
the symbol connotes the state of
unnatural autonomy that corporate
America has achieved.
"Baker's Dozen," a wonderful,
large sculpture by Claudette Joce-
lyn Stern, resembles a three-dimen-
sional mandala, with numbers and
letters swirling around the front.
Heidi Kumano presents several
video installations that repeat ges-
tural actions in short loops, inviting
the viewer to find multiple interpre-
tations.
The artists on display bring to
our attention the codes we subcon-
sciously use to draw meanings out
of arbitrary symbols. The exhibit
suggests there's something under-
pinning these technically mean-
ingless symbols. The fact that most
people could easily find meaning in
the symbols used here suggests the
possibility that we all draw, uncon-
sciously, from a pool of shared
information - one shaped by the
ideologies (and corporations) of our
society.
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Review
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Corner of S. University and S. Forest
Matt Siber's "McDonald's" (above) and Luke Engel's "Hojo Mojo" (below) are on display at the Gallery Project on Fourth Street through Dec. 2.
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FREEWAY
From page 5A
ered a classic by many hardcore
rap fans, but many hold that opin-
ion because of the album's pro-
duction. Just Blaze produced the
popular "What We Do...," "Flip-
side," "Line 'Em Up" and several
others on the disc. Kanye West
also produced a couple tracks for
the debut, yet he too is missing
from Free atLast.
Philadelphia's production
catered nicely to Freeway's
unique flow and delivery in a way
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Free at Last can't match. In addi-
tion to not adhering to a conven-
tional rhyme scheme, Free's voice
is relatively high-pitched and
often seems strained. It sounds as
if he's running out of breath and
struggling to utter the last few
syllables before passing out.
Over quick drums and rapid
piano keys on "Nuttin' On Me,"
Free spits, "Free top-billin' you
try to steal him it's Knotts Lan-
din' / It's God's plan that them
shots landin' do not kill him / I
got 'em runnin his car peelin' the
block scrambling.' " His lyricism
makes up for a beat that's good
though not great, but tracks like
"Spit That Shit" are irreparably
damaged by bland production.
Free at Last retains much of
the soulful vibe present on Phila-
delphia, but the bottom line is
that there's only one Just Blaze.
So while the sample on "When
They Remember" provides a nice
backdrop for Free's reflection of
his rap career, the drums seem a
little off-kilter.
Executive producers Jay-Z
and 50 Cent - have two bigger
stars ever co-produced An album
before? - make appearances on
"Roc-A-Fella Billionaires" and
"Take It to the Top," respectively.
Hov and Free trade verses over
whistles and choppy synths to
offer the album's most upbeat
songs. It's a sound that Freeway
fails to capture again, though,
and it's a shame. But hey, it's not
entirely his fault - Just Blaze
never called him back.
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