The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 31, 1977, Page Page 16, Image 18
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By BARBARA D. HALL
Gamecock Staff Writer
Studying art history, one sees 1
point in many artists' careers whe
a student, but a painter or craftsm
THE ATTACHMENT to a mer
leaves his school or another's wor
independent creator. His works b
This is a good point to keep in i
student art competition at the IV
through April 8.
The case may be made that the ?
experimenting, innovating, but le
take a look at what USC art student
There are 64 works on display.r
runs from mediocre to impressiv
good representation of the diversit
student talent. This is the work
trying new things, and experimen
at William Berrie's "Process of Ob
artist sacrificed a pair of jeans for
Flower's award-winning rubbei
".Last l ycoc
By CHUCK CROMER
Entertainment Editor
"The Last Tycoon," based on F.
Scott Fitzgerald's unfinished 1940
novel, is a pointless and trivial
melodrama. As an adaptation of
his hnnlt it failc (n u 1
?.v >ui>o iu tuiii(jit:iieiiu
Fitzgerald's interpretation of
Hollywood in the mid-30s, and as a
romantic fantasy, lacks coherency
and viewer involvement to the
extent that the film is nothing more
than a confusing, 105-minute bore.
FITZGERALD HAS never fared
well in Hollywood either as a
scriptwriter or when his novels are
adapted to the screen. Several
versions of "The Great Gatsby"
and "Tender Is the Night" have
been made into films over the
years and all have been critical
and financial flops. Likewise,
Fitzgerald's career in the late '30's
as a Hollywood scriDtwriter was
undistinguished as he could not
subordinate his talents into movie
writing.
"The Last Tycoon" is one of the
better novels written about
Hollywood. Through it, Fitzgerald
incorporates personal experience
. W?.?v Miv UVIWHTVIUU O ?JU?fll
in the movie industry as well as the
machinations of the studio system
under the direction of the die
lment
.-* Eg&
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that there is a turning
n the artist is no longer
an of his own standing.
itor ceases. The artist
Rshop and becomes an
egin to stand alone,
nind while viewing the
IcKissick art museum
;ood artist never ceases
ave the issue open and
ts are producing,
rhe quality of the work
e, but the exhibit is a
y of art being made by
of learners, of people
itation is evident. Look
iect No. 1" in whirh thp
his canvas, Mark Elliot
r stamped "Kristy's
>n9 a poi
tatorial moguls.
The film version
zgerald's insight. Inste
wears out a well-trodde
meanders through the i
JVUVSUlAl OtUUlU
Stahr (Robert de Niro) i
work and supposi
everything except comj
Then one day, after an
at the studio bursts se\
mains, he falls in ]
watching a beautiful
float across the studio
huge bust of the godde
Tilt" Tit IIK wr ,
a BIKJ ? /I11 1 # f\/
Brimmer, (Ingrid
initially remains aloof
persistent attentions,
expresses great physic;
for him. However, sh<
relationship abruptly b;
an American engine
regresses into a state
depression that eventuj
his downfall.
Director Elia Kazan
Waterfront," "A Street
Desire"), and screenp
Harold Pinter produc
tangible story based on i
the novel. This inad
because of unHpr
relationships betweer
characters. Situatio
without reason or s
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Arl?i?# Morgan-THE 0
Dream," Virginia Saunder's clothespin intaglio, "Pin
Lyrics," and Edward Lewis's watercolor, "Pinkmombo."
TRADITIONAL MATERIAL is found most heavily in
the ceramic work. Two of the award winners from the
medium, Mike Johnson's large covered jar and Michael
Rutkowsky's casserole, show good craftsmanship and
fetching form, but they are not highly original pieces.
They are functional objects brought to a high level of
refinement through these potters' hands.
Most of the painting in the show is non-objective. Mike
Walston's Best in Show 'Tprlnn " ic ? u/?ll-r?accacnwi
? - - j -wr? KMOOtt6,iU
work. Distinct parts of the canvas are handled differently
to produce a nervous, high-strung painting. Walston's
finishing touch, his drawn finale, excites the composition.
Mention is also due Maggie White's untitled painting. The
artist unites her divided canvases with a rigid series of
torn strips which carry one's eyes down the work. This is a
provocative struggle-something came apart and now it
comes oacK logeiner.
Still lives have been painted since Herculaneum in 50
AD, and Louise Yancy's award winning watercolor,
"Tools," is part of a long tradition. This is a painted
parody* Yancy's immaculate tools and oil can are
Lntless bore I
background information.
lacks Fit- For example, the basis of a
ad, the plot struggle for power exists between
;n theme. It Monroe Stahr and studio head Pat
*outine of a Brady (Robert Mitchum), but the
is Monroe viewer doesn't know why the
who lives to competition exists at all or how the
sdly has supposedly all-powerful Stahr is ,
panionship. deposed from his position. I
earthquake Kazan and Pinter took many
reral water liberties with Fitzgerald's text and >
love while have distorted most of its
young tart significance. Although the novel is
set atop a unfinished, Fitzgerald's notes Jllgl
ss Siva. clearly summarize the rest of the MSI
manuscript. His version traces the Rot
\TI1LEEN rivalry between Stahr and Brady "Th
Boulting), as both men plot to murder one
to Stahr's another. According to the notes, bases his <
but later both die. Stahr has Brady mur- Brady on
~i ?a!? J " *
ai dtiecuon aerea ana siahr is accidentally Thalberg,
b ends the killed in an airplane crash. MGM mog
y marrying The Kazan-Pinter version struggle f
:er. Stahr depicts a loathsome Stahr being studio. Th
of drunken replaced without any explanation youthful s
ally causes as the studio head by Brady. politics I
Furthermore, Kazan and Pinter Thalberg's
> ("On the only touch upon Fitzgerald's social approach
car Named commentary of the plight of the Hollywood,
lay writer Hollywood scriptwriter, a struccle had suffer
ed an in- to achieve a respectable status in that could
incidents in Hollywood's strict caste system. HE OUT
lequacy is Fitzgerald also laments in his notes. Fitz
developed novel the passing of a rare breed of being pus
i essential studio executive who handles Brady and
ns occur business on a personal and more has hel<
supportive trustworthy basis. Fitzgerald responsible
n
I
IIU i
"Nursie..."
AM E COCK
arranged on a turquois
DRAWING PRIZES
Gamecock's editorial c
zota's graphic drawing
"Foreshortened Head
complishment.
These artists leave n
dling a pencil. Drawing
show gains much clout fi
Metalwork is beautifu
"Auntie Nell." Michael
deserving prize winner.
a delicate interpretatioi
The represented sci
works. David Zacharias
Mile Strip," Jan Boxx'i
struction, Gary Keown'i
of enamel and plexiglasi
sculptures. Dan McCun
with five bricks suppor
attention-getter.
Minimal pieces like th
_ 1_1 ^ i?i
auie 10 noia us in as m
tension of a sculpted le
s^HSISiSsMffiE^HL
M ML
fl
IBR^ ^ ^ .* ^
>ert De Niro stars as a 1
le Last Tycoon."
characters of Stahr and
the careers of Irving
MGM producer and
ul L.B. Mayer and their
or supremacy of the
talberg represented a
incerity in Hollywood
to Fitzgerald. With I
death in 1936 and the
of unionization in i
, he felt that Hollywood
ed a loss of innocence I
never be restored. i
LINES this belief in his I
gerald writes, "Stahr is
hed into the past by ;
by the unions alike. He I
1 himself directly \
i to everyone with whom ,
\
show goes
i mediocre
impressive
by Patsy H. Storla
c va& a|k:.
went to Jim Mazzota (The
artoonist) and Bill Stroud. Mazis
a real achievement. Stroud's
with Oil Drum" is also an aco
question of their abilities han'
is the basis for all art, and the
rom the works of these two artists,
illy represented by Jane Nodine's
French's "Unicorn Beetle" is a
Jeannie Rhvnp'? ciiwor i
-J ..V ./ uai TV? Vlllltll/ic Id
n of the functional.
ilptors display highly original
;'s small, novel assemblage, "100
s untitled wood and plaster con>
eye-fooling "Line Continuation"
s were all interesting, small-scale
iy's wood and brick construction,
ted through wire tensions, is an
is prove that a sparse sculpture is
uch awe as, say, the anatomical
g
__________ ?'
lolly wood production head in
he has worked ; he has even wanted
U U A
iu ut*u up nis enemies himself. In
Hollywood, he is the 'last tycoon'."
The film characters lack the
affection that Fitzgerald shared
with his characters in the novel.
Even though DeNiro underplays
his role magnificently, Ingrid
Boulting remains distant as
mysterious Kathleen and no ap?*
* *
H,u cm iove aevelops between
them. The viewer finds their
relationship unidentifiable and
therefore unbelievable.
Further interpretations of Fitzgerald's
works should be left to
the critics of literature and the
printed page because they better
appreciate his many talents.