KERRYTOWN CONCERT HOUSE
FX

Literati brings lauded 
U-M novelists together

The 
Kerrytown 
Concert 

House presents the art gallery 
“Textures” 
from 
Sept. 
8 

through Oct. 8. There will 
be a gallery reception with 
refreshments 
on 
Saturday, 

September 16th, from 4 to 6pm, 
free and open to the public.

Work 
from 

Ann 
Arbor 

artists 
Linda 

Colman 
and 

Joan Rosenblum 
will be featured 
in 
the 
exhibit. 

It is the first 
time Kerrytown 
Concert House is 
displaying 
both 

artists’s work.

Colman’s work 

is comprised of 
ceramic 
plates 

which are hung 
on the wall in 
the display. The plates are 
approximately 23 inches in 
diameter 
and 
abstract 
in 

nature.

“I think that people don’t 

normally see these kinds of 
works, as it’s very unusual to be 
able to hang ceramics as an art 
form, because ceramic work 
is usually functional,” said 
Nancy Wolfe, Art Coordinator 
at Kerrytown Concert House.

In Colman’s statement, she 

discusses her ceramic work 
after 30 years of not working 
with clay. She writes that it felt 
like returning to a classroom, 
and she decided to change how 
she worked with clay, choosing 
to make it more visual.

“The last few pieces I’ve 

made feel as though one is 
peering through a pond or a 
puddle of water, where small 
creatures and detritus are seen 
floating midway down or are 
trapped in the compressing 
sediment 
at 
the 
bottom,” 

Coleman wrote. “I suppose 
there 
is 
some 
connection 

with the tidal pools I enjoyed 
photographing when I lived 
by the ocean. I think of tiny, 

no longer living 
things, that are 
undergoing 
the 

slow 
process 

of 
breaking 

down, becoming 
fossilized, 
and 

I am intrigued 
with the notion 
of 
capturing 

small pictures of 
a larger natural 
world 
within 

these forms.” 

Rosenblum’s 

pastel 
work 

is 
inspired 
by 

music, because of its emotional 
impact and sense of rhythm. 
In an email to the Daily, she 
wrote: 
“the 
transference 

of that impact through the 
richness of color applied by 
oils to canvas and pastels to 
paper, is the outcome I hope to 
achieve. Music becomes color 
reflecting the subtlety of the 
converging hues harmonizing 
my work.”

Though strikingly different 

in materials used, process 
and inspiration, their artwork 
evokes similar feelings and 
ideas. 

“I feel like there’s a certain 

sense of extraction to both 
artists’ works,” Wolfe said. 
“There’s both a mystery and an 

intuitive response to art when 
you’re looking at extraction. 
The art doesn’t necessarily 
represent an object, so it takes 
you one step further into the 
mystery.”

Not only do their projects 

evoke similar ideas, but they 
complement and balance each 
other out in how they draw the 
viewer’s attention.

“There’s a certain play to 

having Colman’s works next 
to Rosenblum’s pastels,” Wolfe 
said. “Colman’s work has this 
sense 
of 
subtle 
movement 

but still maintains this very 
powerful place and the feeling 
of meditation.”

Wolfe also noted that it’s 

always special for artists to be 
able to display their works in a 
place other than their studios.

“Art 
is 
about 

communicating,” 
Wolfe 

said. “For both these artists, 
they are working alone and 
going 
through 
a 
process 

and relationship with their 
materials. Their humanity is 
coming together through this 
art, and it needs an audience.” 
 

NITYA GUPTA
Daily Arts Writer

“Textures” 

Gallery 

Reception

Kerrytown Concert 

House

September 16th @ 

4 P.M.

Free

Work from Ann 

Arbor artists 

Linda Colman and 
Joan Rosenblum 
will be featured in 

the exhibit

So... this is awkward.
It’s 
Friday, 
September 
8, 

day three of New York Fashion 
Week 
Spring-Summer 
2018. 

The 
festivities 
are 
in 
full 

swing: 
“Influencers” 
are 

posting 
sponsored 
pictures 

on 
Instagram, 
critics 
are 

complaining, Kanye West is 
being inconsiderate. All is as 
it should be, it appears, until 
a model parades down luxury 
brand Monse’s runway with 
a familiar looking monogram 
poking out from beneath a well-
tailored blazer. As I looked 
through photos of the rest of the 
collection, admiring athleisurely 
touches 
and 
Americana 

references, I couldn’t shake that 
bold letter M from my mind. It 

looked, to me, a bit too familiar.

Maybe 
creative 
directors 

Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim 
are unaware of the resemblance 
between their garment and the 
University of Michigan’s logo. 
Maybe I’m overthinking this, 
and M is just the thirteenth 
letter of the alphabet (please 
fact-check that; I counted on 
my fingers). But Monse is a 
New York-based brand, and U 
of M is a ubiquitous national 
powerhouse. There is no way 
Monse didn’t take a cue from 
the unmistakable and, we should 
mention, trademarked Block-M.

Tthe “Block-M” is a federally 

registered 
trademark. 
This 

means 
that 
the 
logo 
may 

technically 
be 
used 
freely, 

though 
it 
is 
recommended 

that 
mass-produced 
clothing 

featuring 
the 
M 
include 
a 

circle R, or “R-ball” symbol. In 
doing so, the company using 

the trademarked material will 
eliminate 
the 
possibility 
of 

customer confusion, a telltale 
sign of infringement. Use of the 
circle R is a commonplace rule 
in the clothing industry, one that 
Monse has overlooked, or simply 
flat-out ignored.

This isn’t Monse’s first brush 

with the coincidentally chunky 
M (check out the tees they 
released in August), nor will it 
be their last. Will the University 
intervene? Probably not. Monse’s 
version of the popular symbol is 
just different enough to place 
them on the right side of the 
law — think minutely taller and 
narrower. Not to mention, the 
University has bigger fish to fry, 
like combatting campus racism. 
And so the high fashion show 
will go on, unscathed, with naive 
customers shelling out hundreds 
for shirts that they could have 
just bought at the M Den.

TESS GARCIA
Daily Arts Wrtier

Hail to the... Monse?

COURTESY OF MONSE

STYLE

COMMUNITY CULTURE

“American Horror Story” 

is an anthology series well-
known for focusing its terrors 
on the supernatural — clowns, 
the paranormal and the (un)
dead are just a few fears that 
“AHS” has lined up in its 
repertoire. For a show built 
upon the concept of fear and 
what is actually considered 
“scary.” 
In 
its 

newest collection, 
“AHS: Cult,” the 
show 
takes 
a 

surprising 
turn 

away 
from 
the 

supernatural 
in 

favor of reality.

The 
opening 

episode 
of 

“Cult” begins on 
Election Night in 
a small Michigan 
town, taken from 
two points of view meant 
to 
encompass 
the 
dueling 

concepts of fear. The natural 
fear of not belonging in a post-
election climate and the fear 
which others use to propel 
their beliefs forward. In a 
liberal household we have Ally 
(Sarah 
Paulson, 
“American 

Crime Story”), who watches 
the election with baited breath 
and vocalizes her frustrations 
when the results are televised. 
Meanwhile, 
blue-haired 

introvert Kai (Evan Peters, 
“X-Men: 
Apocalypse”) 

celebrates the world we’ve 
suddenly 
found 
ourselves 

thrust into, believing that, 
in electing Donald Trump as 
president, 
we’ve 
ultimately 

begun a revolution that will 
change the world for the 
better.

In a quiet manner, “AHS” 

is 
attempting 
to 
mirror 

reality via two extremes. In 
the same small town, Ally 
faces the political aftermath 
and what it will entail for 
herself and her wife (Alison 
Pill, “The Newsroom”), while 
Kai organizes sinister deeds 
in the wake of the “good 
news.” However, that’s not 
to say that neither party is 
free from stereotypes. While 
Ally is portrayed as a liberal 
snowflake, Kai is played off 

as 
deranged, 

bordering 
on 

the 
edge 
of 

psychotic, 
clearly 
following what 
each 
side 
has 

surely slandered 
about 
the 

other. 
As 
the 

run-in 
with 

killer 
clowns 

last 
season 

has taught us, 

“AHS” is paying attention to 
the news.

What is also surprising, 

however, about the seventh 
season of “AHS” is the trading 
of paranormal suspense for 
comedy. A series well known 
on the terror front for their 
scare tactics, “Cult” takes 
on the new season with a 
different approach, attempting 
to balance comedic moments 
with killer clowns in a mix 
that feels too standoffish for 
the series to appropriately 
blend well. While some of the 
characteristic elements of the 
disturbing nature of the show 
are easy to point out — case 
in point, clowns — it feels as 
if it is different from previous 
seasons. On the other hand, 
perhaps 
the 
harmonizing 

relationship 
between 
the 

viewer 
and 
the 
character 

is what will allow this new 
season to resonate well with 
its audience. If one can see 
themselves reflected in what 
they are watching, perhaps 
the fears of reality can outdo 
the fears of the supernatural.

It 
is 
following 
the 

bombshell news of the election 
coverage that “AHS” finally 
opens up on deeper fears, 
morphing into the show that 
we’ve come to know over the 

past few seasons. The world 
suddenly morphs from reality 
to the paranormal — where 
babysitters 
(Billie 
Lourd, 

“Scream 
Queens”) 
harbor 

sinister intentions and clowns 
(John Carroll Lynch, “The 
Founder”) lurk on corners for 
the unsuspecting passerby. All 
things considered, “AHS” is 
asking us whether the world 
has always been full of terrors 
or whether the terrors can 
come to life on their own. 

MEGAN MITCHELL

Daily Arts Writer

American 

Horror Story: 

Cult

Season Premiere 

FX

Tuesdays at 10 p.m.

‘American Horror Story’ 
rethinks fear in latest

TV

If one can see 
themselves 

reflected in what 
they are watching, 
perhaps the fears 

of reality can 

outdo the fears of 
the supernatural

‘May It Last’ mirrors style 
and warmth of Avett Bros.

“May It last: A Portrait of the 

Avett Brothers” is a fun, zesty 
and 
genuine 
documentary 

whose portrayal of the lives and 
creative process of the Avett 
Brothers mirrors the heart 
and warmth of their music. 
The film offers an intimate 
look into the bond between 
Scott and Seth Avett, which 
began in early childhood and 

strengthened 
exponentially 

onward. 
Intensely 
funny, 

the film shines with a vein 
of humor characteristic of 
producer Judd Apatow, yet 
doesn’t fail to explore moments 

of intensity, pain and struggle 
that influence both the band 
members 
and 
their 
music. 

“May It Last” showcases the 
extraordinary talent of the 
brothers as poetic songwriters 
who grapple with the tensions 
of 
the 
commercialization 

of deep emotion, and who 
ultimately 
work 
to 
bring 

beauty from pain and sacrifice. 
With an emphasis on family 
and sincerity, “May It Last” is 
a spectacular illumination of 
the Avett Brothers. 

SYDNEY COHEN

Daily Arts Wrtier

“May It Last: A 
Portrait of the 
Avett Brothers”

HBO

Michigan Theater

HBO

FILM

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Friday, September 15, 2017 — 5A

