Bluesman K.J. James Returns to PSH Back by popular demand, one of the college circuit's most celebrated performers, K.J. James, will be ap pearing Wed., Jan. 28 at noon in the Gallery Lounge at Penn State Har risburg. The concert is free and will be sure to leave everyone with an ap preciation of unadulterated blues James gives his audience a blues performance true to the roots of this often over-produced art form. A one-man show, James taps his foot, picks his guitar and croons the tunes in tribute to Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson and John Lee Hooker to name a few. James also performs a number of originals, the most well known being "Guitar Boogie" and "My Thing." "I think of the Blues as a way of life, expressed as only the Blues can be through the musical perfor mance," says James. "The Blues Tarnhelm wants you! Tarnhelm, the literary and arts journal published by Penn State Har risburg, is seeking submissions for this years publication. We are seek ing the work of writers, artists, po ets and photographers. You need not be a professional, just have a desire to express your creativity! Submissions will be anonymously judged and prizes for best poetry, fiction and visual arts will be pre sented during an awards ceremony and reception at the end of the spring semester. The finished publication of Tarnhelm will be distributed at this time Tarnhelm accepts poetry, essays, will survive as long as there are art ists willing to preserve the pure es sence of this authentic art form." James has a long history in this musical genre, having grown up in a rural community in South Carolina where the blues was king. His stron gest influence was his uncle who picked the blues and sang for fam ily and friends. James describes his career as an attempt "to rediscover the songs of the deep south, songs that touched my childhood soul." Heading north, James fronted sev eral nationally known bands includ ing the Dr. Blue Band before join ing the college circuit. A gifted blues singer, James has received rave re views and continues to delight audi ences at college campuses through out the country. His PSH show is being sponsored by the subcommit tee on diversity and educational eq uity. articles, short stories and one-act plays for consideration in the writ ing categories. Visual art submis sions may include black-and-white photography or black-and-white (i.e., pen and ink) drawings (sorry, no color photographs!). If you have any questions regard ing Tarnhelm, see Cindy in the hu manities suite, W-356 and she will certainly be able to answer your questions. ter at 3 p.m. The program includes a combina tion of comic sketches and serious monologues. The comic sketches attempt to educate the audience about safe condom use and sexually ransmitted diseases. Most of the serious material, written by the ac ors, is about their life experiences and HIV/AIDS. "CONDOMonium" is a must-see for all; nobody is above this serious once again. It h i - The editors strongly encourage writers and artists who submitted unpublished material last year to re- submit their works for consideration OttA The Gallery review: "Impressions Lightness, Weight and Being" by Dani Church An exhibit of photographs by Kevin Facer will be on display in the Gallery Lounge through Feb. 13. The collection is entitled "Impres sions of Lightness, Weight and Be ing," and is billed as "A Photo graphic Response to a Novel by Milan Kundera." Before even attempting to view this collection, it is only fair to the artist to understand that these images are, according to the artist, "photo graphs that respond to the concept of Kundera's ideas." Facer also writes that the emphasis is on the "creative spirit and internalization of ideas involved in creating the pho tographs." This lover of the arts decided to try and get a true sense of what the artist is alluding to in these photo graphs by reading the novel that in spired this series. Unfortunately, our college library's one copy of "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" by Milan Kundera was checked out. The reality that a copy of the novel would not be readily available to the average gallery-goer left me with only one avenue—to view the pho tographs as works of art unto them selves. Although the concept of photo graphing personalized interpreta tions of concepts from a writing is a commendable creative attempt, un- "CONDOMonium" Show promotes HIV awareness A performance by the University I' ark Theater Ensemble promoting HIV prevention and healthy houghts about AIDS is coming to Penn State Harrisburg on Feb. 4, in he Gallery Lounge. Performances are scheduled for I p.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Each 30-minute perfor-, mance will be followed by a short I uestion and answer period with a ealth professional from the AIDS ommunity Alliance. There will also be a reception to meet the ac tors in the Black Cultural Arts Cen- less these images relay some kind of message to another human or are able to stand alone as a provocative work of art, there simply is nothing there. Nothing has been achieved beyond the artist's own externalization of his or her internal feelings or visions. Granted, this externalization is the "Viewing Facer's ex hibit leaves one with the feeling of looking through someone else's pack of vacation phc,- , tos, politely but pain fully waiting for the lnod shob4" core of art itself, for what is art but this laying open of the artist's soul? However, if this display of person alized concepts is not done in a way that conveys something to others, it has not completely accomplished the end of establishing some sort of re sponsive pathway between artist and 132333 Having said that, this viewer found Facer's exhibit dull. There are many shots of common objects in average lighting with no outstanding values. Blurred images are incorporated into several photographs, no doubt in an attempt to express Facer's interpre- February Calendar of Women's Interests/Studies Programs "Women in the Military" Lt. Colonel Patricia Prevosto US Army War College Mon., Feb. 9, 10 a.m., Gallery Lounge Annette Berman, French Holocaust survivor and FFI resistance fighter Tues., Feb. 17, 6 p.m., Gallery Lounge "Lynching & American Theater: Raising Issues of Race & Gender" Dr. Judith Stephens, Penn State Schuylkill Wed., Feb. 18, 1 p.m., Black Cultural Arts Center "Women in Russia: The Transition from Communism" Dr. Carol Nechemias, PSH Thurs., Feb. 26, noon Conference Center, Schuylkill Campus "Family Violence" Bernadette Muscat, doctoral student, PSH Fri., Feb. 27, 10 a.m., Gallery Lounge THE CAPITAL TIMES tation of a particular concept. How ever, since there are no titles or ex planations accompanying the indi vidual photos, one is left with noth ing but blurred images captured in an uninteresting setting. There are several photographs that are able to stand on their own as ar tistically framed pieces. One such exceptional photograph is of a nude woman lying on a hardwood floor, beautifully lit, with the sensual curves of her body playing against the contrast of the square blocks of sunlight pouring in from a window. But this particular photograph is only one of a handful of artfully con structed pieces in the entire exhibit. Viewing Facer's exhibit leaves one with the feeling of looking through someone else's pack of vacation photos, politely but painfully wait ing for the good shots. Students are encouraged to visit the gallery to decide for themselves; perhaps Kundera fans will find the exhibit inspiring. It is worth a visit, if only to ferret out the truly artful pieces on display. "Impressions of Lightness, Weight and Being" will be on display through mid-February, with an artist's reception and gallery talk scheduled for Mon., Feb. 2, 6- 8:30 p.m. The Gallery hours are Mon.-Thurs., 8 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri., 8 a.m.-5 p.m. The Gallery is closed on both Saturday and Sunday.
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