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