This Makes That
By Sharon Fufero
Staff Reporter
srfl7l@psu.edu
There was a little plaque
outside the door that stated
“maximum occupancy 100
persons,” which was odd to
see right before stepping into
a completely empty
room. Every chair was
vacant, the piano in the cor
ner emitted no sound, and
the
paintings on the walls had no
audience, except myself.
Welcome to the
Olmsted WlO7 Gallery
Lounge.
I slowly walked around the
exhibit and admired the
works by Nathan Brumbach,
artist of the exhibit “This
Makes That” which will be on
display through
October 15th.
Brumbach applies his paint
thick, similar to icing on a
cake, using layered strokes in
a bold Paul CEzanne man
ner. His landscapes are pre
dominantly blue, brown and
green, full of trees and sky. In
“Boulder, CO #lthe paint is
so thin in some areas you
can see raw canvas peeking
through, while in other areas
Photo by Sharon Fufaro
he builds thick, cake frosting
layers. I liked this picture
because of the simple sky
and the clouds that looked
like the ones I used to stare
at in my backyard, sprawled
on the grass, shoes kicked off
to the side. The clouds
seemed playful to me, like
they were enticing me to find
hidden shapes and stories
spurred by imagination.
Looking deeper, I saw a
man’s face or the outline of
Spain, while someone else
may see something com
pletely different.
I almost overlooked one of
the smaller paintings in the
room. At first glance, it just
looked like abstract shapes,
but a closer look revealed a
woman hidden
in the lines and shapes, with
a large red breast and her
head tilted to one side. I
glanced at its title, “Eve.”
Maybe the breast doubles as
a symbol for
forbidden fruit, suggested by
its title, but I cannot assume
the artist’s ntention. This little
oil painting is my favorite one
in the gallery, because it’s
meaning, if any, isn’t entirely
clear and the peach, blue,
and red colors played off of
each other in an interesting
way.
In another of the gallery’s
paintings, “This Makes That
#l,” dashed lines against a
white background connect
colorful shapes. It seemed
primitive to me, but not crude
n it had a fun
cartoon quality that looked
like a Martian’s instruction
manual with the words
“this makes that...”
scrawled across the top. That
picture, and one similar
with the words “that makes
this . . ~” would look phenom
enal above the
couch in the dream house I
don't have yet. . .
Brumbach’s work appeared
as if abstraction meets
cubism but with a softer, play
ful kick. I enjoyed viewing his
work and will probably visit
again before the exhibit ends.
However, the guest book con
tained only two signatures so
far; I am hoping the lines will
be filled with comments by
October 15th.
More students should visit
the gallery. So much talent
visits this
campus but many here seem
apathetic to the arts. If you
want a place to see
new art, hang out, or use the
eleven years of piano lessons
your mother made
you take against your will, I
recommend you check it out
and bring your friends. Feel
free to love or hate the work
on display but remember that
a gallery lounge should be
filled with the buzz of music
and the converstaions of art
savvy students and faculty. It
would be awesome to see
that “maximum occupancy”
get pushed to the limit.
Green To Think,” an
acoustic rock band
played in Vertan Plaza
on September 2. The
band consisted of two
friends who play guitar
together often. They
shared some of the
humorous experiences
of thier jam sesions
with the audience
Photo by Sharron Fufero
Cheap seats and
sticky floors
Fahrenheit 9/11
Review
By Thomas LeClair
Movie critic
tjllOl (a psu.edu
The latest documentary
by Michael Moore is in
fact not a documentary,
but rather an op/ed
piece showing one point
of view. A true documen
tary show or at least
attempts to show both
sides of the issue.
Moore tends to think
that his film is the only
truth in this issue, and
there is no other side. In
this film, Moore presents
footage from the actual
politicians, generals,
and soldiers with direct
quotes. Moore did not
need to prove the points
he was making, he had
the principles involved
say it for him. The film,
for the most part, fea-
tures Moore showing
how the Bush
Administration was more
Photo by Sharon Fufaro
concerned with connect
ing the terrorist acts of
9/11 to Saddam Hussein
and Iraq, instead of to
the known responsible
participants. Moore clev
erly uses humor howev
er; he tends to under
mine the power of his
film with his presence.
In a funny scene, Moore
drives around Capitol
Hill in an ice cream truck
reading what is actually
stated in The Patriot Act.
While that is amusing,
his point becomes lost
in the spectacle and cre
ates a situation in which
viewers classify all his
points as ridiculous.
Moore proves the truth
by the footage he
shows. He will make an
accusation in the narra
tion and then the accu
sation is proven by the
accused. Though the
viewer is bombarded
with a plethora of
images supporting
Moore, the viewer can
not deny all the disturb-
ing images spread
throughout the film. One
of the more powerful
images deals not with
the war in Iraq or the
9/11 attacks, but simply
with President Bush sit
ting with a completely
blank expression in the
Florida Elementary
School classroom for
seven minutes after
being told about the ter
rorist attacks.
Overall, the film is
powerful, scary, and
amusing, a difficult feat
to achieve in a rather
short film. The film also
allows audiences to
question their political
views, which is also diffi
cult to do.
Lions Gate Films / IFC
Films presents a docu
mentary by Michael
Moore. Narrated
by Michael Moore.
Running time 110
Minutes. Rated R for
disturbing violent
images and brief strong
language.