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r VOLUME 15, ISSUE 28
The Art of Cool Music festival brings jazz legends to Durham community
APRIL 17, 2014
Parade premieres in Reynolds Show explores consequences of anti-Semitism, page 3
Kenan brings Teju Cole Acclaimed novelist will lecture to community, page 4
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editor’s note ss recess r
R recess editors new world order...
I roll my eyes on the shoulders of giants. I counted my lucky stars when I scored one of the last few tickets to Gloria Steinem’s speaking engagement, but halfway through the Q&A portion at the end, I ducked out of the Chapel and into the drizzle. Puzzled by my dissatisfaction with her speech and enraged by the return of cold weather, I made my way to the Bryan Center and found a friend with whom I could decompress. She, also, was uneasy with some of what Steinem said. We attempted to parse through what felt like jadedness. At first, I struggled to articulate what sounded wrong to me. There were enlightening moments, good sound bytes, but overall I left with the weight of some vague degree of disappointment. It was THE Gloria Steinem, the literal trailblazer, the icon of the women’s liberation movement, and I hated the sour taste in my mouth. “I guess I didn’t really know what to expect but I thought it would be… more,” I said. And then my friend admitted to me that she was “underwhelmed,” and I had to concede, but I didn’t want to believe that we could feel so blah about it. Scrolling through the exuberant live-tweets and gushing Facebook statuses, I felt none of the enthusiasm of my peers, and
The Chronicle
my thoughts turned increasingly critical. What was wrong with me, a vocal and at least semi-conscientious feminist, that I couldn’t appreciate something that meant so much to the sold-out audience around me? We got to a point where we were preaching to the choir at each other. Conversations about the lukewarmness of Steinem’s stances didn’t get us very far, but maybe admitting that is the first step. But what’s next? Today, I spoke with another friend about my issues with the speech and the cult of personality around Steinem, and she offered a different perspective on my reaction. “Where you differ from her is a product of the work she has done,” she said. And, the truth is, that’s much bigger than any bone I have to pick with Gloria. The reality that contains me—fidgeting in the Chapel, fruitlessly refreshing the Facebook messenger app with zero Wifi, wondering if or when she might say something a bit more radical—is a reality only made possible through the work of organizers like her. I can critique, but I must not discredit. I roll my eyes on the shoulders of giants. Whenever I step away from a moment of anxiously opposing something that pleases a majority, I consider a Nana Grizol lyric: “Cynicism isn’t wisdom/It’s a
lazy way to say that you’ve been burned.” Let’s make a deal: I won’t romanticize my detachment if you promise to take Steinem off the pedestal. It is important to note but easy to forget that “my side” and “your side” both exist and must be respected. For women to deny women space… Well, that’s not exactly a step in the right direction. It is imperative that we seek and reside in the happy medium between idolatry and dismissal of figureheads. It is imperative that we allow room for the gushing as well as the ranting. We must compromise. We don’t have to share all enthusiasms, but we can take turns. My expectations were my own, and my disappointment is my own. I have since realized that I don’t need to be ashamed of (or even anxious about) either, but I know that I do need to spend some time figuring out what the hell to do with both. I think that’s what’s next, actually. Putting my expectations and disappointments to good (i.e. constructive) use. Figuring out the path to ascend to a point where I am able to find, create, facilitate and nurture the dialogues that I think, that I believe, should be happening. I want a Gabby Bess for every Steinem. I have two more years here to work on it. No pressure. -Lauren Feilich
Lauren Feilich [editor]........................................................... on and ever onward (byee)
Katie Fernelius [editor]........................................................................... matriarchy (hiii)
Eliza Strong [managing]..................................................... ............ god save the queen
Gary Hoffman [managing]................................................................................ idiocracy
MC Bousquette [music]................................................................................... han solo
Stephanie Wu [campus arts]............................................................................ evolution
Megan Rise [film].............................................................................................. cloning
Drew Haskins [local arts]............................................................................. freemasons
Kathy Zhou [arts]............................................................................................ illuminati Eliza Bray.[photo]................................................................................................... dsg
Megan Rise [playground].................................................................................... cloning Izzy Clark [photo]................................................................................................ myself
DUKE PERFORMANCES IN DURHAM, AT DUKE, THE WORLD, JUST OUTSIDE YOUR DOOR.
THIS FRIDAY!!! SOLD OUT!!!
SEMINAL JAZZ MASTER
CHICK COREA
PORTRAITS: SOLO PIANO CONCERT FRIDAY, APRIL 18 • 8 PM BALDWIN AUDITORIUM
THIS SATURDAY!!!
RESIDENT STRING QUARTET
CIOMPI QUARTET
FEAT. ANDREW TYSON & GABRIEL RICHARD ERNST, CHAUSSON, MELINDA WAGNER SATURDAY, APRIL 19 • 8 PM BALDWIN AUDITORIUM
BLAZING GUITAR MASTERS
PACO PEÑA & ELIOT FISK
FRIDAY, APRIL 25 • 8 PM REYNOLDS INDUSTRIES THEATER
Archibald Motley Jazz Age Modernist On view through May 11, 2014
Master colorist and radical interpreter of urban culture
ASCENDANT PIANO VIRTUOSO
BENJAMIN GROSVENOR, PIANO
nasher.duke.edu/motley
SUNDAY, APRIL 27 • 7 PM BALDWIN AUDITORIUM
UKE
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UDEN
EVERY SHOW. ALL SEASON. TAKE ADVANTAGE.
GET TICKETS: DUKEPERFORMANCES.ORG | 919-684-4444
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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. © Valerie Gerrard Browne. This exhibition 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. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this bookmark do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Parade explores consequences of anti-Semitism, mob mentality By Stephanie Wu The Chronicle
The musical “Parade” tells the true story of Leo Frank, a Yankee Jewish factory superintendent wrongly accused of murdering a teenage girl, Mary Phagan. A target of misguided Southern post-Civil War anger and anti-Semitism, Frank pays for crimes he did not commit. This show is frequently punctuated with laughter and lively dancing, as might be suggested by the title. However, these festivities serve not to bring about an escape from the show’s somberness, but to enhance the repugnance of the mob mentality which ultimately hangs Leo Frank. Though it is difficult not to be seduced by the gorgeous music and spirited dancing, it feels inappropriate at times to nod along to the beat. But in this way, the musical also interrogates the audience. During Frank’s prosecution, the synchronized dance movements of the witnesses border on the ridiculous and are more repulsive than enjoyable to watch. Our innate association of dance with beauty is thrown out the window and replaced with discomfort. No matter how much we would like to enjoy it, we are unnerved by it and the characters who participate in it. The trial tangles one’s emotions to such an extent that when the “guilty” verdict comes from actors that emerge from the audience, we can’t help but scream a silent “No!” It does not matter how violently we internally retaliate; our voices cannot be heard over the mob. Issues of anti-Semitism and racism are not as heavily elaborated upon as mob mentality, though they are undeniably present throughout the play. There is an interesting dynamic between anti-Semitism and antiblack racism, particularly during the simul-
taneous police interrogation of Frank and Newt Lee, the black night watchman who discovered Mary Phagan’s body. The physical back-and-forth movement of the policemen reflects the audience’s discomfiting conflict. The scene dares us to make conclusions about the murderer based on racial preconceptions. But the core of this play’s injustice lies not in the racism and anti-Semitism, but in love. Frank and his wife Lucille’s eventual realization of love, and their inability to experience it fully is what makes the ending all the more tragic and unjust. At the beginning of the play, it was difficult to imagine them as friends, let alone lovers. But while Frank is increasingly alienated from his Southern surroundings, his bond with his wife grows. However, his immediate epiphany of love seems a bit unfounded. He is cold toward Lucille until the moment her strong-mindedness and determination convinces the governor to reconsider his death sentence. Frank’s subsequent realization of love for his wife seems sudden and based solely on her “usefulness” to him. However unbelievable his proclamation of love is, their last kiss is as passionate and desperate as they get. The play comes full circle, starting and ending on Confederate Memorial Day. During this day a celebratory parade honors the Confederate soldiers of the American Civil War. While remarking on the power of mobs, the parade also unintentionally perpetuates the problem. The parade is both a haunting relic of historic mob mentality and a looming prediction for its continuation. Though the parade is specifically meant to honor fallen Confederate soldiers, it is impossible not to also hear Leo Frank’s name ring throughout the streets.
Dayou Zhou/ THE CHRONICLE
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Kenan Distinguished Lecture in Ethics presents Teju Cole By Katie Fernelius THE CHroNICLE
April 17 - May 3 Exhibitions Etruscan Cities. An exhibition produced in conjunction with ARTHIST 561/CLST 560. Opens April 17. 2nd Floor, Bay 10, Smith Warehouse. Free. Capstone and GWD in Visual Arts and Visual & Media Studies. Opens April 24. Bays 11 and 12, Smith Warehouse. Free.. Media Arts + Sciences Lab Posters. Panels describing the 9 new MA+S labs with words and images. Thru April 30, 2014. Corridor Gallery, East Duke. Free. Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist. Remarkable paintings by American artist Archibald Motley, master colorist and radical interpreter of urban culture. Thru May 11, 2014. Nasher Museum of Art. Free. My White Friends. “Racial-identity portraits” by photographer Myra Greene. Thru May 17, 2014. Center for Documentary Studies. Free. Night in the City of Light: Paris’ Cabaret 1881-1914. Academic Focus Gallery, Thru June 29. Nasher Museum of Art + Cheap Thrills: The Highs and Lows of Cabaret Culture in Paris, 1881-1939. Thru May 31, Perkins Gallery, Duke University Library. Free.
Sound Vision: Contemporary Art from the Collection. Recent acquisitions and other highlights from the collection, including paintings, works on paper, photography, video, installation and sculpture. Thru August 8. Nasher Museum of Art. Free.
Events April 17 Exhibition Opening. Etruscan Cities. 5:30-6:30pm. 2nd Floor, Bay 10, Smith Warehouse. Free. Duke University Wind Symphony. Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant, dir. World premiere of David Kirkland Garner’s Soprano Saxophone Concerto with Susan Fancher, soloist. Works by Shostakovich, Steven Bryant, John Mackey, and selections from Lord of the Rings by Johan de Meij. 8pm, Baldwin Auditorium. Free. Parade. By Alfred Uhry. Music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. Directed by Drew Klingner (T’14) (Sr. Distinction Project). 8pm, Reynolds Theater, Bryan Center. 8pm. New Works Festival. A weekend of staged readings of plays and screenplays written by members of the Duke community. 8pm, Sheafer Theater, Bryan Center. Free.
New Works Festival. (See April 17) 8pm. April 20 Parade. (See April 17) 2pm. April 22 Student Chamber Music Recital. 7pm, Nelson Music Room, East Duke Bldg. Free. April 24 Exhibition Opening. Capstone and GWD in Visual Arts and Visual & Media Studies. 5-7pm, Bays 11 and 12, Smith Warehouse. Free.
April 19 Parade. (See April 17) 2pm & 8pm.
See colE, page 6
April 25 Duke Chorale. Rodney Wynkoop, dir. Celebration Concert. 8pm, Biddle Music Bldg., Fountain Area. Free. April 26 Duke University String School. Dorothy Kitchen, dir. 3pm. Beginning Ensembles & Intermediate I. 7pm, Intermediate II & DUSS Youth Symphony Orchestra. Baldwin Auditorium. Free. April 27 Duke University String School. Chamber Music Concert. 4pm, Nelson Music Room, East Duke Bldg. Free. Family Day. Gallery hunt, make-and-take crafts, live entertainment. 12pm, Nasher Museum of Art. Free. May 2 The Amazing Adventures of Grace May B. Brown. Performance by SOULOWORKS/Andrea E. Woods & Dancers. 7pm, The Durham Arts Council’s PSI Theatre. See SOULOWORKS.com May 3 Choral Society of Durham Spring Concert. Featuring Barber’s Prayers of Kierkegaard and Verdi’s Quattro pezzi sacri, with full orchestra. 8pm, Duke Chapel. $20 Gen. Adm., $5 Students.
SpECIaL To ThE ChRoNICLE
The Amazing Adventures of Grace May B. Brown. (See May 2) 7pm. May 4 The Amazing Adventures of Grace May B. Brown. (See May 2) 3:30pm.
SCREEN/SOCIETY
All events are free and open to the general public. Unless otherwise noted, screenings are at 7pm in the Griffith Film Theater, Bryan Center. (N) = Nasher Museum of Art. (W) = Richard White Auditorium. All events subject to change. 4/18
An evening w/ Lauren Wolkstein ’04 (7pm, W, Digital) AMI Showcase--Alumni Filmmaker Homecoming
4/21
Night Scene (7pm, G) - Q&A w/ dir. Cui Zi’en AMI Showcase—Queer Chinese Cinema
5/8
Cadillac Records (7pm, N, DVD) Archibald Motley Exhibition Film
April 18 Parade. (See April 17) 8pm. New Works Festival. (See April 17) 8pm.
Thursday, April 24 in the Fitzpatrick Center, Nigerian-American author Teju Cole will present to the Duke and Durham community for the annual Kenan Distinguished Lecture. The lecture is cosponsored by Duke’s Center for African & African American research, Center for Documentary Studies, English Department, Forum for Scholars & Publics, Franklin Humanities Institute and the office of the President. Cole is known for writing the acclaimed novel “open City” as well as for his multidisciplinary background in art history and photography. “Cole is a break from tradition in two ways: he is our first novelist and our
youngest speaker,” said Noah Pickus, the Nannerl o. Keohane Director of the Kenan Institute for Ethics and Associate research Professor of Public Policy Studies. “our goal is to highlight more humanistic dimensions of ethics.” Cole will join a legacy of notable speakers who have been invited to speak as part of the annual series, including Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, humanitarian Fiona Terry and, most recently, author and politician Michael Ignatieff. “In the past, our invitations have tended more towards scholars that have publicly outward-facing work. This year is the first year that we really extended an invitation to someone so well-known
ami.duke.edu/screensociety/schedule
This message is brought to you by the Department of Art, Art History and Visual Studies, Center for Documentary Studies, Chapel Music, Duke Dance Program, Duke Music Department, Nasher Museum of Art, Duke University Libraries, Screen/Society, Department of Theater Studies with support from the Office of the Vice Provost for the Arts.
SpECIaL To ThE ChRoNICLE
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MUSIC
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Ingrid Michaelson Lights Out Cabin 24
by Eliza Strong THE CHroNICLE
SpECIaL To ThE ChRoNICLE
I wanted so badly to like this record. Ingrid Michaelson is a prolific, talented artist whose endearingly sweet, simple vocals and charming expressions of romance and heartbreak have earned her a significant following. For an artist who has produced such memorable, personal records as “Girls and Boys” (2007) and “Be oK” (2008), “Lights out” unfortunately falls into mainstream, overdone pop. Michaelson’s sixth album is wholly disappointing in comparison to her previous work. Generally, the album is fun and easy to catch on to, but it is emotionally vacant. Sappy and obvious instead of cheeky and conversational, it loses the air of confessional vulnerability that fans originally related to. Michaelson has jumped on the folk-pop bandwagon (too late, I might add), when her real strength lies in cozy and wintry strippeddown simplicity. Still, her songwriting has lost none of its actual sincerity. “Stick” exemplifies this—“Did any of me ever stick at all?/I’ve got somebody new/He dances just like you” is quintessentially her, but I had to listen frustratingly hard through the synth-
pop and repetitive chorus to get to it. “Lights out” is louder, heavier and more produced than the work old fans know and love. over a third of the tracks feature male duets—not in sweet harmonics as in her past work—but rather as unnecessary components that overshadow Michaelson. The heavy presence of the male harmonies makes her sound cliché and obvious in a Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran kind of way. “one Night Town” is a prime example, as Mat Kearney’s harmonies weigh down Michaelson’s crystal clear soprano. “Wonderful Unknown” is less offensive in this sense. Greg Laswell isn’t a drain on the song’s spirit, but definitely doesn’t add anything either. The better tracks are those that sound most like the old Michaelson. “ready to Lose” sounds closest to her original style, reminiscent of “Are We There Yet.” “open Hands” harkens a little back to her previous work, more dreamy and sultry than the rest of the tracks and possessing classic likability. However, it’s still a slow ballad—nothing new on the indie scene. one of the tracks that stands out most, “Warpath,” is an interesting experiment for the artist, delving into vintage bluegrass, retro soul and funk territory. It sounds like something Ingrid would sing onstage with an old silver box microphone. This song is at least a step in an intriguingly different direction. Maybe it’s a good thing that in this album Michaelson no longer sounds like the background music for a holiday sweater commercial. It’s nice that she’s trying something new, but it doesn’t work for her at all. “Lights out” feels like such a disappointment because her slow-burning, soulful, intimate sound had the potential to move in a much fresher and distinctive direction. Here, it falls short of doing so and makes me worried that she has exhausted her artistic likability.
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The Chronicle
First Art of Cool Festival brings jazz legends to Durham community By Sid Gopinath The Chronicle
The inaugural Art of Cool Music Festival will occur in Durham on April 25 and 26. The jazz festival will span several venues, from the Carolina Theatre to Durham Central Park, and will include dozens of internationally acclaimed artists, as well as several locally revered groups. Susan Scott, Advisor and Mentor to StartUps, has worked closely with Cicely Mitchell and Al Strong, the founders of this festival, to establish the Art of Cool Music Festival as an important part of Durham culture. “When we look around, we think Durham has so much that is really cool and interesting and compelling. And there is a blues festival, but there isn’t jazz,” said Scott.
“That’s what this festival is about. How do you reach people through jazz?” The festival has its origins in the Art of Cool Project, started by Cicely Mitchell and Al Strong about two years ago. Mitchell and Strong began the Project by presenting small “pop-up” jazz concerts in local art galleries. These wildly successful concerts serve as the inspiration for the Art of Cool Festival. “We just wanted to give the local artists a chance to present their own music,” said Strong. “At the same time, it’s about giving them the opportunity to build their own fan base and giving concert-goers alternative options for live music.” The series of pop-up concerts got picked See art of cool, page 7
Special To THE CHRONICLE
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17 TH: CLOUD NOTHINGS**($12/$14) w/Ryley Walker 18 FR: THE ZOMBIES**($32/$35) w/Pat Sansone (of Wilco). 19 SA: Idlewild South (Allman Bros. Tribute) 22 TU: EASY STAR ALL-STARS (Dub Side of the Moon anniv. tour)**($15/$17) 23 WE: TYCHO**($15/$17) w/Gardens & Villa 25 FR: CHUCK RAGAN & THE CAMERADERIE w/ Jonny Two Bags**($15/$17) 26 SA: SLEIGH BELLS**($20/$23) 28 MO: FUTURE ISLANDS w/Ed Shrader’s Music Beat and Human Pippi Armstrong**($16/$18) 29 TU: TIMBER TIMBRE**($15) w/Fiver MAY 2014 5 MO: BEATS ANTIQUE**($20/$22) w/ Sean Hayes 7 WE: BAND OF SKULLS **($18/$21) 8 TH: THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM **($20/$24) 9 FR: SYLVAN ESSO**($10) w/The Human Eyes 10 SA: METRONOMY** ($15/$17) 12 MO: BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB**($17/$20) 15 TH: THE HOOD INTERNET**($12/$14) 16 FR: ANGEL OLSEN **($12/$14) 18 SU: of Montreal w/Dream Tiger**($15)
THE ZOMBIES @ CAT’S CRADLE
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Shows at Cat’s Cradle -- back room:
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BEATS ANTIQUE @ CAT’S CRADLE
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FR May 30- CHATHAM COUNTY LINE w/ Mipso
MONday, MAY 5
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May 18: DEER TICK w/LANGHORNE SLIM**($18/$20) June 2 and 3: LUCINDA WILLIAMS**($35)
Advance sales at CD Alley (Chapel Hill) Charge by phone at 919-967-9053 Or on the web at WWW.ETIX.COM www.catscradle.com
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from page 4
publicly through his writing and his social media,” said Katherine Scott, Communications and Advancement Manager at Kenan. “The series is such a great way to engage not just different audiences on campus, but also the local community.” The annual Kenan Distinguished Lecture in Ethics was established in 1997 in the academic year following the inception of the Kenan Ethics Program. The program’s mission was to promote ethics as a mode of inquiry that would not only be utilized on campus, but translate into action in the broader community. The lecture series brings a well-known speaker to campus and creates a forum for the Duke and Durham community to address moral issues of broad social and cultural significance. Cole’s lecture is titled, “Here Comes Everybody: The Crisis of Equality in the Age of Social Media.” “Cole’s talk will touch on the personal and global themes raised in ‘Open City’ such as population pressure in his native Lagos, the use of Twitter as an activist space during the Arab uprisings and the recent testimony by drone victims before the U.S. Congress,” Pickus said. For many in the Kenan community, the themes of Cole’s talk will be familiar. His novel “Open City” has been assigned in classrooms and discussed in the Kenan employee book club. “Open City” follows a Nigerian immigrant and graduate student living in post-9/11 New York City as he explores questions of relationships and identity. “It’s about the bright and dim sides of globalization, the limits of human sympathy and the peculiarities of liberalism, belonging and alienation—all critical ethical questions for our time that a novelist of his power illuminates brilliantly,” Pickus said. “I’ve taught the novel several times as part of a course on immigration and identity, and it pushes students to move beyond easy ethical answers and glib political responses.” The exploration of globalization and ethics is a particularly relevant topic as Duke University extends its reach beyond the triangle area through initiatives like Duke Kunshan University and DukeEngage. The lecture aims to fuel conversation about these and other issues raised in the Duke and Durham community. “Kenan focuses a lot on ethics broadly speaking, but we are particularly interested in issues of global migrations, human rights and other program areas,” Scott said. “Because of Cole’s personal experiences and his writing, he will be able to speak to those themes greatly. His use of narrative to convey some of those themes will be really appealing to a lot of people and give them a gateway into dialogue on these issues.” After the lecture, there will be a question and answer portion for the audience to raise and explore pertinent ethical issues. Later, there will be a reception where students will be able to continue the discussion with Cole and each other. “I think one of the strengths of having a public lecture is that it allows for a diverse community of voices,” Scott said. “I invite anyone to come and be a part of that and bring their thoughts and voices to the conversation.” The Kenan Distinguished Lecture with Teju Cole will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Thurs., April 24 in the Fitzpatrick Center. The event is free and open to the public. A student reception will follow. For more information, visit the Kenan Institute’s website.
The Chronicle
art of cool
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from page 6
up by the media, leading Mitchell and Strong to participate in a three-month start-up program to develop the idea for the Art of Cool Festival. “Our dream was to create a festival,” Strong said. “We would combine all of these pop-up concerts into one single festival.” However, creating an entirely new festival was not an easy dream to achieve. To rally support and financial assistance, the Art of Cool Project took to the crowd-funding platform of Kickstarter. “The Kickstarter campaign was to confirm whether we were doing this or not,” Scott said. “If we met [our goal], we would do the festival. If we didn’t, we would continue to curate the non-profit and work towards a slightly less ambitious goal.” The Kickstarter campaign was a success, raising more money than the original goal within the deadline. But even with crowdfunding support, the curators of the festival had to seek additional funding. “You have to go hat in hand to a lot of people,” said Scott. “A lot of festivals have six-figure sponsors. The Art of Cool doesn’t have that.” Strong, who deals mainly with the artists, compared putting the festival on to presenting dozens of pop-up concerts at the same time. “Being able to present this many top quality artists at the same time is expensive,” he said. “One of the main challenges has been getting people excited so we actually have the resources to support something this big in a timely fashion.” The Art of Cool Project’s fan base has been financially supportive through Kickstarter, and many locals have volunteered to help plan the festival. So far, there are upwards of twenty dedicated volunteers who have helped out on a regular basis. “They devoted their own time and their own money and their own resources to make this happen,” Strong said. “It’s an inspiration to keep going in the face of everything else.” The Art of Cool Festival has given some local groups an opportunity for great exposure. Jeremy Clemons and Mavis Poole, local musicians of the group Soul Understated feat. Mavis “SWAN” Poole, are coming into the festival right before the release of the group’s new single, ‘Same Ole Groove.’ For Soul Understated, as with many of these local groups, this festival offers a chance at publicity that would be difficult to find elsewhere. “You’re not just playing in a little club,” Clemons said. “It’s about being presented in a different light.” Soul Understated is taking advantage of this opportunity by passing out copies of their single early at their show, which takes place on April 26 at the PSI Theatre at Durham Arts Council. “It’s going to expose a lot of people that have never heard this music,” said Clemons. “DPAC is a big thing. But this is going to get a very different crop of musicians coming through.” The organizers hope that the festival eventually becomes a mainstay of Durham culture. “When people think about the jewels in the Durham entertainment scene, the three jewels that we want to come to mind would be ADF, Full Frame, and the Art of Cool Festival,” said Scott of the future goals of the project. “I think the goal is that the Art of Cool really establishes permanence.” Strong, approaching the ultimate goal from a financial standpoint, hopes to increase the corporate backing of the festival in the future. “We definitely hope that it can continue to be an ongoing thing,” he said. “Our overarching goal is to eventually get enough corporate funding to underwrite the entire festival and make it free to everybody.” Ultimately, it is the passion of founders Mitchell and Strong that drives this project, along with the numerous volunteers. If the festival does succeed, it will be because of the founders’ and volunteers’ immense amount of work. “Their love fuels this, but they’ve never lost sight of the fact that this would be beneficial for Durham,” Scott said of Strong and Mitchell. “They seem to wake up every day and do this for the love of the music and Durham.” The promise of a Durham with a successful jazz festival might just be tantalizing enough for the community to help the founders realize their dream.
Check out the Recess blog, Playground, at www.dukechronicle.com/blogs/playground/posts for more great content!
Special to THE CHRONICLE
Produced and presented by DukeImmerse: Uprooted/Rerouted students
Sunday, April 21, 6:00 pm
Nasher Museum of Art Duke University Reception to follow Free Parking dukeethics.org
Le Week-end Music Box Films Directed Roger Michell
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FILM
by Megan Rise THE CHroNICLE
“Le Week-end” follows Meg and Nick (Lindsay Duncan and Jim Broadbent), a couple trying to rekindle their romance by revisiting Paris, the city where they had their honeymoon 30 years earlier. We are provided with snapshots from 48 hours of everso-British revelry and remembrance, with a dose of heartache to boot. Broadbent and Duncan play their roles passionately and intensely, Broadbent with a cloying desire for intimacy and Duncan with desperation for freedom and independence. The way in which each character reacts to the flaws in their marriage only pulls them further apart, but it seems strange that they have not tested the relationship before. Perhaps they’re trying to turn a new leaf. Perhaps something is bubbling to the surface that has been there all along. The course of events that plays out leaves much to the imagination with regard to their past. To the viewer, the couple feels so distant that it seems almost unbelievable they were ever in love at all. Through extended restaurant and museum visits filled with uneasy silence and sparse conversation, Director Michell follows the relationship of these two drifting people. There are moments when Meg and Nick try to force romance into their relationship, but they know each other too well for it to fully thrive. Then there are times when real romance creeps through the cracks in their facade of a happy marriage. These are the sweetest, most intimate portraits in the movie. Michell follows Meg and Nick through Paris using close-up and medium shots that reveal every twinge in the muscles of their faces and every glimmer of resent or love in their eyes. It is clear that the struggling couple has an
intimate connection, regardless of whether that connection is based on love anymore. The dynamics of their relationship provide a sharp contrast to the life of Nick’s friend, Morgan (Jeff Goldblum), who lives in Paris. An eager, effusive American with success Nick could only dream of, Morgan has never been able to establish a connection with anyone. Though contemporaries, Morgan has decided to start his life a second time; he has a second wife with a second child on the way, but in doing so, he eschews his old marriage and feigns a relationship with his teenage son. There’s a sharp edge in “Le Week-end” that suggests a comedic wit at hand in Hanif Kureishi’s screenwriting. However, what is delivered is all drama. The slow pace of the film is reflective of the slow and enduring march of time, never quickening but unwilling to stop and smell the roses. Nick’s and Meg’s weekend away is an attempt to pause and reflect on their life and future together, but those moments rarely come to fruition. “Le Week-end” is a romance, but it is a painful one. It is full of contradictions: between Nick and Morgan, between the ways they view their marriage and between the playful jazz underscoring tense or uncomfortable moments. There’s also the contradiction between Michell’s better-known works like “Notting Hill” and this one. Every character in this film is purposefully fickle or contradictory. Normally steely Meg unravels at the site of her honeymoon hotel room repainted beige (to her a symbol of her faded marriage). Nick, who identified himself as a scholar and philosopher, is forced to leave that community and is left feeling lost and abandoned. The beauty is that these contradictions don’t feel forced, contrived or out of character. “Le Week-end” is full of small moments of agonizing and beautiful honesty about love and relationships, which make the film truly shine.
Courses with openings for Fall 2014 AMI 201 Introduction to Film Studies Tu 4:40-8:30 Th 4:40-5:55 Hadjioannou
Basic film theory and history of motion picture technology. Introduction to experimental, documentary, and narrative forms of Third World, European, and United States cinemas. Basic film theory and history of motion picture technology.
AMI 202 History of Documentary Film M 4:40-7:40 Price
Introduction to the history, theory, and styles of nonfiction film and video. Transformation in technologies and their influence on form, from actuality films to contemporary digital documentaries. Use of documentary as a tool for exploring individual identity, filmmaker/subject relationships, and fomenting political change.
AMI 320S Film Animation Production WF 10:05-11:20 Herbert
Experimentation with various media; mastering animation techniques such as metamorphosis, timing, articulation, storytelling, sound design, special effects, and camera. Each student to produce a one-minute animated film on the Oxberry 16mm film animation stand.
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
MUSIC Todd Terje It’s Album Time Olsen Records
by Drew Haskins THE CHroNICLE
The CD art for Norwegian producer Todd Terje’s debut album “It’s Album Time” finds a cartoon Terje sprawled out on a piano surrounded by daiquiris. Terje’s nu-disco wants us to know that it’s made for the lounge, not the club, and it dares us to find something wrong with that. A few sublime moments aside, there’s plenty wrong with that. “It’s Album Time,” finely produced as it is, is nothing more than an hour’s worth of high quality cheese. “It’s Album Time” comes out in a period where disco music has taken the pop charts by storm for the past year and a half. Terje comes from a different school of thought than other artists like Daft Punk, Pharrell and Tensnake. Those artists create pure sugar-rushes of songs, characterized by ear-wormy hooks and catchy choruses. Terje is all about build and release. His songs all occupy the same mid-tempo groove, with minimal vocals, lush strings and thumping pianos guiding each track toward its climax.
Frankly, these songs are borderline indistinguishable from one another. one must commend Terje for his commitment to his lounge-lizard aesthetic, as “It’s Album Time” is largely a cohesive album with each song building naturally into the next. Unfortunately, moments that truly wow the listener are few and far between. “It’s Album Time” oddly sounds like a video game soundtrack. Tracks like ‘Leisure Suit Preben’ and ‘Swing Star (Part 1)’ would fit right in on “Pokémon” or “Super Mario Galaxy,” respectively, and it’s tough not to imagine battling a Gym Leader while listening to them. In total, the album’s less memorable tracks are merely that—forgettable, uninspired and dull. There are precisely three moments where “It’s Album Time” does not feel like a chore to listen to. A collaboration with Bryan Ferry on robert Palmer’s ‘Johnny and Mary’ is the only track that slows down the pace and has a lead singer. It’s a stunning cover. Ferry is as expressive and engaging a singer as ever, and Terje’s production highlights the performance in an ethereal and dramatic way. The record’s last two tracks—‘oh Joy’ and 2012 hit ‘Inspector Norse’—are the only truly catchy and innovative disco tunes on display. However, these great songs can’t make up for the dearth of creativity that plagues “It’s Album Time.” It’s utterly baffling that an album this formless and indistinct took ten years to produce, and it’s a real shame that Terje hasn’t put his best foot forward on his proper debut. Ultimately, Terje forgets that disco can and should be fun and exciting. Go elsewhere if you want to dance.
Slow down. Take it easy.
Explore. Focus. Immerse. Discover a different Duke this summer.
AMI 334S Producing Docu-Fiction MW 1:25-2:40 Gibson
Investigation of hybrid, genre-defying films that question traditional definitions of documentary and fiction. Emphasis on experimental forms, documentary reenactment, mockumentary and dramatized “true stories.” Exploration of both documentary and fiction production techniques, culminating in the production of a final video project.
AMI 350S Sound for Film & Video Tu 4:40-7:40 Brown
Topics focusing on technical basis and aesthetic motivation of sound recording and sound exploitation. Technical demonstration and student exercises explore the mechanics and dramatic and psychological implications of formats, microphone placement, mixing, acoustic signature, digital recording, double system, and sound editing, leading to an individually produced sound design for live action or animation film/video.
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