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. 0 Tie a IOll 01IsA .;,Princeton Review Do you wanna play doctor? 800-2Review PrincetonReview.com 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. RANDOLPH COURT APARTMENTS ~9 2 Bedroom Apartment Homes ~ Ground Floor Ranch Style! Private Entrance! Patio! Spacious Kitchen! Air Conditioning! Laundry Facilities! 24-Hour Emergency Maintenance! Pets Welcome! And much, much more! Call today to reserve your new address! 734-971-2828 Equal Housing Opportunity 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 10% Discount off your first ad on michigandaily.com! Ads run 24 hours/ 7 days a week a Ads receive approx. 100,000d impressions and 50 hits per week i ald g Itt()6'07 Cokrlee61hlsrepoia t I Itt' 10 percent discount if you also runSun an advertisement in the display or classified section For more information contact us at 734-615-0135 or tmdonline@gmail.com 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. WORK FOR THE WEB Our Web. Email grossman@ michigandaily.com :