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Western Carolinian Volume 63 (64) Number 22

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  • features F 3 8 Enough of this Predigested 'Chew On It' in the Belk Gallery CarsH inian ■W~—~,V~^ i- .,„.,...,.* l..,,,...,,w.....vJ U....SV. w-i 1. ,s.*™,vJ j by Phoebe Esmon Features Editor When I walked into the darkened Belk gallery, I was surprised at how little "stuff' was actually in there. All I could make out in against the grey walls were a desk/ desk lamp (in the center of the space), and a television monitor with two chairs place in front of it (in the rear right corner). Then Jon Jicha began turning things on. The first thing he did was turn on the TV in the corner. I see a dim theater space with people taking their seats. Then the lights go out and we're all in the dark again. The seats, I realized, were situated to give the viewer the feeling of being a part of the audience on the screen. In the darkness a myriad different voices murmur in throaty stage whispers, "Dada.. .DaDa.. .Dada.. .DADA!" Again darkness. With superman-like speed the upper wall of the performance space is illuminated. Projected text, alternating with too much speed to be completely read, flashes words^rid ideas associated with the Dada movepaent. I sat, transfixed momentarily by the rapid fire word play. A play was taking shape beneath the vibrating dialogue. DADA , a play that was produced and 'filmed at Cal-Arts, which includes the artwork of Deborah Littlejohn and Micheal Worthington, is part of the new exhibition that opened in the Belk Gallery on February 22. "Chew On It: New Genre Hybrid Language" is an art exhibition the likes of which this campus has never seen. Curated by Jon Jicha, professor of art at WCU, and Deborah Littlejohn, Senior Designer at the Whitney Museum of American Art, "Chew on it" is unique dimensional event which will run simultaneously at WCU, the Asheville Art Museum, and the Haywood County Public Library. Each site will contain a separate installation. WCU plays host to four of the six installations included in this exhibition. Three are located in the Belk Gallery and one is located in the UC. Aside from DADA , the Belk Gallery plays host to Whereishere, a video environment project by Laurie Haycock- Makela and Scott Makela, and Die Zeitstucke, a world premier interactive piece by Piotr Szyhalsky. Located in the UC, Throwing Apple at the Sun is an interactive media piece by Elliot Earls. According to Laurie and Scott Makela, Whereishere feeds on our culture's obsessions, tools, de-materialization, and the audience. By barraging an 8' x 6' hyper- colored poster with a continuous loop of almost indecipherable imagery, and cou pling it with a soundtrack that would be well suited to Metropolis, the Makelas create a claustrophobic atmosphere that bespeaks a disturbing message. I stood hypnotized before the piece. I didn't even realize what the imagery on the poster was until it was illuminated by the projection, and then I couldn't look away. I felt motion sick. I started to sweat. I could not look away. I stared at my own shadow juxtaposed with the imagery. I was a part of the piece. I wanted to run. I wanted to stay. Die Zeitstucke, by Piotr Szyhalsky, is an interactive computer- based piece that 'explores the idea of human experience as the pivotal point in our perception of time'. Szyhalsky states that "In this body of work, [the] user is invited not only to experience time in different ways, but to engage in its manipulation. This tampering with time occurs in a variety of manners: from unintentional loss of a few seconds here, to deliberate and absolute halt of the flow for minutes there; from attentive search for meaning in time passed to violent hurdling up and down the visible timeline; from desperate attempts to work against the relentlessness of time to the quiet acceptance of the shifting physical manifestations of it." Jicha notes that Die Zeitstucke is a departure from other interactive media in that it is not purely prescriptive. In many pieces of this ilk one can only go in so far before one starts coming out. With Szyhalsky's piece, with each new viewer comes a myriad of possibilities. It is virtually impossible to replicate any one person's entrance and experience. This piece is like a physical embodiment of Einstein Dreams. Szyhalsky came to the US from Poland in 1990 to teach at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Since his arrival in this country, he has maintained a furious pace: teaching, showing his work internationally in both group and solo exhibitions, performing, winning grants and awards, and publishing." Szyhalsky is now working at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. His web-site The Spleen (www.mcad.edu/ home/faculty/szyhalsky/Piotr) has won several awards, and has been reviewed for the New York Times Arts section. Szyhalsky will be a visiting artist in the WCU Department of Art in the beginning of April (Date TBA), during which time he will lecture, and interact with the students in a critique setting. This show is hot. If you don't think you can haul yourself across campus to really understand what its all about, go to the UC, where Elliot Earls' interactive piece, Throwing Apples at the Sun will be on display throughout the run of the show. "Chew On It" will be going the Whitney Museum of Americaa Art after it leaves here. This is a unique opportunity for you to see the shape of things to come. Don't miss it. "Chew On It" will run simultaneously in the Belk Gallery, the Asheville Art Museum, and the Haywood Public Library from February 22 - March 19. There will be a closing reception in the Belk Gallery on March 17 from 5-7 pm. For more information, please contact the Belk Gallery at (828) 227-3591. $1250 FUNDRAISER Credit Card fundraiser for student organizations. You've seen other groups doing it, now it's your turn. One week is all it takes. NO gimmicks, NO tricks, NO obligation. Call for information today. 1-800-932-0528 x 65. www.ocmconcepts.com LMP ELECTIONS for President and Vice President Pick up applications at the UC Info. desk. • Bring them to the LMP office by March 19th. ' You must be a full time} student and have a 2.0 GPA. LMP CHAIRPERSON I ELECTIONS Pick up and hand in applications at the UC Info. desk. Deadline is April 9th and the elections will | be on April 12th. You must be a full time student and have a 2.0 GPA. Mad Batter makes daily muffins, cinnamon rolls, cookies, and your favorite European- style breads. New 4:30 p.m. Special: All pastries 1/2 Off!!! Mad Batter Breads now available at Blue Squirrel, The River House, City Lights, and for retail sales at Country Cupboard! 293-3096 iS cfb^C^JU K. Open Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Located between Valley Florist and Presley's Barber Shop
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