November 2, 2016 by The Sumter Item

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016 Call Ivy Moore at: (803) 774-1221 | E-mail: ivy@theitem.com

Gallery presents socially conscious artists BY IVY MOORE ivy@theitem.com

he Sumter County Gallery of Art will open two new exhi-

bitions with a reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Republic of the Congo native Gil Ngole’s “The Midnight Walks” and Barbados native Sheena Rose’s “This Strange Land” both show the deep influences of their home countries, as well as their travels. Ngole’s exhibition is sitespecific, reflecting a week of midnight walks taken around Sumter, all the while accumulating discarded items for his installation. These represent the bundles Congo’s displaced people hastily assembled to take with them on their forced exodus. In his artist statement, Ngole explains, this “ ... nomadic state of consciousness after being exposed to several experiences of forced displacement ... is not reflected in Western media coverage or in representations ... . “I have chosen to deconstruct Western media representations of forced displacement in the region of Central Africa and reassemble the spectrum of a journey as many sequences of heterochronies. ... My heterchronies are accumulation of time in its flowing, and accumulation of performances. The process I use helps me to portray the decay of refugee belonging because of moving through various geographical locations

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Visual and performance artist Sheena Rose’s work challenges societal conventions and provokes conversation about often uncomfortable topics. Her exhibition titled “This Strange Land” opens Thursday with a reception at Sumter County Gallery of Art. and the weather conditions.” Ngole received a bachelor of fine arts degree in painting and installation at Rueil-Malmaisn College of Art in France; he is now pursuing a master of fine arts degree in sculpture and sound installa-

tion at the Memphis College of Art. His work has been exhibited in several galleries in Europe and the U.S., and he has received several prestigious awards, among them The Honenberg and Merit scholarships and several pri-

vate scholarships. He will give an artist talk at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Sheena Rose’s work comments on the conflicting information about women’s behavior and worth she received as a young girl in Barbados.

After using her drawings to challenge these societal rules, Rose answered them in her artwork and continues to defy convention. Her mediums include drawings, hand-drawn animations, paintings and performance art. She has been criticized for being too honest, Rose has said, but she noted that she “love(s) being provocative ... making people uncomfortable” and inspiring conversation. She received a Fulbright Scholarship in 2014 and her master of fine arts degree in studio art from the University of North Carolina Greensboro in August. Since 2009, her work has been exhibited widely, she has held residencies around the world, and her work has been featured in both professional and mainstream publications. On Nov. 17, Rose will give an artist talk and performance via SKYPE from Barbados to the Sumter gallery. SCGA Executive Director Karen Watson said the evening will include the screening of the film “Grace” by Columbia artist and filmmaker Roni Nicole Henderson and a panel discussion with Rose, Henderson and Columbia artist Michaela Pilar Brown, who recently exhibited at the gallery. Both exhibitions will be on display at the Sumter County Gallery of Art, 200 Hasell St., through Jan. 6. Admission to Thursday’s reception is free for gallery members, $5 for non-members. The exhibition is sponsored by Ralph and Toye Canty, Allcaregivers Inc., Hill Plumbing & Electric Co., Mr. and Mrs. Ernest “Chip” Finney and Nikky Finney, and Ben Griffith and Tammy Kelly of State Farm Sumter.

Fans, critics crown Roger Corman king of cult classic films BY NICK THOMAS Tinseltown Talks Raised in Detroit before relocating to California at the age of 14 with his family, Roger Corman’s parents never suspected a simple gift would help drive their young son’s career toward Hollywood. “I read Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ for a school assignment,” recalled Corman from his office in Los Angeles. “I really loved it and asked my parents for the complete works of Poe for Christmas one year. They were delighted because I could have asked for something less academic like a shotgun. I read every story, and when I got the chance to make movies, ‘Usher’ was the first Poe film I made.” By then, in 1960, Corman was already a veteran filmmaker with 40 films to his credit. Beginning with a few westerns and crime dramas he wrote in the ’50s, Corman quickly established his niche as a director and producer in the world of low-budget, cult movies. In addition to the Poe horror influence, a 1936 British sci-fi film also made an early impact on Corman. “I would go to Saturday matinees and watch westerns and crime films. When I saw my first science fiction film, ‘Things to Come,’ it awoke my interest in sci-fi,” he said. “It continues

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Roger Corman played cameo roles in several of his films. Here he holds a machine gun on the set of “Bloody Mama,” a 1970 gangster film. to this day with my current project, ‘Death Race 2050,’ which is an updated remake of my black sci-fi comedy ‘Death Race 2000’ from 1975.” Crowned by fans and critics as the King of the B-movies, Corman — who turned 90 this year — has produced and/or directed more than 400 films. Eight were based on the works of Poe, although in 1963’s “The Raven” he tempered the author’s usual dark themes with light comedy. Transposing Poe’s famed narrative poem to film, Corman signed up Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff and says the trio of Hollywood leg-

ends got along well. “There was no battle of egos, just a little discussion about technique,” Corman said. “Peter loved to improvise, but Boris did not. Boris pointed out he was a classically trained actor who learned his lines from the script and came prepared to deliver them as written. ‘It puts me off’ he told me of Peter’s improvisations. I told Peter I loved what he did, but that we needed to stay a bit closer to the script.” While Price starred in most of Corman’s Poe films, he used Ray Milland in “Premature Burial” as well the 1962 non-Poe horror sci-fi thriller “X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes.” “Whereas Vincent was always sort of a character star, Ray was this handsome leading man who played romantic roles so he brought a different quality to the screen. ‘X’ was also one of Don Rickles’ first films,” Corman said. “I was surprised that Don was actually a little nervous because he was known as this brash comedian. But I reminded him this was a movie, and that we could do the scenes over if needed and that put him at ease.” Like many directors, Corman often drew from a stable of favorite actors such as Price, as well as Ed Nelson, Jack Nicholson and many others. Dick Miller first appeared in Corman’s “Apache Woman” in 1955 and would go on to appear in dozens of Corman films.

“I was a not very successful writer at the time and a friend, who was working with Roger, said he would put a plug in for me,” recalled Miller from Los Angeles. “When Roger told me he needed actors, not writers, I said ‘I’m an actor, too.’ So he hired me, and I probably wouldn’t have been in this business as an actor if it wasn’t for Roger.” Miller appeared in hundreds of films and TV shows, his career being featured in the 2014 documentary, “That Dick Miller Guy” (see www. thatguydickmiller.com). With Halloween just behind us, several Corman films are still being featured on cable channels. Turner Classic Movies has broadcast “Dementia 13.” So what can today’s budding filmmakers take away from viewing Roger Corman films? “It’s not so much watching them but understanding how they were made – the preparation and willingness to deviate when necessary especially if you’re on a low budget,” Corman said. “I also took every film I made seriously and did my best on every one.” Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Alabama, and has written features, columns and interviews for more than 600 magazines and newspapers. See www.tinseltowntalks.com

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