The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 04, 2002, Page 5, Image 5
THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, October 4, 2002 5
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CONTACT US || pi, MTY THEY SAID IT
Story ideas? Questions? Comments? I II j IWII/m
E-mailusatgamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com —I— —I-1—-JL— T _l_ JL m LIONEL TRILLING: “Immature artists
imitate. Mature artists steal.”
===_===_=___=^_
BY MEG MOORE
THE GAMECOCK
Forget the famed paintings of Monet and
Picasso, and eschew the work of M.C. Escher;
this weekend, “Ugly Art” will be on display in
Columbia.
Though the title might suggest a collection
of New York gallery cast-offs rather than a one
act, ensemble production, “Ugly Art” is a play
written by Rock Hill native Terry Roueche that
will be performed at Columbia’s Benson
Theatre tonight through Monday.
In “Ugly Art,” fictitious artist Bernard
Surio’s latest offerings are on exhibit, and his
monochromatic masterpiece “Dancing Woman
with Red Flowers” becomes a focal point for
gallery banter. As they offer interpretations
of and opinions about Surio’s work, the muse
um’s clientele subsequently explore aspects of
human desire and the nature of relationships.
This weekend’s performance of “Ugly Art”
comes from a collaboration of the Puppet
Regime and Gallery 701. Larry Hembree, the
South Carolina Arts Commission’s program
director for performing arts, introduced
Gallery 701 to Roueche, who contacted the
Gallery two years ago about staging a produc
tion of “Ugly Art” in its exhibition hall.
But production plans were put on hold be
cause of structural problems in the century
old building. Renovations are still under way.
USC theater student Amanda Reyelt, who
was then a high school student in Myrtle
Beach, discovered Roueche’s work and became
enamored with “Ugly Art.” Once she came to
USC, Reyelt heard of Gallery 701’s interest in
Roueche’s play. She contacted Jack Gertsner,
Gallery 701’s executive director, and plans for
production were reconsidered.
Gertsner said he finds “the serendipity of
the way this production came about - Amanda
choosing Gallery 701 without prior knowledge
of the plans we’d made with Terry - an amazing
coincidence and completely charming.”
“With that kind of power to make itself
known, I get the feeling ‘Ugly Art’ will produce
itself without us, so we might as well go along
for the ride,” he said.
Gallery 701, a nonprofit cultural organiza
tion, has collaborated before with USC and con
siders the university an integral part of the
theater community in Columbia, as well as the
arts scene in general. Gertsner said, “The uni
versity is a real cultural treasure for Columbia
and is one of the major reasons I came back to
Columbia when looking for a place to start
Gallery 701."
This weekend’s presentation of “Ugly Art”
is not Gallery 701’s first involvement with
USC’s theater program; it also helped sponsor
a production of the opera “Dido and Aeneas” at
Longstreet Theatre. It 4s, however, the organi
zation’s first collaboration with USC’s Puppet
Regime.
“We strive to give all students the chance to
work in all facets of theater production,” Reyelt
said. The group enjoys producing new and
avant-garde scripts. Reyelt said the script for
“Ugly Art” is particularly appealing because of
its exploration of “the judgments we have to
wards art and those we have towards people.”
Gertsner said: “It has been a wonderful ex
perience working with Amanda Reyelt and
this talented, young, and enthusiastic group
of hard- working theater majors and other ac
tors. The performances promise to be of ex
ceptionally high quality, and I look forward to
future partnerships with the Puppet Regime.”
“Ugly Art” will be performed several times
this weekend at Benson Theatre, at Pickens
and Catawba streets. Evening performances
will begin at 8 Friday, Saturday, Sunday and
Monday. A reception will be held at 7:30 p.m.
before each performance. On Sunday, a mati
nee performance will be held at 3 p.m., with a
reception at 2:30 p.m.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com
Above: The
cast of “Ugly
Art” performs
* an
improvisation
exercise called
flocking.
Right: Sarah
Price mimics
someone
looking at art.
Far right: Ben
Compton and
Nicole Cabe
imitate a
couple at an
art reception.
PHOTOS SPECIAL TO
THE GAMECOCK
•Authors talk about
inspiration from art
BY JESSICA MANNING
THE GAMECOCK
“American Vision: Writing on
Art,” a series held by USC’s
English department and the
Columbia Museum of Art, will be
gin tonight with a presentation
from USC English professor
Kwame Dawes.
Dawes is a 2001 recipient of the
Pushcart Prize, an award for au
thors whose works are published
in small magazines or literary
journals. He teaches as an associ
ate professor of English at USC
.^and is also the director of USC’s
^Master of Fine Arts Program.
Charlene Spear an, a student in
Dawes’ Master of Fine Arts
Program, persuaded him to work
with the museum on this project.
“She asked me if I would be in
terested in marrying art and poet
ry,” Dawes said. “This is impor
tant work for me, as much of my
poetry derives from art that moves
me.”
During the event, Dawes will fo
cus on sharing a selection of po
ems that he has written based on
the art displayed at the museum.
He will also reference other poems
that have emerged from his in
depth study of art.
“My hope is to try and convey
an appreciation for the art and an
appreciation for the craft of poet
ry,” Dawes said.
“American Vision: Writing on
Art” will take place the first
Friday of every month at the
Columbia Museum of Art’s per
manent collection galleries.
The focus of the program is on
influential pieces and artists from
the museum that have inspired
authors to write a poem, short sto
ry, or a non-fiction piece.
The event will last up to an
hour and a half and will feature
authors discussing their writing
processes and how the visual arts
inspires and motivates them.
The project will draw different
community members together for
an evening focused on writing
about art. The program is de
signed for community members
from artists, educators, young
adults, and the general public.
Stephanie Owen, a museum
employee, expresses that
“American Vision: Writing on
PHOTO BY CANDI HAUGLUM/THE GAMECOCK
Professor Kwame Dawes will
speak about writing on art.
Art” is not an original concept.
Owen said a vast number of simi
lar programs exist across the na
tion.
“For the most part, I got the
idea from a similar program con
ducted at the Butler Museum of
Art in Youngstown, Ohio, where
I grew up,” Owen said.
Owen and another museum em
ployee, Leslie Pierce, began the
program in hopes that local busi
nesses and the Art Council would
offer sponsorship and grants for
future events.
♦ DAWES, SEE PAGE 6
V
state
fair
FRIDAY
POP DAY
PAY $15 FOR UNLIMITED RIDES
10 a.m. Gates Open
11 a.m. Midway Opens
5 p.m. Steve Bayner, hypnotist, WLTX stage
6 p.m. Pantasia Steel Band, WIS Spirit of Carolina stage
6:30 to 7 p.m. Richard’s Racing Pigs, front of Cattle Arena
7 p.m. Mapapa Acrobats, WLTX stage
GRANDSTAND entertainment
7:30 p.m. Steven Curtis Chapman
7:30 p.m. Mad Science Discovery Fair, Cantey Building
8 p.m. Pantasia Steel Band, WIS Spirit of Carolina stage
8:30 p.m. Steve Bayner, WLTX stage
9 p.m. Dennis Lee, WIS Spirit of Carolina stage
The Big Shine (fireworks): About 9 p.m.
SATURDAY
TWO RIDERS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE (9 A.M. TO 1 P.M.)
9 a.m. Gates Open
9 a.m. Midway Opens
2 p.m. Mad Science Discovery Fair, Cantey Building
2:30 p.m. Mapapa Acrobats, WLTX stage
4:30 p.m. Richard's Racing Pigs, front of Cattle Arena
5 p.m. Steve Bayner, hypnotist, WLTX stage
6 p.m. Mad Science Discovery Fair, Cantey Building
GRANDSTAND ENTERTAINMENT
7:30 p.m. La Mafia, with Impacto Latino at 7 p.m.
7:30 p.m. Mad Sciehce Discovery fair, Cantey Building
8 p.m. Carolyn Brailsford, WIS Spirit of Carolina stage
8:30 p.m. Steve Bayner, hypnotist, WLTX stage
9 p.m. Dennis Lee, WIS Spirit of Carolina stage
The Big Shine: About 9 p.m.
SUNDAY
“GREAT AMERICAN SUNDAY” - MILITARY OFFICERS,
FIREFIGHTERS, LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND
EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS IN UNIFORM ARE ■
ADMITTED FREE UNTIL 6 P.M. (FAMILIES ARE NOT
INCLUDED.)
Greatest grandparents contest 2 p.m. in the Grandstand
Noon Gate Opens
Noon Midway Opens
2 p.m. Mad Science Discovery Fair, Cantey Building
2:30 p.m. Mapapa Acrobats, WLTX stage
3 p.m. Columbia Community Concert Band? WIS Spirit of Carolina
stage
GRANDSTAND ENTERTAINMENT
4:30 p.m. Lee Greenwood
6:30 p.m. Richard’s Racing Pigs, front of Cattle Arena
7:30 p.m. Mad Science Discovery Fair, Cantey Building
8 p.m. J.T. Ettes, WIS Spirit of Carolina stage
8:30 p.m. Steve Bayner, hypnotist, WLTX stage
The Big Shine: About 9 p.m.
i
Fridays at museum all about art
BY RACHEL BEATTY
THE IIAMKCOCK
For people looking for a way to
broaden their cultural horizons
or to fill up Friday nights, the
Columbia Museum of Art is of
fering the series “Art Fridays
After Dark.” For the next 11
Fridays, the museum plans to ex
hibit a variety of artists’ perfor
mances.
“This is the first year these
events will be taking place,”
said series coordinator and
grants manager Kristin Harkey,
“Each program is different in
nature, incorporating all the dif
ferent areas of art,” including
dance, theater and lecture, she
said.
The performances will take
place in the museum’s atrium
and Lee Alexander Lorick
Auditorium areas, both of which
are outside the museum, near its
front entrance. The museum
hopes to give locals a chance to
partake in the different arenas of
art, while enjoying their week
ends and unwinding after the
work week.
“The idea is really to generate
and revitalize an interest on
Main Street, make the museum
a place of attraction,” Harkey
said.
Each program encompasses a
different genre of art and en
courages interaction from pa
trons. The Fridays are not
meant to be a “look, but don’t
touch” exhibit.
“Each program is eclectic in
nature,” Harkey said. “We want
to reach untapped audiences and
delve into the characters of stu
dents/Some of the programs aim
toward minority communities,
and we want the programs to be
as relevant as possible.”
The weekly events start
tonight at 7 p.m. with Jazz
Friday. Headlining the festivities
is young singer-songwriter
Titilayo Ngwenya, who blends
sounds of jazz, folk, urban funk
and the blues. Ngwenya was bom
in the United States to Nigerian
parents.
“Titilayo Ngwenya is a singer
from New York City trying to
make a name for herself,” Harkey
said. “It is a privilege to have her
here, as she’s never been to this
area before. She’s hoping to gar
ner a following.”
The jazz program is a depar
ture from the museum’s typical
musical programs.
“We usually have chamber
music here, but we wanted to in
clude jazz because we want to
show people that art can be fun,”
Harkey said.
Friday activities will include
dance, horror films, salsa danc
ing and children’s plays. On
Oct. 11 at 7 p.m., the Power
Company, a professional dance
troupe, will be the main per
formers. On Oct. 18 at 6 p.m.,
the museum will hold a cele
bration of National
Architecture Week. On Friday,
Oct. 25, in the spirit of
Halloween, the museum will
show “A Brief History of
Horror Films” for the muse
um’s Film Friday.
“Art Fridays After Dark” will
run through Friday, Dec. 20.
Most performances kick off at 7
p.m. The Columbia Museum of
Art is at Main and Hampton
streets. For more information, the
museum’s Web site is at www.col
musart.org.
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