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FEBRUARY 13, 2014
Stonemason collaborates with Nicholas School Thea Alvin plans sculpture-landscape, p. 4
NC artists at CAM Exhibition continues through April, p. 3
Sun Kil Moon Recess reviews Benji, p. 7
Work by sarah WesT/special To The chronicle
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editor’s note ss recess r
R recess editors
snow day part II: the reckoning
recess I reach out in the darkness before the morning is even real. Don’t you? Before the vaguest concept of the day takes shape—how warm, how busy, how populated it might be— I’m searching for a particular rectangle, eyes barely open, and—ah! Got it. Now I go: tap, tap, tap, tap. One tap to dismiss my phone’s alarm. Another couple for today’s weather. Then two or three to scan the inbox. Also, social networks, right? I want to know, like, uh, what people are reading? And… celebrity deaths I should be mourning. Who went to that weird show? They let David Brooks write something again? Eventually, I stand on my feet. I stretch my arms and make my animal noises. If you’re like me, this is a small, nice thing, a ritual that punctuates your day. Before the immediacy of the world that curls inside your nostrils and squishes under your feet, there’s this other one, easier in so many ways. Your feeds are a garden. You cultivate them for beauty. The hateful, the annoying and the mediocre all get pruned and tossed away. I’ve been considering this a lot recently because of mynew gig. Engaging in social media isn’t so different from what I do as an editor of an arts and culture publication. Our appetite for what pleases is ravenous. We are curators, you and I and everyone we know. And the worlds we custom-build are wonderful. So wonderful, in fact, that bus
Lauren Feilich [editor]...................................................................... fox in the snoooow Eliza Strong [managing]................................................................ happy birthday to me MC Bousquette.[music]............................................................... still from new england Megan Rise [film]......................................................................... snowpocalypse 2010 Kathy Zhou [arts]............................................................no business like snow buisness Eliza Bray.[photo]............................................................................................... darty? Prashanth Kamalakanthan [online]................................................................. iced out
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rides are horrifyingly boring in comparison. (Tap, tap.) Also long meetings. (Tap, tap, tap.) Elevators, waiting rooms, sidewalks… you know the list. It is diverse. ‘But these places are transitory,’ you whisper in your head. ‘I have heard this old Luddite lecture, and it bores me,’ you groan, pulling your smartphone from your pocket to text an eye-rolling emoji (so cute!) to your friend. Who socializes on the bus, or looks around wide-eyed in an elevator? True, true. Barely anyone! But why are we in those places, anyway? Where are we going all day? Me, I wake up to my phone as an alarm in the morning and revisit it regularly to review the appointments I’ve committed to, the ones I might. This, too, is a core function. I don’t think I’m alone in this. We live in an appointment-based society—or at least one that increasingly revolves around the management of time—and smartphones are telecom corporations’ blessing upon it. (The Congolese children who die for their tantalum, their exhausted Chinese assemblers who leap desperately out of factory dorm windows—they suffer for our sins.) Social scientists have long studied the differences between conceptions of time in the industrialized North versus the global South. Research suggests that in “clock time”-based North America and Western Europe, people “budget” time and make “investments” in discrete activities. Norms about running late, for example, are strict in these societies. When polled, Americans say they feel compelled to apologize after about 10 minutes’ tardiness. Across the Arab world—where they abide by what’s termed “event time,” valuing relationships and spontaneity relatively more—the standard is closer to 20. There are pluses and minuses to both. To our own “plus” column, add the comfort and predictability of a micromanaged life. Our very identities are customizable, if you line up
the work/friend/hobby slots just right. Smartphones nestle neatly between these, both introducing social interactions into spaces generally characterized by “active disengagement” and adding new ways to self-customize through content curation. If not for yourself and your idea of your “personal brand,” online advertisers and the NSA are keenly interested, anyway. But we lose something more important than our data in this arrangement. When I stare at a smartphone, my surroundings wither away. As reality fades in and out all day—first thing in the morning and last thing at night and sometimes in between and also when your pants vibrate and sometimes when you think they are but not—at some point you must wonder: what am I escaping? To put it differently, what are we editing out of our world? Is it the long stillnesses? The wandering minds that think strange thoughts during them? Those ugly spaces around us, their tired and broken residents? Shouldn’t we stop and feel and know and understand these things deeply as part of our shared reality? Unlike a good art magazine or a respectable Twitter feed, the living world is so often brutal, sickening, mind-numbing. What happens when nobody stops and notices, and no one considers what it needs to become better? When our eyes are glazed—locked onto carefully-manicured screens or the carefullymanicured lifestyles they complement—we are also blinded to our sense of inner possibility. We are, after all, just sitting, tapping. No surprises; nothing to knock you off course. ‘Oh, beautiful,’ you think, both to the photo someone shared and the job interview you just snagged. Seeing—really seeing things as they are— and wandering are harder, scarier. But they’re a way to live.
-- Prashanth Kamalakanthan
Ready to engage more deeply?
Hart Fellows Program APPLICATIONS DUE BY MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17 5:00 PM Design your own fellowship. Follow your passion. Dig into complexity. Develop your leadership abilities. Website: www.hart.sanford.duke.edu; Contact: sanjana.marpadga@duke.edu
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Works by fellowship recipients showcased at CAM Raleigh by Sid Gopinath The Chronicle
CAM (Contemporary Art Museum) Raleigh will present the NC Arts Council Artist Fellowship Award Exhibition through April 27. Located in the revitalized warehouse district of downtown Raleigh and positioned as the region’s premier contemporary art museum, the CAM is using this opportunity to display 18 of the finest artists from North Carolina. The 15 artists now on display received $10,000 from the 2012-2013 North Carolina Arts Council Artist Fellowship Award. This money allowed them to create new and innovative works to eventually be put on display in this exhibition. “They are just opposites in many cases,” Marjorie Hodges, Director of Contemporary Art Foundation at CAM Raleigh, said of the artists. “But what is consistent is the skill level. These are very skilled and highly trained artists. Their pieces are gorgeous.” The artists range from a husband and wife ceramics team, to installation artists, to jewelers to filmmakers. The ability of CAM Raleigh to facilitate the varied media is appreciated by the artists. “The space is beautiful,” jeweler and sculptor Sarah West said. “It’s able to hold all of these different pieces really well.” CAM Raleigh is also unique because it doesn’t hold a permanent collection. Instead, it seeks to find national and international artists to rotate through the gallery, using the building’s unique movable walls to creatively set up exhibitions. “CAM really is a progressive space. We are not collecting art and spending our time storing it and taking care of it,” Hodges said. “We are trying to find emerging, fresh, wonderful art from all over the
world and show it, but we also collaborate in the region.” Amanda Small, a contemporary installation sculptor, sees this space as ideal for the type of art being displayed. “The space is so incredible, and it shows off the work. The work is so incredible, and it shows off the space,” she explained. The Opening Celebration for the exhibition occurred February 6. Artists were present to answer questions, and the community came out to view the modern artwork on display. “There were CAM members, donors, art collectors. People brought their kids! There was just a real sense of community,” Small said. “People seemed to be really inspired and intrigued by an exhibition that was all local.” This sense of community is exactly what CAM Raleigh seeks to foster in the city. Raleigh, like Durham and several other
North Carolina cities, is slowly getting back on its feet after a tough stretch of years following the collapse of industry and tobacco in the state. And, like Durham, Raleigh is increasingly turning to art to help bring the community together again. Hodges sees the museum, which opened in April 2011 and has since won many state and national awards, as a “premier contemporary art museum but also an urban community center.” Filmmaker and photographer Jeff Whetstone graduated from Duke with a degree in zoology and used his knowledge to explain how he saw art’s role in society. “Artists are kind of an indicator species of the health of a social environment,” Whetstone said. “Where artists thrive, culture thrives. It makes people want to move here, and it makes people want to stay here.” In addition to bringing the local com-
Work by Travis Donovan/Special to the Chronicle
munity together, Whetstone also believes that museums can bridge the gap between universities and their communities, a problem with which Duke has notoriously struggled. And, although the exhibition displays a great deal of the variety and talent of North Carolina art, some of the best results of this fellowship unseen: the fellowship can help to kickstart—or restart—a career. “It’s such a wonderful experience as an artist to receive funding to continue your work. It was a real honor for all of us,” Small said. For West, who graduated two years ago, this fellowship is a long-term investment in her as an artist and the North Carolina arts scene as a whole. “I don’t think I’m going to see the great things that come out of this right away,” West said. “This is a really long-term, sustainable fellowship. The exposure is immense.” For now, though, North Carolina’s art scene is operating a lot like how Whetstone creates what he calls “creative nonfiction films.” “I’m figuring it out as I go. I look at what I get, readdress my intentions and find out what is interesting,” he said. For the state of North Carolina, this fellowship and this exhibition are paving the way to an art culture that thrives with the best in the nation. The community is figuring it out as it goes, but these artists and curators are hopeful for what the future will bring. The NC Arts Council Artist Fellowship Award Exhibition will be on display at CAM Raleigh until April 27. For admissions and other information, visit the CAM website.
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Duke alum documents veteran experience in film by Brad Lenz The Chronicle
This Thursday at 7:30 p.m., documentary film “Not Yet Begun To Fight” will screen at the Full Frame Theater at the American Tobacco Campus. Following the screening will be a Q&A session moderated by Wesley Hogan, director of the Center for Documentary Studies, with Sabrina Lee (T’91), producer and co-director of the film. Filmmaker Amy Unell, a Duke alumna and visiting lecturer in Arts and Entrepreneurship, described that the film “follows five veterans as they embark on an usual form of therapy which is brilliantly juxtaposed with the chaos of war.“ The film has been praised by many, including The Hollywood Reporter, The Village Voice, and IndieWire. The Los Angeles Times called the film “A lyrical meditation on nature and war.” It was chosen by the late Roger Ebert to screen at 2013 EbertFest. In the film, various veterans take up fly fishing as an alternative form of therapy—one stated that “this river healed me,” showing the depth to which war affects veterans. Another said, “One of the unfortunate things about combat is that in a very large measure it taints your soul.” Lee stated that she was led to make this movie while filming her last documentary, in which one character’s father had PTSD. Lee realized that “for those who have experienced combat, the war is never over,” and that this fact is not adequately recognized and accepted. When starting the movie, Lee did not go in with any expectations and simply sought to “have an honest conversation” while remaining “completely apolitical.” In addition to the difficulty inherent to working on a film that is so emotionally dense, Lee claimed that one of the hardest aspects of making the documentary was “to approach five veterans we had never met before and convince them in a short time that we weren’t there to exploit them.” The crew took extra precautions to ensure that the veterans were comfortable, using smaller, less intimidating cameras to minimize any barriers between the filmmakers and the veterans. “If you suffer from PTSD, having a large black object looming in your peripheral vision can be extremely disconcerting, so we made the call to make other sound arrangements,” Lee explained. Along with being a documentary filmmaker, Lee used to be a modern dancer and
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choreographer. She explained that these different art forms are not only related, but have also been mutually beneficial to one another. She has a “compulsion to tell a story,” which would influence her to create storydriven choreography. And in her films, she has found that her dance background has given her a keen sense for transitions between scenes and timing in the music. Lee mentioned that her experience at Duke was “somewhat unusual” and ultimately rewarding. She connected with the arts community, which she claimed “provided the springboard for me to become a documentary filmmaker.” She advised that students “recognize that there is such a tremendous opportunity at Duke” and “be diligent in seeking out those people and those classes” that will inspire them and help them. The screening will be Thurs., February 20, at 7:30 p.m. in the Full Frame Theater on the American Tobacco Campus. Q&A session with filmmaker Sabrina Lee will follow. Doors open at 7 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, visit the CDS website.
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Stonemason creates sculpture-landscape for Duke by Hannah Anderson-Baranger The chronicle
Work began this week on a unique addition to Duke’s landscape. The in-progress Environment Hall, located behind the LSRC, will feature a stonewall sculpture as an integrated part of the landscaping in front of the building. Almost two years ago, the Dean of the Nicholas School for the Environment, Bill Chameides, approached stonemason Thea Alvin about creating one of her stone sculpture-landscapes for the planned Environment Hall building. “We wanted [the landscaping] to be unique, because the Environment Hall building is unique and moves the campus in a different direction,” Chameides said. Environment Hall is not an expansion for the Nicholas School, but rather will allow the faculty to be closer together. The new building is LEED Platinum certified—the highest level of green building certification—and is designed to have more public space to foster “co-mingling,” Chameides said. The building will be finished towards the end of March and the opening will be in early April. It also will
include an environmental art gallery and a green roof where students will grow sustainable vegetables and herbs. Chameides felt that Alvin’s work was in agreement with the goals of the Nicholas School to view humanity and the environment as an integrated whole. “At least for humanity, humanity is an important part of the natural system. When we do alter that system, we need to it in a way that is in harmony and not destructive,” Chameides said. Thea Alvin is a stonemason and landscape artist based in a small, rural Vermont town. She designed the landscape sculpture, entitled “In Good Time,” and will be constructing the piece with assistance from her partner Michael Clookey. Alvin primarily works without mortar, utilizing centuries-old dry masonry techniques. She described an aspect of her work as being about the dance that results from the contrast between herself, as a small woman, and a heavy material. However, Alvin does not see stone simply as a weighty or unmanageable medium. See Alvin, page 6
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Theater company presents dark comedy, Celebration by Katie fernelius ThE ChRONICLE
Throughout February, Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern will present the play “Celebration” at the Shadow Box in Durham. The play follows a gathering for the 60th birthday of Father, the patriarch of the family. At this occasion, his son reads a prepared speech titled the “truth speech,” which is revealed not to be celebratory in nature but rather contains dark accusations towards his father. Reeling from the upset of the speech, the family grapples with what is the truth and the implications of such truth on their relationships. “For me, ‘Celebration’ is about the disconnect between what we want to believe is true and what is actually true,” Tamara Kissane, who plays Mette, said. “There is a certain astonishment at the lengths that people will go to preserve that rosy delusion and there is admiration in the courage and danger of someone who does speak the truth.” The play is adapted from a Danish film of the same name in translation, “Festen,” and is directed by Thomas Vinterberg. Although the play retains the plot and character elements of the film, how the story is told is fundamentally transformed by its translation to the stage. “While we’re influenced by the film, we are not indebted to it. We don’t want to replicate a movie,” Jay O’Berski, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Theater Studies and actor of Christian, said. “We’re into the three dimensional aspects and the surreal aspects of life that are harder to depict in a film.” O’Berski recounted a particular instance in the play when the director, Kevin Ewert, stages simultaneous happenings at one bed on the stage. The actors are choreographed as if they are in separate rooms, yet they are revolving around each other on a single bed. This example, among many other intriguing staging decisions, reveals the possispecial To The chronicle
FILM The Lego Movie Emmett/Furia Films Directed By Phil Lord and Chris Miller
by Drew Haskins ThE ChRONICLE
It is not shocking that “The Lego Movie” exists. After all, Legos are one of the most beloved and best-selling toys in the world. What a delight, then, that “The Lego Movie” is not an overblown toy commercial, but an excellent film that the entire family will enjoy—Lego-lovers or not. Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, best known for their irreverent remake of “21 Jump Street,” tell the tale of Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt), an average-Joe construction worker in the city of Bricksburg who is content to stick to the status quo and follow the instructions of the sinister President Business (Will Ferrell) and his henchman Good Cop/Bad Cop (Liam Neeson). his life changes forever when he finds The Missing Piece, a fabled artifact that can prevent the end of the universe, and is mistaken for a Master Builder with
bilities of theatre in understanding a familiar story in novel ways. “Because of the creative spirits involved, there are notable differences in interpretation as the show was being crafted, but there’s a creative process in adaptation, especially to the stage,” Kissane said. “It is more visceral because it is unfolding right in front of you. The audience members are witnessing the play almost as closely as the people at the dinner party. It’s a different sort of empathy than what film can provide.” The unique staging and edgy content are typical of a production from Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern, a nonprofit theatre company that has been working in the Triangle area since 2005. Past productions have included “The Man Who Was Thursday” and “Our Town,” among others. Like “Celebration,” prior shows have exhibited Little Green Pig’s commitment to nontraditional casting and confronting violent or erotic subject material. “We have no expectations for our audience, but we like to do plays for adults,” O’Berski said. “Our main goal is to show how hilarious darkness is and how sad seemingly funny things can be. This is a great black comedy example of dark subject matter handled in a surreal manner.” The theatre company got its name from playwright Martin McDonagh’s play “The Pillowman,” in which one of the main character’s short stories is titled ‘The Little Green Pig’ and concerns a green pig who does not conform to the pink preferences of his friends. Accordingly, Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern chooses not to conform to the traditional expectations of theater. Committing themselves to self-professed Enlightenment values, the theatre company seeks to be “accessible, strange and dreamlike but familiar and immediate,” according to their mission statement. Such qualities are promised in their latest production, “Celebration.” “This production, like many other unique creative powers. The movie follows Emmet’s struggle to use his imagination and save the world with the help of rocker Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), the prophet Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), the pirate Metal Beard (Nick Offerman), the peppy Unikitty (Alison Brie) and Batman (Will Arnett). The film is elevated above its standard kids’-movie competition due to its incredible animation. “The Lego Movie” uses CGI to painstakingly simulate a world entirely built out of Legos, with buildings and even oceans made out of tiny bricks. The characters move stiltedly as if a child were moving them, and the overall effect is dazzling. The world of “The Lego Movie” feels like the best playset ever, evoking a sense of awe and nostalgia. “The Lego Movie” also boasts an incredibly diverse and charismatic voice cast. Pratt’s everyman is charmingly goofy, and functions as a relatable audience surrogate to an at-times confusing world. Ferrell basically plays the same villainous characters he does in many of his movies (think “Zoolander”), but why fix what is not broken? Banks and Brie are also excellent as polar opposites who are forced to work together, but the real star performances come from Freeman and Neeson. Both actors parody their movie star images, with Freeman’s wizard and Neeson’s bipolar See THE lEGO MOviE, page 6
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productions from Little Green Pig, tends to bring work out that is risky in terms of its content and style of delivery,” Kissane said. “It’s provocative in the best sense of the word. It is programming that should encourage folks to think about truthtelling.” Kissane hopes that audiences will gain an appreciation for the local theater community, as well as gain a sense of compassion for people who tell the truth and people who have difficulty in encountering the truth, but O’Berski disagrees. special To The chronicle
FILM The Great Beauty Janus Films Directed By Paolo Sorrentino
by Kathy Zhou ThE ChRONICLE
A group of women look out over Rome and sing in unison, ethereal and ominous. The city looks as though it has just risen. A group of Japanese tourists follow their guide, and one elderly man walks toward the balcony. he snaps a photo of the horizon—Rome, as lush and golden, as immortal and touristic as ever—and he smiles, relishing the sincere and transcendent moment of joy. Then he dies. So begins Sorrentino’s “The Great Beauty,” a film that toes the line between the fantastical daydream and the absurd gimmick. We are introduced to writer Jep Gambardella (Toni Servillo). Since writing his first (and, as we will be frequently reminded, only) novel, “The human Apparatus,” he has cemented his position as one of Rome’s greatest socialites, part of an aging group of thinkers and ce-
“‘Celebration’ has a deeper, darker psychology,” he said. “It’s rare that audiences are challenged in that way. What people take away is really ambiguous. It’s better that people argue what this experience means than feel like they understood and grasped it.” “Celebration” will be showing Thurs. through Sat. from February 6 through February 22 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 for general admittance and $8 for student admittance. More information can be found on the Little Green Pig’s website. lebrities who no longer know what to do with themselves. he’s turning 65, so he indulges in a lavish rooftop party. The attendees turn garish in their bright makeup and gaudy clothing. As the bodies jump and dance, the camera inverts or moves in rhythm until the partiers become nothing but pulsing, grimacing shapes. By now, we’ve already been well introduced to his poetic and unpretending interior dialogue: “…I answered, ‘The smell of old people’s houses.’ The question was, ‘What do you really like the most in life?’…I was destined to become a writer. I was destined to become Jep Gambardella.” We find that Jep is looking for something exquisite and real—the beauty that Rome has failed to give him. he’s left instead on the brink of despair with only one novel to show for it. We meet the over-the-top characters, superficial and archetypal, yet the main characters—Jep and those who are dear to him, whether he realizes it or not—are relatable. There’s Jep’s maid, who looks after him in more ways than one; Ramona, a stripper; Dadina, Jep’s dwarf editor. And then there is Romano, who, while a little foolish, is also one of the most sentimental and honest characters, and perhaps Jep’s only true friend. The film is peripatetic. It moves from long shots of characters sipping alcohol and arguing about the future of Italy to quick, illusory flashbacks of a young Jep at the beach. There’s the See THE GREAT BEAUTY, page 6
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Alvin
from page 4
“It’s a living rock, a natural material…an almost liquid state of being,” Alvin said, “I love for stone to look fluid, for the finished sculpture to look like it might be a pencil sketch.” Alvin draws on a foundation of masonry, building construction, architecture and interior design to complete her work. She also specializes in historic restoration and teaches a range of stone masonry classes at Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Warren, Vermont. “The rules don’t change—just the application,” Alvin said of switching between landscape art and 15th-century building techniques. Alvin’s work walks the boundary between spatial design and sculptural art. She doesn’t simply create objects that live in a gallery; she creates experiences, solid spaces and ephem-
eral moments. She has created pieces in the bottom of rivers during the dry season, leaving people to watch as the seasons progress and water rises, eventually obscuring the stones from view, and perhaps even moving them out of position. “When it breaks back down, it’s just as beautiful,” Alvin said of work that changes. The addition of “In Good Time” marks a shift for the university towards increased interdisciplinarity, but also more awareness of and connection to the world around us. Chameides supports collaborations between the arts and the environment, because of artists’ abilities to move past the tendency to see nature as the “other,” rather bringing us into a “face-to-face experience with nature.” “In Good Time” will be built from stone sourced from the Duke quarry—the same quarry that provided much of the stone on campus, lending the sculpture
the iconic color palette of the university. “[It’s] creating a sense of place,” Alvin said of the elements in the design process. The piece will rise to 10 feet in height, curving along its length to reach a total of 160 feet. At one point it will appear to dive underground. The highlight of the piece will be the keyhole arch in the center, “a point of entry,” Chameides said. “It says you are now moving from a campus into a different kind of space,” Chameides said. Alvin will be at Duke for three weeks, working on the piece as long as weather permits. She also will be giving a lecture and arch-building workshop, both sponsored by the Nicholas School of the Environment and the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. By the time Environment Hall opens in the late spring, “In Good Time” will be surrounded by chestnut and beech trees, pro-
Immerse yourself in the world of this remarkable American artist.
Archibald Motley Jazz Age Modernist On view through May 11, 2014
SYMPOSIUM Friday, February 28, 6 – 7:30 PM Saturday, March 1, 9 AM – 4:30 PM
Free and open to all. Registration not required.
FRIdAy, 2/28 6 – 7:30 PM
I Keynote Conversation “Archibald Motley & Bronzeville” – A conversation between Darlene Clark Hine, Board of Trustees Professor of African American Studies and Professor of History, Northwestern University, Evanston, and Richard J. Powell, John Spencer Bassett Professor of Art and Art History at Duke University and curator of Archibald Motley. Introduction by Sarah Schroth, Mary D.B.T. and James H. Semans Director, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University.
SATURdAy, 3/1 9 AM
I Symposium Introductions by Sarah Schroth and Richard J. Powell
Panel: Archibald Motley’s Art 9:30 – 9:50 AM
“Archibald Motley, Jr.: An Outsider-Insider” – Michael D. Harris Associate Professor of Art History and African American Studies, Emory University, Atlanta
9:50 – 10:10 AM
“The Color of Race in Archibald Motley’s Art” – Cécile Whiting Chancellor’s Professor of Art History and Professor of Visual Studies, University of California, Irvine
10:10 – 10:30 AM
“‘Humor Ill-Advised, if Not Altogether Tasteless?’ Caricature and Stereotype in the Work of Archibald Motley, Jr.” – Phoebe Wolfskill Assistant Professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington
10:40 – 11:30 AM
Panel Conversation moderated by Amy M. Mooney, Associate Professor of Art History, Columbia College, Chicago
Panel: Archibald Motley’s World 1:30 – 1:50 PM
“Black Cultural Modernization in 1920s and ‘30s Chicago” – Cynthia Blair Associate Professor of African American Studies and History, University of Illinois, Chicago
1:50 – 2:10 PM
“Louis Armstrong, Master of Modernism” – Thomas Brothers, Professor of Music, Duke University
2:10 – 2:30 PM
“‘Every Painting Should Tell a Story’: Old and New in Archibald Motley” – Jerma A. Jackson Associate Professor of History, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2:50 – 3:40 PM
Panel Conversation moderated by Davarian L. Baldwin Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American Studies, Trinity College, Hartford
3:40 – 3:55 PM
Concluding remarks by Richard J. Powell
IMAGE: Archibald J. Motley, Jr., Hot Rhythm, (detail), 1961. Oil on canvas, 40 x 48.375 inches (101.6 x 122.9 cm). Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Illinois. © Valerie Gerrard Browne.
Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist is made possible by the Terra Foundation for American Art; the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor; and the Henry Luce Foundation. Major support is provided by the Wyeth Foundation for American Art; Drs. Victor and Lenore Behar; the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources; and Deborah DeMott. This project is made possible in part by funding from the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN ART
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viding a place for students to sit, eat and rest. And, Alvin and Chameides hope that students will utilize the outdoor space. The stone structure was specifically designed to be the perfect height for sitting at certain points. With this type of work, the only way to appreciate it is to live in it—not just to look at it. “[The art is] the beauty of being in it.” Alvin said. “It’s the interaction of me and the natural.” Thea Alvin will give her lecture, “The Art of Stone,” on Wed., February 19 at 6 p.m. in Room A247 of the LSRC. Admission is free but will be capped at 40. The arch-building workshop will be Sun., February 23 at 2 p.m. in the Charlotte Brody Discovery Gardens. Admission is free but will be capped at 10. To enroll in either event, call 919-668-1707 or email gardenseducation@duke.edu. For more information, visit the Nicholas School’s website.
The Great Beauty
from page 5
scene of a young girl who, while crying, throws a bucket of paint against a huge canvas, smudging the paint on the canvas and on herself into a disturbing brown before we see the bold and colorful end product. There’s the night when Jep and Ramona visit all of Rome’s most prized buildings and monuments, thanks to a serious bespectacled young man who is “friends with princesses” and therefore has all the keys to the city. In these moments, we witness the surprising, the inventive and the thrilling, all in the name of the search for beauty. Jep’s commentary throughout remains on point, and the overall dialogue is both dark and lighthearted, at some points brilliant (what with lines like “modernity is bad ass”) and at other times incongruous. But the accompanying script is almost of less importance; it’s the sights and sounds and atmosphere of Rome that bring us in and make us feel alive. There are the several sudden deaths, too, depicted only briefly in the film: Jep comforts the husband of his long-lost young love, he breaks down while carrying the coffin of a friendless youth, he lays listlessly in bed and stares at his ceiling. The brevity with which the film conveys death is a flippant shrug to our own mortality, a backdrop for Jep’s own candid revelations. Never once does a scene bore. The camerawork ensures our captivation. Each scene is deliberate, beautiful not because of the actual Roman scenery (which is stunning and significant in its own right) but because of the subtle portrayal of its subject: Jep with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, Jep as he melds into a crashing party, Jep as he washes his face in the fountain. The film is one idyllic sensation after another, a realm of fantasy, a series of delightful enchantments to the audience that are otherwise lost on Jep. It’s a classic tale of the artist who can no longer create or find meaning because he has lost, or has never found, the beauty he seeks—an artist who is more fearful than he admits. It’s a film of casual melancholy, of wandering, and yet beauty—the great beauty, the beauty
The Lego Movie
from page 5
cop getting the best lines in the entire movie. The film also boasts cameo appearances from Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Cobie Smulders and others. None of this would work, however, if it were not for Lord and Miller’s hilarious yet moving script. “The Lego Movie” is often riotously funny. So many children’s films try to appeal to both generations by mixing crass “kiddie-humor” with pop culture references for the parents, but “The Lego Movie” is better than that. The smart yet accessible jokes come a mile a minute and often poke fun at standard action movie conventions. The film also treads unusually complex thematic territory for a children’s film. One of the movie’s main messages is that boundless imagination is great but that there is a place for rules and order—a philosophy one would not expect from a film based on blocks. “The Lego Movie” is an absolute blast that has more brains and heart than its plastic protagonists would suggest.
the Chronicle
recess
MUSIC
special To The chronicle
Sun Kil Moon Benji Caldo Verde
by Andrew Karim ThE ChRONICLE
It’s not often that an album listen requires emotional preparation, but this is Mark Kozelek. I first saw him perform two springs ago at Brickside, a pleasantly small music festival organized by the Coffeehouse. The flyer said “DUU Presents,” but let’s not kid ourselves. Attendees crowded the Jameson Gallery by the dozen, encircling a tranquil Kozelek as he delivered one sorrowful lullaby after another. The subdued acoustic set lasted about an hour. Not everyone cried, but everyone was silent. Two years and two albums later, Kozelek gives us “Benji,” Sun Kil Moon’s sixth and most harrowing record. An explicit meditation on death and longing for those who have passed, “Benji” takes Sun Kil Moon’s characteristic melancholia to new, albeit beautiful, lows. You’ll know what I mean after just a few seconds into ‘Carissa,’ the album’s opening track about an old friend who died in a freak accident fire. My description directly quotes the song’s lyrics, a testa-
ment to the unadorned narrative style Kozelek deploys in this record: fewer metaphors, more literal storytelling. A slow-paced guitar guides Kozelek’s somber lyrics that move between narrating Carissa’s life and mourning her unexpected death. The song avoids sounding like a tritely uplifting tribute by owning itself as a disheartening and chillingly detailed account of mortality. Kozelek breaks from the downtrodden eulogies with two tender songs about his parents. In the track about his mother, aptly titled ‘I Can’t Live Without My Mother’s Love,’ Kozelek lists adverse scenarios he’d be willing to cope with, from the sky falling to growing old alone—anything but losing his mother’s love. The song’s affectionate lyrics pair nicely with Kozelek’s quiet strumming, a noticeable contrast to the upbeat rhythm of ‘I Love My Dad,’ which incorporates springy drums and echoing female vocals. The song is Kozelek’s platform for reminiscing the lessons he’s learned from his father. The beauty of Kozelek’s tribute is his ability to avoid valorizing a dad who made mistakes. You’ll glean from the lyrics that the man wasn’t faultless (“I ain’t trying to say my dad was some kind of a perfect saint”), but Kozelek doesn’t let that trivialize his father’s formative presence in his upbringing. ‘Micheline’ tells three more stories of Kozelek’s lost loved ones. The first recounts a pure-hearted childhood friend named Micheline. She “had dreams like anyone else” before getting caught up with a manipulative boyfriend who left her penniless. See SUn Kil MOOn, page 8
The Fannie Mitchell
thursDAY, februArY 13, 2014 | 7
MUSIC
special To The chronicle
Speedy Ortiz Real Hair Carpark Records
by Eliza Strong ThE ChRONICLE
Speedy Ortiz, hailing from Northampton, Massachusetts, is a crossover between classic grunge and retro ‘90s indie rock with an expertly executed throwback sound. Don’t be fooled—this band started in 2012. The quartet revitalizes the classic combination of a gutsy female vocalist and lo-fi power chords layered over snare-heavy drums. Lead singer Sadie Dupuis evokes the formidable sound of Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or Monique Powell with moxie (remember Save Ferris?). Their lyrics are both sharp and subtle and help to lighten their sound and attitude. They give an impression of genuine alt-rock—the kind of band you’d see at a small club in Brooklyn—or maybe your older brother’s best friend’s garage. “Real hair” is Speedy Ortiz’s third studio release, following their 2012 EP “Sports” and full-length 2013 album “Major Arcana.” The latter made Pitchfork’s Best New Music list and was generally well received, establishing Speedy’s unique sound. “Real hair” is refreshingly different from the overdone indie-pop genre that’s taken over the modern music scene. They are the
real deal, showing a genuine dedication to cohesive sound and creativity. The EP stays true to Speedy’s character and isn’t seeking a chart topper, but may merit one regardless. The drums are occasionally noisy and overbearing, and the guitar harmonies are layered and fuzzy—hence the ‘90s garagerock sound—but these nevertheless strike a balance somewhere between calculated and laid-back. The bottom line is that they’re cool, fun to listen to and a little brooding. Speedy’s sound is by no means formulaic or adherent to the ‘90s influence. ‘American horror’ is anthem-y and romantic in the chorus (“Trust me just to my own feet/And keep me up for a whole week/Baby you feel so crazy/You keep me up for a whole week”) yet maintains a witty storytelling style in the verses. The second track, ‘Oxygal,’ is truly innovative. Compositionally, it is the most interesting on the album, achieving a harmonic split that, were it not so perfectly executed by Dupuis, might sound discordant. her vocals are backed up by simple, stripped-down guitar and a thrumming base line. Dupuis’s talent as a lyricist shines through in ‘Everything’s Bigger,’ with lines that leave you unsure of the exact meaning but keep you intrigued and listening closely for the rest (“I’m just like my wife/She’s a blade and I’m a dull knife/ Turned up in a bouquet”). She probes deep questions about identity and relationships with impressive levity: “It’s hard to keep a dialect/When you keep changing where you come from,” demonstrating both relatability and depth. ‘Shine Theory’ finishes off the four-song EP strongly, combining the best elements of the band into one: unique, unedited vocals, garage guitar and fantastic writing. Speedy would benefit from more polished and finely tuned sound mixing and editing, but “Real hair” promises an (hopefully) excellent forthcoming sophomore album.
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8 | thursDAY, february 13, 2014
Sun Kil moon
from page 7
Kozelek’s pool buddy Brett comes next. The lyrics maintain their smooth delivery despite their relative verbosity: “he had an awkward way of playing barre chords with two fingers, spreading his index and middle fingers really far apart.” You’d think this would be a mouthful even for Kozelek, but the words flow gorgeously alongside his steadily paced strumming. The song ends with a tribute to Kozelek’s grandmother, and it’s revealed that the album’s title comes from Kozelek’s lyric about seeing the film “Benji” while visiting her in Los Angeles. This segment’s ostensible insignificance to the listener underscores the record’s personal import: we don’t have to “get it” to feel with Kozelek. This album’s bold literalness makes each sung narrative all the more real. Kozelek is at his most vulnerable because he doesn’t bother embellishing lyrics with his signature metaphoric style. “Benji” is heavy, dark and at times unapologetically depressing, but Kozelek’s ability to show us beauty in even the saddest circumstances is heard throughout. More than any other Sun Kil Moon album, “Benji” is a delicate, honest and deeply personal melodic diary.
This week in the Recess blog, Playground, check out Prashanth’s Picks: www.dukechronicle.com/ blogs/playground/posts
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RIVETING CONTEMPORARY THEATER
HOI POLLOI • REPUBLIC
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20 THROUGH SATURDAY, MARCH 1 MANBITES DOG THEATER (703 FOSTER STREET)
SOLD OUT!!!
ICONIC VOCAL ENSEMBLE
THE KING’S SINGERS
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21 8 PM • BALDWIN AUDITORIUM
PRODIGIOUSLY GIFTED PIANIST
LISE DE LA SALLE, PIANO
BACH, DEBUSSY, BRAHMS, RAVEL SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22 8 PM • BALDWIN AUDITORIUM
SUBLIME CHAMBER ENSEMBLE
ÉBÈNE STRING QUARTET
MOZART, MENDELSSOHN, SCHUMANN SATURDAY, MARCH 1 8 PM • BALDWIN AUDITORIUM
UDEN
EVERY SHOW. ALL SEASON. TAKE ADVANTAGE.
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Senior Phil Watson performs a gritty retelling of the epic tale of the Trojan War. The one-man show An Iliad runs this weekend in Sheafer Theater, Thursday and Friday at 8p.m. and Saturday at 2 .pm. and 8 p.m. Admission is free.
IN DURHAM, AT DUKE, THE WORLD, JUST OUTSIDE YOUR DOOR.
TIX $10
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The Iliad
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