Spring
2017
Arts PREVIEW
R recess editors What’s the question?
Dillon Fernando........is that a question Christy Kuesel.................... not my job Drew Haskins...........is it problematic? Tim Campbell.....................who dunnit Kirby Wilson.........I am Ron Burgundy? Aditya Joshi...........is my video up yet? Jessica Williams....... what’s that smell Georgina Del Vecho.................. when? Will Atkinson................... Batman???? Nina Wilder..................what is Recess Melissa Letzler..............2B or not 2b?
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Winter break was too short, passing by with driving around with old friends, playing Settlers of Catan with my parents, and, oh yeah, seeing one of the most acclaimed musicals of all time on Broadway #hamiltonbro. One of my personal favorite memories, however, is when I visited one of my favorite places in New York City: the American Museum of Natural Histor y. This monument to millions of years of human and animal histor y has gained a new resident since the last time I stopped by to visit. Welcome to Manhattan, Titanosaur. A low-down on the Titanosaur: it was 122 feet long and weighed about 70 tons when it roamed the earth. Only a cast is up at the museum, since the real bones are too heavy to be displayed upright. (Don’t worr y, the real bones are pictured on the wall across). The cast itself is too big to be contained in one room, so the head of this magnificent creature peeks out into another room. The species doesn’t even have a real name yet, since it was discovered so recently. Why do I care so much about this dinosaur? After all, I’m weeks away from declaring myself an English major, and my brief brushes with science at Duke sent me running in the other direction. I certainly don’t have much of an academic interest in it, since I can barely distinguish a tibia from a humerus. My fascination with the Titanosaur, and with all dinosaurs at the American Museum of Natural Histor y, started when I was a small child. This obsession goes back at least to my third Halloween, where
I dressed up as a Triceratops. I’d ask to go to the museum all the time whenever my family would be heading into the city, not really grasping the fact that there was anything else of interest to do in one of the biggest cities in the world. Upon arrival, I’d watch the introduction video, silently taking in Mer yl Streep’s brief discussion of some of the largest animals that ever lived and the one meteor that wiped them all out. It blew my mind that the birds who woke me up ever y morning at 5:30 were in fact modern dinosaurs (according to Ms. Streep, who knows all). I’d then find the few dinosaurs I knew from
editor’s note the “The Land Before Time” series and stare at them, amazed that I got to see (at least parts of) something that lived millions of years ago. My favorite was always the T-Rex due to it being the biggest, until now. The Titanosaur now takes the #1 spot in my heart. I mean, it’s even bigger than the T-Rex, and its herbivorous tendencies mean it also wouldn’t eat me given a Jurassic Park-type situation. Despite the fact that 16 years have passed since this obsession started, I still asked my parents if we could make a quick stop at the American Museum of Natural Histor y when we went into the city over break. And all these years later, I still felt
that same sense of wonder when I stared up at the Titanosaur, the sense of wonder that’s harder to come by as the years pass and we all become jaded about life. And I still watched Mer yl Streep explain a short histor y of dinosaurs, just as interested as my younger self had been, despite the fact that I could probably find better information on the Internet. So I suppose the ~deep~ moral to this editor’s note is to never stop nerding out over whatever interests you, whether it be dinosaurs, Disney movies, or board games, regardless of whether it relates to what you want to do with your life. Just because we’re all growing up and have to get real jobs and real apartments doesn’t mean we have to stop caring about those little obsessions. After all, aren’t those interests what life is all about? If your 9-to-5 is a little slow, you can still look for ward to the fact that “The Lizzie McGuire Movie” is now on Netflix, or that your March Madness Bracket hasn’t completely fallen apart yet. To conclude, 1) Hold on to whatever excites you, no matter how irrelevant it is, and 2) The Titanosaur is an incredible and majestic creature, and it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.
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Admission is always free for Duke students.
February 16 – July 16, 2017
2001 Campus Dr., Durham, NC I nasher.duke.edu/abney Nina Chanel Abney, Untitled (FUCK T*E *OP) (detail), 2014. Acrylic on canvas, 72 × 108 inches (182.88 × 274.32 cm). Collection of Kamaal Fareed.
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Campus Arts
Final Duke Symphony Orchestra concert to showcase Will Atkinson The Chronicle Young composers face a daunting—if not nearly impossible— task in getting their pieces played for an audience. It is difficult enough to attract the attention of an orchestra, much less round up enough money to pay them. Fortunately, Duke’s music department has offered select undergraduates the chance to showcase their own work as composers. This year, Duke Symphony Orchestra will per form the pieces of two winners of a student composition contest in an April 12 concert, titled “Shakespearean Transformations,” at Baldwin Auditorium. “It’s one thing to write a composition in the abstract, but if you write a composition, you want it per formed,” music director and conductor of DSO Harr y Davidson said. “The notion of writing for an orchestra is no small undertaking, so we wanted to provide that experience for worthy young composers to have their music actually per formed.” Seniors Jon Aisenberg and Ilhan Gokhan, this year’s two winners, are nearing the end of a months-long journey of writing parts for a full orchestra. Both classical pianists at their core, Aisenberg and Gokhan said they had composed before— perhaps for voice, piano or a small
ensemble—but never on this scale. “It’s like writing a paper. What I had done before was writing threepage papers or five-page papers, and this was like writing a 20-page paper or like a 30-page paper,” Aisenberg said. “You have an idea and you have to develop it, you have to prove it. And the different ways you bring musical ideas together is just like writing with words, where you have to make it cogent, you have to make it make sense, you have to make it fit.” Plans for a composition competition arose around three years ago as an effort to enhance Duke’s composition department and highlight the musical talent of undergraduates. This year is the Symphony Orchestra’s first time featuring student winners; the Duke Wind Symphony and DSO alternately host the competition. As with any creative venture, the approach to composing music varies from person to person. For example, while Aisenberg was most comfortable doing all his composition on software like Finale Notepad, Gokhan described filling up pages of sheet music with sketches before transferring them to digital format. Both agreed, however, that the process was not unlike writing a typical paper. Just as one might consult an English professor for advice on a paragraph or turn of phrase, they would bring melodies and counterpoints to a music professor; just as essays
Special to The Chronicle DSO will perform the piece of two winners of a student composition contest April 12.
require parsing and condensing, compositions require their own form of editing—removing a phrase here, adding contrast there. “It’s ver y easy just to bring things together or make it sound similar, to tie it together,” Gokhan said. “But actually coming up with different melodies that are contrasting but can work together—that was kind of a challenge early on in the process.” Of course, the task of writing unique parts for numerous instruments brings its own share of challenges. As pianists, Aisenberg and Gokhan might find themselves limited in composing for, say, French horn. For this reason, fellow student musicians and professors like Davidson came in handy in a process that began when the two winners auditioned as juniors.
“It’s like giving birth,” Aisenberg said of the composition process before explaining, “I’ve literally worked on this piece for nine months, and then it comes out and you hear it. And hopefully you love it like you do a baby.” If these compositions are children, they are children without names. One of the seemingly s i m p l e s t elements of composition has proven to be one most challenging, and so far neither senior’s piece has an official title. Regardless, both said they were excited to see their pieces per formed under Davidson’s conducting. “Getting this opportunity is a really great learning experience, and it doesn’t come often,” Gokhan See DSO on Page 8
Spring Jazz at Duke! February
12th
Sunday
Valentine’s Day Concert
Annual concert featuring the Duke University, North Carolina Central University, & UNC-Chapel Hill Jazz Ensembles. B.N. Duke Auditorium at North Carolina Central University - 4 pm
February
17th
Friday
Duke Jazz Ensemble
Featuring John Brown, director with guest artist Mark Gross, saxophone Baldwin Auditorium - 8pm
April
7th
Friday
Duke Jazz Ensemble
Featuring John Brown, director with guest artist Joe Locke, vibes Baldwin Auditorium - 8pm
For tickets, visit tickets.duke.edu or call 919-684-4444 l www.dukejazz.org
4 | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017
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Campus Arts
CDS explores environmental racism in the South Kirby Wilson The Chronicle
Danielle P u r i f o y, a Ph.D. candidate in the Nicholas School of the Environment, wants you to know that, under the painful e x t e r i o r o f c y c l i c a l p o v e r t y, t h e r e i s b e a u t y. T h e r e i s s t r e n g t h . T h e r e i s h i s t o r y. Lowndes County, Alabama is the buckle of Alabama’s Black Belt. Positioned just south of the line linking Salem and Montgomer y, it is a land rich in culture and community. Before the Black Panther Party was called the Black Panther Party, it was called the Lowndes County Freedom Organization. But economies do not run on community bonds or historical significance. The 2015 Census estimates show that, in the threeq u a r t e r b l a c k L o w n d e s C o u n t y, the average household hovered just above the federal poverty line. Some areas in Lowndes did not get telephones until the 1970s. Most n o t a b l y, m a n y s t i l l d o n o t h a v e proper wastewater infrastructure. About 550 miles away, but in many ways, a turn of the page of histor y away, predominantly black Mebane, N.C., boasts churches, like the Cross Roads Presbyterian Church and Cemeter y, which date back to slaver y. Yet citizens who have paid taxes for 35 years lack access to city water and sewage. Some live on poorly-draining
dirt streets. Just like in Lowndes, environmental injustice can mask centuries of tradition. Danielle Purifoy, with the help of visual artist Torkwase Dyson, wants to lift that mask, to gaze upon the resilient humanity underneath the neglect. When, on March 2, they open their Center for Documentar y Studies exhibition, “In Conditions of Fresh Water”, they intends to stare histor y in the face. And they intends not to blink. “These kinds of issues have followed us well into the 21st centur y, and they’re not going to go away,” Purifoy said in an inter view. Electrical infrastructure in Mebane has become so poor that it cannot accommodate modern washers and dryers. Water pipes so shoddy that water is not always are forthcoming when a faucet is turned. Omega Wilson would know: as the president and the project manager of the West End Revitalization Association, he’s been fighting this battle for a long time. “A lot of younger people are hearing about this with awe and shock as if this has just happened, like a natural disaster,” Omega said. “But we’ve been working on these issues that have been around for over a centur y, for decades.” He’s not the only one. Catherine Coleman Flowers, who lives in Montgomer y and runs the Alabama Center for Rural Enterprise, has See MAKE-SPACE on Page 8
Special to The Chronicle The CDS exhibition “In Conditions of Fresh Water” examines environmental racism.
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Campus Arts
The Feminist Make-Space presents independent life panel Drew Haskins The Chronicle
For many Duke students, the first few weeks of the spring semester are synonymous with one word: rush. Hundreds of freshmen and sophomore students descend upon IFC, Panhellenic and SLG organizations to mingle with upperclassmen in hopes that they will be admitted to these exclusive organizations. It is a busy, tr ying time that affects most people on campus. For some, it is one of the most stressful experiences Duke has to offer. Junior Louise Kendaru was once one of those freshmen desperate for a bid. Special to The Chronicle “As a first year, I wasn’t aware of the negative The Feminist Make-Space aims to show freshman and sophomore women that there is a viable alternative to Greek life. aspects of Greek life. I wanted to be in a top sorority! It was ever y woman’s dream, right?” Kendaru said. “I was conditioned to want this so badly, to feel this way.” Kendaru joined Kappa Alpha Theta, a Panhellenic organization, and Mirecourt, an SLG, and soon had wildly different experiences within the two organizations. She quickly noticed that Mirecourt was “strikingly different in terms of racial, sexual, and g e n d e r d i v e r s i t y, ” w h e r e a s h e r s o r o r i t y w a s “overwhelmingly white.” (Kendaru is mixedrace). Feeling like an outsider within Kappa Alpha Theta, she deactivated by the end of her f r e s h m a n y e a r. Tw o y e a r s l a t e r, K e n d a r u a n d t h e r e s t o f an on-campus feminist organization called The Feminist Make-Space are hosting a weeklong panel event, “Goddamn Independent Wo m e n : A S e r i e s , ” t h a t a i m s t o s h o w r u s h i n g freshmen and sophomore women that independent life is a viable alternative to Greek life that eschews its negative aspects. The event kicked off Jan. 17 with a panel discussion. Independent upperclassmen took audience questions about their experiences with Greek, NPHC and SLG rush. Senior Liz Kennedy, one of the organizers of the event, stayed far away from all forms of rush her freshman year. She knew coming into Duke that sorority or other wise-affiliated life was not something she wanted to participate in, and she considers herself “a proud GDI,” a colloquial abbreviation for goddamn independent. “I am a mixed race black woman, but I also i d e n t i f y a s q u e e r, ” K e n n e d y s a i d . “ P a n h e l w a s not a place where I felt welcome. It seemed super b***** and super white—things that I was not. Kennedy is now a member of the Baldwin Scholars, a living learning organization comprised of solely women—some of whom are affiliated with sororities and SLGs. Kennedy cites the program and The Feminist Make-Space as ideal spaces for women on campus. “There’s a fundamental lack of diversity in Panhel,” said Kennedy. “You can see so much racism, tokenism and homophobia.” Kendaru echoed a similar sentiment. “As a mixed race woman who can conform to Eurocentric beauty standards, I felt complicit in perpetuating this privilege.” Now, The Feminist Make-Space is tr ying to make their platform heard amongst the hustle and bustle of rush. This past weekend, Kendaru, Kennedy and several other members of the group visited the Durham Convention Center to hand out Feminist Make-Space flyers to rushing freshmen and sophomores during a break in the Panhellenic rush schedule. Some of the flyers advertised “Goddamn Independent Women: A Series,” while others showed statistics highlighting the lack of women of color in Greek organizations. Another one was styled as a pop quiz, alternately referring to Duke panhel sororities as “whiter” than “an artic storm,” “Congress” and “mayonnaise.” Kendaru, Kennedy and the others handed out flyers to recruits for six minutes until Panhel organizers asked them to leave. See MAKE-SPACE on Page 8
6 | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017
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can’t miss
events SCREEN/SOCIETY
French Film Festival “Fidelio, Alice’s Odyseey”
Tuesday, January 24 7 pm, Bryan Center Griffith Film Theate
Lucie Borleteau makes her feature directing deb study of a woman situated in an almost exclusiv Alice (Ariane Labed) joins the freighter Fidelio a engineer, soon discovering that the captain, Ga is a man with whom she was once romantically i leaves behind a fiancé on land, she finds her fee abated. Buttressed by a remarkable internation a rounded portrait of a passionate woman faced
DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
Duke Symphony Orchestra with 2016-2017 Student Composition Contest winners Jonathan Aisenberg and Ilhan Gokhan, and 2016-2017 Student Concerto Competition winner Ian Levitan Wednesday, April 12 8 pm, Baldwin Auditorium
For the final performance of its 2016-2017 season focusing Shakespeare in music, the Duke Symphony Orchestra presents Shakespearean Transformations, featuring Henry Purcell’s “The Gordian Knot Untied” Suite for Strings, Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, and featuring new works for the DSO by 2016-2017 Student Composition contest winners Jonathan Aisenberg and Ilhan Gokhan, and 2016-2017 Student Concerto Competition winner Ian Levitan performing Mvt. 1 of Grieg’s Piano Concerto. Admission is free. Visit music.duke.edu
THEATER STUDIES
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris April 6-16
Professor Jaybird O’Berski directs an undergraduate cast in an intense musical revue featuring the songs of Jacques Brel. Brel’s songs explore the glories and humiliations of love, the passage of time, and, unflinchingly, death. According to music and theater critic William Ruhlman, Brel occupied a position in French popular music roughly comparable to that of Bob Dylan in the U.S., writing and singing personal, serious songs of greater depth and individuality than most pop. Unlike Dylan, however, Brel’s music, drawing upon cabaret styles, has an overtly theatrical flair.
CENTER FOR DOCUMENTARY STUDIES
In Conditions of Fresh Water: Opening Reception and Thursday, March 2 Center for Documentary Studies
The exhibition, In Conditions of Fresh Water, 2-June 3, 2017 in the Kreps and Lyndhurst Galle Documentary Studies, presents paintings, draw and writings from the collaborative documentar Torkwase Dyson, attorney/environmental scient and community members of both Alamance an collected over the summer of 2016.
This project is supported by The Provost’s Coun the Nicholas School for the Environment. The e by the Center for Documentary Studies.
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NASHER MUSEUM OF ART
Exhibition Opening Party “Nina Chanel Abney: Royal Flush” Thursday, February 16 7:30-10 pm
The Nasher Museum presents Nina Chanel Abney: Royal Flush, the first solo exhibition in a museum for Abney, a 34-year-old artist from Chicago who has been celebrated for her work’s candid commentary on today’s world. Performances by student musicians and special guests. Co-sponsored by Nasher MUSE. Photo of Nina Chanel Abney by J Caldwell.
l’odysée d’Alice,
er
but with this insightful vely male milieu. Sailor as a replacement aël (Melvil Poupaud), involved. Though she elings for Gaël have not nal cast, the film presents d with difficult choices.
DANCE PROGRAM
ChoreoLab 2017
Friday, April 14 and Saturday, April 15 7:30 pm, Reynolds Theater The Dance Program presents a mainstage production each semester to serve as both a choreography and performance opportunity for students enrolled in dance courses. Students will perform faculty-choreographed works they learn during their repertory courses. In addition, 15 minutes of the evening’s show are reserved for high caliber student choreography.
FULL FRAME
20th Annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival April 6-9, 2017 fullframefest.org
Artist Talk
on view March eries at the Center for wings, photographs, ry research of artist tist Danielle Purifoy, nd Lowndes Counties,
ncil on the Arts and exhibition is produced
Each spring Full Frame welcomes filmmakers and film lovers from around the world to Durham, North Carolina for a four-day, morning to midnight doc fest of over 100 films, panel conversations, and southern hospitality. 2017 Passes and Ticket Packages go on sale February 14! Photo credit: Charlotte Claypoole McKinney
Brought to you by Department of Art, Art History and Visual Studies, Center for Documentary Studies, Dance Program, Music Department, Master of Fine Arts in Experimental & Documentary Studies, Nasher Museum of Art, Screen/Society, Theater Studies with support from the Office of the Vice Provost of the Arts.
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8 | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017
DSO from page 3 said. “This process is a great way to either reflect on life or express yourself. And it sounds so cliché at the moment, but when you actually do it, it’s ver y meaningful.” In addition to Aisenberg’s and Gokhan’s compositions, the April 12 concert will feature per formances of Leonard Bernstein’s symphonic dances from the musical “West Side Stor y” and Henr y Purcell’s “The Gordian Knot Untied”—themselves a continuation of the Shakespearean theme that has driven DSO’s per formances this season in honor of the 400th anniversar y of the playwright’s death. First-year student Ian Levitan will also per form the first m o v e m e n t o f E d v a r d G r i e g ’s piano concerto as the most recent winner of the music d e p a r t m e n t ’s s t u d e n t c o n c e r t o competition. Unlike the relatively new composition competition, the concerto contest has been around for years. It provides students like Levitan, who has played piano since he was five years old, the opportunity to expose their talent to a wider audience. Though the Duke Symphony Orchestra welcomes all members of the Duke community, including graduate students and faculty, the composition and concerto compositions put the spotlight on undergraduate contributions. For the students who participate, they are opportunities not easily won without the resources afforded by a place like Duke. For the faculty and the audience, they are a chance to see some of the best young musical talent at the university. “The biggest number of people in the orchestra are Duke undergraduates,” Davidson said. “It’s quite fascinating to see what they come up with.” Concert “Shakespearean Transformations” is at 8 p.m. April 12 i n B a l d w i n A u d i t o r i u m ; a d m i s s i o n i s f re e .
Special to The Chronicle The concert “Shakespearean Transformations” takes place April 12 in Baldwin Auditorium.
CDS from page 4 seen precious little progress since her childhood days in Lowndes, when, in order to call someone, “You had to stand at the door and call their name and hope they heard you.” She says many of the mostly rural Lowndes citizens still have home plumbing that does not function with the thoughtless ease of the suburb. But still, through local and federal lobbying efforts—anyone who will listen, really—she fights. “People have a basic human right to water sanitation,” she said. The answers to the problems of environmental injustice may not come easily, but through “In Conditions of Fresh Water,” Purifoy and Dyson intend to ask the questions. Dyson, who has done lots of visual work with space and environments, said that the project is a true collaboration: P u r i f o y, w i t h t h e h e l p o f F l o w e r s and Wilson, has documented many of the spectators to the history of, among other places, Lowndes and Mebane. Dyson has kept the creative fire of the project at a steady burn. With the help of the witness, that flame can sear the important
lessons of the South into the minds of the Duke student. The stor y of the environment of Lowndes and Mebane is complex, but it is beautiful. And it is worth telling. “The stor y is not all of disadvantage,” Purifoy said. “There are lots of really important institutions that have developed, and are still developing in those places that we can learn from now.”
MAKE-SPACE from page 6
After the incident at the Convention Center, several sorority members contacted Kendaru to express their disapproval. “At least one member reached out saying they don’t necessarily agree with our stance,” Kendaru recounted. “To them, it felt like people were attacking and judging sorority members.” Kendaru and Kennedy acknowledge that the line between attacking a system and attacking people is a fine one, and they assert that they have done their b e s t t o a v o i d h u r t i n g p e o p l e ’s feelings. Kennedy notes that both sororities and The Feminist MakeS p a c e a r e w o m e n ’s g r o u p s , a n d pitting the two against each other could be construed as divisive f e m i n i s m . H o w e v e r, s h e s a y s t h a t The Feminist Make-Space aims not
to dismantle people, but to disrupt a system with critical thinking and open dialogue. “We are an activist group. Disruption is part of our culture. We were peaceful and compliant, but our message was heard,” Kennedy said. “This is a pushback against a white supremacist heterocispatriarchy.” Kendaru believes that there is space for feminist discourse within a women’s organization such as a sorority, especially with the uncertainty of the Trump presidency looming. “Panhel sororities can be seen as a safe space for women in a Trump era,” conceded Kendaru. “Feminism isn’t monolithic. If you can defend your position, more power to you! There are a lot of feminists in Greek life, but I want to bring greater awareness of intersectionality into this discourse.” Through “Goddamn Independent Wo m e n : A Series,” Kendaru and Kennedy are bringing this intersectional discourse to a dialogue that often excludes nonwhite, non-heterosexual voices. The series will continue on T h u r s d a y, J a n . 1 9 i n M c C l e n d o n 2 with “Bucks, Bids, Booze, Bible, and Boys,” a discussion group to deconstruct Greek and SLG l i f e t h r o u g h t h e l e n s o f m o n e y, politics, partying, religion and s e x u a l i t y. I t w i l l c o n c l u d e o n T h u r s d a y, J a n . 2 6 w i t h a p o s t - r u s h “Self-Care Social” open to all students—affiliated or not. Kennedy is excited for the rest of the program, citing high attendance and enthusiastic p a r t i c i p a t i o n . To h e r, t h i s i n d i c a t e s a willingness to entertain antiGreek life dialogue. “Greek life has an element of feminism to it,” Kennedy said. “However, they can’t claim to be a space for subversion and rebellion while they still produce racism, homophobia and classism.” “Everyone is touched by rush,” Kendaru lamented. “But many more people are hurt and excluded than benefitted.”
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Comic Round-Up
Create. Connect.
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ON THE COVER Spring
2017
Arts PREVIEW
clockwise from top left 1. Photo by Alex Himwich, Duke Dance Program 2. Photo of DakhaBrakha courtesy of Duke Performances 3. Solar-powered mobile studio from “In Conditions of Fresh Water” project. Photograph by Torkwase Dyson. 4. Nina Chanel Abney, Untitled (Yo 123), 2015. Unique ultrachrome pigmented print, spray paint, and acrylic on canvas, 56 × 56 inches (142.24 × 142.24 cm). Private collection. Courtesy of Kravets Wehby Gallery, New York, New York. © Nina Chanel Abney. 5. Photo of Aizuri Quartet by Erica Lyn
Students get class credit onstage and backstage every semester. Peishu Li (T’19) & Chaz Hawkins (T’17) in department mainstage The Wild Duck
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Campus Arts
The top 5 arts events to look for this semester on campus Nina Wilder The Chronicle
Nina Chanel Abney: Royal Flush (Feb. 16-July 16) Nina Chanel Abney, a 34-year-old artist from Chicago, is used to making people uncomfortable with her art. For her MFA thesis show, titled “Class of 2007,” Abney depicted her white classmates as black inmates in a prison, opting to illustrate herself as their white, gun-toting prison guard. Consequently, Abney distinguished herself as an AfricanAmerican artist who master fully creates dense commentaries on race, incarceration and inequality through her art. An advocate for the Black Lives Matter movement, Abney came to age in an era when police brutality and racism disseminated constantly across new cycles and smartphone screens. Abney channels this barrage of information with bustling, irreverent pieces, the cluttered and collaged depictions of social inequities creating a sense of information overload. The bright and color ful artwork has been described by Abney as “easy to swallow, hard to digest,” which encapsulates her contradictor y style and subject material. Although Abney’s work may be difficult to digest due to its forceful depictions of violence perpetrated against black bodies, in the wake of the deaths of innumerable black Americans at the hands of law enforcement, it’s a harrowing reminder that racial injustice demands our full and immediate attention. Nina Chanel Abney’s “Royal Flush” will be on display at the Nasher Museum of Art from Feb. 16 to July 16. The exhibition is a 10-year sur vey of approximately 30 of the artist’s paintings, watercolors and collages. Malpaso Dance Company + Arturo O’Far rill & The Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble (Feb. 24 and Feb. 25) For most Americans, the rich culture of Cuba has been largely inaccessible due to the terse relationship shared between the two nations. However, as such tensions begin to soften in light of recent attempts at fraternity, Americans are finding themselves at the receiving end of Cuban art, music and dance.
Special to The Chronicle Nina Chanel Abney’s “Royal Flush” exhibit at the Nasher Museum of Art is one of the many art events coming to Duke this semester.
One group attempting to spread their artistic talents to the United States is the Malpaso Dance Company, based in Havana and well-versed in Cuban contemporar y dance. The company was founded in 2012 by Osnel Delgado, whose affinity for languid body movements and modern interpretive dance creates a striking and dynamic per formance. Malpaso’s routines consist of anywhere from 2 to 10 dancers and can be up to 40 minutes long, demonstrating both the troupe’s versatility and stamina. Essential to Malpaso’s success is their collaboration with the Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble, a twotime Grammy award winning band ensemble led by Arturo O’Farrill. The latest joint effort between the Malpaso Dance Company and the Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble is titled “Dreaming of Lions,” an evocation of Ernest Hemingway’s short novel “The Old Man and the Sea.” Using ballet and Cuban dance to illustrate the old man’s struggle to secure the greatest catch of his life, the per formance highlights the novel’s difficult themes of pride and defeat in the unforgiving sea. This also marks the U.S. premiere of “Dreaming of Lions,” a feat given the uncertain future of AmericanCuban relations. The Malpaso Dance Company + Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble will be performing “Dreaming of Lions” Feb. 24 & Feb. 25 at the Reynolds Industries Theater.
Full Frame Documentar y Film Festival (April 6-9) The thought of nearly 14,000 people pouring into downtown D u rh a m f o r a f o u r- d a y s t r e t c h i s overwhelming to most residents of the area. But for a film festival with an attendance that barely surpassed a few hundred patrons in its first fledgling years, the sizeable turnout is nothing short of incredible. Established in 1998 by filmmaker Nancy Buirski, the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is an international event borne out of Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies. Thanks to support from the likes of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, Full Frame has become the premier documentary film festival in the United States. With past guests such as Michael Moore, Martin Scorsese, Ken Burns and Danny DeVito, it’s no wonder as to why so many filmmakers and film enthusiasts convene in Durham to celebrate documentary filmmaking each year. Full Frame holds screenings of over 100 films as well as discussions and panels with the filmmakers over the four-day festival. Due to its ties and proximity to Duke, Full Frame provides a unique space that allows students, artists and the public to mingle and share in their mutual love for films and filmmaking–all while granting exposure to documentaries that might have otherwise flown under the radar. The Full Frame Documentar y Film Festival will take place at the Carolina Theatre in downtown Durham and the surrounding city blocks. The festival begins April 6 and ends April 9.
Anoushka Shankar (April 7) She’s often thought of as the daughter of Indian sitar maestro Ravi Shankar and the half-sister of singer Norah Jones, but Anoushka Shankar’s musical career stands out on its own. Trained to play the sitar by her father Ravi at the ripe age of seven, Shankar released her first album at age 17. It was a love letter to classical Indian music and effectively launched her solo career, leading to Shankar’s nomination for a Grammy award in 2003. After three albums of classical music, though, Shankar grew restless. Special to The Chronicle She pivoted to contemporary music, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival comes to the Carolina Theatre April 6 to 9. harnessing her traditional musical
upbringing to produce records that heavily featured pop and electronica beats. These efforts were also met with commercial success, leading to further collaborations with her sister, Norah, and artists such as Sting and Lenny Kravitz. Following the death of her father in 2012, Shankar decided to revisit her classical Indian roots in an homage to his legacy. Her album “Home,” released in 2015, is power ful proof of her classical musical abilities, ensnaring her intimate and formative relationship with her father and demonstrating her own, distinctive talents. Anoushka Shankar will be per forming “Home: A Tribute to Ravi Shankar” April 7 at Page Auditorium. Cécile McLorin Salvant (April 15) For most, the idea of having a Grammy award by age 27 is surreal. F o r C é c i l e M c L o r i n S a l v a n t , i t ’s r e a l i t y. B o r n i n M i a m i , F l o r i d a to a Haitian father and a French m o t h e r, S a l v a n t b e g a n s t u d y i n g classical piano at the age of five and singing in the Miami Choral Society at age eight. Salvant credits her transition to jazz singing to Sarah Vaughn, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, remembering a childhood spent listening to their songs frequently. Salvant’s sound is that of jazz, blues, and some bits here and there of folk and musical theatre–her soft crooning reminiscent of the soulful icons who influenced her. Her first studio album was released in 2010 to acclaim, and shortly thereafter, Salvant won a recording contract with Mack Avenue Records through the Thelonius Monk International Jazz Competition. A testament to her already incredible contribution to the jazz world, her third album, “For One to Love,” won her the Grammy for Best Vocal Jazz Album. Salvant’s Duke Per formance concert last season was so entrancing that she is one of the rare artists to be invited back for a second season in a row–indicative of her power ful stage presence and astonishing vocal abilities. She will be joined by New Orleans pianist Sullivan Fortner, creating a mustsee jazz per formance. Cécile McLorin Salvant will be per forming April 15 with piano player Sullivan Fortner at Baldwin Auditorium.
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017 | 11
REMEMBER
On Jan. 14, Durham Parks and Recreation held its annual event Martin Luther King Jr.: Jessica Williams Remembering the Legacy through the Arts. From painting to karate to poetr y reading, the The Chronicle event celebrated Dr. King’s legacy through unconventional methods in an inspirational yet solemn tone. Featuring local organizations including My Brothers Keeper of Durham and the Coalition for a non-Violent Durham, the gathering provided the Durham community with information and resources akin to Dr. King’s beliefs. Per formers included: Poetr y by Kenady Holiday, Martial Arts by Sensei Deon, Hillside High School Dance, Professor Robert L. Trowers, Mar vette and Gwendolyn Chambers, Mar vin Hudson, Shonie Taylor, and Pierre. Artists displayed included: Shonte and DaShon Johnson, Chauncey Covington, Freedom Clay, Wilma Liverpool, Edie Cohn and Jason Roane.
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D U K E PE R F O R M A N C E S
S P R I N G 2 0 1 7 S E A S O N | M U S I C , T H E AT E R , D A N C E & M O R E .
I N D U R H A M , AT D U K E , E S S E N T I A L A R T. ESTONIAN PHILHARMONIC CHAMBER CHOIR
FEB 10
CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF & LARS VOGT
TALIB KWELI
FEB 11
JERRY DOUGLAS PRESENTS EARLS OF LEICESTER
FEB 18
GEIMARU-ZA NIHON BUYO TROUPE
MAR 7
MALPASO DANCE COMPANY + ARTURO O’FARRILL & THE AFRO LATIN JAZZ ENSEMBLE DREAMING OF LIONS FEB 24 & FEB 25
ANAT COHEN QUARTET
MAR 19
FEB 16 & FEB 17
ERIC WHITACRE SINGERS
FEB 28
STEPHIN MERRITT & THE MAGNETIC FIELDS FIFTY SONG MEMOIR MAR 21 & MAR 22
DANIIL TRIFONOV
JÓHANN JÓHANNSSON’S DRONE MASS FT. ACME & THEATRE OF VOICES
MAR 31
ANOUSHKA SHANKAR HOME: A TRIBUTE TO RAVI SHANKAR
MAR 25
APR 7
DAKHABRAKHA DOVZHENKO’S EARTH: FILM + LIVE SCORE CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT
APR 14
APR 15
EIGHTH BLACKBIRD & WILL OLDHAM (A.K.A. BONNIE ‘PRINCE’ BILLY) MAY 6
ALL TICKETS, ALL SHOWS, NOW ON SALE!!! G E T T I C K E T S : W W W. D U K E P E R F O R M A N C E S .O R G | 9 1 9 - 6 8 4 - 4 4 4 4