Students Set to “Experience the Arts” at OU

On Monday October 8^th, high school students from around the region will fast forward a year or two and experience the day in the life of a fine arts major.  This is the third year for Experience the Arts Day, put on by the College of Fine Arts to reach out to students interested in art, music, dance and theater.

The day consists of a welcome to all in attendance, followed by a short performance from each of the four schools. Students then have the opportunity to sit in on classes within all four of the schools during the day. Each school will have some sort of tour, information session, or question and answer for the students with specific information on auditions, portfolios, and applications. Tours of Lincoln Hall, which houses the fine arts Residential Learning Community, and an admissions tour of the campus wraps up the day. Throughout the day students will have the opportunity to interact and talk with Ohio University students, professors and faculty members to get a better sense of the school.

“It’s not something that is artificial; it’s the typical flow of the day,” said Norma Humphries, the Assistant Dean of the College of Fine Arts on experiencing the classes.

In the past parents had attended the classes, but this year they will have their own session. There will also be transportation provided to the Kennedy Museum of Art for parents to have a tour of the museum. By separating students from parents, the college hopes to give students a good sense of a typical routine day.

“The fact that they’re meeting real students who are in the major they’re looking at I think is also important so they get a feel for the school,” said Humphries.

Last year nearly 125 students participated in the day, and this year the college is able to accommodate up to 250 students and parents.

“We have more students come in that one day then what we see in an entire year in admission events,” said Humphries. “They like the people they interact with, they like the students and they feel comfortable here. So they can really see themselves being a student here.”

Sophomore music education major Jessica Lipscomb attended Experience the Arts Day and ended up deciding to attend Ohio University after the visit.

“Regular information sessions and tours offered through the University, though very helpful, do not dive in to the depths of the College of Fine Arts at all like Experience the Arts Day did,” said Jessica. “After experiencing how friendly the atmosphere was, my already high opinion of Ohio University was strengthened even further and I was then about 99% positive that I wanted to attend OU and the College of Fine Arts.”

For more information about the College of Fine Arts Experience the Arts Day log onto: http://www.finearts.ohio.edu/experience_arts.htm

-Ashleigh Mavros, Events Publicity Assistant

Bobcats, Bengals, Browns, Oh My!

At a Thursday afternoon practice the Marching 110 had a quaint audience; a small boy and his grandmother ate McDonald’s chicken nuggets in the bleachers as they bopped along to the music. Three days later the band had a crowd of over 65,000 anxious fans packed into the Paul Brown Stadium. On Sunday, September 16^th the Marching 110 packed up and headed to Cincinnati to perform during halftime of the Bengals/Browns football game.

Besides preparing two songs in lieu of the normal four to five and keeping in mind the different markings on a NFL football field, practices leading up to the game were like any other. On game day the band rocked out to “Motown Philly” by Boyz II Men and “You Shook Me All Night Long” by AC/DC.

Gina Alexander, a senior Communications Sciences and Disorders major from Tipp City, Ohio who plays trombone thought nothing of heading onto the field. “Playing at the Bengals games my freshman and sophomore year felt so much different; I was nervous because I had never played in front of such a large audience. I wasn’t really nervous performing as a senior.”

During Ohio University halftime performances the enthusiasm and energy that vibrates through the stadium before the band takes the field is inevitable; before an NFL halftime that energy level is just as intense.

“The atmosphere is amazing because of all the people there. I love the feeling I get when the clock reaches 0:00 and when we are waiting to march onto the field,” said Gina.

With such a large percentage of Ohio university students and alumni from the Cleveland and Cincinnati area, this specific game was a significant one for Ohio University.

Photo taken by Alana Jo Holdren.

“During the game there were so many supporters, mostly OU alumni that would come up to us saying things like ‘We’re so excited to see you perform, we love the marching 110’. After the game, both Browns and Bengals fans were really happy that we had performed and told us that they want to see us at more games,” said Brown’s fan Anne Connors, a senior from Medina, Ohio studying Health Services Administration.

As for the result of the game? Even though her team lost, Anne loved the experience. Gina on the other hand, had a bit more to be happy about. “I’ll always remember it because it was my last performance at an NFL game ever so it was great being able to watch my favorite team destroy the Browns and having my family there too.”

For more information about the Marching 110 http://www.marching110.org/

-Ashleigh Mavros, Event Publicity Assistant

School of Art New Faculty Exhibit Showcases Talent

Colagiovanni, Harper, Keough, Kessel,Rice, Schoenhoff,  and Tanner Young are seven names that will not be flying under the radar in the upcoming year; the new faculty to the School of Art have experience, complex backgrounds, and remarkable creative talent that shone through at the School of Art New Faculty Exhibit. The opening reception was held this past Thursday in the Trisolini Gallery located on the 4^th floor of Baker and the exhibit will run until October 13^th.

If one thing was evident from the opening reception, it’s that the new faculty members bring a diverse range of creativity to the School of Art and Ohio University. Mediums range greatly from video to rice paper and wood to make up the seventeen different works that showcase each faculty members’ personal style.

For example, woodshop technician Jason Tanner Young bases many of his pieces on events reminiscent of his youth. Since a child Young has had a desire for building; whether it is through means of wood and steel or tinkering with objects such as pliers and fishing poles, he builds off of his past and incorporates it into many pieces. Both of his pieces, “Get A Handle” and “Depending on Landmarks” integrates these ideas.

“I hope to bring a fresh perspective coming from a different place and a different background,” said Young.

Or in the case of Colleen Keough, the visiting assistant professor of trans-disciplinary art, her Irish heritage shines through in her piece “Passage”. The channel video installation recognizes the Irish immigration to the U.S. and the hardships endured.

“It’s really just kind of about my own personal connection to the land,” commented Keough.

The entire new faculty aims to broaden the perception and perspectives of students and push them outside of their normal boundaries. Their past experiences, backgrounds and personal styles are factors of influence they hope to pass on.  After taking the time to browse through their pieces at Trisolini it’s without a doubt that their students will be inspired for years to come.

The School of Art New Faculty Exhibit runs through October 13 at the Trisolini Gallery.

-Ashleigh Mavros, Events Publicity Assistant

Trisolini Gallery                                                                                                                                   405 Baker University Center                                                                                                    Tel: 740-593-1814                                                                                                                      Monday – Saturday, 10am – 4pm, and Thursdays 10am – 8pm.                                                                                                                                   www.ohio.edu/art 

Admission is free, all events are open to the public.

 

 

More Than Meets the Eye with Kennedy’s Navajo Exhibits

 

Unknown Weaver
Germantown Sampler on a Loom, c. 1895
Collection Kennedy Museum of Art

With more than 700 pieces, the Navajo Collection is the Kennedy Museum of Art’s largest exhibit that circulates through with pieces ranging from the 1800’s to the late 20^th century. Teec Nos Pos: Navajo Weavings is one of the current exhibits which will be showing until September 28^th along with recently opened Navajo Germantown Samplers which will run until March 10^th.

 The Navajo are the largest federally recognized tribe with their reservation located across the Four Corners consisting of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. These weavings were seen as a culturally rich tradition passed down mainly from mother to daughter and depending upon the time period, used for rugs, blankets, wall decorations, serapes, trading items and some purely to showcase their talent.

Behind these weavings lie many legends, traditions and symbolism that you would never have guessed solely by examining the pieces.  

• Looking at the intricate geometric patterns it is mind-blowing to imagine that all the weavings are done without a blueprint; the designs are straight out of the heads of the artists. To start the Navajo will mark the center of the weaving, but from that the design comes strictly from memory. If you look closely at the details of several weavings you will pick up on un-symmetrical mishaps due to the design-free process.

 • What do historical weavings and Starbucks have in common? Cochineal. During the 19^th century the Navajo began using Cochineal, a bug found in South America and Mexico, to crush and make a crimson-colored dye for their yarn. This past spring Starbucks began using the bug in lieu of finding more “natural” alternatives to synthetic dyes in their strawberry Frappuccino’s. However, the business was in hot water when vegans were un-informed that the drink contained the bug.

 • Legends passed down through generations have told the story of “Spider Woman,” the original Navajo weaver. Between 1300 and 1500 AD the Navajo migrated from Canada and settled in the Southwest. It is told that a holy person named Spider Woman taught the tribe how to weave and Spider Man instructed how to build looms, the support tools used when making the weavings. Today the legend still lives on in that to receive the gift of weaving youth need to find a spider web with morning dew to place in their right hand without destroying and their spirit will receive the talent. 

Unknown Weaver
Teec Nos Pos Rug, c. 1930-35
Wool, vegetal and synthetic dyes, natural yarns
Collection Kennedy Museum of Art
Gift of Edwin and Ruth Kennedy
This weaving incorporates a technically difficult weaving element: interlocking circles in red that areused as a border device creating a chain-link effect. It exemplifies a transitional piece between the Early and Classic periods.

 

• The swastika symbol appears in many pieces, but symbolizes a different meaning than what we are disposed to. In Navajo culture the swastika is known as the “Whirling Log”. This symbol was first seen in sand paintings in relation to Navajo religious ceremonies, and along with many Navajo symbols has a lengthy legend behind the symbol.

  • Since the 1970’s the Navajo have shied away from solely geometric patterns in their small pictoral weavings and have included modern symbolism of the Anglo culture; farm animals, trucks, letters of the alphabet, people and landscapes can all be found incorporated into the weavings representing the influence of today’s culture on the Navajo reservation.

For more information visit: https://www.ohio.edu/museum

 

-Ashleigh Mavros-Events Publicity Assistant

Combined Ohio University Choirs, Alumni Choir and Symphony Orchestra

This Saturday night in the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium the Ohio University Choirs and Symphony Orchestra will be performing Johann Sebastian Bach’s Mass in B-minor.

The Mass in B minor is a musical setting of the complete Latin Mass. The work was one of Bach’s last, not completed until 1749, the year before his death in 1750. Much of the Mass consisted of music that Bach had composed earlier: the Kyrie and Gloriasections had been composed as a Lutheran Missa in 1733 for the Elector of Saxony at Dresden. The Sanctus dates back to 1724, and the Qui tollismovement was based on a cantata chorus dating from 1714. To complete the work, however, in the 1740s Bach composed new sections of the Credo such as Et incarnatus est. The completed Mass was his last major composition.

The piece has never been performed in Athens before and it will be conductor Dr. Peter Jarjisian’s last performance as Director of Choirs at Ohio University.

Alumni from across the country will be travelling to Athens for the opportunity to perform the B-minor Mass.

The choirs have been rehearsing the score for the entire academic year and have even performed selections along the way, but the Mass will be presented in its entirety on Saturday night.

Faculty soloists include You-Seong Kim, Debra Rentz, Philip Christiansen, Andrew Blosser, and Paul Barte with guest soloist Katherine Rohrer.

Saturday May 26 at 7:30pm in the Memorial Auditorium. Admission is free.

The Seabury Quinn, Jr. Playwrights’ Festival

The School of Theater presents the Seabury Quinn, Jr., Playwrights’ Festival.  The festival celebrates the work of the playwright. Works in progress by student playwrights are directed, read and performed (often for the first time in public) and are evaluated by guest artists.

Held each year at the end of May, the festival presents a year’s worth of work by graduate playwright majors. First-year graduate students present their work in rehearsed seated readings, while second- and third-year students present their work in the form of rehearsed script-in-hand readings or full studio productions.

The performances and readings will each be followed by a discussion with leading playwrights, artistic directors and other nationally known professionals. Audience members are encouraged to stay and participate in these forum discussions.

Tickets for featured productions are $5 general admission or free for OU Students (with Valid Student ID) through Arts for Ohio. Tickets are available at the Kantner Hall box office.
All other readings and staged readings are free and seats are available on a first come, first served basis.

Featured Performances:

THE MAGNIFICENT MASKED HEARING AID

“Ask Tess if the real hero is Superman or Clark Kent; she’ll say the glasses make the man.  Once the teenager learns she’ll be deaf by age thirty, her outlook fogs.  How she feels about the Man of Steel, which art school to go to, whether to get a risky surgical implant to restore her hearing — everything’s up in the air, until Tess decides what defines her:  her abilities or how she masks them.”

By Sarah Bowden

Actors Matt Marceau, Rachel Collins and Marissa Wolf

Directed by Shelley Delaney

May 23, 25, 31 & June 2

Forum Theater, RTV Building @ 8pm

ISRAELI — PALESTINIAN RESOLUTION A VERY, EXTREMELY IMPORTANT PLAY (IN PROGRESS) BY SAMUEL GOLDMEYER

“Samuel Goldmeyer is an 18-year old playwright prodigy. In fact, he is SUCH a playwright prodigy that he has written the most important play ever- a play, which will solve Israeli Palestinian conflict, catapult him into fame and fortune, and also finally prove to his parents that Judaism is obviously totally lame. So then why does his stupid mom keep mysteriously appearing on stage during his opening night? “

Directed by Jocelyn Wiebe

Featuring the acting talents of: Clifton Holznagel, Glenna Brucken, Andy Danford, and Nicole Tuthill

Stage-managed by Abbey Phillips and Aurora Held

A Play by Ira Gamerman

May 24, 26, 30 & June 1

Forum Theater, RTV Building @ 8pm

Festival Readings:

May 30 – June 2

Elizabeth Evans Baker Theater, Kantner Hall,

Wednesday, May 30th

1pm THE NORTH STAR by Anthony Ellison

4pm IN THE SHADOW OF HIS LANGUAGE by Jacob Juntunen

8pm TAKING UP SERPENTS by Mark Chrisler

Thursday, May 31st

1pm THEY’RE NOT RAPPERS by Chanel Glover

4pm THE FINGERTIPS OF CHILDREN by Greg Aldrich

8pm YOUR FOOT, MY FOOT, WET FOOT, DRY FOOT by Rebecca Abaffy

Friday, June 1st

2pm IN DEFENSE OF DRAGONS AND TIGERS by Leean Kim Torske

4pm THE PHYSICS OF TINY BUBBLES by Jeremy Sony

Saturday, June 2nd

1pm AT THE RIVER’S END by Bianca Sams

4pm PUPPET MAN by Andrew Black

A Capella Invitational presented by the Singing Men of Ohio

The Singing Men of Ohio will be hosting their annual a cappella invitational on Saturday May, 19 at the Templeton Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium.

There will be performances by Section 8, Title IX, Tempo Tantrums, Leading Tones and New Chords on the Block.

The invitational brings all of the a cappella groups on campus together under one venue.  Each group was asked to prepare 30 minutes worth of songs.  There will be a special performance of Heart’s “Alone” from the School of Music’s a cappella groups Section 8 and Title IX.

“A capella invitational is always a great time at the end of the year for all of the groups to come together” said senior Ray Wolfe, 2012 president of the Singing Men of Ohio.

This venue is the only performance of the year that features all five groups from the campus.

The invitational will be emceed by Section 8 Alumnus Nicholas Campagna.

The event will begin at 7:30pm and is free to all who wish to attend.