arts&life
Thursday January 27, 2011
thelantern www.thelantern.com
This weekend’s
arts events
Kelsey Givens Lantern reporter givens.34@osu.edu
Thursday Free Thursday @ the Wex 4 pm @ Wexner Center “Whoa, Dream Big!”: Directing with Jason Reitman 7 pm @ Ohio Union - Archie Griffin Grand Ballroom CD101 Presents Young the Giant 8 pm @ The Basement
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Friday OUAB Presents Big Bang’s Dueling Pianos 5 pm @ Ohio Union - Woody’s Tavern Taste of OSU 5 pm @ Ohio Union - Archie Griffin Grand Ballroom LoveSick Radio 7 pm @ The Basement Dark Star Orchestra 8 pm @ Newport Music Hall
The Riffe Gallery will highlight the portraits of 14 Ohio artists in the exhibit “Here’s Looking at You: Portraits in Ohio,” which opens today. However, these are not your typical portraits, said Kay Koeninger, curator of the exhibition. “My main goal in doing the show is focusing on non-traditional portraits,” she said. “I wanted to look at artists doing portraits in a lot of different ways.” The pieces in this collection reflect the artists’ opinions of what a portrait is. “The definition keeps changing,” photographer Chas Ray Krider said. “I don’t know if I could tell you what it is.” Painter Amy Kollar Anderson said her definition of a portrait is “an image that represents either the interior or exterior of an individual.” Former Ohio State lecturer and artist Marty Shuter, who graduated from OSU in 2001 with a master’s in fine arts, defines her pieces as portraits because “they’re human.” The portraits vary not only in content and definition, but in medium as well. “Most of the artwork is done in different materials,” Koeninger said. “There are some oil paintings but most are done in different mediums.” Anderson, Krider and Shuter will each have five works in the show. Anderson’s pieces are all done with acrylic paint on canvas. “A bunch even have glitter in the paint,” she said, “and some have gold foil. I like the sparkle.” Krider’s five pieces are all photographs; however, none of them was intended to be a portrait photo. “Through my process a portrait will sometimes appear, but it’s never my intention to create one,” Krider said. Shuter’s pieces are all done in ceramic. “I have two self-portraits in the show and three that are made up,” Shuter said. Koeninger chose the 14 artists in the exhibition after a state-wide search. “I traveled around the state to look at as many pieces of art as I could to pick pieces for the collection,” she said. “I wanted to make sure I had a good representation from different parts of the state.” Some artists, such as Krider, were asked to submit pictures of their work while others were recommended to be part of the show, based on previous work. “I had known Kay through various outlets,” Anderson said, “and she was familiar with my work and she saw these pieces at a show and asked if she could put them in the show she was doing in Columbus.” Shuter said the Ohio Arts Council recommended him. “The curator, Kay, came out to my house, looked over my work and picked the pieces for the show,” he said. According to the Riffe Gallery website, four of the 14 Ohio artists included in the show hail from Columbus. The rest are from Dayton, Toledo, Cincinnati,
Courtesy of The Riffe Gallery
Amy Kollar Anderson’s ‘Baset’ is one of the portraits on display as part of the Riffe Gallery’s exhibit ‘Here’s L ooking At You: Portraits in Ohio.’ Oxford, Mount Vernon and Cleveland. “Here’s Looking at You: Portraits in Ohio” will run from today through April 17. “The most important thing is that people keep an open mind about what a portrait should be,” Koeninger said. “People will be surprised and see works of art they might not consider a portrait.”
Taste of OSU actually the taste of world 28 Chahinaz Seghiri For The Lantern seghiri.1@osu.edu
Saturday Down Front Winter Rock 1 6:15 pm @ The Basement Marwencol 7 pm @ Wexner Center Film/Video Theater
Artists defy portait’s definition
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Those who want to try food from Egypt, the Philippines or Pakistan, but don’t want to spend $20 on a full meal, are in luck. The Taste of OSU will feature delicacies from these countries and dozens more from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday in the Union’s Archie Griffin Grand Ballroom. Food tickets can be purchased for $1 an item. The event typically draws about 4,000 attendees and a similar total is expected this year, said Maureen Miller, director of communications in the Office of International Affairs. “It’s just a great way to explore different cultures
and it’s a great way for international students to showcase their culture,” said Miller, who is also the event coordinator. “They get to share that bit of culture with the university community.” Student chairwoman Tejaswini Gosavi also helped lead the planning process. “This is the first year we have full a student committee,” she said. “The last couple of years we had couple of students on the international affairs committee.” The Lebanese Student Organization is scheduled to participate in the event, said Lori Hage, a secondyear in biology. “This year we will be participating in food and performances. We will be doing a dance done at weddings and other events,” said Hage, who is secretary of the organization.
Reitman follows dreams, found film Jessi ca Shambaugh Lantern reporter shambaugh.14@osu.edu Academy Award-nominated director Jason Reitman is scheduled to appear at the Ohio Union today to speak about his career and hold a question-and-answer session. Reitman, best known for his movies “Thank You for Smoking,” “Juno,” and most recently, “Up in the Air,” will speak in the Archie Griffin Grand Ballroom at 7 p.m. The Ohio Union Activities Board’s visual and fine arts chair Ryan Orlosky, a second-year in biology, said he expects between 500 and 800 students at the event. Orlosky recommends that students come prepared for the questionand-answer session that will follow the speech with some of their “burning questions.” As for what to expect from the keynote speech, Orlosky said OUAB submitted a list of things they thought students would be interested in. “We’ve asked him to first include how he followed his passion, switching from medical school to filmmaking,” Orlosky said. “Especially relevant for any aspiring film students in the audience, Jason will conclude his presentation with a discussion of the road for future filmmakers.” Marc Rostan, a second-year in political science, enjoyed two of Reitman’s works. “‘Thank You for Smoking’ and ‘Up in the Air’ are two of my favorites, so I think it’s really cool that he’s coming,” he said. He also mentioned Reitman’s lineage as a reason for his excitement. Reitman’s father, Ivan Reitman, directed the 1984 hit comedy “Ghostbusters” and the newly released “No Strings Attached.” “It’d be pretty cool if Jason made the next ‘Ghostbusters’ and just did it in this dark-humor kind of tone,” Rostan said. Sydney Viox, a second-year in molecular genetics, said she will be attending the event because “Juno” included a character whose “quirkiness” young people can relate to. She also believes the event will provide a good experience for students. “Even if you aren’t interested in going into a film or theater career, it is still a good opportunity to learn about the people who make some of our generation’s favorite movies,” Viox said. Tickets for this event are available two per valid BuckID at the Ohio Union Information center.
Miller said food preparation is key. “The recipe planning process begins a month prior to the event,” she said. “Each student organization is required to submit four recipes to chef Mark Newton of Campus Dining Services.” Organizations are required to prepare 800 servings of food, and cook two days prior under Newton’s guidance, Miller said. “The chefs are there to watch over the students and make sure everything is safe,” Miller said. Judges will choose three winning organizations based on the food they serve, Gosavi said. The competition is a way to give back to the students for their participation, Gosavi said. “These students have classes and exams, so we want to reward them for their hard work and effort,” he said.
OSU alum wins People’s Choice for film pitching Ryan Book Arts editor book.15@osu.edu
Courtesy of MCT
Jason Reitman poses with his Golden Globe for Best Screenplay for his film ‘Up in The Air’ in 2010.
Neal Havener, a 1993 Ohio State graduate, learned Tuesday that he won the “Favorite Film Pitch” category for the People’s Choice Awards. “I’m on cloud nine,” he told The Lantern on Wednesday. “If I was a bell, I’d be ringing.” Havener was one of about 100 nominees who had two-anda-half minutes to pitch a film at a November conference for the American Film Market, a sponsor for the competition. Havener’s pitch for “The Dragon Lore Trilogy” was one of five finalists. The public could vote for a favorite on the People’s Choice Awards website through Jan. 24. Havener said he took the lead on voting and held on. “I had been behind about half the time,” he said. “Then I got the lead and pretty much stayed ahead.” At the end of voting, Havener’s pitch had gathered 66 percent of the vote. Jonathan Wolf, the managing director of the AFM, e-mailed Havener on Tuesday to alert him that he had won. Havener attributed many of his votes to his dedicated family members. He said there wasn’t a limit on voting and that his brother-in-law, John Dirina, voted more than 500 times. “It might sound like cheating, but a big part of this contest is who has the most family members,” he said with a laugh. Havener is in the process of writing “The Dragon Lore Trilogy,” and he described it as “The ‘Lord of the Rings’ meets ‘Galaxy Quest.’” Havener has also worked ias a producer and composer in cinema, and has worked on films including “Minus One” and “Mann in Hokk.” Dirina also told Havener that last year’s winning pitch, “Father John” by David Minnihan, is currently in production. Havener said he wasn’t “counting the chickens” yet, but that part of his prize is that he gets to make a “wish list” of 12 studios to speak to at next year’s AFM conference. Havener said regardless of the film’s production future, he’s happy to have won. “I got the opportunity, and I’m excited for that.”
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