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.