ARTS
Friday, August 15, 1986
Page 8
The Michigan Daily
D.I.A. exhibits Cunningham
By Elizabeth Block
T HE PHOTOGRAPHY of Imogen
Cunningham: A Centennial
Selection runs through September 7th
at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The
exhibit showcases 100 rare
photographs that, unlike previous
exhibits, displays primarily vintage
prints. These works represent the
finest of Cunningham's oeuvre, span-
ning the years 1901 until her death in
1976. Also featured with this exhibit is
a video of her appearance on The
Johnny Carson Show which serves to
provide some insight into her uncom-
promising character.
Born in 1888, Cunningham holds the
title Grande Dame of American
photography; she maintains the
longest known career of any
photographer.
As she eased on to the set of Johnny
Carson with an unwieldy silver peace
sign dangling on her belly, she admit-
ted, "I don't talk about my career, I
let it take care of itself." Irreverent,
perceptive, and exuberant, her work
remains an allegorical tableaux of
celebrity portraits, plants, nudes and fashionable celebrities. The
an odd assortment of hands and dolls: photographs of Martha Graham, for
where she unites contrasting shapes, example, are also eminent in the
lights, and multiple exposure. exhibit. One photographer, in par-
After studying the photographic ticular, features Graham's hand in
processes in Dresden, Germany, front of her chest, practically dan-
Cunningham moved to Seattle, where cing, while they balance a shadow on
she opened a portrait studio in 1910. her shoulder. During this era, too,
Here she began shooting nudes. A Imogene Cunningham, Edward
nude photograph of husband Roi Par- Weston, Ansel Adams and Willard
tridge published in a Seattle Van Ryke founded f/64: the renowned
newspaper promoted a scandal in photography group which cham-
1915, yet later set a precedent for pioned "straight" photography.
. many modern women photographers. (Emphasizing shape, form and light).
Cunningham pioneered the exhibition
of nudes by a woman, believing if one In her later years, Cunningham had
is a woman then naturally she is a the opportunity to relive her
"libber." In later works she childhood fantasies of acting, in three
photographed nudes dressed only in films. The prevailing film "Never
body tattoo. An exceptional piece is Give Up" showcased Imogen as "the
e "Irene 'Bobby' Librarry" in which little old lady whose style always
T Cunningham investigates the upper defied us to understand her com-
torso of an overweight woman bathed pletely." Not only does this depict her
in tattoos. character, but it epitomizes Cun-
Between 1922 and 1929, Cun- ningham's blunt personality.
ningham studied a series of plants.
acquainting viewers intimately with On The Johnny Carson Show, Car-
the textures of Aloe plants and irises, son asked Imogen to comment on her
in particular. eccentricity; she retorted in her
f Vanity Fair Magazine hired her in familiar pattern. Sharp, sardonic, yet
1930, which initiated perhaps her fraught with a bitter sense of humor,
most hectic decade. Here she shot the she demanded: "Why should I think
"'Ugly Men": Spencer Tracy, Cary about that? That's other people's
Grant, James Cagney, and other gossip."
SoulAsylum:.
Thrash and burn
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"Frieda Kahlo" (painter and wife of Diego Rivera) is one of the many
works of Imogen Cunningham on display at the D.I.A.
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By Beth Fertig
Y NERVES go all on edge just
thinking about what Soul
Asylum sound like. It's something
vaguely akin to being awakened by
blaring road construction, or getting
knocked over by a gust of wind on an
icy winter day. The feeling lingers in
your flesh as well as your mind.
Thankfully, Soul Asylum are a
much better time than either of those
aforementioned experiences. In fact,
they're a great time. It's just that this
Minneapolis band's trash and burn
guitar ethics are not something one
can easily forget. It might seem all
too appropriate that they were
originally known as Loud Fast Rules,
a name which bassist Karl Mueller
says was dropped because it grouped
them so easily. Nowadays, they're
just very, very fast and very, very
loud.
Rumor has it Soul Asylum is the
loudest band in Minneapolis. When
asked if there's any grain of truth to
this statement, Mueller replies
"Probably pretty close...I haven't
seen too many local bands but people
always say 'that's the loudest thing
I've ever seen.' Our soundman likes it
loud and part of our whole sound is
just a wall of guitars; and to get that
it's gotta be pretty loud."
That wall of guitars is just what
makes Soul Asylum so distinctive.
Categorization is always a difficult
chore, but suffice it to say that on the
musical spectrum, Soul Asylum
would fall somewhere along the
jagged line where hardcore and
heavy metal meetcountry. The title of
their most recent album, Made to Be
Broken (on Twin Tone records), is a
philosophy that's carried over into
every track, whether busting loose in
the frenzy of "Whoa!" or kicking
through the on-again-off-again
hysteria of "Never Really Been." And
all the while, Dave Pirner and Dan
Murphy wail away - sometimes in
harmony, sometimes in unison - like
alley cats in heat. Soul Asylum
doesn't play tame stuff; rather they
tame their own stuff by always
knowing just when to reign things in,
never completely losing control
(although it may sound like it's pretty
close).
The band's recorded output has
been produced by another Min-
neapolis native, Bob Mould of Husker
Du. Needless to say, comparisons to
Mould's own band are commonplace:
"We hear 'em every day," says
Mueller, "I can see why people do it
because it makes it easy. People can
say, 'Oh, they're from Minneapolis
and Bob Mould produced it, they must
sound like Husker Du. But I know
they're not accurate at all. All
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