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_ THE GAMECOCK * Monday, February 17, 2003 5 CONTACTUS TTIT1 IV/TTV ' ™EYSAIDIT ■ I I 1 l I 1/ I I /\ WALTER BAGEHOT: “The reason why so Story ideas? Questions? Comments? Illi I V I I / few good books are written is that so few E-mailusatgamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com —B— —B B_»^B A t —B_ B -AL. 1 people who can write know anything.” * == ■■■ ~ 1 - - ■ ■■ " —■ — - - '— - —" " ■ " ■— Artfully done USC Art Department showcases 76 pieces of student artwork in annual exhibition atMcMaster Gallery BY ASHLEY VAUGHAN THE GAMECOCK What do penguin boxers, a pierced stuffed bunny rabbit and a parade of peaches have in common? Aside from being fuzzy, these three objects are also images found in the art work on display at the 47th Annual Student Art Exhibition in McMaster Gallery. Comprising 76 pieces of art chosen by juror Paul Matheny, curator of art from the South Carolina State Museum, the ex hibit contains artwork that varies considerably in style, content, genre and type of me ^dia. Mana Hewitt, McMaster College gallery director, said: “I specifically asked our juror to represent the whole depart ment, not just one given thing, and to show work from enter ing freshman students all the way up to our graduate pro gram.” Thursday night, the gallery was packed with students eager to hear the juror’s announce ment of this year’s winners. “It’s really nice to see an ac tive, buzzing art building,” Hewitt said. “Three years ago, we moved into this building. Prior to that, we were in seven different buildings, and now we’re under one roof.” Rebecca Rhees, a second-year graduate student who won best in show, agreed. “It’s fun to see the range and creativity made by our community of students in the Art Department.” Students chatted and ate hot dogs while they waited for the winners to be announced. Rhees made her piece, “Heart,” through a 19th-century process called tin typing. “The initial source for creating ‘Heart’ really came out of experimenta tion with my materials,” she said. “I was interested in seeing how making four separate tin types would come together to cre ate a singular image.” Rhees found that the black edges of tin type form a grid pat tern, dividing the image. Using a male chest as her subject, Rhees used the lines to mark ar eas of dissection, “centering on the heart,” she said. Takina Holloman, a third-year media-arts student, said Rhees deserved the recognition she re ceived at the exhibition. “Rebecca has a really good eye. I don’t know how she does it,” Holloman said. In the 3-D category, Eric Miller was.surprised to learn he had won first place for his sculpture of a bronze bunny called “B.I.T. (Bunny in Tow).” Miller described his artwork as mostly figurative and ab stract. “I was just kind of experi menting with metal,” Miller said. “I like to'combine different ma terials, less traditional materi als. It was almost an exercise in a way.” In the same category, Kenneth Baskin walked away with second place for “Urbanscape,” a metal sculpture resembling smoke stacks, and Hwa-Won Lee won third place for her stoneware sculpture “Blue Line.” First place in the film/photo category went to Anthony Vogeltanz for his 12-minute thriller, “Misplaced.” Vogeltanz said he was so shocked when he heard he won that he al most fell out of his chair. “I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “Lately, I’ve found myself drawn to horror because it has more of a realistic side to it,” Vogeltanz said, “like the little ghost tales you tell children to make them behave.” Angelique Gibson snagged sec ond place for “Shades of Past,” and Rebecca Rhees took third place with her untitled photograph. ♦ STUDENT ART, SEE PAGE 6 “It’s fun to see the range and creativity made by our community of students in the Art Department.” REBECCA RHEES WINNER OF BEST IN SHOW -. PHOTOS BY MORGAN FORD/THE GAMECOCK Rebecca Rhees, a graduate student, won best in show for her piece “Heart” at the 47th Annual Student Art Exhibition. Rhees created the piece using a tin-typing technique. The black edges of tin type signify marks for dissection, centering on the heart. CD REVIEW Matin’s masterpiece proves to be ‘fine art ’ “THE FINE ART OF SELF DESTRUCTION” Jesse Malin out of BY MEG MOORE THE GAMECOCK Popular music has rarely had a place for the troubled troubadour. In a world where pop princesses reign and lyrically challenged rock * Hands fill the royal court, the true artiste has little chance of making it big. Fortunately for the discerning lis tener, talented mu sicians such as jesse maun continue iu sunaee and suffer for their art, despite their music’s lack of mainstream attention. As the front man for New York City-,based punk outfit D Generation, Malin is an unlikely candidate for indie-rock acclaim. Yet, with the help of alt-country friend Ryan Adams, Malin has put out a vintage-tinged album that is a little bit folk, a little bit rock ’n’ roll and, above all, a gen uine masterpiece. Obviously, it could be said that Malin’s debut solo effort, “The Fine Art of Self-Destruction,” would never even have been con ceived if not for his musical friends in high places — aka Adams. Yet, even more apparent is the fact that such an oversight would have been an injustice to both Malin and to his prospective listening audience. Recorded in a mere six days, Malin’s first attempt at “fine art” is certainly a musical marvel. From retro-rock tracks such as the “Mrs. Robinson”-esque “Brooklyn,” to folk-tinged tunes luce sontaxre,” Malin’s solo de but aptly mixes feeling with function. Although his lyrics rattle with angst and his voice war bles with raw honesty, aiaim s bungs remain catchy and, at times, almost carefree. Expanding beyond his punk roots, Malin emerges as a talented lyricist — a prowess that one ♦ MALIN, SEE PAGE 7 Malin’s solo debut aptly mixes feeling with function. Although his lyrics rattle with angst, his songs remain catchy. MOVIE REVIEW History jumps to silver screen “BLOODY SUNDAY” Directed by Paul Greengrass ★★★★★ out of frfr☆☆☆ BY BEN ANGSTADT THE (iAMBCOCK Jan. 30,1972, thousands of demonstrators in Northern Ireland came together to hold a peaceful march to protest the British rule of their homeland. Hours later, 14 protesters were dead and dozens others were wounded after British soldiers fired on the crowd. History has dubbed that day Bloody Sunday. It inspired the famous U2 song “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” Director Paul Greengrass has now presented the events of the Bloody Sunday Massacre on the big screen, in his film “Bloody Sunday.” The natives of Northern Ireland resented the rule of Great Britain over their country because they were routinely de nied basic civil rights. But while the actions taken against the British government by the Irish Republican Army were usually violent, the Northern Irish used civil disobedience to stage a peaceful demonstration. Greengrass’ directing style gives amazing authenticity to his powerful film. Much of the camera work is done with a hand-held camera that jostles and bounces as the cameraman runs, giving viewers the sensa tion that they are actually there, participating in the events that took place on that infamous day. During the demonstration, because of escalating violence against the government, the British government decided to station soldiers along the city streets where the events would play out. In the end, the soldiers opened fire on the crowd in re sponse to the few brash demon strators who opted to hurl rocks at their British oppressors. British soldiers attacked even those who came into the open to help the wounded. To further bolster the realism in “Bloody Sunday,” many of the thousands of extras cast as demonstrators were actually participants in the civil-rights march in 1972. Though many people in the world were ap palled by the actions of the British military, Queen Elizabeth II eventually decorat ed those military leaders who or ganized the operation. Overall, the film has a docu mentary feel, as it quickly changes back and forth between scenes of the demonstrators, the military, the military leadership and the organizers of the demon stration. There are quick fade outs between scenes that are reminiscent of old news broad casts and recordings. These interesting transitions reinforce the fact that the film is ultimately a product of history and not just a work of art. “Bloody Sunday” is a capti vating film that tells a little known story that exaggerates how precious freedom is and how much sacrifice has been made by our predecessors to se cure that freedom. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@notmail.com PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK James Nesbitt portrays civil-rights leader Ivan Cooper In “Bloody Sunday.” BOOK REVIEW Novel shines despite gloom ■ “SUICIDE CASANOVA” Arthur Nersesian ■*•★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BY BRIAN RAY THE GAMECOCK Arthur Nersesian’s latest novel follows a New Yorker’s ill-fated quest to ignite an old flame and reclaim his vitali ty “Suicide Casanova” has ev erything in common with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” including material istic hedonism, a tragic hero and eye-opening prose. Nersesian’s style glimmers in the darkness of this down-and out tale. Refusing to seek counseling after accidentally strangling his wife in the middle of an orgy with a New York University undergrad, Leslie Caldwell walks his apartment at night killing pigeons with his pellet gun. While mourning his wife, Cecilia, he stumbles upon a videotape of his first love, Sky Pacifica, a ’70s porn actress who has since dropped her bad habits and picked up a family. The ’70s pom scene serves as a backdrop for the story. Caldwell recounts shameless ly how he fell in love with Sky while frequenting porn the atres in Times Square. Caldwell’s wife worked as a dominatrix in a jazzed-up cabaret for New York’s lawyers and politicians be fore her ironic death. Seeping into a drug- and memory-haunted, savagely comic depression, Caldwell seeks out Sky Pacifica. The journey takes him through New York subway tunnels infested with old posters of Sky, and finally to Franklin Township, where he discov ers that she does social work His attempts to comer her in one last sexual encounter become increasingly desper ate; meanwhile, the law firm that pays for his chardonnay is nearing bankruptcy at the hands of a judge who once went to Cecilia for spank ings. The downward spiral ends in Caldwell’s ultimate demise. Stalking, impersonating a photographer from Calvin Klein, intense internal con flict and oodles of sex domi nate Caldwell’s journey as his mind rewinds and fast-for wards through the proverbial pom-filled tape of his past. We see everything from Caldwell’s kinky yet fulfilling courtship of Cecilia to Sky’s struggle for survival after ev ery strip club and director in two cities blacklists her as a result of her incessant coke abuse. In a series of flashbacks from the late ’70s through the mid-’80s, Nersesian gives us a compelling love story and characters whom the reader can identify with and pity. Caldwell has lost his mind in 2001, but 20 years ago, he saved Sky from cold nights in ♦ SUICIDE,’SEE PAGE 7