4 BEHREND BEACON
August 19, 2010
www.thebehrendbeacon.com
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llehrend Culture News
Happenings around campus
•Music At Noon: IThe Logan Series is entering its 21st season this year. Helping to kick
off the semester is the Fireworks Ensemble, which will perform on Sept. 22 in McGarvey
Commons. the group, which consists of eight musicians, has been hailed by several pub
lications, including the New Yorh Times and the Washington Post. Their music may not
sound like that of traditional classical music, but really they give audiences a wider scope
of what classical music can sound like if you step outside the box.
•Also performing in September is the Grammy-nominated Cedric Watson & Bijou Cre
ole, the first act in Behrend's Rhythms of Life Series this year. On the 28th, Watson and
his band will entertain inside Bruno's Café, giving audiences a taste of Cajun and Creole
music. Watson has traveled all around the world playing in Spain, Haiti, Nova Scotia and
France, which is only natural since all of his singing is in French. Hoping to spread inter
est in Louisiana Creole music, this group will introduce a musical world that most listen
ers have never heard before.
While Behrend is gearing up for these musical performances, the Creative Writer's
Speaker Series is preparing for two events in the Smith Chapel, one on Sept. 16 and
the other on Sept. 30.
•Award winning Fiction writer Michael Byers is the first of three speakers scheduled
for this semester and the first for September. Author to three rave reviewed books, his
latest, Percival's Planet, is set in the late 1920 s and surrounds a young boy who is pulled
into the search for Perival Lowell's Planet X and ultimately is the one to discover what is
now known as Pluto. As put by the Washington Post, this story is "A subtle, satisfying ad
venture ..Byers writes with a sweet mixture of humor and sympathy about lunacy and
manhood during a period of extraordinary disruption." Besides his novels, Byers has writ
ten many essays and short stories, and his work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal
and the Washington Post.
•The second speaker, Nin Andrews, has also won multiple awards, but in this case for
her poetry. Already the author of several books, her latest collection of poems, Southern
Comfort, focuses on family and touches upon the joys of youth. Ken Tucker from Enter
tainment Weekly dubs Andrews the "Wonder Woman of poetry." So what must he think
of Southern Comfort?
"[lt] is a superb volume for both dedicated readers of poetry and anyone looking for an
apparent autobiography in poetic form." Publishers Weekly agrees, saying that "An
drews's...art lies in her ability to transport readers to a place where it's possible to savor
the waning of childhood innocence."
Kicking off this year's Speakers Series, former Steelers coach Bill Cowher will come
to Behrend on September 23. His presentation will take place in Junker Center and
start at 7:30 p.m. This event is free and open to all, but seating will be offered on a
first-come basis. Past speakers have included former Steelers player Jerome Bettis,
NPR's Michele Norris, and Fox Business News anchor Stuart Varney.
The Lion Entertainment Board puts together many events for students during the
year, including concerts, comedians and movies.
To finish off this month, comedian Dan Cummins will perform on Saturday, August
28. The following two Fridays also have performances by Ernie Halter on September
3 and Nathan Angelo and Shwa Losben on September 10. At the end of next month on
the 24th, stand-up comedian KT Tatara will bring his "brutally honest but always
funny" comedic entertainment to Behrend.
Fireworks Ensemble is a group comprised of eight classical musicians who pride themselves on being able
to play just about anything, regardless of style, time period, or instrumentation.
IMITOR iIIn'OrIIII7MIATIIONI
Shannon Fltriii. culture editor
If you can get your hands on it, Linda Good
man's Sun Signs by Linda Goodman (first
printed in 1968) is an interesting look into astrol
ogy. Goodman writes in-depth descriptions of
each sun sign and how to recognize them, ac
cording to gender, age and even a section for the
"employee." I found her analysis of my sign,
Capricorn, to he quite accurate, but not entirely
true, especially the part about me hitting my hy
pothetical future children with a shoe. Now, I
don't know about Ms. Goodman's relationship
with her shoes, but why would I ever want to in
flict harm on footwear? Unless of course said
footwear is jelly shoes. I'm obviously kidding
(maybe), but I found some of what she wrote to
be comical and to not be taken too seriously.
After all, her book is filled with quotes from Alice
In Wonderland. Although, the quotes are specific
enough that you may start to wonder why she
placed certain quotes with each sign. No matter
how humorous the book may be, it is insightful
and worth reading.
Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative
Commons: Remko van Dokkum
Elie Culture in biief
In July, the Erie Art Museum opened four exhibits, one of which is a design competition
and the others are collections from various artists of different outlooks, all represented in
their creations.
Works depicting natural landscapes and idyllic designs can be seen in Peaceful but Not
Always: Paintings by Neil Daugherty. This exhibit features works by painter and Erie na
tive, Neil Daugherty. While a lot of his work is in private collections, the Erie Art Museum
has been able to gather many of them to go along with the 20 already owned by the mu
seum.
With the help from the Estate of Richard Lubinsky and Fountain Gallery, Eleven Fingers:
Works by Dick Lubinsky, a showcase of some of Lubinsky's nearly 2000 paintings will
commemorate Lubinsky's accomplishments of translating what he saw in the world into
paintings. Though he suffered from schizophrenia for most of his life, Lubinsky used art
as a means of escapism and "as a means of engaging an often unfriendly world." Only
until after his death in 2001, did anyone really know of the magnitude of his artwork.
The Innovation Erie: Design Competition gives artists a chance to display their new de
signs. As long as the artists adhere to a few guidelines, they have the opportunity to pos
sibly win $lO,OOO, as well as professional advice regarding aspects dealing with their work.
Visitors to the museum are able to vote on each invention until the exhibit closes. There
are now four finalists, their inventions being a Built-1n Bottle Opener, a Social Bike System
(SoBi), the Pedi-Pro and the Eco Clip. Detailed descriptions of each invention can be found
at www.innovationerie.net. _ .
Clearly an experimentalist, local artist and Assistant Professor of Painting at Slippery
Rock University, Heather Hertel has tested movement's ability to create art in the exhibi
tion, Fluiditiy: Painting by Heather Hertel. Abstract the paintings may be, but there is some
thing organic about the looks of her pieces and you can almost envision the process of
painting each brushstroke, while regarding the question of its placement on the canvas.
Hertel is most influenced by Japanese art, particularly that of Butoh, as well as the 20th
century painter Vassily Kandinsky, and by using movement to bring her vision to reality,
she "seeks to navigate the bridge between premeditation and improvisation."
The Erie Art Museum continues with the Neil Daughtry, Dick Lubinsky and Innova
tion Erie: Design Competition exhibits in the Main Galleries until October 31. The Heather
Hertel exhibit in the Frame Shop Gallery runs until October 9.
On August 27 from 7:00-10:00 p.m., the museum will hold a Gallery Night. Twelve gal
leries will open their doors, including the Erie Art Museum, to give the public the chance
to experience different variations of artwork. Among the artwork is mosaics by Amy Hahn,
portraits by Mike Deibel and new works by multiple other artists. Live music will be fea
tured at many of the venues, as well as demonstrations and henna tattooing. This event is
free and open to the public. Transportation is also free along the gallery route. Trolley
route and Gallery Night printouts are available on the Erie Art Museum website.
For more information on museum exhibits, admission costs, museum hours and parking,
please visit www.erieartmuseum.org. Admission on Wednesdays is free to all.
The Erie Playhouse will put on its production of Hairspray on September 9 at 7:30 p.m.
at the Erie Playhouse on West 10th St. The play takes place in 1962 and centers around
Tracy Turnblad, a teenage girl who wants to dance on "The Corny Collins Show." After
getting on the show, Tracy becomes an instant celebrity, while still maintaining her sky
high hair.
Tickets for the show are now on sale
September is a month full of premieres, including the start of Erie Philharmonic's
2010/2011 season. Saturday, September 25 marks the opening night and concert Bernstein
and Bolero! pieces by Ravel, Bernstein and Prokofiev.
Tickets for students 25 and under are only $5. Tickets can be purchased online or at the
box office at 609 Walnut Street, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Culture
The Presque Isle Gallery Coffeehouse, lo
cated on Peninsula Drive, regularly features
local artists.
•This Sunday, singer/songwriter Tom Hitt will
perform from 1:30-3:30 p.m.
•The following Sunday, August 29, Folk singer
Tommy Link will perform from 3:00-5:00 p.m.
ERIE CA ILTURE