Despite his image, V actor Hugh Grant is anything but a bumbler
Page 7
NEWS & VIEWS
There oughta be a law: Area officials tackle public nudity, prostitution
Page 6
MUSIC
Bela Fleck tells tales from his acoustic banjo planet
Page 14
ONSTAGE
Frankenstein stages original Rod Serling script of ‘Requiem for a Heavyweight’
Page 23 Look Inside!
Official Program for FIFTH THIRD
Volume 1, Issue 26
editor/co-publisher John Fox
GENERAL MANAGER/CO-PUBLISHER Dan Bockrath
managing editor Alison Tranbarger
news editor Nancy Firor
contributing editors Mike Breen, Music; Dale Doerman, Onstage; Billie Jeyes, Literary; Rick Pender, Onstage; Steve Ramos, Film; Fran Watson, Art.
contributing writers Anne Arenstein, Karen Amelia Arnett, Lisa Baggerman, Brian Baker, Polly Campbell, Elizabeth Carey, Jane Durrell, Jeff Hillard, Jon Hughes, John James, Josh Katz, Jonathan Kamholtz, Michelle Kennedy, Kim Krause, Craig Lovelace, David Pescovitz, Jeremy Schlosberg, Peggy Schmidt, Kathy Y. Wilson, John 0. Young.
photo editor Jymi Bolden
photographers Jon Hughes, Staff; Bonnie Greer, Sean Hughes, Doug Motto, Marty Sosnowski.
listings editor Billie Jeyes
editorial intern Charlotte McPherson
cartoonists Gary Gaffney, Julie Larson, Tom Tomorrow.
art director Paul Neff
production Mark Dodge, Sean Hughes, Mark Shepherd.
display advertising Michael Finney, Bill Kellerman, Mimi Thomas.
classified advertising Jenifer Marcinkoski
distribution Media Distribution Services
published by Lightbome Publishing Inc. Thomas R. Sehiff, ChiefExecutive Officer
OtyBeaf
23 E. Seventh St., Suite 617 Cincinnati, OH 45202
Telephone: 513/665-4700
Fax: 513/665-4369
CompuServe: 71633,11
E-mail: 71633.ll@compuserve.com
Cincinnati CityBeat is published every Thursday. One
editorial
to CityBeat's right to edit and to our copyright provisions.
deadlines: Calendar listings information, noon Thursday before publication; classified advertising, 5 p.m. Friday before publication; display advertising, noon Monday before publication. Next issue will be published May 18, 1995. PRINTED ON RECYCLED
News&Weirs
The Straight Dope
BY CECIL ADAMS
The cow goes “moo. The sheep goes “baa. What do little kids in Africa learn instead? What does the wildebeest say, for example?
Bill Kinnersley, via the Internet
You are a lucky guy. I’ve just been reading a book on this subject by Hank De Zutter, an English professor and honorary chairman of the zoophilology department here at the Straight Dope Institute of Knowledge.
Hank writes the kind of book the world of science could use more of: big type, lots of pictures and titles like Who Says a Dog Goes Bow-wow? I have counseled Hank that if he’d called his book Differential Ethnic Perception of Animal Vocalization he would have been awarded a chair at Harvard by now and perhaps a nice coffee table to go with it. But he says he’s happier in the kid’s department. “Sure my readers get into childish arguments,” he says, “but at least they’re not over tenure.”
Anyway, to your question. Hank has scanned his animal sound database for reports on the wildebeest in vain. “No gnus,” he says. Such a kidder. In fact, he’s a little suspicious of some of the reports he got on other African animals. “Many (African sources), when asked what various animal sounds were, simply imitated the sound, actually snorting quite accurately, I might add like a pig, but laughing at the idea of spelling that snort. That didn’t keep them from trying, but it did make me wonder whether I was getting improvisation, not linguistic heritage. A Nigerian diplomat speaking Yoruba insisted that a Nigerian pig says ‘moo-moo.’ A Ghanaian speaking Twi says the same pig makes a sound like ‘hu-hu.’ Take that pig to the Netherlands though, and natives there will say it goes ‘knor-knor;’ and in China it says ‘hu-lu.’
“The Dutch, it seems, have an unusual way of hearing animals or spelling what they hear. While most languages hear in some kind of ‘moo-moo’ or ‘mu-mu’ from the cow, the Dutch hear a cow say ‘boe’ or ‘boeh’ which to me sounds a little like a ‘beuh.’ The Ethiopian I consulted said a cow there says ‘e-bah,’ making me wonder just how many cows there might be in Ethiopia.
“Your correspondent also mentioned the lamb, which most languages render into some kind of braying sound that starts with either a B or an M, producing either ‘ba—a—a’ or ‘ba—a—ay,’ or ‘ina—a—a’ or ‘ma-a-ay.’ Most of my African sources
said a lamb there said ‘ba-a-a.’ My Zimbabwe source, a poet and actress, says that in her native language of Ndebele a cow indeed goes ‘moo’ and a lamb or sheep goes ‘maaa.’
“But there are exceptions. Someone who speaks the Indonesian language of Suhaswoto said the lamb sound in that language sounds something like ‘em-beck.’ My favorite weird animal sound is the Iranian rooster, who is said to crow ‘goo-goolie goo-goo.’
“In general, onomatopoeia is not what
it’s cracked up to be. A balloon doesn’t pop with a ‘bang’ or a ‘pop’ in the German spoken by some Swiss. A SwissGerman balloon explodes with a ‘schnalz.’ For more, see Who Says a Dog Goes Bow-wow? by Hank De Zutter (Doubleday, 1993).
Pause that refreshes
Here in northern Illinois and southem Wisconsin I see a lot ofsoda-pop machines that are outside all year round. During the winter we have streaks ofcold weather where the ternperature can be belowfreezingfor weeks at a time. What happens to the soda in these machines? Does itfreeze and break the cans or what?
Scott Bright, via the Internet
I must tell you frankly that this is not the thing that amazes me, Scott. After all, the optimal temperature for an icecold Coke is, if not ice-cold, then pretty close to it 38 degrees Fahrenheit.
Pop-machine manufacturers use various
OF
WHEN THE PRESIDENT INDIRECTLY ACCUSED
TALK RADIO OF HELPING To CREATE THE CL\-
MATE WHICH SPAWNED THE OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING, RUSH LIMBAU6H RESPONDED WITH RIGHTEOUS INtHGHAT/oH INSISTING THAT HIS SHOW IS SIMPLY AN INNOCENT DISOISSION OF THE Role OF GOVERNMENT -THE SORT OF DEBATE WHICH HAS BEEN GOING ON IN THIS COUNTRY FOR. 100 YEARS.”
HOW A80UT THIS: 'ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL-EXCFPT FOR LIBERAL WACKoST
A
-WHO, ACCORDING To THE MED A-WATfcH JOURNAL EXTRA!, "MIMICS THE SOUND of A Firing pin-'KCHIHG-KCHtMty AS he paves Against THE GOVERNMENT AND TALKS TO LISTENERS ABOUT SHOOTING MEMBERS of congress 4 formING GUERILLA CEILS..'.'
AND WE CERTAINLY CAN T FORGET 6- GORDON LIDDT, WHO HAS DISCUSSED THE BEST WAY To KILL A.TF. AGENTS WEARING BODY ARMOR C'SHOOT FOR THE HEAD".).., -AND who D£ SCRIBED HOW TO BUILD A BOMB WHICH 'WOULD TAKE OUT A BUILDING"--
Train in Vain
CBC tries to railroad through election proposal in the name of ‘helping the people
BY JOHN FOX
All aboard, Cincinnati, and have your tickets ready. Destination: Directly Elected Mayor City. Don’t tarry on the platform; this train is leaving yesterday. Yes, we’re being railroaded again.
Any time two of the city’s most powerful business leaders one who decided to move 700 Cincinnati jobs to Atlanta (Federated’s James Zimmerman) and the other who oversaw a 10 percent reduction in corporate work force (Procter & Gamble’s Edwin Artzt) announce a plan to “help the people,” I get nervous. And when The Enquirer and The Post jump on the same bandwagon, I get really nervous..
Such is the case with the Cincinnati Business Committee (CBC) proposal for directly electing our mayor. CBC heavies Zimmerman and Artzt have been all over the dailies’ front and editorial pages touting the benefits of overhauling Cincinnati’s city council-city manager form of government. Their plan is endorsed by the CBC’s 27 all-male and (with one exception) all-white business executives, most of whom don’t even live in the city of Cincinnati.
Meanwhile, a meeting was held the other night of people from the Democratic and Charter parties, the NAACP, several unions and various religious and civic groups whose membership could represent threefourths of the citizens of Cincinnati to come up with an alternative to the CBC plan. Coverage of this meeting was buried in both The Post and The Enquirer. Of course, it doesn’t help that this coalition couldn’t come up with its own plan. Neither could the Council-backed Charter Review Commission.
So we’re left with CBC folks collecting petition signatures to get the plan on Cincinnati’s August ballot. There’s no alternative, no middle ground, to the CBC’s our-plan-or-continued-chaos approach.
Here are a few suggestions.
I agree with the CBC proposal in some fundamental ways: Cincinnati’s mayor should be directly elected,
focusing the city’s political and civic agenda on one person who’s directly accountable to the voters; the mayor should serve a four-year term; Cincinnati has a long tradition of non-partisan elections that should be continued; and this issue must be decided right now, that another two years of malaise could be devastating.
The nuts and bolts of how we elect the mayor need a little work. In order to truly galvanize public opinion and political will in our mayor, that person must be elected by a plurality of voters. Going through all this hassle to get one field race for mayor, as the CBC proposes, and then electing someone with 35 percent of the vote makes no sense. Have a non-partisan primary in August, with the top two vote-getters running against each other in November.
Any candidate who runs in the primary and doesn’t make the run-off can still run for City Council, but the two finalists can’t; this assures a strong field in the primary. Cincinnati would finally get a local election with a twist two candidates running against each other; we would actually have a choice, not a pick-nine ballot like we’re used to. It wouldn’t cost any more money; by switching council seats to four-year terms as well, Cincinnati would still hold two elections every four years, just like it is now.
While we’re overhauling the system, let’s also strengthen term limits and introduce campaign spending limits. A mayor would be able to serve two consecutive terms, while council members would serve three terms (or 12 years) maximum lifetime. Not consecutive, lifetime.
I agree with a point Zimmerman made in a recent Post editorial, that we must “provid(e) an alternative to the status quo.” The status quo in Cincinnati is that the business community railroads through its ideas with the help of a pliant city council, agreeable media and a snoozing electorate.
Against the advice of Cincinnati’s health commissioner, Cincinnati City Council has voted to stop the practice of buying and distributing condoms.
Condom distribution has been part of the city’s program to help prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STD). The condom ban follows reports that the number of syphilis cases in Cincinnati soared in 1994.
The ban was proposed by Councilman Charles Winburn, who questioned the city's role in “promoting immorality.”'
The ban passed on a 5 to 4 vote.
Councilman Nick Vehr, who supported the ban, cited the government’s role in citizens' personal lives. Councilmen Phil Heimlich, Tom Luken and Dwight Tillery also supported the ban.
Because of the condom ban, the city faces a loss of up to $600,000 in state and federal funds.
Councilwoman Bobbie Sterne has asked the city solicitor to determine whether the vote is invalid in light of a requirement under the city charter that an ordinance changing health board regulations requires a vote of threefourths of council members.
In March, 1995, county commissioners in Dallas County, Texas, voted in favor of a similar ban that imposed restrictions on the distribution of condoms, as well as certain sexual education materials. What impact has the ban had on the number of sexually transmitted disease cases there?
It’s too early to tell, said Dr. Charles Haley, epidemiologist for the Dallas County Health Department. But the most significant impact of the ban, which covers the distribution of condoms as well as literature with the word "condom” in it, will be the accompanying loss of state and federal funding, Haley said. Dallas’ loss of about $3 million in state and federal grants will, among other things, reduce the county’s sexually transmitted disease clinic staff by half, Haley said. Because of these cutbacks, Haley expects an increase in syphilis cases.
“If we’re at half the capacity of our STD clinics, think in the next two or three years we’ll see a syphilis epidemic," Haley said. "It’s very interesting for me. I’m an epidemiologist, and it looks like I’m going to have an epidemic to study.”
Business Advocates Measure Panhandlers’ Needs
Cincinnati’s new rules for panhandlers, passed May 3 by City Council, included plans to study panhandlers' needs.
But Downtown Cincinnati Inc. (DCI) officials, who pushed for the ordinance, warned that the study could be in jeopardy if council did not pass the ordinance to be in effect indefinitely.
The ordinances prohibit sitting or sleeping on city streets; asking for money near parking meters, automatic teller machines and right of ways; and asking for money after dark. A similar law passed in Berkeley, Calif., has been ruled unconstitutional in U.S. District Court.
Cincinnati’s ordinances will be in effect from July 1 to Nov. 26 unless renewed by council. Because of this "sunset" provision, DCI is scrambling to begin its proposed study, said Dave Phillips, DCI’s chief executive officer.
“The sunset character of the (legislation) was the reason for the drop-out of our second funder (of the study),” Phillips said. “We’ve gone forward with the money from our other funder, but we’re looking for other revenue sources."
Would DCI want the law to stay in effect regardless of what the study showed?
Yes, Phillips said. “Our study looks at matching the needs of panhandlers against the resources available.”
If DCI noted a pattern of need, Phillips said DCI would get help for the panhandlers.
BURNING QUESTIONS is our weekly attempt to afflict the comfortable.
News&Views
An Alternative Look at How and Why It Happened
Bombing Memories Will 'Never Leave’
Cincinnati-based Parents ofMurdered Children returns from Oklahoma City thinking of those who suffered loss
BY JEFFREY HILLARD
Nancy Munch faced one of the more intense decisions of her life, if not the most nerve-wracking, in her 10 years as executive director of the National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children (POMC).
Less than 24 hours after the April 19 bombing of the Alfred Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the Oklahoma attorney general was asking for POMC representatives to counsel families whose children had been killed in the terrorist attack.
Munch hesitated.
“I had good reasons not to jump so suddenly,” she says in her downtown Cincinnati office. “POMC only responds to a crisis of this proportion when requested by an authority.... I was thinking, there are already thousands rushing to give comfort and care to people who lost loved ones. I wasn’t sure the city could handle more or needed more. 1 wanted to let the cameras fade.”
POMC’s 100 chapters are operated through the national office in Cincinnati, where the organization was founded in 1978. The office receives an average of 1,000 calls a week from parents or friends relating to the murder of a child.
Confusing Munch’s decision was that she and her daughter, Jamie Ruhe, were due April 22 in Wichita, Kan., for the dedication of a monument paying tribute to murdered children.
So from Wichita, Munch and Ruhe drove to Oklahoma City. A rancid odor loomed over the city when they got there, they recall.
5
“It was worse than fire smoke or sulfur,” Ruhe says. “It was the burning odor of the bomb’s chemicals. It was even burning our eyes.”
PHOTO: hot line was set up sentatives who had teams rotated around The group sponsored Methodist Church by the president of Attorney of Oklahoma television show America’s “The dynamics Tuesday (April 25),” into Wednesday. Some family who were still comfort.” Since their return
Statehouse
that nudity in the parks is not a problem.
According to news reports, only a dozen or so complaints were made last year, and when park officers asked the women to cover up, they generally complied.
Terwilleger disagrees with the ODNR’s assessment.
“I think one or two instances of public indecency is enough of a problem,” a member of his staff said.
BY IRV OSLIN
Nudity and the Law
Seems some folks in Warren County have been seeing too much of one another literally. And now certain members of the state legislature plan to do something about it.
Roslyn Scheer of the American Association of Nude Recreation thinks the proposed law is an overreaction. “Many people skinny-dip Jn the remote woodlands and waterways of Ohio, where they neither offend nor embarrass others, and some people like to sunbathe in the privacy of their boats,” she said. “Unfortunately, legislators are confusing criminal, indecent and immoral behavior with mere nudity.”
Oliver said he would prefer to see the publie display of breasts classified as indecent exposure. “From my perspective, we’re involved in an educational process. When you tell most people, including legislators, prosecutors and law enforcement officials, that the female breast is not a private part, they look at you like you're nuts.”
One of the strongest complaints has come from Warren County Prosecutor Tim Oliver, who pressed for a new law out of his past frustration over nudists who, in his eyes, got nothing more than a slap on the wrist.
Under HB 188, anyone convicted of exposing private parts could face a fine of up to $10,000 and 30 days in jail. Two committee hearings have been held on HB 188. So far no opposing testimony has been heard.
"Landowners along the Little Miami have continually made complaints about people on the river coming along and exposing themselves,” Oliver said. “We’re not talking about people hiding behind the bushes, trying to relieve themselves. We’re talking about people who do deliberate exposure.”
Representatives of nudist advocacy groups express fear that the bill is being railroaded through. They hope to testify against HB 188 before it passes out of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee and onto the house floor. Members of the committee and the Buckeye Naturists are asking members to call or fax their state representatives.
State Rep. George Terwilleger, R-Mainesville, is sponsoring legislation that would ban recreational nudity in areas controlled by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
IRV OSUN is a Columbus-based writer who covers Statehouse issues monthly for CityBeat.
House Bill 188 would authorize the director of natural resources to designate watercourses as state trails for recreational purposes and mandates that the Little Miami River specifically be named a state trail. The Little Miami was singled out because it happens to be connected to Caesar Creek, where women occasionally go topless. Current Ohio law does not prohibit women from exposing their breasts.
For the most part, ODNR officials insist
Crossing the
BY ELIZABETH CAREY
Ohioans who go to Kentucky for sex have become the latest target in Covington’s clampdown on prostitution.
Through the Prostitution Solution Committee, formed by the Covington Business Council, city leaders are asking state legislators to increase the penalties for soliciting or committing prostitution to a felony on the fifth offense.
The committee and Covington’s mayor also are asking The Kentucky Post to resume its practice of publishing pictures of convicted offenders in an effort to keep them on the Ohio side of the river.
“Basically we want people to know, if you come to Covington and participate in prostitution, you’re going to get caught and it’s not going to be a pleasant experience,” said Tom West, Covington Business Council executive director.
That could mean problems for Cincinnati, said Sgt. Paul Klusmeier of the Cincinnati Police Division’s vice squad.
“I think we’ll see a large increase (in prostitution) here,” he said. “If they’re successful, you’ll see very few girls working over there. They’ll be working over here.”
Covington Mayor Denny Bowman said that local judges did not have a history of issuing the maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $500 fine and leniency would not curtail repeat offenders.
Ohio for Sex
In Ohio, the maximum penalty for soliciting prostitution is 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
Statistics show that prostitution arrests in Covington are dropping from 101 prostitution-related arrests in 1991 to 50 in 1994. As of April 27, 22 arrests had been made in 1995, most stemming from recent undercover sweeps, said Lt. Bill Dorsey, public information officer for the Covington police.
Klusmeier estimates that the majority of the 35 to 40 people arrested for solidtation in Cincinnati are from Ohio and the Greater Cincinnati area, with the second most frequent home address being Kentucky.
Only in cases of repeated convictions of promoting prostitution does a person face felony charges. Someone who serves as a madam or operates a brothel would be charged with promoting prostitution, Klusmeier said.
For a short time in 1988, The Kentucky Post published the conviction records and photographs of convicted prostitution solicitors in Newport. The newspaper stopped the practice because editors felt it did not solve the problem, said Post Editor Judy Clabes.
The British actor gives adoring movie audiences what they want while taking time to explore his dark side
It’s his upper lip. Quivering. Forming into an expression that’s half-smile, half-sneer. Or maybe it’s his eyelashes. The way they flutter before he speaks.
As actor Hugh Grant pauses in the lobby of a New York hotel, you’re compelled to study his face and body language. What is it about him that works so well? Women, men, both young and old, fawn, swoon and hang on his every word.
Standing among a crowd of assistants, publicists and star-struck onlookers, Grant seems absolutely natural. Whether on or off camera, is charm flows effortlessly.
But it’s all quite deceiving.
“He’s an actor who works with extraordinary precision,” sayS'Mike Newell, who directed Grant in Four Weddings and a Funeral and the upcoming An Awfully Big Adventure. “Hugh appears to be what every British actor wants, the ultimate talented amateur. Of course it’s not true. Hugh works immensely hard.”
“Did you see Hugh’s acceptance speech at the Golden Globes?”
Newell asks, referring to the stumbling, rambling remarks Grant made in January after being named Best Male Lead in a Comedy for Four Weddings. “That was a rehearsed
ON PAGE 8
GRANT: FROM PAGE 7
speech. Hugh’s a very clever man. Nothing is amateur about Hugh.”
And look at the results. Grant’s persona of a bumbling English chap who fumbles over every word and trips in every doorway, while always winning the girl, has made him a worldwide star. To his fans and the press, that’s the real Hugh Grant.
Is it an act?
“I probably am nicer to the press than I would normally be,” Grant says in an interview in a room in the same hotel.
“You probably would be, too. You don’t want to bring your black side out.”
In his films, this bumbling English chap is the Grant audiences want to see. So, will he continue to give the people what they want, or expand his craft as an actor? With three diverse roles this summer The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain (opening Friday), Nine Months (July 14) and Aw Awfully Big Adventure (July 21) audiences truly will see the two sides of Hugh Grant.
Success changes everything
A little more than a year ago, Grant could have stood in this same lobby all day and no one would have noticed. No entourage. No onlookers.
But success changes everything. Four Weddings and a Funeral, a comedy about a perpetual British bachelor (Grant) who falls in love with an
American woman (Andie MacDowell), earned $234 million worldwide to become the most successful British film in history. Grant is now one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors.
“It’s a very odd situation,” Grant admits. Dressed in khakis and a worn tweed jacket, he looks completely relaxed. Not true, he says, explaining that he’s still getting used to his stardom.
“I don’t really have the hang of it yet,” Grant says. “The phone never stops ringing with things. You have to get all the ad
men out of the way. Then, you can do the creative stuff. I feel like a rabbit caught in the headlights.”
Hollywood sees Grant as more of a golden goose. Everyone has a project for him. Grant was approached at a post-Oscars party about playing a snowman. Director John Hughes (Home Alone) wanted him for a movie about a bee. Joel Silver, producer of action films like Die Hard and Lethal Weapon, posed the quintessential Hollywood question: Can Hugh Grant carry a gun?
Grant’s not complaining. Sure, the paparazzi often take unflattering photos. In England, Fleet Street tabloids print new lies about him every day in the gossip columns. Reporters bang on his parents’ doors at all hours. But, at 34, he has struggled too long not to appreciate his new celebrity status.
Bom in London to a schoolteacher mother and a carpet-salesman-tumedartist father, Grant graduated from Oxford University with a degree in English. After performing with the Oxford University Drama Society, Grant formed the revue group Jockeys of Norfolk, performing and writing satirical revues. Sitting in the audience at one performance was director James Ivory, who cast him in Maurice (1987), an adaptation of the E.M. Forster novel about gay lovers. Grant later worked with Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant in The Remains of the Day.
Grant’s image as a prim and proper upper-class Englishman began to take shape. He played the composer Chopin in Impromptu (1989), a cruise-ship passenger who becomes obsessed with the sexual escapades of another couple in director Roman Polanski’s Bitter Moon (1992) and a stiff preacher surrounded by an artist and his nude models in director John Duigan’s Sirens (1994). Grant continued his theme of repressed British male characters in Four Weddings, but something different happened. Grant clicked with audiences. Really clicked. Four Weddings accomplished what 12 previous years of acting did not it made him a star.
21
Fifth Third Bank
Grant and Tara Fitzgerald in The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain, which opens Friday.
What happened? Christopher Monger, director of The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill, claims it has to do with Grant’s unique chemistry.
“I think he’s charming and at the same time honest,” Monger says. “It’s a very winning combination. I think he deserves (the stardom). It’s great for him, and it’s great for me.”
Now that Grant is a major star, working in small art films like Englishman may not be a wise career move. He plays an English cartographer who travels to the village of Ffynnon Garw to measure the local mountain. The resulting film is more an ensemble piece than star vehicle; other characters often upstage Grant with funnier dialogue. Its $5 million budget does not approach the backing for 20th Century Fox’s Nine Months.
“I thought the role was charming, but more than that I thought the film was charming,” Grant says. “It worked, and scripts that work are just one in thousands.”
Grant signed on to Englishman before Four Weddings took off. Monger got nervous. Financing hinged on Grant being a part of the project if he walked away for something bigger, Englishman would not be made. Grant stayed, and the film opens Friday. With Nine Months, a big-budget comedy from director Chris Columbus (Mrs. Doubtfire), Grant answers the call of the Hollywood blockbuster. Grant’s character finds his life turned upsidedown when his wife announces that she’s pregnant. A big studio offers Grant perks he’s not used to receiving. Bigger paychecks. Famous co-stars like TomArnold and Robin Williams. Columbus changed the lead part, originally written as an American, just for Grant.
Grant explains that it doesn’t matter whether he’s working on a small art film or a big studio release. There’s always pressure.
“(In small-budget films) you only have time and money for a few takes, and the pressure on you is enormous,” he says. “Maybe you got it right in rehearsal, but when they finally say ‘action’ you freeze a bit because you think, ‘Shit, I’ve got to get it in three takes or otherwise I won’t get it.’ And very often you, therefore, don’t get it. If it was great, then that’s a bonus. But if it wasn’t, then it was marvelous to have made the film anyhow.
“For a big Hollywood studio it has to
CoverStory
be great. It’s very nice to have lots of money and time for once, but it’s also extremely frightening because you can’t really say anymore, ‘I didn’t really get that because we didn’t have enough time or enough money.’ That puts it absolutely on you to come up with the goods.”
Charming in Englishman and madcap in Nine Months, Grant takes a completely different approach in An Awfully Big Adventure. He plays the acerbic director of a repertory theater company who has no patience for fools but a fondness for young boys. A long-standing project for Newell, Adventure was originally scheduled as a BBC television drama. The BBC eventually pulled out, and Newell scraped together just enough money for a short production schedule. Someone showed Grant a copy of the script, and he decided he had to be in it.
“I thought it was a good movie,” says Grant. “I thought the script was fascinating, and they are so rare. I didn’t think it was a risk to my career, but I’ve been frightened to death by people coming up to me, important people in the industry who’ve come up to me and said, ‘What the hell did you think you were doing?’
Newell says audiences will see more of the “real” Hugh Grant in his Adventure role. “Hugh saw it as a tremendous opportunity to show that he had range,” he says. “He’s much more like this character than his Four Weddings character. This character can draw blood by what he says, and Hugh can do that. He lobbied me energetically for the part. I was less than sure, but the financiers were very keen on Hugh because of Four Weddings
Juggling it all
Grant stands at a crossroads between his famous persona and who he really is, between his celebrity status and his desire to be a better actor, between his-past and his future.
Although his name often comes up at Los Angeles parties, Grant keeps England his home. He shares a country home with his girlfriend of eight years, Estee Lauder model Elizabeth Hurley. When not working, he plays soccer and goes for drinks at the local pub. He has no plans to relocate to America.
“It’s my home,” Grant says of England. “It’s my identity. You just don’t want to become another homogenized actor living exactly the same way as all the other actors. You have to go and feed yourself and center yourself. It’s your roots, and I think you need to stay attached to them.”
Plan on seeing Grant in more American movies, but don’t plan on him playing any American characters. In the movies and in real life, Grant will remain British. “I seem to need the Britishness,” he says. “I’m not comfortable playing Americans. It just seems absurd.”
Grant also is interested in becoming active behind the camera. Through
Castle Rock Films, Grant’s development company is scouting for British talent to make England-based movies. He is also determined to write, hoping to finish a screenplay for a comedy.
“I have an extraordinarily and unjustifiably high opinion of my own ability to write a script,” he says, “seeing that I never have actually written one.”
Grant also continues to act. This fall, he’ll be seen alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Meg Ryan in the costume drama Restoration. He begins work this summer on a film adaptation of Jane Austin’s
Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson, who also wrote its screenplay. His choices are endless, but his decisions remain difficult.
An urban dweller does not often have the luxury of a clear view of the sky. Most often, one sees little bits of blue wedged between brick and cement, and one’s spirit forgets the allure of that vast expanse.
am grateful that can see the sun rise and set from the windows of my third-floor Walnut Hills dwelling: My days can thus be complete. Just as living in a narrow "holler, as the mountain people of Appalachia call their valleys, permits all-too-brief visits with the sun and stars, so too life among towering buildings parcels out the sky. Watching birds and bats in the city restores a broader vision within the artificial constrictions. A part of me flies free with them as watch my winged cousins at home high above, and I often imagine the broad picture of earth from their aerial vantage point.
From my small backyard, on those crystalline days that accompany a sweep of Canadian air across the region, my gaze goes skyward. While cirrus clouds arch like horses’ manes, stark white in the unfathomable blue, love to watch the swallows wheel and dart like mad feathered kamikazes. Are they at work or at play? In their graceful flight one finds no such distinction.
One evening as watched the sunset from my west window, I saw the sky alive with chimney sweeps, those “flying cigars” as my Peterson’s field guide describes their shape. Hundreds of the stubby-bodied, swallowlike birds were circling with graceful arcing glide and rapid staccato wing beats in a maelstrom just above the rooftops. They were no doubt scooping up many times their number of insects on the wing. They also lived up to their name by streaming into an old chimney, returning to their nests inside the brick structure.
I once watched a colony of bats at dusk, like these chimney sweeps, entering a chimney as the twilight deepened; indistinguishable as individuals, a swirling, dark cloud hovered several feet above the narrow opening: The bats trickled, several at a time, from the mass, tucking their wings and dropping vertically. It looked like a living fluid stream was pouring into the chimney. Imperceptibly, the wheeling and circling crowd dwindled until the sky was empty of them.
Some evenings sit out and watch bats silently dart overhead. The rapidity of their appearances and disappearances eludes my slow eye; in this feeding flight, the bats seem to be lightly grazing my senses. know the air is filled with sonar clicks as they echolocate their insect prey. once used a spoon to catapult Japanese beetles to the bats. In what seemed like instantaneous response, the bats sensed the trajectory, turned and swooped down almost to head level.
The day I saw a hawk soaring in thermals above the brick buildings of Over-the-Rhine, took heart. That this quintessential^ wild creature could find something of interest in the city’s controlled, manufactured environment was a good sign, a reminder of our interdependence. Just as the hawk found sustenance in our world, I too was fed by its presence.
One day as sat outside a hummingbird suddenly appeared and hovered just an armspan in front of me. Then, after a few seconds, it was gone. watched it check for nectar in the tubular, fragrant lilies blooming nearby. The gift of its visit awoke in me a certain gratitude and a sense of responsibility to plan hospitality into my yard: birdbaths, feeders, plantings that provide food. And perhaps a realization that it’s not my yard, after all, but a place on the earth that's been shared for aeons by a rich variety of creatures.
When the anarchist crows flock in the autumn evenings, westbound toward the rookeries, feel as if a wise presence is passing. Those black tricksters look down knowingly with only laughing caws as commentary on our rearrangements of the earth. often wish they’d stop and share their stories on the changes they observe from year to year. If only we shared a common language, what would the cousins of the sky teach?
KAREN AMELIA ARNETT of Walnut Hills finds the green even in a parking lot.
DailyBred
Hie
It keeps youflush but means you have to move around a bit
✓
BY PETE KOT2
So you didn’t have much choice. You could have: A) spent the next 40 years asking people, “You want fries with that?” or B) gone to college. You picked B. They were all so proud. For when it was all over, you’d be granted safe passage to the American Dream better known as “subdivisions” where everyone reads the Wall Street Journal in their breakfast nooks, and no one worries about disconnection notices from the cable company.
It was a four-year sentence that felt like a cross between summer camp and a Ukrainian Gulag. You never really understood it. But what the hell? You just figured this was what people did when they got out of high school. And now you’re about to graduate.
But you’ve got this problem. You sent off 10,000 resumes. What do you have to show for it?%Three form letters stating how they “deeply appreciate your interest in Company X” and are “keeping your resume on file.”
The fact is: You’re screwed.
But just because you’re underemployed, heavily in debt and just blew somewhere between $20,000 and $80,000 of your parents’ dough doesn’t mean hope sleeps under a viaduct. Yes, the American Dream can still be yours through the Miracle of Accessible Credit. By simply following these six easy steps, you can enjoy have everything you ever wanted even more. Here’s how:
Pile up lots-o-debt: As pioneered by the U.S. Government and many prestigious corporations, massive debt can work for you. In the changing economy of the ’90s, spending beyond your means is not only acceptable, but desirable.
Miracle of Accessible
power has just Thera are, ket strategy patience. After one’s mailbox unfriendly prose, nature. Though to business school; These people lection agent advancing market top-shelf repertoire Move frequently: receipt. It’s tax What if creditors, head-busting Suits, lawyers, make for healthy do is waste more broken face
Enter credit cards. At every restaurant, gas station and department store, file a credit-card application. This is known to financial planners as the Shotgun Method,
This Week’s Theme: Animals you eat, animals you don't eat
When the STRAY CATS and DOGS start to disappear from the streets, it’s a good sign that the masses are starving. You know the situation is getting really rough when zoo animals start showing up on people’s plates which is what happened in Liberia during its civil war. PETS and zoos are the luxury of a population unaffected by starvation. The cute little GORILLA in the accompanying photograph is not on the menu. Instead, he will be the subject of a “Name the Baby” contest, to be held throughout June during Zoo Babies celebration. From the way his upper lip is curled, it looks like he’s doing a pretty good Elvis imitation. (See Upcoming listings.) Children can romp happily with COWS and PIGS at Parky’s Farm during its spring celebration. Afterward, they can go to their local fast food restaurant and order a CHEESEBURGER or a HOT DOG. Aah ignoranee is bliss. (See Attractions.)
CityBeat staffs stamp of approval
...On Mother’s Day, treat the old bag to dinner and a show. After all, she put up with you throughout your childhood. Choice of entrees: Pasta Primavera, PORK Tenderloin and Pacific CHICKEN. The main course is The Frankenstein Project’s production of Rod Serling’s Requiemfor a Heavyweight. Bon appetit. (See Onstage.)
To be included
Submit information for CityBeat calendar listings in writing by noon Thursday, seven days before publication. Mail to: Billie Jeyes, Listings Editor, Cincinnati CityBeat, 23 E. Seventh St., Suite 617, Cincinnati, OH 45202. Fax: 665-4369.
Please include a contact name and daytime phone number.
flute). High Spirits Lounge at the Regal Hotel, 150 W. Fifth St., Downtown. 352-2160.
MOVIN’ MERVYN AND GUESTS Trinidadian Folk. 7 p.m. ThursdaySaturday. Zarabanda World Cafe. 3213 Linwood Ave., Mount Lookout. 321-1347.
Celebrating Appalachian music, dance and culture, this year’s fest features national headliners Peter Rowan (Friday night), Bela Fleck and the Flecktones (Saturday) and the Red Clay Ramblers (Sunday), with a slew of other regional Folk and Bluegrass musicians all weekend. 10 a.m.-lO p.m. Friday and Saturday. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sunday. Coney Island, Kellogg Avenue, East End. $5. 451-3070.
BILL BRANZEL QUARTET jazz. 8 p.m. Friday. Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Rookwood Pavilion at Madison and Edwards roads, Norwood. 396-8960.
BRIAN EWING Acoustic Alternative. Noon Friday. Merl’s Eatery, 815 Elm St., Downtown. 723-1217. THE EARL WALDMAN TRIO Jazz. 7:30 p.m. Friday. Barcelonas, 4858 Cooper Road, Blue Ash. 791-9191.
PERCUSSION GROUP
Percussive eclectic. 7:30 p.m. Friday. Krueger Auditorium at UC Clermont College, 4200 College Drive, Batavia. $7. 732-5224.
★ JAMMIN’ ON MAIN - This year’s Jammin’ on Main continues the tradition of featuring the widest range of local and national musicians through the streets of Cincinnati. Headliners include Delbert McClinton and Over The Rhine (both Friday). Tons of this area’s most popular bands round out the entertainment. 6 p.m.midnight Friday and 3 p.m.-midnight Saturday. $5 advance; $8 day of. Main Street between Ninth Street and Central Parkway, Downtown. 744-8820.
PHIL WILLIS WITH WALLY BRATH Jazz. 8 p.m. Friday. Borders, 11711 Princeton Pike, Springdale. 671-5853.
W/ TOADIES & SEASON TO RISK THURSDAY, IVIAY 18 SHAW/BLADES TOMMY SHAW OF STYX
TOMMY’S ON MAIN 1427 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 352-0502.
TOP CAT’S 2820 Vine St., Corryville. 281-2005.
VILLAGE TAVERN 8123 Cincinnati-Dayton Highway, West Chester. 777-7200.
YORK STREET
INTERNATIONAL CAFE 738 York St., Newport. 261-9675.
ZIPPER’S 604 Main St., Covington. 261-5639.
DANCE
CLUB CHRONIC
616 Ruth Lyons Lane, Downtown. Call for days and times. 621-4115.
CLUB PARAGON 15 E. Seventh St., Newport. 581-5518. 10 p.m.-4 a.m. Friday-Saturday.
THE CONSERVATORY
640 W. Third St., Covington. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday-Saturday. 491-6400.
Tales From the Fleck Side
Banjoist continues ceaselessjourney to blur
Wthe lines between genres
hen he was 14 and began playing the banjo, Bela Fleck boarded an intramusical mothership.
Stops on his sometimes funky, Jazzladen expedition included Lexington, where he plunged headlong into Bluegrass: Next came an eight-year stint in Nashville, where he honed what he’d learned in the Bluegrass State and joined the seminal group, New Bluegrass Revival. Later, he formed the group Bela Fleck and the Flecktones that removed any lingering puzzlement from the phrase “Jazz banjo.”
Ever since, his trip hasn’t been so much about destination as it has been about purpose to keep the banjo up front and on top.
The 36-year-old picker says his latest release, Tales From an Acoustic Planet, allows him to do just that. Throughout, he satisfies fans who can catch him Saturday at the Appalachian Festival by maintaining the familiarity of the
Flecktones’ style, while fulfilling dreams of playing with his favorite musicians.
“Originally, it was going to be (a solo release), but as it progressed, I realized I wanted (the Flecktones) to be a part of it,” Fleck explains, from a tour stop in Ashland, Ky. “Everybody on the record were my favorite musicians on their instruments. They’re people that I love.”
On Tales, Fleck gets help from Branford Marsalis, Bruce Hornsby, Chick Corea, oboist Paul McCandless as well as Bluegrass players Tony Rice and Jerry Douglass.
What keeps Fleck continually experimenting on such an untraditional instrument? Boredom, Fleck explains, keeps him picking and grinning.
“I have been using it in a different way. I like playing traditional Bluegrass, but I get bored listening to any one kind of music all the time,” he says.
Which explains why, while attending Manhattan’s High School of Music and Art he’d play his banjo along to Led
Music
Zeppelin and the Grateful Dead just like all the other fledgling musicians. (Imagine a Bluegrass-tinged “Stairway to Heaven.”)
Regardless of the genre, Fleck demonstrates there are more similarities between different types of music than listeners realize. He found first-hand proof during a recent trip with the Flecktones to the Far East where the group jammed with musicians in Mongolia, China and Indonesia.
“There’s a lot of similarity in that music with American Folk music and Appalachian music. It was a real good cultural exchange,” he says.
The mothership, it appears, has not yet landed.
Look for Bela Reck and the Flecktones (from left) Future Man, Fleck and Victor Wooten at the Appalachian Festival on Saturday at Coney Island.
BELA FLECK AND THE FLECKTONES perform Saturday night at the Appalachian Festival at Coney Island.
ART GALLERY ASSOCIATION OF CINCINNATI
Toni Birckhead, Inc.
1985 Madison Road Cincinnati, Ohio 45208
Phone: 513-533-1123
Hours: By appointment only
Founded: 1979
Owners: Toni Birckhead, Independent Art Advisor and Private Dealer
Corporate and residential consultation. Site specific installations. Occasional exhibitions.
Cincinnati Art Galleries specializes in 19th and 20th Century American and European paintings. Artists include Sharp, Hauser, famy, Nouise, Potthast, Myers, Selden, Wessel, Weis, Zimmerman, Meakin, etc.
The gallery also features a fine selection of American Art Pottery with a heavy emphasis on Rookwood Pottery. Rookwood V auction will be held in June 1995.
The Malton Gallery shows a diverse range of fine original art, both realist and abstract images, by local, regional and nationally recognized artists. Included are paintings, prints, works on paper, art glass and sculpture. The gallery also provides private and corporate consultation for commissioned works in fiber, stained glass, murals and site-specific sculpture.
Miller Gallery
2715 Erie Avenue Hyde Park Square Cinti., Ohio 45208
Phone: 513-871-4420 Fax: 513-871-4429
Hours: Monday-Saturday 10:00am-5:30pm
Founded: 1960
Directors: Barbara and Norman Miller
Extensive collection of fine 20th century paintings with emphasis on Impressionist, Post Impressionist and Realistic styles. Eight exhibitions each year featuring the finest living Cincinnati, regional and national artists. Exclusive agent for the S£ Oppenheim estate. Art glass, sculpture, ceramics, fiber, enameling and decoupage. Restoration, appraisals, art searches and installation plus over seventy combined years experience in museum quality custom flaming design.
only artists
1315 Main Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45210
Phone: 513-241-6672
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 11:00am-5:00pm or by appointment
Founded: 1994
Directors: Patsy Bonafair, Donna Schiff
only artists specializes in contemporary folk and outsider art. The gallery includes more than 30 artists such as: Minnie Adkins, Arlsnake, Linvel Barker, Howard Finster, Charley Kinney, R.A. Miller, Jimmy Lee Sudduth and Mose Tolliver. The gallery has a selection of paintings, carvings and constructions.
Laura Paul Gallery
49 East Fourth Street #109 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Phone: 513-651-5885 Fax: 513-651-5887
Hour: Tuesday-Friday 10:00am-5:00pm Saturday 10:00am-3:00pm And by appointment
Founded: 1980
Director: Laura Paul
The Laura Paul Gallery specializes in contemporary fine art, limited edition prints, traditional antique reproductions, and sculpture for business, corporate and residential settings. The gallery's selection of art represents a diverse and exciting group of artists from Europe, South America, and the United States. With superb design, consulting, and custom framing available on the premises, the Laura Paul Gallery, Inc. prides itself on its exemplary quality and service.
Ran Gallery
3668 Erie Avenue Cincinnati, Ohio 45208
Phone: 513-871-5604
Hour: Mon 10am-5pm Tues-Sat 12pm-7pm, Weekend houR often extended past 7pm, and by app't.
Founded: 1976
Owner: Mary Ran O'Connell
Director: Margaret Singh
The Ran Gallery specializes in Museum quality 18th, 19th and early 20th century paintings by Cincinnati artists: Potthast, Earney, Weis, Meakin and Sharp. We also handle European and American artists. The gallery also represents a unique and diverse group of fine contemporary painters. Services of the Ran Gallery include art consultation for businesses and residences, custom framing, restoration and appraisals.
Carl Solway Gallery 424 Findlay Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45214
Phone: 513-621-0069 Fax: 513-621-6310
Hour: Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm Saturday by app't
Founded: 1962
Director: Michael Solway Contemporary
Hour: Monday-Saturday 10:00am-5:00pm
OwneR:
Staff:
The Patricia Weiner Gallery
9352 Main Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45242 Olde Montgomery Phone: 513-791-7717
Hour: Wednesday-Saturday 11:00am-5:00pm or by appointment
Owner: Patricia Weiner
Letter of Welcome
mcinnati Arts Festival Inc. is proud to bring you the second annual Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square. For three days, downtown Cincinnati turns into an exciting and stimulating art adventure with special exhibitions representing the best local and regional artists and Cincinnati galleries. You’ll also find performances, hands-on art activities by arts institutions, and intriguing art in public places that are wild and fun, yet very unexpected.
Your art adventure begins on Fountain Square and takes you throughout the skywalk and in adjacent buildings in downtown Cincinnati. It’s the perfect setting for this one-of-a-kind festival.
Art is “everywhere and everything,” and we have something for everyone. More than 12 differentexhibitions featuring paintings, sculpture, photography, glass and much more are waiting to be discovered. Cincinnati arts organizations present a variety of music, theater and dance performances for all to enjoy. And there are numerous family activities, including art instruction, demonstrations and interactives for children of all ages. Here’s your chance to enjoy art in a really big way: exploring, buying, reacting or just relaxing!
We thank the community for their support and desire to promote the tremendous artistic talent found right here in Cincinnati and the region. Their commitment, generous contributions and overall dedication to this event have enabled us to present Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square again in 1995.
Enjoy!
Nancy Heffner Donovan, President of Cincinnati Arts Festival Inc.
Great theatre
Agatha Christie's murder mystery of all murder mysteries
A shocking and true story by David Feldshuh
ARTS DESIRE
Open wide and say, ‘Hmmm...’
FIFTH THIRD BANK ART ON THE SQUARE EVENT HOURS:
Friday, May 19 5-9 p.m.
Saturday, May 20 10 a.m.-9 p.m.
Sunday, May 21 Noon-5 p.m.
EVENT TICKET:
$5 Admission. Children 12 and under FREE.
Fifth Third Bank
PURCHASE TWO TICKETS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE: AT ALL GREATER CINCINNATI AND NORTHERN KENTUCKY FIFTH THIRD BANKING CENTERS, INCLUDING SEVEN-DAY A WEEK BANK MART® LOCATIONS AT SELECT KROGER STORES. (Offer valid through May 19.)
Event tickets allow admission on all three days of the festival. No refunds or exchanges. Cincinnati Arts Festival Inc. and Fifth Third Bank are not responsible for lost, stolen or destroyed event tickets. Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square will be presented rain or shine.
EVENT TICKET SALES BOOTHS DURING THE FESTIVAL:
Event ticket sales booths are located in the following locations: Carew Tower Arcade, The Contemporary Arts Center, Fifth Third Center, Fountain Square, 18 W. Fourth St., 8 Fountain Square Plaza, 420 Walnut St., Tower Place, 525 Vine and The Westin Hotel.
Special Festivities
PREVIEW TO FIFTH THIRD BANK ART ON THE SQUARE
Thursday, May 18 6-9 p.m.
$35 per person.
Sponsored by COMAIR and The Westin Hotel.
Locations: The Westin Hotel Ballroom and throughout the festival.
Join us and discover the treasures of art at this preview to Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square. Be the first to see and purchase the many jewels that are buried in our city.
Enjoy complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres as you bid on celebrity and artist squares during the silent auction. Mingle with artists throughout the venue as you follow the path to discover the many riches we have in store for you. Who knows maybe you will even uncover a buried treasure along the route and win two complimentary tickets on COMAIR.
For more information or to reserve tickets, please call 744-8820. Deadline for reservations is May 15.
“SNEAK PEEK”
Friday, May 19 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Presented by Cincinnati CityBeat. See the art before the event officially opens! All you need to do is pick up FREE “Sneak Peek” tickets at participating downtown merchants. (See Cincinnati CityBeat for complete listing.)
Your ticket allows you to view five Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square exhibitions, which include Plein Air, Art on the Square Juried Exhibition, Sculpture Exhibition, Portfolio Artists and Curators’ Select. And if you come to “Sneak Peek,” you can register to win tickets to Cincinnati’s wonderful arts organizations. See Cincinnati CityBeat for more details.
PARTY ON THE SQUARE
Friday, May 19 5-9 p.m.
Sponsored by Lazarus.
Hosted by UpDowntowners.
Join the crowd at this happy hour “bash” and help us kick off the opening of Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square.
Wonderland, a six-piece dance band, rocks the crowd with high energy funk and dance music.
Bring a household item like a fork, rake, laundry basket, fishing pole or whatever you can find around the house, to the L’Art Nouveau Show, where Bob & Andy will turn it into a piece of art for you to take home.
MUSIC IN THE AIR
Saturday, May 20 6-10 p.m.
Location: Fountain Square Stage.
After looking at all of the art, sit back, relax and listen to the jazz of Sweet Alice Hoskins, who is sure to entertain you.
SUNDAY MORNING AT MUSIC HALL
Sunday, May 21 Noon-3 p.m.
Presented by WARM 98.
Location: Fountain Square.
A WARM 98 live-remote broadcast of “Sunday Morning at Music Hall” featuring music from movies to show tunes to Bach to Beethoven takes place on Fountain Square. Stop by and meet the hosts, Phil Brewer and Carmen DeLeone of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
TALKING DRUMS
Sunday, May 21 4-5 p.m.
Presented by Drums For Peace.
Locations: Fountain Square, Opera Place and connecting skywalk.
The drums talk as musicians from this wonderful group perform throughout the venue culminating on Fountain Square Stage for a grand finale.
^astcA: Ta^c/a^'-r^/c/a^ 77:30-2:00 l?/nne-n-: 6:00-9:30, 6:00-70:45 ao-a/AaAAe- Ae-A/ncAeA/cToAn on 7tA
A Few Good Reasons Why
BY JAN BROWN CHECCO
Aspringtime celebration of the past year’s developments and discoveries what better way to unite and affirm a visual arts community?
Cincinnati is home to hundreds of serious and gifted artists, and Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square gives us an annual overview of who we are and where we are going with our creative expression. It encourages artists to live creative lives and provides an energized forum that invites thousands to come, look, ponder and appreciate the artists’ accomplishments. Never before has this city had a populist forum allowing for such broad expression by both emerging and seasoned professionals in both experimental and traditional formats.
The festival encourages our art community to step away from a position of exclusivity into a pulsating, public realm of new possibilities.
To organize or not
Discussion and dispute necessarily animate an arts community. Skeptics who prefer an unorganized local art scene (or perhaps organized to a different scheme) question the need for an annual festival. Who is setting the aesthetic standards? Are artists being exploited yet again by some wealthy commercial interest?
For those who continue to shun the festival because it does not suit their tastes or because they believe that their artworks hold no interest for the general public, let the following facts figure into the debate. Last year’s festival debut pumped more than $100,000 into the local art and design community. Of that total, $51,000 represents art purchases, demonstrating that local art collection increased substantially due to the festival-facilitated connections between art and buyers. During the festival, artists had the potential to meet 400 other local artists and scores of gallery owners, collectors and arts administrators. More than 30 arts institutions and organizations collaborated to create an event that welcomed in 15,000 people. These are significant gains for artists.
Art on the Square imitates no other festival on the face of this earth. The programming grows solely out of regional artists’ ingenuity and desire to express themselves in new ways. Reaching beyond our Tristate area, participation is welcomed by artists from Indianapolis, Columbus, Louisville, Lexington, Dayton, Athens and all places in between. Increasing diversity, new talent and heightened competition will cultivate an ever deeper and richer festival.
In this second year, the festival’s growth is manifested in many ways. One is the addition of a juried exhibition, which enlists the curatorial talents of internationally recognized art historian Charlotta Kotik, director of Contem-
porary Art at the Brooklyn Museum. Kotik reviewed 900 slides and selected 67 pieces deemed to be superior in composition, technique and concept. To receive fresh perspective from a respected arts professional gives us an understanding of what is unique to our region. In this age when possibilities for communication are virtually limitless, it is helpful to know how we fit into the “bigger picture” of international arts.
The festival’s politics
Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square is an important manifestation of Cincinnati’s intention to preserve and enhance art’s place in our ever-evolving national culture. Artistic self-expression is a fundamental human need and must be encouraged in all professions.
It is wrong to decree that only art that is commercially marketable has the right to survive and thrive. The informed community is charged with the protec•tion of controversial experimental works. Certainly, we may not champion every piece presented to us in exhibition. But like any other invention, an artwork must be allowed the time to prove itself significant to the advancement of collective self-awareness and culture, or to fall flat on its face because it lacks real substance.
What is it that makes artists unique among professionals? They are individuals who are compelled to express themselves visually each day by an urgent inner need. Art records the anxieties, joys, puzzlings, beliefs and tales that perpetually filter throughthe mind. The flood tides or current events and social pressures would drown the artist if not assimilated and expressed.
The process of making art, often solitary and meditative, allows the artist time to decipher symbols and reconcile seemingly incongruous elements that present themselves during conceptualization. This physical and mental exercise increases an artist’s self-knowledge and reinforces an essential connection between the self and life.
Viewers may perceive truths that resonate in their own experience. This is the wonderful interconnection of minds that only art provides. A message that is expressed with simplicity and directness can impress an audience of thousands, offering keys that unlock life’s mysteries. A sense of wonder results, even if only by sheer volume and saturation in the festival context! The assembly of hundreds of fresh, individual images, the joy of discovery, epiphanies of the human spirit and the opportunity to acquire and live with art these are all objectives of Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square.
JAN BROWN CHECCO, visual artist, served as the festival’s first program director in 1993-94.
How to Look at Art 101
BY SUZANNE FISHER
Art is an adventure. Open wide and say “Hiranm...” Open your eyes and your mind to experience the wonder and vision of art. Art is about capturing and expressing that childlike sense of wonder, freedom, curiosity and spontaneity. When we open ourselves to art, it can enlighten our lives, challenge our principles and increase understanding about life, even our own. In 1925, Robert Henri wrote in The Art Spirit, “When the artist is alive in any person, whatever his work may be, he becomes an inventive, searching, daring, self-expressing creature. He becomes interesting to other people. He disturbs, upsets, enlightens and he opens ways for a better understanding. Where those who are not artists are trying to close the book, he opens it, shows there are still more pages possible.”
Art is a language. Art is communication, just like language is, only it’s a language of images instead of words. Art communicates an artist’s emotions, feelings and ideas. With art you put together elements such as lines, images, colors, shapes, textures and materials to form a piece of work that has elements that make up the communication. These elements may be clear or unclear, but the better you understand the elements that make up the language, the more you can better understand the message(s) the artist is communicating, consciously or unconsciously.
Art needs education. There are many ways to educate yourself about art. The more you know about artists and the processes involved in making art, the more you’ll see, enjoy and understand an individual’s
work of art. You can learn about art by watching films and television shows; reading; becoming a member of a local arts institution; attending classes or lectures; going to art openings; talking to artists; shopping in galleries; etc. There’s so much art around us we need not be afraid to ask questions or take advantage of the many opportunities to learn about art.
Art should not intimidate. A novice looking under the hood of a car may not have a clue where to put the oil. Certainly a mechanic looking under the same hood views it with different eyes and knows exactly what to do. Art may also seem confusing, overwhelming and intimidating to a novice, but it need not be. Start with what you know.
Define what you like in art. What is it that you can immediately respond to or recognize in a piece of art?
Color, subject matter, technique, materials used? The more elements you start to recognize, the more you’ll start to see.
Compare and contrast art. Once you find the elements that attract you to a work of art, you should begin to compare and contrast these elements against other artworks. This process will help you further identify what you respond to favorably or unfavorably in art. Which conveys a stronger message and why? Which
style of mark-making appeals to you more? Which colors do you prefer? Analyzing and taking note of your likes and dislikes can sharpen your eye and help you understand how to read art.
Art is a whole, made up of parts. As you compare and contrast art, you will begin to see the many parts that make up the whole.
Art holds clues. Explaining art is like being a detective. Aside from what art looks like, there is often an underlying message of what the work is about. The artwork could be a photographic image of a man, but by his body gesture, the expression on his face and his placement in the composition, the content could be isolation. You need to check for various clues when analyzing the content of a piece of artwork. These clues will help reveal the underlying message of the piece. What is it about the work be it the image and how it’s created, the materials used, the colors, the scale that can help convey a certain message? Don’t always rely on the artwork’s title. Try to guess the title of the piece before you read it, to see if you are understanding the message the artist is trying to communicate.
Starting an art collection. Start small. Instead of buying a poster of an old master, buy a one-of-a-kind original piece of art by a local, regional or national artist. Buy it because you love it! Now that you have examined the parts, compared the works, discovered the clues, learned about the content hopefully, the language of art is not intimidating.
SUZANNE FISHER, a visual artist, is the assistant program coordinator for Fifth Third Bank Art the Square, 1995.
Hey, Did You Know
BY B.H. WALSH
The Art Academy of Cincinnati
JL%r is now one of only four “museuin schools” of art left in the country; i.e. it is an independent college of art that has maintained a formal affiliation with an art museum. Efforts to found an art academy in Cincinnati took off in the 1880s, when the Art Museum Association, chaired by Nicholas Longworth, assumed control of the struggling McMicken School of Drawing and Design. In 1887, the academy became the Art School of Cincinnati, and its 410 students paid an annual tuition of $10. Some 200 students today pay just shy of $10,000 tuition. Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago also offer schools devoted to the study of visual art.
9
There are 27 pieces of outdoor sculpture in downtown Cincinnati. Perhaps the best known is the Tyler Davidson Fountain. Least known may be “Traveler’s Column” by Arnoldo Pomodoro, installed in 1969 on the skywalk overlooking Fountain Square West. “Law and Society” holds the record for being moved the most. Originally commissioned by Charles Sawyer for the Cincinnati Bar Association’s centennial, “Law and Society” was intended to go in front of the Hamilton County Courthouse. Instead, it was unveiled on Fountain Square, moved to Government Square, moved again to Sawyer Point and once more to its current location beneath the Daniel Beard (Big Mac) Bridge. Yes, that’s what those two polished steel, rectangular columns are next to the kids’ playground at Bicentennial Commons.
8
The best-attended exhibition so far in the Cincinnati Art Museum’s 114-year history was Treasuresfrom the Tower ofLondon, which in 1982-83 attracted more than 144,000 visitors. CAM organized the exhibition, whose North American showing premiered here in Cincinnati. But don’t let that stop you from visiting now; one of the museum’s newest acquisitions currently on view is a “word portrait” by one of the most talked-about contemporary artists working today, Felix Gonzalez-Torres.
7 Cincinnati’s “Big Eight” arts organizations (including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Taft Museum, The Contemporary Arts Center and May Festival) together received $1.4 million in 1994 from three federal agencies: the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum Services.
6
A dozen of the city’s art galleries meet monthly as the Art Gallery Association of Cincinnati, founded in 1992 to keep one another informed: Toni Birckhead Gallery, Cincinnati Art Galleries, Closson’s, Marta Hewett
Gallery, Malton Gallery, Miller Gallery, in situ, In Vertu, Laura Paul Gallery, Ran Gallery, Carl Solway Gallery, Treadway Gallery, Patricia Weiner Gallery and Only Artists. Pick up the group’s directory at a member gallery.
5
German-born artist Weinold Reiss masterminded the mosaic murals in Museum Center at Union Terminal by photographing workers in local indu’stries, making a grid pattern and enlarging the photographic images to full size. He and his installation crew then placed glass mosaic onto 2-foot sections of tracing paper, pressed the glass sides of the sections into wet concrete on-site and peeled away the tracing paper. Installed during the Great Depression, the murals are dedicated to the workers of Cincinnati. Also notable on the murals scene are the Duncanson murals at the Taft Museum. Robert Duncanson lived here during the mid-1850s. Nicholas Longworth, the city’s first millionaire, commissioned Duncanson to paint a series of classical landscape murals in the entrance hall of Longworth’s home, Belmont, now the Taft Museum on Pike Street. The Duncanson murals are undergoing an extensive restoration that is open to public viewing.
4
Designed by Samuel Hannaford and built between 1875 and 1878, Music Hall originally was planned to house the city’s popular-May Festival, or German songfest, and an industrial exposition. From 1882-1886, the Cincinnati Art Museum was located there.
3
The Fine Arts Fund (FAF) is the nation’s oldest citywide arts drive. Last year, the FAF raised more than $6 million to support Cincinnati’s eight major arts organizations and make available many more grants to other arts organizations and individuals. Employee contributions make up the largest portion of the total dollars raised (45 percent).
2
Located in a former Kroger’s supermarket, the Cincinnati Arts Consortium building on Linn Street bears a mural titled “Wall of Progress” that depicts Black culture in the West End. The Arts Consortium which has offered innovative programs in art, music, dance and drama to the West End community and beyond since 1972, also operates a satellite exhibition gallery in Museum Center at Union Terminal.
?n THE SQUARE in THE HEART ?f 9AKLEY 29tt MARIMEIT AVt.
drawing painting sculpture concept & design (513) 729-2312 "Amanda" by Jan Brown Checco, 1995, egg tempera, 10"x 8" BROWN CHECCO FINE ARTS in the Pendleton Art Center, Sixth Floor, in Over-the-Rhine
Old Milford Merchants Association presents
Being held in conjunction with Frontier Days Milford-Miami Township Chamber of Commerce Historic Downtown Milford, Ohio 16 Miles East of Cincinnati on U.S. Route 50
Galleries
ART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday, noon-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Next to Cincinnati Art Museum, Eden Park. 562-8777.
ARTERNATIVE GALLERY 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Wednesday and Friday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday; noon5 p.m. Sunday. 2034 Madison Road, O’Bryonville. 871-2218.
ARTS CONSORTIUM OF CINCINNATI, LINN STREET 1-8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends. 1515 Linn St., West End. 381-0645.
ARTS CONSORTIUM OF CINCINNATI, UNION TERMINAL 1-5 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. weekends. Union Terminal, 1301 .Western Ave., Queensgate. 241-7408.
ATTIC GALLERY 8 p.m.-midnight Thursday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, or by appointment. Above the York Street International Cafe, Eighth and York streets, Newport. 261-9675.
BASE ART Noon-4 p.m. Saturdays and by appointment. 1311 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 491-3865.
BEAR GRAPHICS AND ILLUSTRATION GALLERY Noon 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 105 E. Main St., Mason. 398-2788.
LAURA PAUL GALLERY 10 a.m.4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, or by appointment. Dixie Terminal Arcade, 49 E. Fourth St., Downtown. 651-5885.
PENDLETON ART CENTER 1310 Pendleton St., Over-the-Rhine. 721-6311.
RAYMOND GALLERY 10 a.m. 5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday and Wednesday. 2700 Erie Ave., Hyde Park. 871-7373.
ROSEWOOD ARTS CENTRE GALLERY 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. 2655 Olson Drive, Kettering. 513-296-0294.
STUDIO SAN GIUSEPPE AT THE COLLEGE OF MOUNT ST. JOSEPH 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, 1:30-4:30 p.m. weekends. College of Mount St. Joseph, 5701 Delhi Road, Delhi Township. 244-4314.
STUDIO 701 Pendleton Art Center, 1310 Pendleton St., Over-theRhine. 241-4123.
TANGEMAN FINE ARTS GALLERY 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. Tangeman University Center, UC, Clifton. 556-2962.
TOON ART GALLERIES 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. By appointment Monday. 21 E. Fifth St., Westin Hotel, Downtown. 651-3500.
TONI BIRCKHEAD GALLERY10 a.m.4 p.m. weekdays, Saturday by appointment. 342 W. Fourth St.. Downtown. 241-0212.
UC CLERMONT COLLEGE ART GALLERY 8 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays. 4200 Clermont College Drive, UC Clermont College, Batavia. 732-5224.
WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY ART GALLERIES 10 a.m.4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. weekends. Creative Art Center at Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio. 513-873-2978.
CINCINNATI ART MUSEUM $5 adults; $4 students and seniors: children free. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. TuesdaySaturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Eden Park. 721-5204.
CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER $2 adults; $1 students and seniors; children 12 and under free; free to members; free Mondays. 115 E.
“Ironton Man” (1991) by Larry E. Jones.
“Hie Chair” by Brad A. Smith.
Information Festival-goers Should Know
Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square is an annual threeday festival that celebrates Cincinnati’s rich artistic and cultural heritage. This downtown event takes place on Fountain Square, throughout the skywalks and in adjacent buildings. The best local and regional artists, Cincinnati galleries and cultural organizations are all participating to bring you this year’s event. Showcasing hundreds of artworks from paintings to sculpture, to performances to sidewalk chalk drawings, to hands-on art activities for all ages, Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square has something for everyone.
Here’s your chance to OPEN WIDE AND SAY, “HMMM...”
EVENT HOURS:
Friday, May 19 5-9 p.m.
Saturday, May 20 10 a.m.-9 p.m.
Sunday, May 21 Noon-5 p.m.
EVENT PASS:
$5 Admission. Children 12 and under FREE
PURCHASE TWO TICKETS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE AT ALL GREATER CINCINNATI AND NORTHERN KENTUCKY FIFTH THIRD BANKING CENTERS, INCLUDING SEVEN-DAY A WEEK BANK MART® LOCATIONS AT SELECT KROGER STORES. *
* Offer valid through May 19.
Event tickets allow admission on all three days of the festival. No refunds or exchanges. Cincinnati Arts Festival Inc. and Fifth Third Bank are not responsible for lost, stolen or destroyed event tickets. Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square will be presented rain or shine.
EVENT TICKET SALES BOOTHS DURING THE FESTIVAL:
Event ticket sales booths are located in the following locations: Carew Tower Arcade, The Contemporary Arts Center, Fifth Third Center, Fountain Square, 18 W. Fourth St., Tower Place, 525 Vine St. and The Westin Hotel, 8 Fountain Square Plaza, 420 Walnut St. See the MAP ON PAGES 14-15 for exact locations.
PARKING: Parking is available in lots and garages throughout downtown.
PARK FIRST 3 HOURS FOR $1 AT THESE GARAGES *: Fountain Square North under Fountain Square Fountain Square South The Westin Hotel Garage The Garfield Garage Ninth Street near the Main Library The Gramercy Garage Seventh Street near Lazarus and Petersen’s Lazarus Garage Seventh and Elm streets The Parkade Garage Sixth and Race streets
* These six garages also offer a special rate of $2 or less after 5 p.m.
CUSTOMER SERVICE/INFORMATION:
A customer service/information booth is located on Fountain Square. In the case of an emergency or if you should lose a child and/or parent, please contact a Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square volunteer or police officer for immediate help. Volunteers will be located throughout the festival area and at each exhibit.
DISABLED ACCESS:
All
Restrictions
No glass bottles, cans, animals, reptiles, bicycles, roller blades/skates, water guns, weapons, skateboards, boom boxes are allowed within the festival site.
To purchase alcohol, you must be 21 years or older. Picture identilication will be required.
If any exhibit area reaches capacity, Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square reserves the right to refuse admission to the site. Admission is on a first-come, first-served basis. Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square reserves the right to refuse admission or to eject any person violating rules, local, state or federal laws or whose conduct is deemed illegal, dangerous, disorderly or offensive.
Cincinnati Arts Festival Inc. and its employees, contractors, officers and sponsors assume no liability for injury sustained by event ticket holders while in attendance at the festival
SCENE PAINTING BY PHIL UNpERCUFFLER
1:30-4 p.m.
That’s Entertainment!
Location: Fountain Square (in front of Fifth Third Center) Presented by Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
SATURDAY, May 20
OPERA ENCORES
Noon
Location: Fountain Square Stage
Presented by Cincinnati Opera Chorus
On the stage, off the stage performances are taking place throughout Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square. Artists of all ages perform music, dance, guerrilla street theater and short plays. Join us and sing-along, dance or just sit back and relax. It’s all happening.on Fountain Square and Opera Place.
Sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. John T. Lawrence Jr.
The Cincinnati Opera chorus celebrating its 75th anniversary season performs favorites, such as songs from Les Miserable and Aida.
“MAMA EARTH STRIKES BACK”
12:30 p.m.
Location: Opera Place
Presented by the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History
Sponsored by Patti, Chris, Buck and Jim
Exploring the adventures of a frustrated Mama Earth, her daffy sidekick Charlie and two virtual reality addicts oblivious to the world around them, this 20-minute piece is performed by the
C.A.S.T. (Creativity and Science Together) Theatre Program. This twoyear program uses theater and theatrical techniques as education science tools.
Location: Opera Place Presented by Stone St. Foundation for the Arts/Hands on Percussion Children’s literature comes to life through movement, drama and music in a street theater format.
Sponsored by JJ.B. Hilliard, W.L Lyons, Inc.
See how Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park sets come alive as Phil Undercuffler demonstrates his scene-painting techniques. Working in cooperation with the technical director and carpentry crew, Phil is responsible for making the set designer’s vision come alive with paint, texture and creative talent.
6-10 p.m.
Location: Fountain Square Stage After looking at all of the art, sit back, relax and listen to the jazz of Sweet Alice Hoskins.
Catch the Opera’s Outreach Ensemble several times over the weekend.
“OPERA
2:30
Location: Presented Sponsored Mrs. The “Opera gypsies, sing during “CREATIVE WORKSHOP”
3:15
Location: Presented Sponsored Learn dance ent
“WORLD 3:30
Location: Presented for the JANET
4:30
Location: MUSIC
Around Fifth Third Bank
Art On The Square
With over 30 exhibitions, installations and activities to view and interact with, this map will help lead you through the festival site. It’s time to start your art adventure...
Street Level Festival Area
Second Floor Festival Area
Skywalk
Restrooms
Festival Hours:
May 19 5 pm - 9 pm
May 20 10 am - 9 pm
May 21 Noon - 5 pm
All locations and performances are subject to change. Alcoholic and
Concessions
UNTAIN SQUARE
That’s Entertainment!
On the stage, off the stage performances are taking place throughout Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square. It’s all happening on Fountain Square and Opera Place.
MORE ENTERTAINMENT, PAGE 13
SUNDAY, May 21
"SUNDAY MORNING AT MUSIC HALL”
Noon-3 p.m.
Presented by WARM 98
Location: Fountain Square
A WARM 98 live-remote takes place on Fountain Square, bringing “Sunday Morning at Music Hall” to you featuring music from movies to show tunes to Bach to Beethoven. Stop by and meet the hosts, Phil Brewer and Carmen DeLeone of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
NEW MUSIC AND DANCE
12:30 p.m.
Location: Fountain Square Stage
Presented by Honk, Wail & Moan
New music and dance presented by choreographer Kathy Carbone and composer Stephen Perakis in conjunction with the eclectic jazz ensemble of Honk, Wail & Moan.
“MAMA EARTH STRIKES BACK”
1 p.m.
Location: Opera Place
Presented by the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History
Sponsored by Patti, Chris, Buck and Jim
Exploring the adventures of a frustrated Mama Earth, her daffy sidekick Charlie and two virtual reality addicts oblivious to the world around them, this IT, / 20-minute piece is performed by the C.A.S.T. ~i Theatre Program. This two-year I program uses theatrical techniques I as education science tools.
“OPERA GOES WILD”
2 p.m.
Location: Opera Place
Presented by Cincinnati Opera
Sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. John T. Lawrence Jr.
The Outreach Ensemble performs “Opera Goes Wild.” Kids dress up like gypsies, dance with Carmen and learn to sing along as part of the Opera chorus during this children’s performance.
2:30 p.m.
Location: Fountain Square Stage
HATTIE
Presented by Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati
Sponsored by Mary T. Mahler
See excerpts from this upcoming play, a musical based on the life of Oscar award-winning actress Hattie McDaniel. ARTS CONSORTIUM OF CINCINNATI'S CHILDREN’S CHOIR
3 p.m.
Location: Opera Place
Presented by Arts Consortium of Cincinnati
Sponsored by Fifth Third Bank
Directed by Sharon Early, the Arts Consortium of Cincinnati’s children’s choir performs a varied repertoire from gospel to rap to jazz. “Sli
START WITH ART PROGRAM *
3 p.m.
Location: Fountain Square Stage
Presented by Cincinnati Public Schools
Watch fourth- through 12-grade students from Cincinnati Public Schools’ Start With Art Program perform creative movement and musical performances.
Participating schools and performers: Ms. Sabra Button, Quebec Heights fourth-, fifth- and sixthgraders’ student choir.
Ms. Geneva Wood, Withrow High School— 12th-grade pianist Kevin
Lewis. Ms. Geneva Wood, Withrow High School
11 th-grade vocalists Philip Burse, Katina Barnes and John Know.
Ms. Marie Kalb, Ms. Alberta Lerch, Mr. Paul Godfrey and Dr. Bonnie Southwind, Academy of World Languages fourthand fifth-grade musical performers.
Ms. Sally Mills, Sands Montessori fourth- and fifthgrade dancers Christine Pasley, Elly Porter-Webb and Christy Whitten-Amaden.
Ms. Sally Mills fifth-grade dancer Jeff Pastor.
ARTS CONSORTIUM OF CINCINNATI’S CHILDREN’S THEATRE
3:30 p.m.
Location: Opera Place
Presented by Arts Consortium of Cincinnati
Sponsored by Fifth Third Bank
A 30-minute performance directed by Donald Sherman.
TALKING DRUMS
4-5 p.m.
Location: Fountain Square, Opera Presented by Drums For Peace Place and connecting skywalk
The drums talk as musicians from this wonderful group perform throughout the venue culminating on Fountain Square Stage for a grand finale.
AUCTION
Rookwood V and Keramics 1995
June 9th and June 10th
Cincinnati Club 30 Garfield Place
Rookwood V Features over 500 artist signed vases and plaques.
Keramics 1^95 includes over 300 Weller, Fulper, Dedham, Roseville, Newcomb, Moorcroft, Grueby etc.
168 page all color catalog is $45.00 plus $3 s/h. Ohio residents add $2.48 sales tax. Catalog admits 2 to the auction.
Auctioneer J.Louis Karp
Lic#57-670732
A. R. Valentein 13" Iris Glaze Vase
Making Art Accessible
BY LIZ SCHEURER
Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square celebrates the diversity of the visual arts in our region and pays tribute to the vision and talent of the artists who live here. It confirms the strong sense of community and tradition held by our city and supports the arts, which have always been part of that history. This festive event hopes to take its place among other Cincinnati traditions as it strengthens the bond between our cummunity and its artists. Focusing on the urban vitality of downtown, Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square boasts a dramatic venue and brings together many segments of our community to share a common interest. This event offers the opportunity to discover new talent, encourages the exploration of new forms of art and provides an occasion to enjoy the familiar compositions of traditional works. Our goal is to bring art to the public by making it accessible to everyone.
In its second year, nearly 300 artists responded to the Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square call for entries. The works of the artists selected to participate are as varied in style and form as they are in subject and content. Their pieces embody the concerns, views and attitudes reflected in the world around us. And their tremendous talent leaves us marveling at their insight and sensitivity. There was no conscious effort to be all-inclusive or to limit participation. Each exhibition was chosen by a different selection committee, and the committees were made up of artists and arts administrators from this region. The only exception was Charlotta Kotik, curator of Contemporary Art at the Brooklyn Charlotta Kotik (above), curator of Painting and Sculpture from the Brooklyn Museum, was the one outside juror for the Art on the Square Juried Exhibition.
Available
PHOTO: PAT BAZELTON
Art is in the Eye of the Beholder
BY FRAN WATSON
If the question had been “name the past 12 Nobel Prize winners in alphabetic order,” it would not have produced the gasps and mutterings usually ending in a plea for time to consider that CityBeat’s poll of “what is your favorite work of art and why” did.
A variety of Cincinnati’s rich and famous (well, famous, anyway) answered with the kind of serious consideration one usually associates with an IRS audit.
WLW radio gabmaster, GARY BURBANK, popped right up with an answer.
But before it escaped his lips, he had second thoughts.
“No, wait. Maybe I should say something funny,” he mused. “Let me think this over and call you tomorrow.”
His final decision: “Druid Point,” a lithograph by JIM BUCKLES depicting a mansion at night with its glowing lights reflecting on water. The work epitomizes affluence to Burbank.
“I was pretty poor as a kid, and I would dream of places like this as what I would like to have someday,” he explained. Over his computer, he has a reproduction of VAN GOGH’S wheat fields, and he likes work by his friend, Cincinnati artist HALENE CLINE. His summation of art: “Strange is good.”
SCOTT GREENWOOD, general council to the Cincinnati Chapter of American Civil Liberties Union, and associate at Greenwood & Hudson, is a much more enthusiastic Van Gogh-ophile. He has even gone to Arles, France, to experience the site of his favorite painting, “Starry Night.” While he did not go so far as to drink the absinthe of Van Gogh’s day, he did toss back a few and then lay down in fields as the artist had done, for firsthand investigation into the basis of this work. He views Van Gogh and his vision as “intense artist, intense art and intense color.”
Charles Winburn’s mystery woman.
The question caught Channel 12 newscaster ROB BRAUN smack in the middle of his “death and destruction”
mode as he prepared to go on the air.
After a good night’s sleep and conferring with his wife, he decided he really liked wildlife renditions, art by his cousin, TOM GAITHER, and watercolors and photos that remind him of the times of his life. When pinned down, though, by “what would you choose if there were a disaster to your home and you could only save one possession,” his answer was firm and fast. He would grab a chalk drawing of his family done years ago.
On a whole other plane, there’s WPPT’s disc jockey, ROBIN WOOD. Following her allotted time to ponder, she came up with MICHAELANGELO’S “David”: “I would put him in my garden, right in the middle of the perennials. He could be a scarecrow and keep the birds away.”
She’s in some pretty cerebral company with her choice. The director of the Taft Museum, PHILLIP LONG, admits his awe and admiration for the “David” too, but don’t look for the immense sculpture looming over the crushed shell paths of the Taft garden any time soon. Long’s first and most sincere choice, though, is the entire Frick Museum in New York City. It was there that he was first smitten with a life-long love of art when he was a child.
No “David” for legal eagle, Hamilton County Sheriff SIMON LEIS, though. His preferred art is just that... eagles. In both sculpture and print, they adorn his office walls as a symbol to Leis of “freedom and power.” Neither of which seem too important to County Prosecutor JOE DETERS. His first response to the art question was, “Do children count?”
Additional small talk uncovered the reason for Deters’ question. His office is always festooned with contemporary artwork from his children. Lions, bumblebees and other environmental phenomena, rendered by JOE, JOHN and “natural abstractionist” 18-month-old MARY ELISE, win over Van Gogh every time.
Artists themselves have pretty eclectic views on art near and dear to their hearts, and it is never their own work. THOM SHAW, whose large woodcuts, abstract paintings and popular lectures for children have opened eyes all over the Cincinnati area, named everything in HELEN FRANKENTHALER’S print show at the Contemporary Arts Center a few years back, but zeroed in on “the big blue abstract.”
Another famous local artist, JOHN RUTHVEN, named the work of American naturalist JOHN AUDUBON, who placed his pursuit of art above all else in his life. “I admire everything about him, his art and his whole lifestyle in conjunction with that,” said Ruthven. He also admitted a genuine admiration for the French Impressionists, adding some of that style to his own work.
HOW TO ENJOY WITH ONLY ONE Finger.
Impressionism makes quite a splash among area celebrities. JIM TARBELL, owner of Arnold’s Bar & Grill, describes himself as a hopeless romantic. He named RENOIR and DEGAS, then went on to extol sculpture by HENRY MOORE, mobiles by CALDER, photographers CARTIER-BRESSON and ANSEL ADAMS, rounding out with a love for architecture, which brought him to the Over-the-Rhine
renaissance with which he is involved.
Another lover of the French Impressionists, JOHN westlund, head of the Northern Kentucky University music department, named MONET’S “Rouen Cathedral”'series as something he will never forget after visiting the D’Orsey Museum in Paris. He cited the variations as evidence of genius and insight in the use of color and light.
ED STERN, artistic director at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, confesses to romanticism too, unable to resist the work of J.M.W. TURNER. “I always drop into the Tate Museum once a year when I’m in London. His work has such emotionalism, such a force of nature,” Stern enthusiastically explained. Western art was the unquestioned winner in MARGE SCHOTT’S opinion. Her late husband collected Farneys, Sharps, etc., and she would always make him take them back, saying, “Charlie, we don’t need any more Indians.” She said rather wistfully, that she wished now she’d let him keep them. Her personal favorite by JOSEPH HENRY SHARP includes a crucifix hanging behind an obviously perplexed medicine man.
“The Jesuits had come to the tribe teaching Christianity, and the Indian is obviously wondering ‘which God?”’ she said. Since her father-in-law, Walter Schott, was once a joint owner of the Rookwood Pottery, many of the fine portrait vases have become part of her collection, in particular those featuring Native American countenances.
Nearly all of the choices had personal stories behind them; parts of lives interwoven with visuals. Blues singer SWEET ALICE HOSKINS remembers an old cityscape of Cincinnati at night that appeared on the introduction to the soap opera, The Edge ofNight. “I guess it was just a part of my youth,” she explained, adding that she had seen it in a local department store not long ago.
And JUDGE ISAAH GAINES’ most treasured art hangs on his office wall with the words “Inspired by man, created by God.” He was in Washington, D.C., when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. The capitol reacted to the news with chaos. As Gaines was driving down a street, he saw a piece of charred plywood with an image burned into it of a city in flames. He carried it home with him, and it has been a part of his surroundings ever since.
Some preferences, are a real surprise. Others, like those of JIM VERDIN of the Verdin Co., maker of bells and clocks, are more predictable. Up to his armpits in art as developer of the Pendleton Street art boom, Verdin chose DONALD LITSKY’S “Bells,” which appeared at the Contemporary Arts Center in 1991.
One response, at least, left this writer speechless. Greenwood suggested a call to City Councilman CHARLES WINBURN because, said Greenwood, “he always has interesting things to say.”
Winburn was not available for direct contact, but had his secretary return with an answer. His favorite work of art, came the reply, was the “Mona Lisa.”
Organizing and motivating art students is a welcome change for Denise Burge.
The energy others expend making the galleiy scene, Burge says she would rather use to help students get their own work displayed because “you don’t feel like you’re trapped in the gallery scene.”
“I think of it as part of my teaching.”
Prior to Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square, Burge, an art professor at the University of Cincinnati, says more than 100 students from basic drawing classes walked city streets as part of their course.
While some had specific assignments, “my class (had) total freedom,” Burge explains. “It’s a totally open-ended interpretation of the city an urban environment.”
Denise Burge says her bouquets are “kind of an examination of femininity the frilliness of it.”
The only former wardrobe mistress who is also a tenured UC professor, Burge, 32, got her master of fine art degree from Virginia Commonwealth University.
She organizes art trips for students to Chicago and has organized two exchange shows with University of Miami professors and students.
To ensure her own creative flow, the North Carolina native works on 10-foot paintings in her Northside studio. Her examinations of bouquets that
are done “almost from the inside-out” are “kind of an examination of femininity the frilliness of it.”
Her continued efforts with her blossoming students mirror her own artistic development, she says. Collectively, her work has become art as therapy, intellectual development. Her challenge remains bringing it to the community.
“It becomes an intellectual as well as an emotional investment of time. It’s like the game that you can’t ever quite win.”
KATHY
Y. WILSON
Exhibitions
PHOTO: JYMI BOLDEN
Birkey, Mary Lynn Chiodi, Comer, Heather Convey, David Janalyn Glascock, Alan Sauer, Christian Schmidt, Heidi Steinke, Woods, Sheila Yeagle.
Sponsored by Cincinnati Location: Fifth Third Center.
Juried by Charlotta Kotik, curator Painting and Sculpture at the Museum,
Exhibitions
Sponsored by Chicago West Pullman.
Location: 525 Vine St., sky-
and
in the Tristate selected regional artists for this invitational exhibition the result is a distinguished assembly of artists.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS Jay Bolotin, Crossan Curry, Diana Duncan Holmes, Susan Ewing, Bruce Hall, Renee Harris, Jimi Jones, Ken Leslie, Carolyn Mazloomi, David Mueller, Lynda Riddle, Merle Rosen, Michael Sampson, Leeanne Schmidt, Calah Siffel, Althea Thompson, Patrice Trauth, Michael Wilson, Jon Yamashiro.
Metro Art
Sponsored by P&C Media and Queen City Metro.
Location: Forty buses traveling throughout Cincinnati. You may have seen these works of art this past month 40 talented regional artists created original paintings that were displayed on the buses prior to being installed in their permanent locations.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
(SPONSORS) Anthony Batchelor (BlueCross BlueShield of Ohio), Thomas Beamon (Details, Decorating & Carpet), Sarah Jane Bellamy (Liz, tinnea & Suzanne), Charlie Berger (Ross, Sinclaire & Associates Inc.), Craig Britton (Amko Plastics Inc.), Deborah Brod (Turner Construction), Irene Bryant (Paul Neff Design), Denise Burge and Mark Shepherd (Kling Marketing Communications), Jan Brown Checco (The David J. Joseph Co.), Crossan Curry (Arthur Andersen), Claire Darley (Multi Color Corp.), Mary Anne Donovan (Frank Messer & Sons Construction Co.), Gilda Edwards (Thompson Hine & Flory), Marcus Fletcher (Hsiung & Associates), Gary Gaffney (Northlich Stolley LaWarre), Troy Gerth (Hill-Smith Productions), Carol Grape (Otto Budig Foundation), Frank Herrmann (Cincinnati Arts Festival Inc.), M. Katherine Hurley (Pinnacle Advisory Group), Daniel Jasper (Globe Furniture Rentals), January Knoop (Janie P. Williams & John P. Williams Jr.), Suzann Kokoefer (Zaring Family Foundation), Cal Kowal (The Witt Co.), Yung Ja Lee (The Ohio National Life Insurance Co.), Sheila Lewandowski (Pease Industries), Ellen Miller (Cincinnati Arts Festival Inc.), Velma Morris (Jim and Chris Geier), Ran Mullins (Corporex Cos. Inc.), Carol Ann Newsome (Kucia & Associates), Carrie Nixon-Wood (Pease Industries), Ralph Raunft (James River Corp.), Lynda Riddle (Mrs. John J. Schiff Jr.), Frank Satogata (F&W Publications), Lisa Schare (Wellage & Buxton Inc.), Michael Scheurer (Cox Financial Corp.), Mark Shafer (Hasbro Toy Group), Springer School (Friends of Springer School), Greg Storer (Mary and Joe Stern), Mark Thomas (Pease Industries), Bobbi Vallery (North American Properties).
Miami University Metals Exhibition
Location: Tower Place shadow boxes (skywalk toward Saks Fifth Avenue).
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Dan Jasper, once Covington’s graffiti king.
Upending Commercial Icons
Dan Jasper describes one of his recent works as “the Pepsi logo turned upsidedown and backwards so that it reads ‘is ded.’ The logo looks like the yin-yang symbol and the philosophy has been turned on its head.”
The 33-year-old Covington native has been upending commercial and cultural icons since the early 1980s when he was best known as Anal Star, the graffiti king of Covington underpasses and walls. By day, Jasper was working full-time in graphic design and feeling the pressure of suppressed ereative ideas. He quit graphics to work as a union steelworker during the day and attended night classes in fine arts at Northern Kentucky University (NKU). In 1994, he received a Friends of the Fine Arts scholarship that is enabling him to study art full-time, although he still works part-time in graphic design.
Consumer icons are at the core of Jasper’s works, partly the result of eight years in graphic design. The Morton Salt girl disintegrates under a shower of sludge into a grisly skeleton, and the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe is imprinted on a Joy soap bottie. “It always seems to show up, this American penchant for consumerism,” he says.
“We’ve lost some semblance of spirituality or soul. My work manipulates the language as well as the image.” In 1992, Jasper revived his graffiti persona in response to the alleged appearances of the Virgin Mary at a farm in Cold Spring, Ky. He created a series of black and gray images of the Madonna that adorned interstate overpasses on the way to Cold Spring.
Jasper works in a variety of media: paint, silk screen and computer-generated images. His most recent work is a computer-generated piece that is part of the Queen City Metro project. Other works are on display at Images Gallery and the University of Cincinnati Law Library.
Jasper plans to give up his graphic art work as soon as he graduates. “I’m anxious to finish my degree so I can seq if I can do this full-time,” he says.
ANNE ARENSTEIN
20
FIFTH THIRD BANK ART ON THE SQUARE
“Sycamores” (1992) by Jim Wainscott.
Portfolio Artists
Sponsored by Anchor Hocking Packaging Co.
Location: Tower Place Atrium. Meet the artists while you browse throughout flip bins in this festive, market-like, art fair. Art displayed includes drawings, paintings, photography and prints from emerging artists to seasoned professionals.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS Sue Anderson, Corson Hirschfeld, Joanne Honschopp, Nicole Karto, Deborah Kline, Guennadi Maslov, Cindy Matyi, Marcia Miarer, Donald Neumeister, Baldwin Newton, Pat O’Brien, Milton O’Dell, Anne Reilly, Diane Schutte, Brad A. Smith, Diane Szczepaniak, Robert Wallis, Glenn Rocky Woods. Saks Fifth Avenue Window Displays
Presented by Saks Fifth Avenue.
Location: Fifth and Elm streets, Fifth and Race streets.
As
for festival-goers to enjoy.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS - Terry Brown, Joseph DeLuco, James Mongrane, Michael Toombs.
MORE, PAGE 23
Nocturnal Notions
Drawing since childhood, Velma Morris continued it after she got married and through the raising of her two sons.
By the time she was divorced 20 years ago, she had begun painting and says the work she created helped her maintain her identity. “I did not spend my whole time just living for my family,” says Morris, 57.
Her images of thickstroked, faceless jockeys hunched over and leaning their horses into the turn are prevalent around the city.
They can be seen in her one-woman show through May at Closson’s Kenwood Gallery. Examples of her other work figures posing in hats will be on display in the background of the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati’s High Hat Hattie through June.
In her equine paintings, there are no interpretations of equestrian grace that riding normally evokes, Morris says. “I’m not interested in painting every hair on a horse. I’m interested in the shapes and colors and hitting on some kind of emotion,” the Cincinnati native says. “It depends on how I felt thft day.”
And that feeling depends on how much sleep Morris has gotten.
A member of the Women’s Art Club for 15 years and the Cincinnati Art Club for more than 10, Morris has worked in the Custom Drapery department at McAlpin’s for 25 years.
She says she has perfected a system of sleeping after work and painting into the night. “I’m meeting myself coming and going,” she says laughing.
She is anxious to retire, then she will have more time to transfer to canvas all the images she’s committed to memory.
“When it comes to art, when I see things being done, the computer in my head computes it. I can remember it and recall it when I’m painting.”
KATHY Y. WILSON
Pictureyourselfhere
X
PHOTO: JYMI BOLDEN
Velma Morris would rather paint than sleep.
Kids on the Square
BY LINNEA ESCHENLOHR
It’s for another FIFTH THIRD BANK ART ON THE SQUARE, and this year’s festival has more than just great art we’ve got a full plate of activities for kids. Join us in the tCvjF of downtown for a whirlwind of art action that includes hands-on activities, performances and plenty of other fun in the :^f.
The Art Academy of Cincinnati will again present ART FREE FOR ALL, a mini-art carnival where yp,u can have your picture taken with a Polaroid and then decorate the frame with markers or a bunch of other materials. Or, have a with the Taft Museum as you help “finish” one of four line drawings of masterpieces from the museum’s collection A BONUS is that each child who completes a project will get a FREE COUPON for admission to the museum. You won’t have to for compliments when you or your kids make a Japanese “Uchiwa” fan with the Cincinnati Art Museum a project in conjunction with the museum’s exhibition of ethnic dolls and dress to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations. Here’s an added adults accompanied by a child who brings in a finished fan get free admission through the exhibition’s run in October! Kids who participate in the Arts Consortium of Cincinnati’s table will make when they create African paper dolls, jewelry and collages.
But the visual arts don’t have the only on fun at Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square. You can shake your arms and move your feet with the Cincinnati Ballet’s “Creative Movement Workshops.” Learn the seven basic MOVEMENTS OF DANCE. The ballet will even have samples of the special j|iig^ and other things you might see a dancer wear during a performance. Or you can enjoy qLf by the Art Consortium’s children’s choir, which will sing a variety of songs from gospel to rap and jazz. The Consortium also will present a special performance of AFRICAN FOLKLORE by its children’s theater. The to this show is that all the costumes and scenery have been created by the kids themselves! Members of the Cincinnati Opera will loose when they present “Opera Goes Wild.” Durmg this funny, fast-paced introduction to opera, kids will dress like gypsies, dance with Carmen and learn to sing along as part of the opera chorus. The Cincinnati Museum of Natural History also gets into the act when it presents “Mama Earth Fights Back,” part of its innovative C.A.S.T. (Creativity and Science Together) program. This performance will explore the adventures of MAMA EARTH, her sidekick Charlie and two virtual reality addicts.
You and your kids will have a whole of ART ADVENTURES to enjoy at this year’s Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square. into the fun and join us!
Arrives at Treacher’s, May 8th
UNNEA ESCHENLOHR is the public relations manager for Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square, 1995.
Free to Create
Whether it’s the elegance of a small glass sculpture based on a seed pod; intricate 3-D designs articulating form and space or simple ceramics, it’s all art to Steven Finke.
And for Finke, art is freedom.
It is the freedom to experiment as he discovers his next creation. “Art’s art; you do what you want to do,” the 38-year-old Northern Kentucky University art instructor says nonchalantly.
Hailing from New York, Finke chose art in college as an elective. After attending Ohio University, he received a master’s degree
from the
University of Miami, Fla., where he first got his hands dirty in ceramics.
Finke says he chose ceramics in graduate school because “ceramics was the loosest in the department.”
The almost inartistic, casual way he regards his life’s work is a departure from the stereotypical portrayal of an artist’s lifestyle.
“It’s what I do with my life,” he explains. “There are many ways to live a creative life, and this is what I’ve chosen to do with mine.”
Finke began teaching part-time at NKU in 1989 and went full-time two years ago. He and his wife Ana England also an instructor at NKU live in Winton Place, and Finke works in his Northside studio.
“My making art is equivalent to a scientist making or doing research,” he explains.
If that’s the case, then Finke’s latest
“research” will include more than 30 students from his foundations classes He won’t divulge much about the projects the students have created as part of Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square, saying only that “they’ll be working in a garden theme.”
As for his own creations, Finke is working on a model of the solar system made of glass, steel, lead, wood and stone. It’s a work of art for the ages.
A good thing because, as Finke says, “I’ll be working on it for years.”
\ KATHY Y. WILSON
Jeff Gandert, Charles Harper, David Monhollen, Susan Rench, John Ruthven, Allan Sutherland, Chris Walden, Bill Zimmerman.
PHOTO: JYMI BOLDEN
Steven Finke’s students’ sculptures grow from a garden theme.
Linda Du Charme, a student of Steven Finke’s, works on the model for her installation.
Biodegradable Drawings
Presented by Stephen Winters.
Location: Stenciled around and about Fountain Square.
Biodegradable drawings are created in a stencil format around and about Fountain Square.
Finders Keepers
Presented by Carol Ann Newsome. Location: Throughout the festival.
Flowers From Alien Planets
Presented by Steven Finke’s Northern Kentucky University's sculpture students.
Location: Fountain Square. Thirty-two, giant (6-foot-high), colorful “flowers from alien planets" are installed throughout the Square. Sculpture students from Northern Kentucky University were instructed to create small sculptural works and then required to produce large sions to scale.
Documenting the Spiritual
Corson Hirschfeld has the rare distinction of being an artist whose sensibilities have brought him success as a commercial photographer and as a serious visual artist. His editorial photographs have appeared in Fortune, Psychology Today, Sports Illustrated, Smithsonian and Natural History naagazines, and his work for agencies and corporations has garnered national recognition.
Hirschfeld has lectured at museurns, arts organizations and educational institutions and authored articles on scientific and general interest topics, and texts that accompany his art.
For the past 14 years, the Cincinnati native has been photographing ancient sacred sites from around the world, removing all traces of contemporary encroachment in the printing process and hand-painting the photographs to produce the images known as “Places of Power.” Neither photographs nor paintings, these images convey a powerful sense of
spirituality and serenity.
Six years ago, Hirschfeld began another series originally commissioned by the Indianapolis Museum of Art to document its collection of African artifacts. The series of sepia- and goldtoned black-andwhite still lifes are known as “Objects of Myth and Mystery,” a conceptual series that Hirschfeld has expanded to include Polynesian, Native American and Indonesian artifacts.
Recent photographs from both series will be exhibited by the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s gallery in Columbus, Ind., in September.
Hirschfeld sees “Places of Power” and “Objects of Myth and Mystery” as ongoing series and hopes to explore new sites in England, Ireland and Scotland. On a previous visit to England, Hirschfeld was given permission to enter Stonehenge by himself at dawn. That, he says, was special.
ANNE ARENSTEIN
Corson Hirschfeld
“Sacred Garden, Series No. 4” (1994) by Karen Heyl.
(1994) by David Monhollen.
her, but plans 300 small works for Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square.
Art’s an Everyday Occurrence
Carol Newsome is committed to putting art in a public context, but her approach is to make it a part of everyday life. For the past 10 years, she has created drawings, paintings and a series of murals at 1301 Vine St., part of the city’s Project Impact. “If someone drives by and sees it every day, it becomes a habit.”
A native of Pittsburgh, Newsome moved to Cincinnati from Oklahoma in 1984 to attend the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning. The 37-year-old works as a chemical dependency counselor during the day and devotes nights and weekends to art.
Newsome’s latest works involve experiments with paint, texts and fragments of broken glass, a technique that reminds her of ancient painting fragments. For Art on the Square, Newsome is planning to create 300 small paintings on wood, which will be given away during the weekend. The original plan was to hide them on the order of an Easter Egg hunt, but Newsome has changed her plan. “We’ll be sneaking these paintings throughout the festival,” she says. “Finding them will be serendipitous.” And in the event that finders have doubts about ownership, each painting will be stamped with permission to keep the art.
ANNE ARENSTEIN
Presented by the Art Academy of Cincinnati.
Sponsored by The Sheakiey Group.
Location: Fountain Square. Saturday, May 20 Noon5 p.m. Sunday, May 21 Noon-5 p.m. Get your picture taken on the spot and then
PHOTO: JYMI BOLDEN
Cincinnati Arts Festival Inc. Board of Trustees
Purchase Prize Awards
Thank You!
Thank you to all of the volunteers, advisers and companies for their support, dedication and enthusiasm in making Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square possible.
SCREENING COMMITTEES AND JURORS
Thank you to the following screening committees and jurors for their time, expertise and support of Fifth Third Bank Art on the Square.
ART ON THE SQUARE JURIED EXHIBITION
Juror, Charlotta Kotik, curator of Painting and Sculpture, Brooklyn Museum, NYC
CURATORS’ SELECT
Jerry Bellas, College of Mount St. Joseph
Nelly Bly-Cogan, Fitton Center for the Creative Arts
David Knight, Northern Kentucky University
Tom Phelps, Arts Consortium of Cincinnati
Edna Southard, Miami University Art Museum
Dr. Floyd Thomas, National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center
Anne Timpano, University of Cincinnati
EXHIBITION SELECTION COMMITTEES Andrew Arvanetes Jan Arvanetes
Robert Brasier Deborah Brod
Bruno Jeff Gandert M. Katherine Hurley Thomas Liddy
Schare
SINGING THE CLAY:
Pueblo Pottery ofthe Southwest,Yesterday and Today
Atthe Cincinnati Art Museum throughJune 4
Presentedby the Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation
Handcrafted bypotters from the Hopi,Zuni,Acoma, Laguna,Zia, SantaDomingo,Cochiti,Tesuque, Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Picuris and Taos Pueblos
Museum Shop and Museum Cafe open daily.
Located in Eden Park, Exit #2 off 1-71 North or South.
Open Tues.-Sat. 10-5, Sun. 11-5. For information, call 721-5204.
New Tunes
POSITIVELY VEAH YEAH YEAH
BY JOHN M. JAMES
Prim Attraction
Via Satellite
Elvis Costello’s new album, Kojak Variety, hit store shelves last week, and fans have long awaited this interesting collection of cover songs. While most cover albums of late give gloss to someone else’s big hits, Costello has chosen relatively unfamiliar songs by artists like Randy Newman, Howlin’ Wolf, Aretha Franklin and Nat “King” Cole. And a special treat enters your home free on the evening of May 17 as Elvis Costello and the Attractions perform a one-hour live concert beamed via satellite to radio stations all over the country. Material from the new Warner Bros, album will be featured as well as old favorites, and special surprise guests are promised to appear.
In this area, WNKU (89.7 FM) is the connection of choice at 10 p.m. Beginning at 9 that same night, Costello will be on CyberTalk, a live question-and-answer chat on CompuServe and America Online simultaneously. Participants in this computer conference also will be able to access soundbites and artwork from Kojak Variety.
And on a related note, Attractions keyboardist Steve Nieve has had his early solo album, Keyboard Jungle, reissued by Britain’s Demon record label with the inclusion of 13 previously unavailable bonus tracks and liner notes by Chris Difford of Squeeze.
But If the Stores Are All Closed
On Tuesday, Atlantic Records is releasing the ultimate exploitation (or is it exploration?) of the 1971 classic “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin in a strange brew of 12 versions a la Down Under. For some time the Australian TV show The Money Or the Gun has opened each episode with a different version of this Rock opus performed by cast members and Aussie recording artists. Titled Stairways to Heaven, the song is done in the “stylings” of Mel Torme, the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Andrew Lloyd Webber, the B-52’s and other mutations.
Releases Coming Tuesday
And like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change. Billy Pilgrim Bloom (Atlantic); Boy George Cheapness & Beauty (Virgin), with a cover of Iggy Pop’s “Fun Time"; Die Krupps Rings of Steel (Cleopatra); Celine Dion The French Album (Sony 550); Disappear Fear Live at the Bottom Line (Philo); Dokken Dysfunctional (Columbia); Tav Falco’ Panther Burns Shadow Dancer (Upstart); Sean Kelly Light House Rocket (What Are Records?); M People Bizarre Fruit (Epic); Chris Mars Tenterhooks (Bar None), third solo album from ex-Replacements drummer; Morphine “Super Sex” (Rykodisc), CD 5-inch single with three non-LP tracks, one from each member of the band; Johnnette Napolitano & Holly Vincent Vowel Movement (Atlantic); Naughty By Nature Poverty's Paradise (Tommy Boy); Season to Risk In a Perfect World (Red Decibel/ Columbia), at Bogart's on May 18; Slant 6 Inzombia (Dischord); Space Needle Voyager (Zero Hour); Chris Stamey & Kirk Ross Robust Beauty (ESD Expansions); Rod Stewart Up All Night (Warner Bros.); Trusty Goodbye Dr. Fate (Dischord), CD has two bonus tracks; various artists Stairways to Heaven (Atlantic), all covers of Zep’s “Stairway.”
JOHN JAMES can be found behind the counter at Wizard Records in Corryville.
Music
RHYTHM N’ ROADS Jazz/Classical. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Bankers Club, Fifth Third Center, 30th floor, 511 Walnut St., Downtown. 751-6161.
JOHNNY CLUELESS AND LUBE, OIL AND FILTER Rock. 6 p.m. Wednesday. Bicentennial Commons at Sawyer Point, Downtown. 579-3199.
PIGMEAT JARRETT Blues. 6 p.m. Wednesday. Krohn Conservatory, 1501 Eden Park Drive, Eden Park. $3. 421-5707.
Clubs
THURSDAY MAY 11
ACOUSTIC DUO Folk. York Street International Cafe. Cover. BACK DOORS Doors favorites. McGuffy’s. Cover.
BLUE LOU AND THE ACCUSATIONS Blues. Allyn's. Cover.
BOB CUSHING Acoustic. Knotty Pine. Free.
FOREHEAD AND ANVIL SLUGS Alternative favorites. Blue Note Cafe. Cover.
FRANK POWERS TRIO Eclectic. Arnold’s. Free.
FRAZIER RIVER Country. Cut to the Chase. Cover.
GOSHORN BROS. Classic Rock. Tommy's. Cover.
THE HAIRY PATT BAND WITH FORESKIN 500 AND KNUMSKULLS Alternative. Sudsy Malone’s. Cover.
IVORY'S OPEN HOUSE - Jazz. Ivory’s. Free.
JOHN ZAPPA QUARTET Jazz. Ogden’s Place. Free.
KEN COWDEN AND CHRIS
GOINS Acoustic Rock. Shady O’Grady’s. Free.
KEVIN TOHLE Classic Rock. Zipper's. Free.
KRIS BROWN Acoustic. Blind Lemon. Cover.
LYNN CALLAHAN Acoustic. Local 1207. Cover.
MODULATORS Eclectic. ML Adams Pavilion. Cover.
NON CHALANT Rock. Ripleys. Cover.
POSITIVE REACTION Reggae. Club Gotham. Cover.
SLAUGHTER Metal. Annie’s. Cover.
SNOWSHOE CRABS Alternative Rock favorites. Salamone’s. Cover.
STACY MITCHART AND BLUES U CAN USE Blues. Mt. Lookout Tavern. Cover.
SYLVAIN ACHER Jazz. Promontory. Cover.
TIME MARKET Jazz. Blue Wisp. Cover.
UPTOWN RHYTHM AND BLUES Rhythm and Blues. Stow’s. Cover.
WONDERLAND - Dance Rock. Main Street Brewery. Cover.
FRIDAY MAY 12
4 A.M. Metal. Annie’s. Cover.
ALLIANCE Rock. New '90s. Cover.
ANN CHAMBERLAIN Jazz. Promontory. Cover.
BATCH Rock. Logo’s. $1.
BLACK GEL WITH GINGHAM AND MR. FRED Alternative. Bogart's. $4.
BLISTER Alternative. Shady
O'Grady's. Cover.
BOB CUSHING Acoustic. Village Tavern. Free.
CIRCUS OF THE SUN Rock. Top Cat’s. Cover.
COLD SMOKE Rock. Jim and Jack’s. Cover.
CRAWDADDY Alternative favorites. Club Gotham. Cover.
DOUBLESHOT WITH ANNIE
ELLIS Pop. Briarwood. Free.
EKOOSTIK HOOKAH WITH THE GRAPES Rock. Ripleys. Cover.
FEEDER, FLOWERFIST AND FILAMENT Alternative. Sudsy Malone’s. Cover.
FESTIVE SKELETONS Alternative favorites. McGuffy’s. Cover. FRAZIER RIVER Country. Cut to the Chase. Cover.
GOSHORN BROS. Classic Rock. Tommy’s. Cover.
THE HIGH STREET RHYTHM ROCKERS Blues. Burbank’s Florence. Cover.
THE INDUCERS Jazz. Southgate House (Candlelight Room). Cover.
JANET PRESSLEY AND BINGO BONGO, FILTHY MCNASTY AND VAN GOGH'S LOBE Folk/Eclectic. York Street International Cafe. Cover.
JIM GILLUM Acoustic. Blind Lemon. Cover.
JOHNNY FINK AND THE INTRUSION Blues. Allyn’s. Cover.
LAGNIAPPE Cajun. Arnold’s. Free.
BLUEGRASS ALL STARS Bluegrass. Arnold’s. Free. BOB
MARC FIELDS Jazz. Blue Wisp. Cover.
THE MENUS Rock favorites. Blue Note. Cover.
THE MODULATORS Eclectic Rock. Mt. Adams Pavilion. Cover.
SNOWSHOE CRABS Alternative Rock favontes. Salamone's. Cover.
TZ 5 Rock. Chatterbox. $2.
THE WEBSTERS, WOODPECKERS AND MOREAlternative/Rock favorites. Caddy’s. $5.
WONDERLAND - Dance Rock. Main Street Brewery. Cover.
SATURDAY
MAY 13
4 A.M. Metal. Annie’s. Cover.
THE AKOUSTIKATS Eclectic Acoustic. Mt. Lookout Tavern. Free. ALLIANCE Rock. New '90s. Cover.
BATCH Rock. Logo's. $1.
THE BILLY LARKIN TRIO - Jazz. Promontory. Cover.
BY GARY GAFFNEY
Music
THE MENUS Rock favorites. Blue Note. Cover.
MICHAEL DENTON Acoustic. Blind Lemon. Cover.
MYSTERY WAGON Folk Alternative. Zipper’s. Free.
RICKY NYE AND THE RED HOTS Blues. Allyn’s. Cover.
RIVERRUNT SPOOK FLOATER Rock. Main Street Brewery. Cover.
SHIRLEY JESTER JAZZ TRIO Jazz. Coco's. Cover.
SMITHA JUSTICE Classic Rock. Scooter’s. Cover. STAND Rock favorites. Salamone’s. Cover.
★ THE TIQERLILIES, BPA, SISTERN AND FLY Four of Cincy's best and most original Alternative acts join forces for to raise funds for the local artists collaborative, C.A.G.E. Sudsy Malone's. $4.
TOM MARTIN Rock. ML Adams Pavilion. Cover.
TZ 5 Rock. Chatterbox. $2.
THE WEBSTERS, WOODPECKERS AND MORE Alternative/ Rock favorites. Caddy’s. $5.
MONDAY MAY 15
SUNDAY MAY 14
BILLY LARKIN Jazz. Promontory. Cover.
BOB CUSHING Acoustic. Cloverleaf Lakes. Free.
BLUE BIRDS Blues. Allyn's Cafe. Cover.
BRIAN EWING Acoustic. Blind Lemon. Cover.
DAYTON JAZZ ORCHESTRA Big Band. Gilly’s. Cover.
BISQUIT AND SECTION 8 Alternative. Sudsy Malone’s. Cover. CAT CITY Jazz. Blue Wisp. Cover.
EUROPA GYPSY TRIO Acoustic. York Street International Cafe. Cover.
FRED GARY AND DOTTIE WARNER Eclectic. Arnold’s. Free.
DAVE SAMS Acoustic. Blind Lemon. Cover.
MARC MICHAELSON Rock. Mt. Adams Pavilion. Cover.
HAIRY STRAWBERRY Rock. Bohemian Lounge. Cover.
MISTER BLACK AND FUGUE Alternative Rock. Sudsy Malone’s. Cover.
THE IMPULSE BAND FEATURING RICHARD DANIELS Jazz. Babe Baker's. Free.
RON BRUMLAGE QUARTET Jazz. Blue Wisp. Cover.
STAIN Alternative. Salamone’s. Cover.
JOHN KOGGE AND THE LONESOME STRANGERS Folk. The Stadium. Cover.
TUESDAY MAY 16
LUBE, OIL AND FILTER Rockabilly. Mt. Adams Pavilion. Cover.
BRIAN LOVELY AND THE SECRET Alternative Rock. Tommy’s. Cover.
CRAWDADDY Acoustic Alternative favorites. Scooter’s. Free.
THE MENUS AND MILHAUS Rock favorites. Blue Note. Cover.
BOB CUSHING Acoustic. Foley’s Western Hills. Free.
NOAH HUNT AND JASON DENNIE Acoustic. Tommy’s. Free.
THE DAMN VANS Rock favorites. Salamone’s. Cover.
THE DIXIE CRUISERS Dixieland Jazz. Arnold’s. Free.
PAVILION MUSIC COMPANY Big Band. Skipper’s Lounge. Cover.
JIM CONWAY Acoustic. Blind Lemon. Cover.
STACY THE BLUES DOCTOR WITH BLUES U CAN USE Blues. Local 1207. Cover.
LAURIE TRAVELINE, CHRIS ALLEN AND MILES LORETTA Acoustic. The Friendly Stop. Free.
LONGVIEW Rock. McGuffy’s. Cover.
OPEN MIC Folk. Canal Street Tavern. Cover.
PHIL DEGREG TRIO Jazz. Blue Wisp. Cover.
SYLVAIN ACHER AND PAUL PATTERSON Jazz. Promontory. Cover.
MAY 12 & 13 MABLE MURPHY’S (22 Donald Dr., Fairfield)
MAY 19 & 20
THE BLUE NOTE (4520 w. 8th St.)
Call our all new information line for tour dates and get on our new mailing list! 331-5023
THURSDAY, MAY 18 FROM GOOD HOMES
FRIDAY, MAY 19: AQUARIUM RESCUE UNIT K —^ 1)] ij y / / 7
THE VOLUPTUOUS HORROR OF KAREN BLACK AND HOGSCRAPER Performance/Alternative. Sudsy Malone’s. Cover.
WEDNESDAY MAY 17
ANN CHAMBERLAIN AND SHIRLEY JESTER Jazz. Promontory. Cover.
ARNOLD’S WEDNESDAY NIGHT GUYS Eclectic. Arnold's. Free.
BLUE WISP BIG BAND Jazz. Blue Wisp. Cover.
BRIAN LOVELY AND THE SECRET Alternative Rock. Shady O'Grady's. Free.
CELTIC JAM Celtic. Hap’s Irish Pub. Free.
CHAMBERS AND NOLTING WITH JANET PRESSLEY Folk. Kaldi’s. Free.
CURTIS CHARLES Classic Rock. Zipper's. Free.
FOREHEAD Alternative favorites. Murray’s Pub. Cover.
GIZZAE Reggae. Ripleys. Cover.
GREENWICH TAVERN JAZZ
ENSEMBLE Jazz. Greenwich Tavern. Cover.
JEFF GOITHER Acoustic. Blind Lemon. Cover.
KENNY TAYLOR Classic Rock. Scooter's. Free.
THE MENUS Rock favorites.
Katmandu Cafe. Cover. THE MIDNIGHTERS - Blues. Tommy’s. Cover.
NOAH HUNT AND JASON DENNIE Acoustic. Local 1207. Cover.
OVERDUE AND THE MENUS Rock favorites. Blue Note Cafe. Cover.
PEARL RIVER Country. Cut to the Chase. Cover.
PIGMEAT JARRETT Blues.
Allyn's Cafe. Cover.
POLARA AND HALF JAPANESE Alternative. Sudsy Malone's. Cover.
MORE, PAGE 18
Local Scene
BY MIKE BREEN
The Great Outdoors
With the seasonal warming, of course, come Cincinnati's numerous spring/summer outdoor music events.
Jammin' on Main has firmed up the lineup for its second annual appearance, and it’s full of high-profile local luminaries with a few established national acts thrown in. Friday the performances run from 6 p.m. to midnight, while Saturday shows start at 3 p.m. and go until midnight. Three stages are located on and around Main Street near Court Street with continuous entertainment.
Friday’s lineup includes psychodots, SHAG, Brian Lovely and the Secret and Grammy-winning headliner Delbert McClinton on the Center Stage (near Court and Walnut). On the Showcase Stage (in front of the Flamilton County Courthouse) will be The Modulators, Plough House and Graveblankets with local I.R.S. recording artists Over The Rhine closing out the night. On the Fleritage Stage (behind the Schwartz Building on Main) will be Lee Rolfes, the Phil DeGreg Trio with Pat Harbison, H-Bomb Ferguson, Charged Particles and Ricky Nye and the Red Hots.
On Saturday, look for PsychoAcoustic Orchestra, Heavy Weather, The Avenues, MoJo Hand, Goshorn Brothers and the Springsteen-esque Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes on the Center Stage. On the Showcase Stage will be Monday Night Big Band, The Blue Birds, High Street Rhythm Rockers, Porterhouse, Dean Hail and the Loose Eels and Latin jazzman Eddie Palmieri. The Heritage Stage offers Meridian 8, Peace Train, Victory, Kathy Wade with Ed Moss, Blue Lou and the Accusations, Standard Time and Uptown Rhythm and Blues.
Tickets for Jammin’ on Main are available at local Subway locations for $5 or at the gates each day for $8.
The 26th Appalachian Festival celebrates Appalachian dance, food, culture and, of course, the folky music. The event takes place Friday through Sunday at Coney Island and features the festival’s most eclectic (and electric) lineup ever. There's limited seating for the music performances, but there will be video monitors throughout the park so everyone can enjoy the action. Admission is $5. Children under 12 are admitted for $1.
Activities run 10 a.m.-lO p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. On Friday see acts like Sparky Rucker, Katie Laur Band and Bluegrass legend Peter Rowan. Saturday brings Joe Thompson and Bob Carlin, Taylor Farley and Blue Rock, Kentucky Country-rockers
Mojo Filter Kings and renowned fusion banjoist Bela Fleck and his mighty Flecktones. Sunday features Bluegrass with Ohio Valley Rounders, Reel World String Band, Goose Creek Symphony and The Red Clay Ramblers.
Finally, the Parties in the Park are starting up again. Conveniently scheduled after a Wednesday workday at 5 p.m., the every-other-week concerts on the riverfront at Sawyer Point feature a variety of
Cincinnati groups. This Wednesday see Johnny Clueless and Lube, Oil and Filter, and on May 31 it’s Robin Lacy and DeZydeco. The remaining lineup features Birdhouse and Unpredictable Cover, June 14; veteran rockers Goshorn Brothers, June 28; the Funk/Blues/Rock combo Brian Lovely and the Secret, July 12; Wonderland and Heavy Weather, July 26; your favorite Alternative hits from The Websters, Aug. 9; Snowshoe Crabs and Riverrunt Spook Floaters, Aug. 23; and The Modulators close the series Sept. 6.
This summer also will see the debut of Rock on the Square, a similar after-work schmoozefest on Fountain Square beginning June 7, to fill in the empty everyother-Wednesdays on your calendar. We'll clue you in on the lineup next issue.
Good Sounds for Good Causes
Local organizations will benefit from musical performances Saturday: Peace Train, a Detroit Dance/Disco duo whose latest single, the organic and soulful “Bangin’ My Drum,” has been doing well on dance chart, will perform Saturday at the 18th annual Stonewall Cincinnati fund-raising dinner. The performance and dinner are a part of a benefit for Stonewall Cincinnati, a non-profit organization that promotes education and advocacy on behalf of sexually discriminated people. The event takes place at the Hyatt Regency Ballroom (151 W. Fifth St., Downtown.) Tickets to the dinner are $50; call 929-2420.
Peace Train plays an unashamedly Disco style that members claim comes from an upbringing of Elton John, George Clinton and David Bowie.
There also will be a benefit for the local artist coalition C.A.G.E. Saturday at Sudsy Malone's. The impressive lineup features Tigerlilies, Fly, Sistern and a rare appearance by BPA. Admission is a mere $4. The show will begin around 10 p.m.
Etc.
Wondering why The Cult canceled at Bogart’s last month? The veteran Alternative-music chameleons have offidaily broken up. Michelle Bodine, former Brainiac guitarist and current cameo star of the new Guided By Voices video, has formed a new band called O-Matic. The Dayton group has signed with New York-based Grass Records, home to praised underground groups such as Liquor Bike, The Karl Hendricks Trio and Brainiac. Sunday night keep your ears tuned to WAIF (88.3 FM) for the debut of two great new local bands, Blank and Arranca, a Spanish/Engiish band featuring Edge founder Victor Garcia-Rivera. The live broadcast runs 10 p.m.-midnight. Feel free to venture up to the WAIF studios at William Howard Taft and Victory Parkway to join the studio audience.
Send music to MIKE BREEN, Cincinnati CityBeat, 23 E, Seventh
Short Takes
REVIEWS
BY
MIKE BREEN
THE VOLUPTUOUS HORROR OF KAREN BLACK
The Anti-Naturalists (Triple X, Box 862529, Los Angeles, CA 90086-2529).
VHOKB is the brainchild of Kembra Pfahler, a performance artist and filmmaker, who started the group to put sound to her movies. Though the group’s shows (a lot of glowing body paints and thrown objects) still receive the most attention, the music on The Anti-Naturalists is worth notice. The album’s creative, energized Punk/Glam recalls groups like the Heartbreakers, and there is a surprising lack of pretension. Songs like “Am I Blue” contain a slash-and-burn quality. VHOKB performs Tuesday at Sudsy Malone’s.
Led by Minneapolis’ studio and musician Wunderkind Ed Ackerson, Polara creates inventive, experimental sounds in a cohesive Pop context better than most anyone. The group’s eponymous debut is a vital show of unconventional songwriting, unique studio technique and creative instrumentation. All this, combined with a youthful musical zeal and a flair for writing addictive melodies, make this record a must-hear. Polara joins Half Japanese at Sudsy Malone’s on Wednesday.
FSK The Sound of Music (Flying Fish, 1304
W. Schubert, Chicago, IL 60614).
Members of Germany’s FSK take the traditional music of their homeland and blissfully warp it into an engaging and often humorous sonic regurgitation. It’s easy to see why Cracker’s David Lowexy wanted to join the group; FSK has the same intelligent, cheeky wit as Lowery’s previous band, Camper Van Beethoven. The Sound ofMusic's 21 tracks include brief, funny asides, Countiy-ish romps and full-blown Polka stompers, all the while throwing an intoxicated, artful and whimsical twist into the music. A very interesting listen. FSK and Lowery perform at Bogart’s on Saturday.
CltyBeat grade: B.
FORESKIN 500 Manpussy (Basural/Priority, Box 39789, Los Angeles, CA 90039).
How much can you expect from a band that wears sad homemade costumes and makeup and has an album cover shot full of pubic hair? Thankfully, there is a sense of humor at work here, albeit a sick and hard-to-get-to one. Musically, the group does manage to hold its own pretty well. There is a metallic, industrial groove prevalent on the album’s 10 tracks that is undeniably ear-catching, showing a talented group of musicians beneath the sheath of satire. If you have the kind of sense of humor that makes your friends look at you funny, then you’ve found your band.
Foreskin 500 performs with the Hairy Patt Band on Thursday at Sudsy Malone’s.
Beach Blanket Bingo
Navigate through the summer movie deluge with the aid of these assorted trends
FORECAST BY STEVE RAMOS
Biggertias to be better: Looking to best last year’s Lion King opening extravaganza at Radio City Music Hall, Disney is throwing a world premiere party on Central Park’s Great Lawn June 10 for the animated feature Pocahontas (out on June 23). Combining four giant video screens and a pre-show featuring Disney personalities, the studio is inviting 100,000 of its closest friends. Ex-Disney chief Jeffrey Katzenberg? Somehow, his name never made the list.
Desperately seeking coolness: Mickey Mouse looks to get hip with the homeboys through Disney’s release of Brothers Allen and Albert Hughes’ (ereators of Menace II Society) Dead Presidents (August). Unable to find work, a group of bad-ass Vietnam vets team up for an armored car heist. Goofy better lock his doors.
Double Drew, Triple Hugh: You lucky Drew Barrymore fans. Not only can you catch America’s favorite Lolita in Mad Love (May 26), a tale about young lovers on the run with Batman Forever's Chris O’Donnell, but Barrymore follows O’Donnell over to Batman Forever (June 16) as Sugar, one of Two-Face’s (Tommy Lee Jones) two girlfriends. Perfecting his ability to blush on cue, Englishman Hugh Grant shows up in three movies this summer. Tackling diverse subjects such as mountains (The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill, but Came Down a Mountain, May 12), babies (Nine Months, July 14) and young boys (An Awfully Big Adventure July 21), Grant gives new meaning to the phrase “If you’ve got it, flaunt it.” See this issue’s Cover Story for details.
Film
I don’t want a McDonald's cup: Forget T-shirts. Movie merchandising goes up-scale this summer with tie-ins to Warner Bros.’ Batman Forever. Superstar designer Todd Oldham unveils Todd Oldham Forever in 20 Warner Bros. Studio Stores on June 1 a line of clothes and accessories, priced from $20 to $250, inspired by the Batman flick starring Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones and Jim Carrey. Grab the rubber Bat-undies fast, they’ll probably go first.
Men in skirts: Inspired by Liam Neeson’s hairy legs in Rob Roy, Mel Gibson dons a kilt for his portrayal of 13th century Scottish warrior William Wallace in Braveheart (May 24). Later, look for both Richard Gere and Sean Connery to flash some calf in First Knight (July 4), another take on the King Arthur legend. The women this summer? They’re wearing pants.
Traffic jam: With 56 films slated to roll out by September, theater owners predict that five films will hold half of America’s movie screens by July 4: Batman Forever, Pocahantas, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Congo and Apollo 13. Where are the rest of the films going to go? Guess we shouldn’t have torn down all those drive-ins.
Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones, left) and the Riddler (Jim Carrey) in Batman Forever.
OVER THE RHINE WITH PLOW ON BOY Coney Island’s Moonlite Gardens. Friday, July 14. 232-8230. TLC TimberWolf Ampitheatre (Paramount's Kings Island). Wednesday, July 19. $27.95, $19.95. 749-4949.
BLESSID UNION OF SOULS P&G Pavilion. Friday, July 21. Free. THE CHIEFTAINS AND SARAH MCLACHLAN Riverbend. July 24. Prices TBA. 749-4949.
SHINDIG Rock favorites. Murray's Pub. Cover.
TRILOGY Classic Rock. Mt. Adams Pavilion. Cover.
LORRIE MORGAN WITH DOUG SUPERNAW TimberWolf Ampitheatre (Paramount’s Kings Island). Sunday, July 30. $19.95 and $27.95. 749-4949.
LYLE LOVETT Riverbend. Thursday, Aug. 3. Prices TBA. 749-4949.
REO WITH PAT BENATAR AND FLEETWOOD MAC TimberWolf Ampitheatre (Paramount’s Kings Island). Thursday, Aug. 3. $19.95 and $27.95. 749-4949.
MARY-CHAPIN CARPENTER WITH THE MAVERICKS Riverbend. Wednesday, Aug. 9. Prices TBA. 749-4949.
HOOTIE AND THE BLOWFISH Riverbend. Wednesday, Aug. 16. Prices TBA. 749-4949.
ALL WITH THE TOADIES Bogart's. Thursday. May 18. $6.50/$8 day of show. 749-4949. GRAHAM PARKER Bogart’s. Friday, May 19. $11/$12 day of show. 749-4949.
BLACK CROWES, BLUES TRAVELER, ZIGGY MARLEY, VICTORIA WILLIAMS, G.LOVE, SPECIAL SAUCE AND
JULIANA HATFIELD WITH JEFF BUCKLEY AND COLD WATER FLAT Bogart’s. Wednesday, May 24. $10/$12 day of show. 749-4949.
MERLE HAGGARD AND THE STRANGERS Coyote's. Wednesday, May 24. $12. 721-1000.
WHITE ZOMBIE WITH REV. HORTON HEAT AND THE MELVINS Hara Arena, Dayton, Ohio. Wednesday, May 24. $20/$22 day of show. 749-4949.
LETTERS TO CLEO WITH MOIST Bogart’s. Thursday, May 25. $5. 749-4949.
JIMMY BUFFETT Riverbend. Friday, Saturday and Tuesday; May 27, 28 and 30. ALL SHOWS SOLO OUT. MORPHINE Bogart’s. Sunday, May 28. $15. 749-4949.
SHENANDOAH Cut to the Chase. Friday, June 2. $12/$14 day of show. 721-1000.
KMFDM WITH DINK Bogart's. Saturday, June 3. $12.50/$14 day of show. 749-4949.
DURAN DURAN, CHRIS ISAAK AND HUMAN LEAGUE P&G Pavilion. Sunday, June 4. Free. MELISSA ETHERIDGE Riverbend. Tuesday, June 6. $24.25, $34.75, $47.25. 749-4949.
OTIS RUSH WITH WILLIAM CLARKE Coney Island Moonlite Gardens. Friday, June 9. $12.50/$15 day of show. 749-4949. THE HIGHWAYMEN FEATURING WILLIE NELSON, WAYLON JENNINGS, JOHNNY CASH AND KRIS KRISTOFFERSON TimberWolf Amphitheater (Paramount’s Kings Island). Sunday, June 11. $19.95 and $27.95. 749-4949.
MUDHONEY WITH CLAWHAMMER Bogart’s. Monday, June 12. $10/$12 day of show. 749-4949.
SEAL WITH DES’REE Riverbend. Monday, June 12. Prices TBA. 749-4949.
BONNIE RAITT Riverbend. Tuesday, June 13. Prices TBA. 749-4949.
GUIDED BY VOICES Southgate House. Friday, June 16. Cover. 431-2201.
LUTHER VANDROSS Riverbend. Tuesday, June 20. Prices TBA. 749-4949.
BRUCE COCKBURN Bogart's. Wednesday, June 21. $13/$15 day of show. 749-4949. HAL KETCHUM Cut to the
can give him that. With Juan is Dottie Perez (Marisa Tomei), a poor sugarcane worker who wants to meet John Wayne and listen to rock 'n' roll.
Carmela, giving up hope that her husband will ever return, seeks new loves, new happiness. When a Miami police officer (Chazz Palminteri) answers a call at her home, she sees her new future before her eyes. Pasts are let go, new futures are found and a family’s reunion presents unforeseen consequences.
Nair, a native of India, unveils all that is beautiful in the immigrant experience and reveals its ugliness as well. Supported by strong performances from her entire cast, Nair’s melodrama is passionate and painfully romantic. At a time when many politicians speak of refusing immigrants entry into our country, The Perez Family pulls the heartstrings even harder. (Rated R; opens Friday at Showcase Cincinnati, Showcase Springdale, Florence, Northgate and 275 East.)
★ BAR GIRLS No one’s talking about a Cinderella story here. In Bar Girls, Loretta (Nancy Allison Wolfe), a writer for a TV cartoon series, falls in love with an aspiring actress Rachel (Liza D’Agostino). Petty jealousies, infidelities and amateur psychoanalyzing keep this story firm in reality. Looking back at their experiences, screenwriter Lauran Hoffman and director Marita Giovanni toss together believable characters, witty dialogue and a poignant romance into a thoroughly funny, good-time movie. Benefiting from strong lead performances by Wolfe and D’Agostino, Bar Girls succeeds as a traditional narrative in ways that last summer’s Go Fish never did. With Lisa Parker. (Rated R; at the Movies.)
★ THE BASKETBALL DIARIES
CltyBeat grade: A. WINDOW TO PARIS Director
Yuri Mamin jabs at the state of post-Cold War Russia in this tale about a magical passage to the wondrous West. Inside his drab, one-room flat, young music teacher Nikolai (Serguei Dontsov) discovers a hidden window inside a closet. Not just any window, this portal offers passage from his bleak St. Petersburg surroundings to the beautiful worid of Paris. Sounds like fun. Watching Nikolai and his pals bop back and forth between these two cities offers up some fine comedy. Some travel for love. Others just to get their hands on some fine western merchandise. A Russian stepping into the world of Parisian high style is a “fish out of water" story taken to extremes. It’s the only gag Mamin uses in the movie. Can it sustain 87 minutes?
herself fat and ugly, young Benny (Minnie Driver) falls in love with Jack (Chris O’Donnell), the cutest boy in her freshman university class. Director Pat O’Conndr brings Maeve Binchy’s well-known novel to the screen. With Colin Firth and Saffron Burrows.
(Rated PG; at Loews Kenwood Towne Centre, Florence and Northgate.)
Stuck in production limbo for years, poet/musician Jim Carroll’s The Basketball Diaries finally makes it to the silver screen. Carroll (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his friend Mickey (Mark Wahlberg) are hot high school basketball players, but the streets possess temptations hard for a teen-ager to say to. Carroll soon finds himself locked in a heroin addiction. For his next fix, he’ll turn tricks. He’ll steal. He’s on the brink of death. DiCaprio’s performance is the most inspired turn from a young actor in a very long time. Hollywood gossip has him starring in the James Dean biography. Sounds just right. With Lorraine Bracco and Ernie Hudson. (Rated R; at Loews Kenwood Twin, Tri County; closes Thursday at Florence.)
BILLY MADISON In order to inherit his father’s (Darren McGavin) billion-dollar hotel business, 27-yearold Billy Madison (Adam Sandler) must repeat all 12 grades of school in less than six months. Audiences didn’t follow Sandler from Saturday Night Live to the big screen. Maybe next time he'll do his “opera man” routine. With Josh Mostel. (Rated PG-13; at Turfway, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
BORN TO BE WILD Cleaning an animal research lab everyday after school, 14-year-old Rick (Wil Horneff) meets a new friend, Katie. She’s funny. Smart. A real friend. Oh yeah, Katie’s also a 3-year-old gorilla. Kids are ignoring this tale of boy-beast friendship. Guess they’re waiting for Disney’s Pocahontas. (Rated PG; at Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate; closes Thursday at Norwood, Turfway.)
Imagine watching The Wizard of Oz, and the film consisted of Dorothy crashing from Kansas into Oz, again and again and again. Enjoyable. But you wonder, is that all there is?
★ BYE BYE, LOVE In the family comedy Bye Bye, Love, three best friends Donny (Paul Reiser), Vic (Randy Quaid) and Dave (Matthew Modine), all recently divorced complete their weekly ritual of picking up their kids for the weekend at a neighborhood McDonald’s. Setting out with the simple goal of making people laugh. Bye Bye, Love hits the target more than it misses. With Amy Brenneman and Lindsay Crouse.
Mamin paints everything and everybody on a cartoon level. On one side there's ugly Russia where its people dream of capitalism. Over there in Paris, westerners are awash in goods, but still not satisfied. The moral to Window to Paris? Maybe that little girl Dorothy summed it up best when she said, “There’s no place like home." Is that all there is? Toss in a scarecrow, a tin-man and a cowardly lion. Now you’re talking. With Agnes Soral. (Rated PG-13; opens Friday at the Esquire Theatre.)
CltyBeat grade: C.
BAD BOYS In Bad Boy's opening sequence, Miami police officer Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) tells a carjacker that he’s no Wesley Snipes. No kidding. Possessing strong physical presence, a sassy personality and great comic timing, Lawrence beats out Snipes in the action-lead game hands-down. Too bad he's paired up with a wet noodle like Will Smith in a blase MTV montage of “seen that before" stunts and explosions. Lawrence deserves better. (Rated R; at Showcase Cincinnati, Kenwood Twin, Tri County, Northgate, Florence and 275 East.)
THE CURE Called "AIDS boy’ by the local hooligans, 11-year-old Dexter (Joseph Mazzello) develops a friendship with Eric (Brad Renfro), his nextdoor neighbor. Together they pursue a dream of finding a cure for Dexter’s illness. Overladen with touchy-feely sentiment, The Cure proves that complex issues such as children inflicted with the HIV virus do not transfer well to an antiseptic Hollywood treatment. With Bruce Davison. (Rated PG-13; opens Friday at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate; closes Thursday at Kenwood Towne Centre.)
★ DESTINY IN SPACE This time, IMAX cameras follow the space shuttle as it repairs the Hubble, and the images are amazing. Move over Star Trek Generations, here’s real out-of-space adventure. (Unrated; at Robert D. Lindner Family Omnimax Theater.)
DESTINY TURNS ON THE RADIO
Being Hollywood's hottest director is not enough for Quentin Tarantino. Invigorated by his current stardom, he wants to be an actor. Go figure. Julian Goddard (Dylan McDermott), an escaped convict, hitches a ride to Las Vegas with a mysterious driver named Destiny (Tarantino). Goddard wants to reclaim his stolen fortune and the love of his life, Lucille (Nancy Travis). With James Belushi. (Rated R; closes Thursday at Showcase Cincinnati, Kenwood Towne Centre, 275 East and Tri County, Florence.)
DON JUAN DEMARCO A psychi atrist, Jack Mickler (Brando) treats a young man (Johnny Depp) who believes himself to be the infamous Spanish lover. Depp looks fine with his shirt unbuttoned to his waist, but his portrayal here is erotically vacant. Looking overweight, pasty-skinned and \in poor health, Brando still walks onto a scene and steals it. This attempt at a sexy comedy is nothing but a real snoozer. With Faye Dunaway. (Rated PG-13; at Florence; opens Friday at
from the Drug Enforcement Agency. (Rated R; at Norwood.)
DUMBER
(Rated PG-13; at Turfway; closes Thursday at Norwood.)
CANDYMAN FAREWELL TO THE FLESH Poor Candyman (Tony Todd), he could have been a horrormovie contender, the next Freddy Krueger. Now, after this awful sequel to the hit film Candyman, he's just a monster-bum. With Veronica Cartwright. (Rated R; at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
CIRCLE OF FRIENDS Love and laughter in 1957 Ireland. Considering
Continuing
OUTBREAK Director Wolfgang Peterson's (In the Line of Fire) Outbreak becomes even more relevant with news of the Ebola deaths in Zaire. In this movie, Col. Sam Daniels,
M.D. (Dustin Hoffman), an officer from the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases, investigates a “hot" virus that finds its way from an African village into America. Here, real-life drama becomes ruined by a blas6, Hollywood action-chase ending. With Morgan Freeman. (Rated R; at Florence; opens Friday at Northgate and Tri County; closes Thursday at Showcase Springdale and the Little Art Theatre, Yellow Springs.)
PANTHER Panther director Mario Van Peebles’ and screenwriter father Melvin’s look at the Black Panther Party for Self Defense only follows the Panthers’ story from their creation until 1970, omits issues regarding infighting among members, physical abuse toward female Panther members and direct involvement in the narcotics trade. In Hollywood, historical accuracy always takes a back seat to entertainment. But after Mario Van Peebles’ incredible directorial debut with New Jack City, why is Panther lame action vehicle? Unfortunately, veteran stage actor Marcus Long catches fire as Huey Newton. Compelling and controversial, Panther offers Van Pebbles riveting subject matter. He dilutes his father’s script with sequences of old-fashioned photography and orchestra -music that belong in a
movie like Doctor Zhivago. Controversy over its conspiracy-theory ending is already brewing. Much ado about nothing. With Kadeem Hardison. (Rated R; at Showcase Cincinnati, Springdale, Erlanger and the Oakley Drive-in; closes Thursday at 275 East and Northgate.)
THE PEBBLE AND THE PENGUIN Kids, are you in for a treat. Not only does MGM’s The Pebble and the Penguin offer colorful animation, a story about love and friendship and an upbeat musical score, it also teaches a thing or two about the mating ritual of Adeli penguins. Parents, you may cringe at the idea of Barry Manilow writing the songs, but children don’t have any anti-Manilow sentiment. Not yet. (Rated G; closes Thursday at Loews Florence.)
★ PULP FICTION Director Quentin Tarantino has shifted from cult favorite to Academy darling, taking home an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. With wild frenzy, Tarantino mixes gun play, drug abuse and racial epithets into a series of interrelated crime tales. Pulp Fiction is an accurate reflection of what really makes America go round violence, drugs and racism. With Uma Thurman. (Rated R; at Erlanger; opens Friday at Kenwood Towne Centre; closes Thursday at Showcase Cincinnati, Covedale, Northgate and Tri County.)
★ RICHIE RICH A little rich boy in real life, Macaulay Culkin has finally found his perfect role. Plus, Warner Bros, unveils its first new Roadrunner cartoon in more than 30 years. With Jonathan Hyde and Edward Herrman. (Rated PG; at Forest Fair.)
★ PRIEST A young priest, Father Greg Pilkington (Linus Roache), arrives at an inner-city Liverpool parish and finds himself embroiled in a controversy that jeopardizes his vocation. Controversy is what director Antonio Bird’s first feature film is all about. Consider its tabloidlike taboos gay priests and incest. Pretty wild stuff. Too bad it’s misleading. Priest plays more like a riveting character study than a piece of shock cinema. With Cathy Tyson. (Rated R; at the Esquire Theatre; closes Thursday at the New Neon Movies, Dayton.) THE QUICK AND THE DEAD For The Quick and the Dead, director Sam Raimi (Darkman, The Evil Dead Trilogy) lumps together cliches taken from standard westerns. The result? Great looking photography, but nothing that resembles a story. With Sharon Stone and Gene Hackman. (Rated R; opens Friday at Norwood, Turfway, Forest Fair and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
★ ROB ROY Director Michael Caton-Jones (This Boy's Life) reaches into Scottish history and in Rob Roy pulls out a hero who’s worthy of the trappings of modern moviemaking. In 1712 Scotland, Rob Roy MacGregor (Liam Neeson), fights for his family, his life, but most importantly his honor. Rob Roy reminds one of Hollywood’s heyday. But calling Rob Roy old-fashioned is not accurate. Its real power belongs to the contemporary talent of Neeson and actress Jessica Lange. With Tim Roth. (Rated R; at Showcase Cincinnati, Springdale and Eastgate; opens Friday at Florence; closes Thursday at Erlanger) ROOMMATES After the death of his parents, young Michael moves in with his 75-year-old grandfather Rocky Holeczek (Peter Falk). What develops is a friendship that spans more than 30 years. Pity actor Peter Falk (A Woman Under the Influence, Wings of Desire). It took five hours a day to apply the layers of latex for him to appear as an old man. The makeup works. Nothing else does. With Julianne Moore. (Rated PG; closes Thursday at Norwood, Turfway and Biggs Place Eastgate.)
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
Based on the Stephen King short story “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption,” director Frank Darabont inspires more than frightens with this tale of friendship behind bars. With Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins.
Openings
Galleries & Exhibits
★ ART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI Open invitational for students to use 8-inch circular wood panels to interpret the word “fusion." Through May 12. Exo Gallery. 9 a.m.-lO p.m. Monday-Thursday; 9 a.m.-lO p.m. Friday; noon-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Next to Cincinnati Art Museum, Eden Park. 562-8777.
★ EZ KATT STUDIO/GALLERY
Artist Liz Zorn invites the public to the opening of her new gallery. On display will be new paintings in oil and acrylic, decorative clocks and mirrors. Opening reception is noon-8 p.m. Saturday. 10 a.m.6 p.m. Saturday, weekdays by appointment. 416 Pike St., Morrow. 899-4463.
ARTERNATIVE GALLERY On display is Floriquaries: Sculpture and Mythologies by Edward Casagrande. Through May 31. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Wednesday and Friday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday. 2034 Madison Road, O’Bryonville. 871-2218.
ARTS CONSORTIUM OF CINCIN-
★ FITTON CENTER FOR CREATIVE ARTS Quilts by Paul McDade and constructions by Robert McWilliams. Reception is 2-4 p.m. Sunday. Through June 9. 9 a.m.8 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 9 a.m.5 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m.-noon Saturday. 101 S. Monument Ave., Hamilton. 863-8873.
★ ARTS CONSORTIUM OF CINCINNATI, LINN STREETAfrican-American Framed Reflections #1 features the
of
Thomas Phelps. Through May 31. Art for City Walls is a yearlong exhibit focusing on local artists. 1-8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends. 1515 Linn St., West End. 381-0645.
NATIONAL LEAGUE OF AMERICAN PENWOMEN Silent Poetry. the Biennial Exhibit of the Artists of the Cincinnati branch of the 6,000member organization, is on display. Through May 31. 8 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m.-l p.m. Saturday. Cincinnati Commerce Center, 600 Vine St., Downtown. 241-6006.
UC CLERMONT COLLEGE ART GALLERY The 1995 Community Art Exhibit is a Juried exhibition, May 15-26. 8 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays. 4200 Clermont College Drive, UC Clermont College, Batavia. 732-5224.
WENTWORTH GALLERY Music, featuring the works of Kam, Jiang, Wong, Shue and Mouly, opens Tuesday. Through May 22.10 a.m.9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon-7 p.m. Sunday. Kenwood Towne Centre, 7875 Montgomery Road, Kenwood. 791-5023. 840 GALLERY Amy Carrelli presents her MFA thesis exhibition. May 15-18. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. College of DAAP, UC campus, Clifton. 556-2962.
BASE ART Juried exhibition. Noon-4 p.m. Saturdays and by appointment. 1311 Main St., Over-theRhine. 491-3865.
★ BEAR GRAPHICS AND ILLUS-
TRATION GALLERY - The Art of the Car features original illustrated automotive art by Bob Woolf, David Skrzelowski, Steve Petrosky, Tom Osborne, Mike Brann, Russ Brandenburg and David Lord. Through June 17. Noon-5 p.m. TuesdaySaturday. 105 E. Main St., Mason. 398-2788.
CAFE ESPRESSO Paintings and mixed media by Deb Smith. Through May 30. Borders Books and Music, 11711 Princeton Road, Springdale. 671-5852.
★ CAFE Z A series of lithographs by April Foster is on display. Twentyfive percent of the proceeds go to AVOC (AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati). Through May 31. 227 W. Ninth St., Downtown. 651-3287.
C.A.G.E. Installation by Karen Wirth and Robert Lawrence of Minneapolis; mixed-media painting by Patrick Donnelly of Louisville; and a video installation by Marya Roland of Normal, III. Through May 20. Noon8 p.m. Friday; noon-6 p.m. Saturday; noon-4 p.m. Sunday. 1416 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 381-2437.
★ CARNEGIE ARTS CENTER The Way We Were is a regional retrospective, and Totally Transparent features an assortment of watercolors. Friday through May 27.10 a.m.5:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; noon-4 p.m. Saturday. 1028 Scott Blvd., Covington. 491-2030.
★ CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL Forward Day by Day, a quarterly devotional magazine of the Episcopal Church, displays art from children in grades 1-8 from throughout the United States. Through May 31. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m.-noon Sundays. 318 E. Fourth St., Downtown. 721-6659.
★ ATTIC GALLERY On display is a collection of oil paintings by Newport native Charles Brown. Through May 28. 8 p.m.-midnight Thursday-Saturday; 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday; or by appointment. Above the York Street International Cafe, Eighth and York streets, Newport. 261-9675. BABA BUDAN’S ESPRESSO BAR Drawings and paintings by Michael Reynolds. Through May 31. 7:30 a.m.-ll p.m. Monday-Thursday; 7:30 a.m.-l a.m. Friday; 10 a.m.1 a.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-ll p.m. Sunday. 243 Calhoun St., Clifton. 221-1911.
CINCINNATI ART CLUB Presents the American Watercolor Society's Exhibition. Through May 28. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays; 10 a.m.4 p.m. Saturday. 1021 Parkside Place, Mount Adams. 241-4591.
★ CINCINNATI ART GALLERIES From the Lands ofPuccini and Bizet highlights paintings by Carl J. Samson, an artist of the Boston School Tradition. Through May 31. Permanent exhibition includes works by Potthast, Weis and the Wessels and a fine collection of Rookwood pottery. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays; 10 a.m.-4.p.m. Saturday. 635 Main St.. Downtown. 381-2128.
CINCINNATI ZOO Ecotoon: Our Endangered Planet is an exhibition of editorial cartoons from 40 countries, first shown at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Through May 14. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. $7.50 adults, $4.50 children 2-12, $5.25 seniors; $4.50 parking. Cincinnati zoo, second floor of the Thorn Tree gift shop, 3400 Vine St., Avondale. 281-4700. CLOSSON’S GALLERY DOWNTOWN Master Prints features lithographs by Hurley, Marsh and Meakin, among others; through May 20. Permanent collection includes works by Duveneck and Mosler. 10 a.m.8 p.m. weekdays; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday. 401 Race St., Downtown. 762-5510.
★ CLOSSON’S GALLERY KENWOOD Recent Paintings: Art of the Flower displays works by Melinda Bitting, the principle illustrator for a Fieldguide to the Birds of the Philippines. Through May 12. 10 a.m.8 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 7866 Montgomery Road, Kenwood. 891-5531.
★ COLLECTOR BOOK AND PRINT GALLERY Spotlights abstracts and Irish sketches by Cincinnati artist Reginald Grooms, who taught art at UC for more than 40 years. Through June 30. There also is special display of Stephen Birmingham’s works. 3-6 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 1-5 p.m. Sunday. 1801 Chase Ave., Northside. 542-6600.
DIJOHN Paintings by Fran Watson and relief sculptures by Larry Watson. Through May 31. 724 Madison Ave., Covington. 581-5646.
GALLERY 99 New works by members on Spirituality. Noon-6 p.m. Thursday-Sunday; noon-9 p.m. FridaySaturday. 1101 St. Gregory St., Mount Adams. 651-1441.
GLASS CRAFTERS STAINED
GLASS STUDIO Features handcrafted stained and beveled glass miniatures, windows, lamps, mirrors and more. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays; 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. 11119 Reading Road, Sharonville. 554-0900.
HARROGATE Works exhibited are mostly of maritime themes including 19th and 20th century paintings, ship models and artifacts. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 3075 Madison Road, Oakley. 321-6020.
★ IN SITU Elementi: Solum, Aer, Ignus, Aqua features color photographs of the Great Plains by Larry W. Schwarm. Through May 20. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 1435 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 651-4613.
★ IN SITU INSIDE Photographs.
a collection of gelatin silver prints by Margaret Silverman, is the first show to be displayed in the exhibition space, designed especially for photography, printmaking and drawing. Through May 20. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 1435 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 651-4613. INNER SPACE DESIGN Currently showing prints by James Brown, Robert Motherwell, Roy Lichtenstein, Ellsworth Kelley, Robert Rauschenberg, Louis Bourgeois, Donald Judd, Elizabeth Murray, Robert Indiana, Tom Nakashima and Louise Nevelson. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. MondaySaturday. 2128 Madison Road, O’Bryonvilie. 533-0300.
JAMAR GALLERY Has closed its downtown shop and is currently looking for a new location. It will be located temporarily at 79 Locust Hill Road, Anderson Township. By appointment only. 752-1344.
LAURA PAUL GALLERY Fresh Paint is a group show spotlighting original work by Carol Griffith and Enrico Embroli, functional forms by Lynne Sweet and original works on paper by A. Hall. Through May 31.10 a.m.4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 10 a.m.-3
Terminal Arcade, 49 E. Fourth St., Downtown. 651-5885.
LEFTHANDED MOON On display are works by Joseph Antonio. 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 48
MACHINE
MASTERPIECE GALLERY AND FRAMING A Breath of Spring spotlights watercolors by Joan Hull Simons. Through May 19. 10 a.m.8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. 2944 Markbreit Ave., Oakley. 531-6280. ★ MARTA HEWETT GALLERY Presents works by Robin Kraft. Through
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; noon-5 p.m. Saturday. 1209 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. 421-7883. MILLER GALLERY The Passion of Dance spotlights recent oils, pastels and watercolors by Steve Childs. Through May 30. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 2715 Erie Ave., Hyde Park. 871-4420. ★ MULLANE'S PARKSIDE CAFE Features Carolyn Jones’ Bold Faces. Through
PATRICIA WEINER GALLERY Features 19th and 20th century museum-quality paintings with special interest in Cincinnati artists. 11 a.m.5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, or by appointment. 9352 Main St., Montgomery. 791-7717.
PENDLETON ART CENTER The center’s artists open their studios for visitors 6-10 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m.5 p.m. Saturday. Some studios also are open during the day, but call before stopping by. 1310 Pendleton St., Over-the-Rhine. 721-6311.
RAN GALLERY Permanent collection includes works by Potthast, Farny and Meakins. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday; noon-7 p.m. TuesdaySaturday. 3668 Erie Ave., Hyde Park. 871-5604.
RAYMOND GALLERY Paintings by Ohio native
Covington. 221-8777, Ext. 3. Call 491-8027 for reservations.
★ JOHN BODY PLAYERS Present their final Cincinnati production, Slattern, a rockumentary inspired by the deaths of Ian Curtis, Kurt Cobain and Marvin Gaye written by R.W. Hessler with music by Slattern. 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. $4. C.A.G.E., 1416 Main St., Over-theRhine. There will be a special performance. 10 p.m. Thursday at Sudsy Malone’s in Corryville. 684-0774.
MARIEMONT PLAYERS Prelude to a Kiss opens Friday. Through May 28. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday. Walton Creek Theatre, 4101 Walton Creek Road, Mariemont. 684-1236, 271-1661.
MIAMI VALLEY DINNER THEATRE Presents Forever Plaid. Through June 18. $26.95-$34.95. Route 73, Springboro. 513-746-4554.
★ SHOWBOAT MAJESTIC Presents the Blue Chip Players in A Thousand Clowns. 8 p.m. May 17-June 4. Thursday-Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. $11 adults; $10 students and seniors; group rates also are available. Public Landing at the foot of Broadway, Downtown. 241-6550.
VILLAGE PUPPET THEATRECharles Killian presents The Dream of Prince Shiraz, a play based on tales from Indian folklore and mythology. Through May 28. 4:30 and 7 p.m. Friday; 12:30, 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. Saturday; and 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. $5.25. Special showings and prices available for groups of 15 or more. 606 Main St., Covington. 291-5566 or through Select-A-Seat at 721-1000.
Classical Music
THE LEXUS TRIO Performs a Chamber Music Concert. 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Taft Museum, 316 Pike St., Downtown. 241-0343.
CINCINNATI OPERA OUTREACH The Arts and Humanities Resources Center for the Elderly presents “Famous Lyricists of the American Theater,” with a tribute to Johnny Mercer and Sammy Cahn. Monday at Union Terminal Auditorium, 1301 Western Ave., Queensgate, and Wednesday at Mason Christian, 411 Western Row Road, Warren County. Programs begin at 1:30 p.m. Free, but tickets should be picked up in advance. 369-4474.
★ MERCANTILE LIBRARY
Tenor Michael Oxley and baritone Thom Mariner, accompanied by pianist Jean Anderson, perform a program of songs with words by Thomas Hardy. Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati’s Dale Hodges will read. 3 p.m. Sunday. $7 advance; $9 at the door. Mercantile Library, 414 Walnut St., Downtown. 621-0717.
MIDDAY MUSICAL MENU Hornist Owen Kelm and pianist John Deaver perform Music for Horn. 12:15 p.m. Wednesday. Free. Lunch is available at 11:40 a.m. for $5. Trinity Episcopal Church, 326 Madison Ave., Covington. 431-1786.
THE MOUNT COMMUNITY CONCERT BAND The 50-member instrumental group performs a free Mother’s Day Concert. 2 p.m. Sunday. Mount St. Joseph Theater, 5701 Delhi Road, Delhi Township. 244-4863 or 244-4299.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY SYMPHONY James Cassidy conducts “Trivial Pursuits,” a program based on the board game. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. $7-$10. Greaves Concert Hall, NKU, Highland Heights. 431-6216.
Dance
★ CINCINNATI BALLET Artistic Director Peter Anastos stages the last performance of the season, Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. $6-$48. Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. 749-4949.
★ CONTEMPORARY DANCE THEATER Presents a classical Indian dance workshop. 1-2:45 p.m. Saturday. $8. Dance Hall, Vine St. and E. Daniels. 751-2800. Select-A-Seat: 721-1000.
Comedy
GO BANANAS Hank McGill through Sunday. Vince Morris and Bill Piper open Wednesday. 8:30 and 10:45 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 8:30 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday and Sunday. $5 weekdays, $7 weekends. 8410 Market Place, Montgomery. 984-9288.
Spectator
CINCINNATI CHEETAHS USISL professional soccer vs. Hampton Roads, 7:30 p.m. Saturday. $7.50 adults; $3.75 children 12 and under. Deer Park High School, 8351 Plainfield Road, Deer Park. 985-3985.
RIVER DOWNS Post time for live horse racing is 1 p.m. WednesdayFriday. $1.50. Track announcer Sean Beirne and Cincinnatian John Engelhardt are hosting Buckeye Racing Report at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays on Sports Channel. 6301 Kellogg Ave., Anderson Township. 232-8000.
TURFWAY PARK Simulcasts from Keeneland, Aquaduct, Sportsmans, Hialeah, Garden State, Penn National, Retama and Oaklawn shown 1 p.m. Wednesday-Monday. Free. 7500 Turfway Road, Florence. 371-0200.
UC BEARCATS College baseball vs. Xavier, 4 p.m. Thursday; UAB, 4 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday. Free. Johnny Bench Field, UC campus, Clifton. 556-CATS.
Recreational
AMERICAN WALKERS ASSOCIATION The Cincinnati chapter has hikes each weekend. Newport Historical Walk, meet at Pompilio’s, 10 a.m. Saturday; 9:30 a.m. Sunday at Boone Cliffs, Dinsmore Homestead. 561-3799.
CINCINNATI RECREATION COMMISSION For the latest in CRC programs and events, call 684-4945.
CINCINNATI MARLIN MASTERS Coached swim workouts for all abilities Monday-Thursday evenings and noon Sundays. Keating Natatorium, St. Xavier High School, 600 North Bend Road, Finneytown. Chris Gilligan, 232-6382.
★ DAVID LEHMAN —The author of Signs of the Times: Deconstruction and the Fall of Paul
BY RICK PENDER
the tale of a washed-up boxer, a man struggling to find his way as his body fails him, a man whose friends and acquaintances hold him up and lead him on. The play was Requiemfor a Heavyweight and the playwright was Rod Serling, who had worked in Cincinnati television and who was yet to make his name as creator of The Twilight Zone.
Serling’s 1956 drama was recognized immediately as a stunning tale involving painfully real characters. It starred Jack Palance as Mountain McClintock; Keenan Wynn as Maish, his promoter; and Ed Wynn as Army, the cut man. It became a suecessful movie starring Anthony Quinn and Jackie Gleason in 1962.
an actor who also happens to own a gym in Hyde Park and who boxes professionally. Radford plays the role of a sleazy promoter, but his familiarity with the sport has added real credibility to much of the show’s ambiance, according to Allen.
The director, who teaches classes in improvisation, has imparted some lessons in this activity to his large cast. “I’ve got lots of people in the background of various scenes to create atmosphere, like the hubbub of a bar full of old fighters,” he says. “Many of them are telling their stories. In fact, they have become what Maish and Mountain want to escape: a graveyard of ex-fighters with nowhere to go, just old stories to tell over and over.”
“The play is not an indictment of these sports. It’s really a story of how men relate to each other and how a crisis separates them.”
BOB ALLEN, DIRECTOR OF REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT
But it’s never been staged in Greater Cincinnati as a play, as far as director Bob Allen knows. He hopes to prove 'it should be, when the Covington-based Frankenstein Project produces Requiemfor a Heavyweight at the Carnegie Center Thursday through June 4.
Allen’s cast includes some excellent community theater actors: Mike Bizzarri (McClintock) and Bill Hartnett (Army).
“And Charles Cooper is Maish,” Allen notes. “Charles and I both did theater at UC in the 1960s he was in Arts and Sciences while I was at CCM. We’ve known one another forever, but this is the first time we’ve worked together.”
Cooper, who is African-American, is playing a role traditionally cast as a Caucasian. “One of the reasons it means a great deal to me to direct for the Frankenstein Project,” Allen says, “is its commitment to non-traditional casting.”
Watching a rehearsal about a week before the show opened, it’s obvious why Allen, who considers himself “an actor’s director,” feels this way. His racially mixed cast is strong from top to bottom.
He also sought actors who understood boxing. “There aren’t really any fights in the show,” he explains, “since it begins with the end of Mountain’s career. But I needed the actors to understand boxing so they could be convincing as men who lived and breathed in this world.”
He found a resource in Rob Radford,
But Maish’s weakness for gambling gets him in trouble when his fighter can’t get results any longer. Mountain has never taken a dive in 111 fights, so when Maish asks him to consider wrestling to help pay off some gambling debts, the boxer cannot accept the fakery. Says Allen, “The play is not an indictment of these sports. It’s really a story of how men relate to each other and how a crisis separates them.”
Allen explains he’s using the pubfished version of Serling’s television script, written to play in 90 minutes with live actors. “We’re actually at about 93 minutes right now,” he says. Allen has tried to create a live television “feel” in his production by having scenes move quickly from one to another and blend together. He also has staged scenes throughout the theater, so the audience is literally surrounded by and in the midst of the action.
Allen seeks this involvement at an emotional level, too. Requiem is a story of how Mountain has to find himself. It’s a tale of how people love one another but get so caught up in their own foibles that they hurt others as they try to follow their own stars. Maish loves Mountain, but he can’t get around the fife that gambling has shaped for him.”
There’s no gamble for audiences: Frankenstein Project’s Requiemfor a Heavyweight is going for the knock-out.
REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT hits Carnegie Theater, 1028 Scott St., Covington, May 11-June 4. Tickets are $5-$10. A special Mother’s Day dinner/theater package with Chez Nora Kitchen & Bar is $29.95-$50. 221-8777, Ext. 3.
CINCINNATI
CINCINNATI
Suburban Torture
BY JULIE LARSON
adults; free children 12 and under. 327 N. Second St., German Village, Hamilton. 513-893-7111.
Author uses scary, fascinating real-life experiences in Africa to fashionfunny novel
BY BILLIE JEYES
ichard Dooling’s White Man’s Grave is a wickedly funny novel, one that makes you laugh out loud something I haven’t done since reading John Kennedy Toole’s Confederacy ofDunces.
White Man’s Grave, Dooling’s second novel, was nominated for the National Book Award. It concerns the disappearance of Michael Killigan, a Peace Corps volunteer in Sierra Leone, and the efforts made to find him. The narrative switches from Africa where his friend, Boone Westfall, has gone to look for him to his hometown of Indianapolis. His father, a cutthroat bankruptcy lawyer named Randall, feels no need to come to Africa to look for his son, but Africa comes to him in the form of an oddly shaped rock that afflicts him with hallucinations.
Dooling himself spent some time in Sierra Leone in the early 1980s. “The first thing that hit me when I was in West Africa was how strongly beliefs influenced the material world instead of the other way around,” he said when I spoke to him last year on the first round of his book tour. “So, if everyone in the village believes that calling a snake by its name will make it appear, you start wondering if, in fact, it is true. Because if everyone believes in this whole intricate system, then it might as well be true.
“Western people want to know if witchcraft is true, but, in fact, they never ask if science is true. They only ask, ‘Does science work?’ And science works over here. Over there, witchcraft works. Who cares if it’s true?”
While in Africa, Dooling got malaria three times,
The Journey for Survivors
If you saw it on a spinner rack, you might mistake The Little Star’s Journey: A Fairytalefor Survivors ofAll Kinds ofAbuse for a children’s book. But author and illustrator Natalie Hale intended it for adults specifically for “adult survivors of childhood abuse.”
A beautifully illustrated allegory, The Little Star’s Journey demonstrates how to find strength within, even in the worst of circumstances. It is a quick but powerful read.
Hale grew up in New Orleans, the oldest of six children. She has a master’s degree in voice from the University of Texas, where she met her husband, a music professor at University of Cincinnati’s CollegeConservatory of Music.
They have two children, an 8-year-old girl and a
despite taking daily doses of an anti-malarial drug. “It’s pretty bad. You see, you can die from it if you get the wrong kind. So, when you get it, you’re always wondering what kind you have.”
He spent three to four months in the bush, two months in town. “In the town, there was a big water tower where you could turn on the faucet and get water out,” he said. “In the village, you had to draw it out of a bucket in a well, and you were sick all the time from drinking it.”
White Man’s Grave has an eerie parallel to Dooling’s own life.
Shortly after he handed in his manuscript, a friend was abducted by Sierra Leone rebels.
“At first, they thought my buddy had been taken by Liberian rebels,” Dooling said. “Because the five nuns were killed a week after he was taken, we thought, ‘Well, he’s next.’ But he got out. He didn’t really haveto escape. It was a peculiar situation.
They didn’t want to let him go because they were afraid he would get killed going back, and they would get blamed. So they held him for 30 days, and finally he just left and walked 52 miles around No Man’s Land. Very scary. Creepy.”
While many authors complain about all the publicity they have to do nowadays, Dooling claims he enjoys the traveling and hopes to go back to Africa soon.
“You can’t do all writing,” he said. “If you do that every day, pretty soon you don’t have anything to write about.”
RICHARD DOOUNG will sign copies of White Man's Grave (Picador, $13) 7-8:30 p.m. Friday at Joseph Beth-Booksellers, Madison and Edwards roads, Norwood. 396-8960.
10-year-old boy, but she won’t allow her parents to see them. Having children, she says, brought all the pain back. Unlike many survivors of childhood abuse, Hale found a way to cope with her anguish.
“Twenty-three years ago, I found a meditation path,” she says. “I don’t start any day without it. It brings you to yourself. Normally we function in the world of the senses. Yoga teaches that the sensory world is illusion. Meditation centers you.
“At first, I wrote The Little Star’s Journey for myself. But once I was finishing up, I discovered I wasn’t writing it just for myself but for my friends who were survivors, and others.”
NATALIE HALE will sign The Little Star's Journey: A Fairytale for Survivors of All Kinds of Abuse (Behavioral
Richard Pooling, author of White Man’s Grave.
ative materials. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Crazy Ladies Book Store, 4041 Hamilton Ave., Northside. 541-4198.
CENTER FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY
Attractions
The woman-to-woman workshop continues with “Mothers and Daughters" 7-10 p.m. Monday. 4156 Crossgate Drive, Blue Ash. 791-7022.
C.I.C. PERCUSSIONS Offers Djembe, Shekere and Conga classes for adults and a Nigerian drum and dance class for children. The Miller Gardette Loft, 2401 Concord, Walnut Hills. 221-2222.
PARKY-S FARM The 100-acre farm presents Spring on the Farm with live-music, animals and interactive farming activities. May 12-19. 3-7 p.m. Monday-Friday; noon-7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Pony rides cost $1; the playground $1.50. 10073 Daly Road, Springfield Township. 521-PARK.
CINCINNATI INTERNATIONAL FOLK DANCERS Meets every Monday 8:30-11 p.m. $1.50; $3 non-members. University YMCA, 270 Calhoun, Clifton. 631-8830.
CIVIC GARDEN CENTER OF CINCINNATI The horticultural center has served the Greater Cincinnati gardening community for more than 50 years and offers outreach programs and classes. “How to Attract Bats and Beneficial Insects,”
WARREN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM Displays Shaker and Victorian furniture and an extensive collection of paleontological and archaeological artifacts. 9 a.m.4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 105 S. Broadway, Lebanon. $3 adults, $1 students. 932-1817.
9:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday. “Welcome Wildlife to your Garden,” 10 a.m.-noon Wednesday. 2715 Reading Road, Clifton. 221-0981.
CONTEMPORARY DANCE THE-
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
ATER Offers classes in tap, jazz, ballet, modern dance, African dance, creative movement for children and yoga. The Dance Hall, Vine Street and East Daniels, Corryville. 751-2800.
This Greek Revival-style house has been restored to its appearance during the years Taft lived here as a child and young adult, and serves as the only memorial to the nation's 27th president and 10th chief justice. Free. 2038 Auburn Ave., Mount Auburn. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily. Closed Mondays. 684-3262.
DOLL CLINIC The Doll Clinic's Betty Bryant will appraise one doll per customer. 1 p.m. Sunday. Barnes & Noble, 7663 Mall Road, Florence. 647-6400
GROWTH IN MOTION Fanchon
Shur is offering a series of five "Authenticity-in-Motion” classes. 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesdays through May 30; 10-11:30 a.m. Wednesdays through May 31. $15 per class. 4019 Red Bud Ave., North Avondale. 221-3222.
PLANNED PARENTHOOD ASSO-
CIATION OF CINCINNATI Has provided women with a wide range of affordable services since 1929 from birth control to gynecological exams to counseling for safer sex to midlife services. Everything is confidential. 2314 Auburn Ave., Mount Auburn. 721-7635.
Classes & Exhibits
THE ARTIST IN EVERYWOMAN Debbie Bogenschutz and Katherine Meyer demonstrate how to craft Goddess images from traditional ere-
UC INTERNATIONAL FOLK DANCERS The group meets 8:15-11 p.m. Saturdays. $2; $4 non-members. University YMCA, 270 Calhoun, Clifton. 631-8830.
Groups & Programs
AIDS VOLUNTEERS OF CINCINNATI An estimated 1 million Americans infected with HIV. AVOC offers support groups for persons living with HIV, as well as their families, friends and loved ones. All services are free and confidential. 2183 Central Parkway, West End. 421-2437.
THE CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING OPTIONS An agency that works with people with disabilities to achieve goals of independence. 632 Vine St„ Suite 601, Downtown. 241-2600.
CLIFTON COUNSELING CENTER Serves the gay, lesbian and bisexual communities with support and therapy groups. “Flesh and Spirit Gatherings” are designed for gay/bisexual men integrating sexuality and spirituality and meet at 7 p.m. on the fourth Sunday of every month. $20. 411 Oak St., Clifton. 221-2299. PARENTS WITH HEARING IMPAIRED CHILDREN SUPPORT GROUP Meets at 6:45 p.m. ever/ third Thursday of the month. Cincinnati Bible College, Room 251, 2700 Glenway Ave., Price Hill. 541-9073. PEOPLE EXCHANGING POWER The national support group for those interested in
Auditions & Opportunities
Learn about your future... Money, romance, happiness, career. Get individual consultation. 1-900-420-2444 ext. 070. 18 years and older. $2.99/minute. 24 hours, touch tone required. Avalon Comm., 305-525-0800.
PSYCHIC READINGS A MORE Experience the energy! Victory Books is a metaphysical emporium at 609 Main Street. Covington. Featuring new and used books, New Age cassettes and CDs, incense, oils, tarot cards, jewelry, crystals, and much Psychic, tarot, and astrological readings by appointment. Open daily. Call for information, 581-5839.
READINGS
Norita Ruehl, spiritual advisor and professional reader, offers private or group readings. Receive the to specific questions and personal concerns. Hostess Plan is available with a group of ten. All information is strictly confidential. Call 606-441-0908. STRESS THERAPIST/ HYPNOTHERAPIST Ron Scanlon, Certified Stress Therapist, Certified Hypnotherapist uses Relaxation, Emotional Clearing, and Muscle Tension Release to balance the body, heart, and spirit. Understand and let go of everyday aches and pains. 1-513-298-4939.
THE BODY MALL Understand yourself and those you love better. Professional astrologer Jeri Boone offers counseling through the art of astrology and numerology. Or join Jeri and Beverly Boone, both licensed massage therapists, they offer therapeutic massage, Swedish massage, cranial sacral, body reflexology, polarity therapy, and accupressure. The Body Mall has fully trained professional staff, and offers study groups, development workshops, children’s classes, and many alternative methods of caring for yourself. 3519 Glenmore Avenue, 662-5121. THE ROLF METHOD OF STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION
Restore Your Body's Natural State of Balance! A progressive 10 session approach to release patterns of strain and impaired functioning in the body structure. Using connective tissue manipulation and body awareness education, Structural Integration IMPROVES POSTURE and INCREASES VITAL ENERGY. James E. Reischman, certified Structural Integration practitioner. 531-3060.
ClassifiedAds
THERAPEUTIC BODYWORK
Bodywork is individualized and includes Massage-Swedish, Deep tissue, and Amma; Acupressure- jinshindo; Energy Work- Reiki, Therapeutic Touch; and Integrative Bodywork. Kirk Prine, Ed.D., C.M.T., by appointment only. 431-3112.
Business Opportunities
EARN MONEY Earn money typing in your area. Excellent part-time money. Send $1 and self addressed stamped envelope to M.A. Advertising & Distribution, Dept. CB, 4511 Carroll St.,
culinary classroom. Wide variety of classes from Appetizers to Vegetarian. Italian Cuisine on 5/12 & California Cuisine on 5/19. Call F00DS0URCE at 232-8586. IN-LINE SKATING LESSONS The In-Line Institute offers Introduction to
seeking assistance to achieve an independent lifestyle. Need assistance with personal hygiene, housekeeping, driving. Must be dependable and punctual. Transportation and telephone required. Call 241-2600.
PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK Playhouse in the Park presently pursues pleasant, progressive people to promote our premier performance. PT, evenings positions, and potential for promotion. Proceed promptly. Call Sharon, 291-6200.
TELEMARKETERS The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is hiring telemarketers. Hours are from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Pays commission plus bonus,
Computer
Bytes
HUMMINGBIRD COMPUTER SYSTEMS Looking for better
Call Mark Miller, 921-7428.
SINGER Singer wanted for metal cover band. Experience preferred. 441-8811.
SOMETHING FOR NOTHING
Did your drummer run off with the lead vocalist? Don’t panic! CityBeat Classifieds offer free ads for musicians who
BackfiSeaf
Classifieds 6654700
CD STATION BUY* SELL* TRADE TYade 2 for 1 used, or 3 for 1 new! $4 on all trades! 8146 Beechmont Avenue 474-6491 FAST $3 LUNCHES! Includes taco rotis, tuna islands, Colombian romantic soup.
RENAISSANCE COFFEEHOUSE
are also more comfortable than foam earplugs. For better way to protect your hearing, call LEWIS HEARING SERVICES, 351-3277
VOODOO DOLLS!
WHAMMIE YOUR ENEMIES! Primitive, one of a kind Voodoo Dolls. Each uniquely
Welcome to Back Beat, the back page of Cincinnati CityBeat. This last page is your last chance to have the last word.
So talk back to us! Answer our sometimes silly, sometimes cerebral weekly question. Then beat it to the nearest mailbox, fax or modem. If we print your response in our letters section next week, you get a free Cincinnati CityBeat T-shirt. Not a bad deal for the cost of a stamp or fax, eh?
This
& professional reader, offers answers to specific questions and personal concerns. Hostess plan available with group of 10 or more. 441-0908.
HAVE WE GOT THE ANSWER FOR YOU! ONLY $9.95/MONTH 4 TAX
Confidential, unlimited messages, business or personal, 800 #s available! AMERICAN VOICE MAIL, INC., 244-5696
THE BODY MALL
offers counseling through the art of Astrology and Numerology. Also offering Therapeutic Massage, Body Reflexology, Polarity Therapy, & Acupressure. Featuring study groups, develpoment workshops, & children’s classes. AN ALTERNATIVE METHOD OF CARING FOR YOURSELF. 662-5121. 3519 Glenmore Avenue
LOBSTER’S MUSIC
Buys Sells Trades all musical instruments 1100 Sunset Ave., 921-5717
THE DRUMSHINE SHOP carries Cincinnati’s largest selection of all percussion accessories. 8627 Reading Rd, 821-8866
HEAVENLY BODIES SKIN CARE AND SPA
Give yourself a well deserved tune up... Body Massage, Body Treatments... Herbal, Steam, Seaweed, Aromatherapy Wraps... Mud Body Mask, Salt Glo Scrub, Deep Cleansing Facials... Waxing, Pedicures, Manicures... Hot Tub, Steam Capsule, & more! Gift packages and discounts available.
3608 MARBURG AVE., HYDE PARK. 321-8252
JACQUELINE’S ALTERATIONS Professional, affordable alterations of men’s and ladies clothing. Convenient Downtown location. 22 W. 7th St #202 (in the Lancaster Bldg.) 665-4660
ECHO FURNISHINGS
GREAT MIX OF NEW & USED FURNITURE LOW MILES,
Name:
Address:
Daytime voice telephone number: FUNNY BOOKS N’ STUFF COMIC BOOK SHOP NEW COMICS EVERY WEDNESDAY. OLD COMICS, LOTS MORE! 5063 GLENWAY, 921-5720
OFFERINGS... No more! Cooking classes for individuals or groups. YOU cook the meal and eqjoy the results with your classmates. CALL FOODSOURCE AT 232-5586. LIVE ROCK ‘N ROLL WITH BAD HABIT May 12 & 13 at MABLE MURPHY’S 22 Donald Drive, Fairfield WE DELIVER! Let us deliver lunch or cater your next business meeting. PAULA’S THE GOURMETS CAFE 525 Vine St, on the Skywalk across from Fountain Square. 381-3354
