recess
R VOLUME 15, ISSUE 8
OCTOBER 17, 2013
Beverly McIver paints New York Recess reviews Craven Art Gallery collection pg. 5
Gaspard & Dancers Company premieres new choreography, pg. 8
Captain Phillips Feature film review, pg. 6 Beverly Mciver
ess recess editor’ s recess note r ss recess
R recess editors How to #GETITRIGHT...
The Chronicle
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2 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2013
lately, i’ve been feeling like Benjamin Braddock in “The Graduate,” sipping on a warm beer and lying back on my inflatable pool lounger, floating across the uncertainty that comes with senior year. however, i’ve been desperately trying to shake this cliché anxiety-induced apathy and live in the excitement of this liminal moment. it’s just really hard, though. in confronting this amorphous uncertainty, i’ve found that there is little else to grab onto but myself—and that’s the scary part. During a recent procrastinatory netflix binge in which i watched all of “orange is the new Black,” i was struck by a quote from the protagonist, Piper, as she explains that the scariest part of prison for her is not other people but “coming faceto-face with who you really are.” Though the Gothic Wonderland can feel claustrophobic at times, i am by no means implying that i feel imprisoned. i only feel that as ‘game-time’ draws near, calling me to reflect on just about everything, my personal insecurities have come bubbling forward.
Lauren Feilich................................................................................................the boat Jamie Kessler..............................................................................................take naps MC Bousquette.................................................................................................wa bar Megan Rise...........................................................................................period dramas Kathy Zhou......................................................................................................topknot
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Eliza Bray................................................................................................middle name Minshu Deng..................................................................................................loop bar
NASHER MUSEUM OF ART AT DUKE UNIVERSITY
life’s foundations are never anything but gray, but we do everything possible to try to forget that. We plan. We prepare. We do what we can with what we have. Then, in turn, we benchmark our lives with respect to the black and white. There is comfort in this simplicity, but that doesn’t make it genuine or real, and it doesn’t make things any less tenuous. Change is a guarantee that renders success and failure temporary. A rudyard Kipling quote displayed outside the center courts at Wimbledon exemplifies this futility of measuring oneself by traditional standards: “Triumph and disaster, treat those two impostors both the same.” Both concepts are static and final but life is always dynamic, a living and breathing animal. As millennials, we were born into the ‘information age’ where there are seemingly endless answers, and we expect our lives to work as effortlessly and cleanly as our technology. it is only in ‘crunch-time’ that we are forced to confront the dynamism of life, to realize that things are much more complex than we would like to believe and to stare down the barrel of the gun of those things that scare us, seeing ourselves reflected back. i’m working up the nerve to live the questions as opposed to the answers, to revel in the chasing and the lucid dreaming up of possibilities. Art eternally lives the questions. it examines the contradictions that live side by side in objects. it makes barriers more
porous, points out what you don’t know and complicates what you think you do. Most importantly, ultimately subjective, art helps you understand yourself. When you approach a piece of work, you bring yourself to it and inflate it with meaning. Consider the way we talk about art: we love it; we hate it; our favorite movies and albums are like old friends to whom we turn when we are in need of comfort, understanding and synthesis. Art cannot exist in a vacuum. it needs you. in this subjectivity, art derives its power; one work can appeal to a vast number of individuals but will do so in a way unique to each person. listen to the art and to those parts of yourself that make you uneasy, or that you don’t understand. Ask yourself, “Why?” Towards the end of “The Graduate,” Benjamin turns to his girlfriend elaine and, exasperated, voices his concerns about his future: “it’s like i was playing some kind of game, but the rules don’t make any sense to me. They’re being made up by all the wrong people. i mean no one makes them up. They seem to make themselves up.” We often avoid those things that make us uneasy when those are the things we most need to examine, the things that speak the most to who we really are. Sit with the questions and the discomfort. Then make your own rules. — Eliza Bray
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ABOVE: Iranian (Isfahan), Lunette (detail), 1938-39. Stonepaste: monochrome-glazed, assembled as a mosaic; 11¼ x 22 ¾ x 3½ inches (28.6 x 57.8 x 8.9 cm). © 2011 Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Photo by David Franzen.
NICK SANBORN’S LEND ME YOUR VOICE
FRIDAY & SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1 & 2 8 PM • NELSON MUSIC ROOM
Doris Duke’s Shangri La
On view through December 29, 2013 2001 Campus Drive | Durham, NC 27705 | 919-684-5135 | nasher.duke.edu/shangrila
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The Chronicle
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2013 | 3
Recess interviews musician KOOL A.D.
Q & A
by MC Bousquette The ChroniCle
rapper Victor Vazquez, known as Kool A.D., has embarked on a busy solo career since his tenure with Das racist. he has been actively writing and performing, and plans to release a new album, “Word o.K.,” next year. Kool A.D. will perform at the Duke Coffeehouse on Friday, october 18. The show is free with a Duke iD. Via email, recess editor MC Bousquette interviewed Vazquez about his inspirations, his aspirations and his beard.
ard Serra, Damien hirst, Jeff Koons, Salvador Dali, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Werner herzog, Jackson Pollock, lee Krasner, Kool Keith, lil B, Bjork, Matthew Barney, Amaze 88, loren Moter, Malosi Scanlan, eddie Bergstrom, eleanor Benway, Sonia rabago, Charles Bukowski, John Fante, e-40, nipsey hussle, Danny Brown, Dan Deacon, Despot, lakutis, Chris “Safe” edley, ray Tintori, Kate Bryant, eric Shaw, evie Falci, Cult Days, Ted Kaczunski, Chris Dorner, rainer Werner Fassbinder Kassa overall, Tecla esposito, Giancarlo esposito, my uncle Tulio, my dad, my sister, my mom, my grandparents, Picasso, Tao lin, Mira Gonzalez, Solange Knowles, MGMT, Toro y Moi, Caroline Polachek, Patrick Wimberly, Aaron Pfenning, the sun, the oceans, trees, the sky, clouds, mythical gods and real ones, etc.
R: Can you speak a little bit about your creative process? Is there an overarching theme or message that you feel resonates from your music?
R: What has been the primary change in your writing and performance since leaving Das Racist?
KOOL A.D.: i just try to “do my thing” on a day-today basis. The timeless immortal art that comes from that reflects the various aspects of “my thing.”
R: If you had to look into the future and choose the top three most important and/or interesting artists of 2014, who do you think they’ll be? Other than yourself, of course.
KOOL A.D.: i think i’m more relaxed in general since quitting Das racist.
R: Who were your primary influences that drew you into art? Who are your influences today? KOOL A.D.: Big fan of Michael Paul Britto, Brett Cook Dizney, Glenn ligon, nikki lee, Coco Fusco, Guillermo Gomez-Peña, endia Beal, luis Cruz Azaceta, lA ii, Barry McGee, David Choe, Kehinde Wiley, Fab 5 Freddy, Yoko ono, Marina Abramovic, Jenny holzer, Ai Wei Wei, Cai Guo Qiang, Daniel Johnston, ornette Coleman, laylah Ali, M.i.A., Kat Stacks, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Sun ra, Jean Michel Basquiat, Madonna, John lennon, Keith haring, Andy Warhol, Marcel DuChamp, Carrol Dunham, Swizz Beats, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Sol lewitt, rich-
KOOL A.D.: Many of the people i just listed. R: What does your beard mean to you? KOOL A.D.: it means i’m lazy and don’t like shaving. Just shaved it recently tho [sic]. R: It’s Tuesday night. What’re you eating for dinner? KOOL A.D.: iuno [sic] maybe a burrito. R: Which artists, if any, are you currently or planning on collaborating with?
Special to the chronicle
Featured above is rapper KOOL A.D., whose philosophy is “I just try to ‘do my thing’ on a day-to-day basis.”
KOOL A.D.: Doing a track with Mellow Man Ace, about to go into the studio with Shady Blaze and with issue. R: In the same vein, what do you see as your next steps going forward? What balance do you see between your writing and music? KOOL A.D.: i’m handing this novel in to Sorry house by the end of the year. Got this album “Word o.K.” coming out next year. Already working on the next 1 [sic]. Probably dropping a few mixtapes. have a lot of songs and a few videos done, waiting to put them out. i just try to do what i can with the time allotted to me. R: (Now for the obligatory corny one.) If you had ONE message for the college student not interested in the path most travelled, what would it be? KOOL A.D.: i don’t know, drop out? Do you. You’re going to be fine.
ARTS + Sustainability October 25 – November 3 arts.duke.edu/festival
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PAINTING PHOTOGRAPHY FILMPinar SCULPTURE Yoldas MUSIC Chris Jordan DANCE CREATIVE WRITING THEATER • Art Installation, “The Very Loud Chamber • Q&A Session, 10/30, 7:00-9:00 PM, CDS; Reception follows • Film Preview, Midway: Message from the Gyre, 10/31, 7:00 PM, Nasher Auditorium
Orchestra of Endangered Species,” 10/2211/3, Brown Gallery in the Bryan Center • Q&A Session, 10/30, 7:00-9:00 PM, CDS; Reception follows
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• Art Installation, “Falling Water: Plastic Sea,” 10/26-11/26, Bryan Center
• Artist On-Site, 10/26-10/27 from 2:00-4:00 PM; and 10/28-11/1 from 12:00-3:00 PM in the Bryan Center • Q&A Session, 10/30, 7:00-9:00 PM, CDS; Reception follows The 2013 Duke Arts Festival ARTS + Sustainability is sponsored by the Office of the Vice Provost for the Arts, Duke Alumni Association, DEMAN (Duke Entertainment, Media and the Arts Network), Duke Sustainability, Duke Recycling Services, duARTs, visArts, and Duke Career Center.
4 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2013
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Poetry festival draws local, international poets to Carrboro by Sid Gopinath The Chronicle
On October 18 and 19, local and international poets will converge in Carrboro for the 8th Annual West End Poetry Festival to celebrate the often under-appreciated art form. This free, community-centered event will celebrate Carrboro’s vibrant art scene while highlighting the power of poetry to bring together people from all over the world. “Carrboro has this culture and community that likes to celebrate the arts,” said Celisa Steele, the new Poet Laureate of Carrboro. As Poet Laureate, Steele is head of the Carrboro Poets Council. Founded in 2011, the Council organizes the West End Poetry Festival as well as the poetry component of the Carrboro Day event in May. The Council is representative of the spirit behind the West End Poetry Festival and the Carrboro arts community. “Instead of just relying on one person—the Poet Laureate—you have a group of poets who are trying to foster poetry and the enjoyment of poetry in the community,” Steele explained. In a teamworkoriented community like this, Steele acknowledges that the “pairing of the local with the national” is extremely important. In past years, nationally renowned poets have read on the same day as college students. “It’s exciting to have a town commit a day and a half to poetry,” said Poets Council member Susan Spalt. On top of bringing together known and emerging poets, the Carrboro festival celebrates the casual poet as well as the lover of poetry. “It’s about the…presentations from the poets to the public and that exchange back and forth,” said Gary Phillips, another member of the Poets Council. While there are certainly poets that are “entrenched in the academic community,” as Steele described, the festival is also filled with “people who are doing other things to pay their bills.” The hope of this festival is to appeal to a diverse group. The festival will kick off on Friday, October 18 with an opening celebration at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill. From 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., there will be time to meet writers, socialize with other readers and listen to readings by five poets, all at different stages of their careers. There will also be some more academic authors and even some “performance poetry,” similar to spoken word. The real “meat of the festival,” as Steele calls it, will occur on Saturday. From noon to 8:30 p.m., various readings, events and activities will take place in Century Center in downtown Carrboro. While last year’s festival was “overtly political,” according to Phillips, this year is more “covertly political,” hiding deeper messages inside themes such as the interplay of nature and poetry and the interaction between music and poetry. These themes
Special to the chronicle
From top left, Alan Shapiro, Claudine Moreau, Gary Phillips, Jay Bryan, Joan McLean, Kiran Singh Sirah, Michael Chitwood, Skylar Gudasz, Susan Spalt, Tasha Pippin, Celisa Steele and Anthony S. Abbott are just some of the poets scheduled for the festival.
will have several readings and discussions that delve into the subject matter while remaining accessible to the casual poetry reader. “Last year, we talked about poetry and social change,” Spalt explained. “This year, we thought it would be really interesting to go into how poets express their views on nature and the relationship with music.” The West End Poetry Festival is incorporating many more spoken word and performance poets this year, including international poet Kiran Singh Sirah, who has deliv-
ered his slam poems worldwide. To appeal to the authors in the audience, acclaimed poet Gabrielle Calvocoressi will be leading a workshop to help writers hone their craft. An open mic event and a short dinner reception will precede the closing event, an intersection of the local and national art communities where Steele and Calvocoressi will perform the final readings. “There are a variety of voices and a variety of ways to experience poetry,” Steele said about the event. The hope is that every-
one will be able to find something that appeals to them and speaks to them and that, as a community, North Carolina can come together around a shared love of poetry. Said Spalt of the goal of this year’s festival: “There are some people who are afraid of poetry. We hope that they will come and find out what fun it is!” The West End Poetry Festival will be held on October 18 and 19 in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. For more information, including a full schedule, visit http://www.westendpoetryfestival.org.
The Chronicle
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2013 | 5
Artist’s ‘New York’ collection on display at Craven Art Gallery by Andrew Karim The Chronicle
I’ve long been ambivalent toward New York. The torrent of pop culture references and my friends’ debriefings have collectively hyped the city as some kind of God-given utopia, an infinitely generative wonderland where great things are simply bound to happen, yada yada yada. The praise starts to sound like minor variations on an exhausted cliché. Needless to say, my ambivalence accompanied me to Beverly McIver’s New York Stories, the Durham artist’s latest collection at the Craven Allen Gallery. It was disorienting to find a gallery space filled with portraits (Where are the skyscrapers, you know?), but it soon made sense as the collection’s theme became apparent. I started to view these paintings like I’d read a memoir. Sure, all art may be at least a little autobiographic, but New York Stories is an explicit portrayal of where McIver was—both physically and emotionally— during her yearlong painting fellowship in Brooklyn, funded by the Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation. McIver’s ringtone
interrupted our interview a few days after the opening. “It’s Renee, I’m sure,” she said as she silenced her phone. “What’d I tell you? She calls me all the time, man.” Immediately after her mother died in 2004, McIver began caring for Renee, her mentally challenged sister and the focal point of many paintings. It was a promise McIver made to her mother before her passing, and the reason the artist cut short her first stint in New York. “Usually my entire show is about Renee, but I only painted her once throughout my time in New York,” she said. McIver notes in her artist statement that living in New York the second time around was an opportunity to reflect on what had happened since 2004, allowing her to grow and give closure to pivotal moments in her life. “One of the biggest adjustments for me was riding the subway,” McIver said. “Public transportation isn’t a huge part of my life here in Durham, but whether you’re rich, poor, drunk or homeless, everyone in New York takes the subway, or the taxi on days they’re feeling rich.”
Beverly mcIver
Above is “Turning 50,” an oil painting on canvas.
Beverly McIver
Above is “Street Sounds,” an oil painting on canvas.
One of the paintings, “NY Subway,” features two strangers sitting in a subway car. An upbeat tourist hunches beside a visibly tired woman holding a shopping bag, presumably coming home after a long day’s work. The context sanctions their physical closeness (much closer than two strangers would be in any other scenario) as normal, yet they seem emotionally distant— wary, even. For McIver, the painting depicts the alienating nature of riding the subway, an underground microcosm of the city itself. “The irony of the subway is that it could be a great way to meet all these people who ride it on a daily basis, but everyone sort of becomes inhuman and refuses to make eye contact,” said McIver. “You try to become invisible, which is strange in such a crowded space.” McIver paints the same way she teaches her students to at North Carolina Central University: beginning every oil piece by mixing from a primary color palette. She applies coarse strokes thickly onto the canvas and leaves them to dry, creating palpable depth with chunks of raised paint. This technique allows each stroke to stand out on its own. McIver’s signature color technique surely veers into the abstract, but her subjects are still intelligible. Despite all the unconventional reds, yellows and greens used to fill in the subjects’ faces, their humanness
remains intact. “One of the things I love about painting with oil is its creamy and luscious consistency,” McIver said. “I like being able to lather paint onto a canvas like that; it’s almost like icing a cake.” Though abstract in her technique, McIver won’t push you too hard to extract meaning from her work. From the disaffecting subway ride to McIver’s self-portrayed sigh of relief after Obama’s second win, one of the collection’s strengths is that it doesn’t leave much room for divergent interpretations. All the pieces convey compelling messages, and they have McIver’s icing-inspired strokes to show for it. “I’m interested in painting feeling,” McIver said. “I want people to look at my paintings and feel how I felt in that moment.” I may have left my ambivalence at the gallery space, because I’m now sensing that New York Stories wasn’t really about New York at all. This collection is about feeling with McIver, from her alienation to her joy throughout a momentous year in her life. It’s no doubt the City served as a medium, but despite the collection’s title, it definitely didn’t steal the show. In New York Stories, empathy takes center stage. “New York Stories” is on display at the Craven Art Gallery until December 28. For more information, visit http://cravenallengallery.com.
The Chronicle
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6 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2013
later—you wouldn’t guess it—but he’s still in the lifeboat with the pirates. There’s some great character building during this time, and everything’s getting set up for the big ending with the navy, but just like a reader Special to the chronicle doesn’t need to read the same clause three times, the CAPTAIN PHILLIPS moviegoers don’t need to watch the Columbia Pictures same scene for 30 minutes. Directed By Paul Greengrass But, like a moderately good class presentation, the boring stuff is in the by Jamie Kessler middle and the end is a gut-puncher. The ChroniCle it’s been a while since hanks cried if nothing else, Tom hanks is getout for Wilson or compared life to a ting an oscar nom. “Captain Phil- box of chocolates, but there’s a realips,” a movie about Somali pirates son that the general population will who hijack a US cargo ship, pre- get the references i just made. it’s miered this past weekend. it’s a good because he was spectacular in those story with a good cast (well, basically performances. in the last 10 minutes just Tom hanks), but still, there’s of “Captain Phillips,” he shows that one thing that went wrong: timing. side of himself again. The movie starts out a little slow, hanks deserves serious credit, but but hey, they’re setting up the story; so do his Somali attackers. it’s critiit’s necessary. As soon as we board cally important to come to know each the ship, the plot kicks into high of the four men in order to have the gear. The pirates come aboard, the full emotional response to those inticrew must defend their ship—s**t’s mate scenes in the lifeboat, especially gonna go down! And it does. With since those intimate scenes keep goPaul Greengrass, director of the ing like the energizer Bunny. howBourne Trilogy, behind the camera, ever, these first-time actors delivered. these hijacking sequences are every- With a talented cast at the helm, the thing they could be: exciting, sur- film’s superfluous half hour doesn’t prising and, most of all, suspenseful. stop it from being great. The crew rises up to fight off the Soladen with moments that poimalis, but just when they seem in the gnantly examine a person’s reaction clear, they’re not. The pirates leave to the unimaginable, “Captain Philthe ship along with Captain Phillips. lips” takes you aboard for a little too Then Phillips is in the lifeboat with long, but lets you off with the certhe pirates, then Phillips is still in tainty that you just saw a significant the lifeboat with the pirates and then piece of cinematic history.
FILM
Duke University Chapel
Organ Recitals 2013-14 annette richarDs & DaviD YearsleY
FILM
justice. The music and tone are sufficiently creepy, especially in scenes where Mark is alone. These scenes are where the viewer truly feels the claustrophobia and confinement of Mark’s predicament. Mark must Special to the chronicle adjust to his new condition, HEADSOME Nova Automatics Production and with the Arthur’s help, we begin to Directed By Pavel Nikolajev feel hope that Mark will recover—until the film does a complete 360. now, i won’t spoil exactly what hapby Adam Schultzman pens, but i will say that the climax of the The ChroniCle film is both ludicrous and poorly shot. The sounds of heavy breathing fill the Both Mark and Arthur act wildly outraatmosphere. his eyes open to the real- geous and unstable, something the viewization that he is no longer one with his er can’t understand. The stunt double body. he attempts to scream, but he lacks used for Mark is clearly fake, which is the ability. it is this horrifying feeling of bothersome to a 21st century viewer acentrapment that “headsome” guides the customed to never really knowing when viewer into experiencing. a stunt double is being used. Under“headsome” is a suspenseful thriller standably, this is difficult since William that focuses on two brothers, Mark and haze plays both Mark and Arthur. Arthur, who reconnect after Arthur The strength of the film lies in the returns from his vaguely scientific ex- connection between the two brothers. perimentations in Asia. After a freak ac- While Arthur is attempting to improve cident, Mark nearly dies, so in order to Mark’s capabilities (providing him with save him Arthur attaches Mark’s head to mechanical arms and wheels to move a machine. As the movie hints through- around on), it becomes believable that out, Arthur has always been fascinated these siblings have chemistry. Arthur rewith ‘monkey heads’ and clearly sees his ally does want to help his brother. Unbrother’s accident as an opportunity to fortunately, Arthur’s descent into sociowork on his findings. pathic territory seems out of place. Thus Though the plot retains an interesting the two’s “falling out” does not sit right premise, the dialogue feels awkward and with the viewer. forced at times. Because of the limited overall, “headsome” is a unique scicharacter development, we are confused fi thriller that is too short for its own by the radical changes in behavior by our good. The movie lacks enough charcentral players. in one moment the broth- acter development and much of the ers seem to be close and warm, while the editing, especially transitions between next they become aggressive and vicious. scenes, seems sloppy. “headsome” does A little more backstory, despite an out-of- not deliver much more than a creative place flashback, would do the characters premise.
THE
PLAYGROUND
need more Recess?
sunday, October 20, 2013 5:00 p.m. Duke chapel Free admission Annette Richards and David Yearsley are Professors of Music at Cornell University. Richards, also the University Organist, is a laureate of international organ competitions at Dublin and Bruges. Yearsley, active as a performer on other keyboard instruments as well as the organ, lists among his awards all major prizes at the Bruges Early Music Festival. Their recital in Duke Chapel will include solo and duet repertoire on the Brombaugh and Flentrop
find the latest arts news and reviews on our Recess blog
organs by early English composers, J. S. Bach, and Soler, as well as transcriptions of works by Mozart and Rossini.
Organ recitals 2013-14
Duke university Chapel u sunDays at 5:00 pm november 10, 2013 January 26, 2014 February 23, 2014 March 23, 2014
herbert Buffington David arcus Dorothy Papadakos robert Parkins
playground.dukechronicle.com
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it fluctuated between moods, this album is more frantic. The happiness on “Static” feels like a forced glee meant only to cover up an equally vengeful gloom. Several songs are loving throwbacks to Special to the chronicle Blondie, particularly the danceable ‘i Can Always Make CULTS You Mine.’ on these tracks, the Static Cults that produced the summer hit Columbia Records ‘Go outside’ come out in full force. ‘high road’ is a moody, xx-esque by Sid Gopinath alternative to the dance-pop side of The ChroniCle Cults. Sounding very much like their Cults’s sophomore album, “Statxx contemporaries, Brian oblivion ic,” can be accurately represented by and Madeline Follin sing in broodlistening to the two songs that serve ing octaves over staccato instrumenas the album’s bookends. The first tation. song, ‘i Know,’ with its slow build While the intended core concept and gentle instrumentation, imme- of this album is strong, “Static” strugdiately brings to mind images of a gles to find its footing throughout. fading summer and a beautiful, brisk Several of the songs end up being fall day. rather repetitive. ‘Always Forever’ in contrast, ‘no hope,’ the last repeats the lyrics “you and me / alsong, alternates between upbeat and ways together” so many times, it bemelancholy, using unique harmonies gins to hurt. and a catchy melody to emphasize A series of weaker songs in the the emotional changes. The song’s latter half of the album, the totalbridge brings to mind lana Del rey ity of which only clocks in at a short with gloomy lyrics such as “burn 35 minutes, diminishes the power of down the bridges / burn down the “Static” and hurts the overall cohetown / forget tomorrow.” sion of the tracks. This contrast of dark and light is With a lack of a unifying theme at the core of “Static.” “There’s no or feel to this album, it is hard to hope for the wicked inside my soul,” determine whether Cults are resings Madeline Follin in ‘no hope.’ ally evolving at all. The number on this album, Cults are pretend- of conflicting ideas in this album ing to be happy in order to hide make it unfortunately difficult to the dark thoughts that flow through tell whether they will manage to their heads. Whereas Cults’s debut carve out their own niche in the album had a relaxed vibe, even as industry.
the ferguSon fAmiLy diStinguiShed
lectureship in the environment and society
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MUSIC
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2013 | 7
MUSIC
then hovered relatively under the radar, occasionally surfacing via Twitter with photos of herself in strange poses or with most of her hair lopped off (before that was Beyoncé-tier trendy). Age 20 threw a more mature and almost entireSpecial to the chronicle ly reimagined Ms. Cyrus MILEY CYRUS back into the limelight. She landed the Bangerz number one spot on Maxim’s 2013 hot RCA Records 100 list, for which she posed for a stunning and purportedly risqué photoshoot. by Jack Mercola Shortly after, she began the unfurling of The ChroniCle “Bangerz”—her most recent lP effort— Miley Cyrus has won a massive pissing with the single and music video ‘We Can’t contest with the American mainstream. Stop.’ This first breadcrumb of “Bangerz” “Bangerz” is her finishing blow. her vic- ushered in a new wave of obsession, idolatims run the gamut, including but not try and outrage directed at Cyrus. Within limited to: sheltering soccer moms, caits first 24 hours, the video broke a Vevo ble news twerking critics, slut-shaming record, raking in 10.7 million views. Buzzfeed commenters, slut-shamingBut that figure barely scratches the shaming Tumblr adolescents, over-edusurface of the immediate and jarring cated think piece drafters and (lest we relevance of ‘We Can’t Stop.’ Simultaneforget) liam hemsworth. ously, it was criticized and admired for its Cultural context is needed for this claim countless ‘WTF’ moments and nigh porto hold any water. if you have not been folnographic scenes. While declarations of lowing along with the Cyrus narrative of “it’s our party, we can do what we want” late, the abridged version is as follows. reigned over top-40 airwaves as an allThe ex-Disney Channel starlet began summer anthem, the old cliché slanders to shed her ‘wholesome’ image almost for young female pop stars reared their immediately after abandoning the tween ugly heads. entertainment factory. her first infamous “She’s too young,” they moaned in unievocation of sexuality was at the 2009 son. “She’s being a poor role model. She’s Teen Choice Awards, where she did a two- acting like a whore.” second stunt involving a strip pole and an Given the nature of the video, mainice cream truck. Cyrus was 16. needless to stream critics were able to chalk up Cyrus say, people made a stink about that. in ‘We Can’t Stop’ to an immature, misnext came her 2010 music video for guided 20-year-old celebrity utilizing ‘Can’t Be Tamed’ in which she played the shock value to ‘make a point,’ and make a role of a sexy raven who escapes a bird- pretty penny while she was at it. They slutcage and goes on to destroy what seems shamed or belittled her. They could not to be some sort of gala for socialite musehave been more wrong. um-goers (i.e. The establishment). Cyrus See MILEY, page 8
RACE IN SPACE OCTOBER 25-26, 2013
conServAtion ScientiSt And Author
ullas karanth
Keynote Address
recovering nature in emerging india: the tiger as a case study Dr. Mae Jemison Friday, October 25, 5pm
Love
Auditorium
CONFERENCE
6 p.m. oct. 22
Saturday, October 26 This two-day conference seeks to explore the issues of race, culture and nationality in the colonization of space stations, planets and stars in space. It will highlight astronauts, researchers, artists and authors who have studied both the realities and imaginative events involving the dynamics of race and space settlements. Four panels will discuss:
Levine Science reSeArch center, duke WeSt cAmpuS reception to precede event At 5:15 p.m. in hALL of Science video overflow in lsrc room A158
Ullas Karanth has worked for more than 27 years to save India’s endangered Bengal tigers from extinction, and has been honored by the Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund and the President of India for his pioneering work. He is the Wildlife Conservation Society’s director of science for Asia, and founding director of India’s renowned Centre for Wildlife Studies.
nicholas.duke.edu/fergusonlecture
Speculative Fiction: Space Settlements Under Conditions of Ethnic Diversity STEM Fields in Space Rayla 2212: Afrofuturism, Space and the Imagination Logistics of Space Exploration (Specific Planets) and Space Travel DUKE SPONSORS Department of African & African American Studies Department of Cultural Anthropology Department of Sociology Office of the Dean of Arts & Sciences Office of the Dean of Social Sciences Office of the Provost Program in Literature Research Network on Racial and Ethnic InEquality The Council for the Arts, Office of the Provost
raceinspace.aaas.duke.edu
recess
8 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2013
The Chronicle
Dance company showcases Haiti tribute, new routine by Gary Hoffman The Chronicle
A former dancer of the world-renowned Pilobolus Dance Theater, Haitian-born Gaspard Louis presents a message in his choreography that is as social as it is artistic. Born and raised in Haiti, Louis moved to New Jersey when he was thirteen years old. Initially a business major at Montclair State University, a young woman reached out to him to teach martial arts, which he was practicing at the time. Afterwards, she encouraged him to try dance. Although Louis was reluctant at first, he quickly discovered a love for the art, and in his sophomore year, Louis switched to become a dance major. His passion led him to become a part of the Pilobolus Dance Theater, an internationally lauded modern dance company. In his seven years with the company, Louis travelled the world touring, teaching and performing, as well as collaborating on several of the company’s projects. After his time with Pilobolus, Louis moved to Durham in 2009. He worked in real estate until he realized that he did not care for the business world. As a result, he began to teach Haitian Creole at Duke and worked to receive his master’s in dance from Hollins University. Louis then started the dance company Gaspard & Dancers. Although he
Miley
choreographs the company’s works, the local dancers who make up the company combine their individual styles to make every performance a collaborative effort. At Duke, the company will be performing “Souke” and “Magical Cusp,” as well as premiering the pieces “Rubix” and “Annatations.” After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Louis felt like he “immediately wanted to choreograph something” as a tribute to the 300,000 people who had died in the earthquake. The piece took time to put together because Louis was initially reluctant about taking on the challenge of creating a fitting tribute to such a disastrous catastrophe. This feeling changed, though, after Louis met with the great Jean-Léon Destiné. Destiné is considered by many to be the father of Haitian professional dance. Although Louis himself is not trained in Haitian dance, Destiné convinced him to follow his passion by choreographing this tribute to Haiti. Meeting with the Haitian legend enhanced Louis’s confidence and convinced him to follow through with choreographing the piece. When reflecting on the conversation, Louis remarked that he “feels blessed that [he] had the chance to talk to this man.” “Souke” is the work that Louis created in memory of the destruction struck by the 2010 Haitian earthquake. In English, the title translates to “shake.” Louis wanted the
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Other more ‘nuanced’ or ‘enlightened’ academic critics took microscopic scenes out of context to paint Cyrus as somebody who should not be taken seriously. Let us not get into all of that. (And let us not get into the associated MTV Video Music Awards performance, for which she has absolutely nothing to apologize or answer for.) The truth is that ‘We Can’t Stop’ and the other 15 tracks on “Bangerz” and their artist, Cyrus, are to be taken very seriously, if not as a group of songs, then at least as a grade-A cultural phenomenon. Over the loud droning of post-VMA slut-shamers, and slut-shamer-shamers, and celebrity open letters, and zillionth-wave-feminist open letters and AriZona-IcedTea-phallus photoshoots, “Bangerz” dropped. The buzz had accumulated to deafening levels. Fifteen minutes before October 8, the day of the iTunes release, the album rocketed straight to number one. ‘We Can’t Stop’ and ‘Wrecking Ball’—the other pre-release music video which featured a fully nude Cyrus atop a wrecking ball and shattered the same 24-hour Vevo record Cyrus claimed months earlier—proved themselves correct. In the same vein, “Bangerz” covers its own critics. It accomplishes exactly what it sets out to accomplish. Given the context and outcome for Cyrus and her album, it is difficult not to conclude that “Bangerz” has earned a perfect score. Even if the musical content of “Bangerz” were truly unpleasant, its lingering on the top of the charts means that Cyrus has won.
Victor Ye/THE CHRONICLE
piece to “shed some light on Haiti” by showing “how the people came together” during the time of crisis. Louis is also excited for the premiere of “Annatations,” which translates to “swim across” and which he considers the followup piece to “Souke.” He described that this piece depicts the Roman Catholic state of purgatory. In the faith, those who are not clearly good or evil stay in purgatory as a temporary punishment to cleanse themselves before entering heaven. Louis remarked that in this state, we “must wash away the negativity,” and that here, we truly realize the pointlessness of acts of racism and violence and see the similarities that we all share. Duke alumni Paul Leary helped compose much of the music for the show. He has known Louis for around three years
In the months leading up to her album, Cyrus promoted rule-breaking, personal liberation and a general attitude of not giving a s**t about those who doubt you— a message that, despite everybody’s supposed shock and distaste, was actually what we all wanted. And most of the tracks are actually really good. The opening tracks ‘Adore You’ and ‘Maybe You’re Right’ join forces with the wildly famous ‘Wrecking Ball’ to round out a triumvirate of poignant post-breakup power ballads that are as sincere as they are accessible. Cyrus engages in her ‘ratchet girl’ persona in the title track ‘SMS (BANGERZ)’ and ‘Do My Thang,’ showing off her tepid rapping talent. Although her lyrics and rhythm in these rap bits are not superb, Cyrus presents herself as an unpretentious experimenter. She lacks the arrogance and demand for proper artistic respect of Lady Gaga while remaining far less banal than Katy Perry, et al. ‘4x4’ invokes Cyrus’s down-South upbringing in a way that is fun and lighthearted, but it is unfortunately misplaced among the other songs, making it the only unlistenable track of the bunch. ‘On My Own’ deviates from the rest of the album much more palatably—it sounds like a Michael Jackson dance hit, and is a standout track for those who do not fancy millennial radio pop. Lyrically, “Bangerz” explores themes of love, sex and heartbreak, which makes sense considering Cyrus recently broke off her engagement to fellow young star Liam Hemsworth. ‘We Can’t Stop’ and the other more partyfriendly tunes focus on celebrity lifestyle and the importance of letting go of society’s expectations and one’s own anxieties.
and remarked how “Gaspard is incredibly specific about what he wants.” Leary wrote the music for “Rubix” and co-wrote the score for “Souke” with Randy Love. Leary writes primarily electronic music; all of the music in the show uses a virtual orchestra. About his own artistic process, Louis noted that while choreographing, he asks himself, “What do I think? How do I feel?” so that the piece is truly a reflection of his thoughts and emotions. With his works— especially ones like “Souke” and “Annatations”—Louis tries to resonate and remember tragedy, but he also unites people to show that “we are all the same after all.” Gaspard & Dancers will perform October 18 and 19 in the Reynolds Industries Theater. Tickets are now on sale at online and at the box office. For more information, visit http://danceprogram. duke.edu.
On both of these fronts, Cyrus flanks herself with a team of industry moguls. Songs are largely produced by Mike Will and Pharrell Williams, while Britney Spears, Big Sean, Nelly and Ludacris each are featured on a track. Said celebrity drop-ins range from Spears’s familiarly absurdist verse on the title track to French Montana’s backing vocals in the post-breakup taunt ‘FU.’ The most important cut from “Bangerz,” one that has real staying power and the potential to be genre-defining, was produced with the help of Williams, the pop mastermind of the hour. ‘#GETITRIGHT’ is this track. ‘#GETITRIGHT,’ on a first listen through “Bangerz,” makes you want to stop and instead put it on repeat. It is terribly catchy, complete with whistles, cute guitar riffs and a readily memorizable chorus. Miley croons about that oh-so-relatable moment of laying in bed with a potential lover right before the sexual encounter unfolds. After listening to the song several times, it becomes almost impossible not to dance. ‘#GETITRIGHT’ also has the ability to bridge any altculture resentment for an artist as popular as Cyrus. Indie pop angels Rostam Bantmanglij and Sufjan Stevens have both espoused praise for the track and its artist, an act that would typically be perceived as gauche by the difficult-toplease indie crowd. These affirmations bring hope that “Bangerz” will reach further than a typical pop audience, attracting those with more musical knowhow with its variety and selfawareness. The Bangerz-Cyrus 2013 aesthetic will reign queen and spread its influence over pop music for the foreseeable future.
IF YOU LEAD, THEY WILL FOLLOW Interested in becoming a tour guide for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions?
Call Bill Thomas for a free consultation.
The Duke Tour Guides will host a brief informational meeting that will cover everything you need to know, regarding the selection process, training requirements, and scheduling procedures. Attend one of the following meetings: Thursday, October 17 (Undergraduate Admissions Office) Sunday, October 20 (White Lecture Hall 107) Both are at 7 p.m.