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 l l l 1 "Frieda Kahlo" (painter and wife of Diego Rivera) is one of the many works of Imogen Cunningham on display at the D.I.A. Mtdtavattion of ar On t i5 bate, in je pear nineteen Ijunbreb ab eigjtp* " ix, bWe, tije besteb autfjoritieo of thje augpicuim O1M O b tIerebp rigljtfullp anb jutp becltare ttl MUG Jurger Varo.nfromtJi bate fortUarb the botu to prepare anb Setl po utje berp best burger in Znn arbor. 1r 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 See ENTER, Page9