Albert gallery frames local, national art works
By CLAUDIA COOK
Collegian Staff Writer
, • For art collectors. and interested
novices, for the general Joe who
doesn't think about owning - art,
Mere's a new art gallery in town.
The Douglas Albert Gallery, lo
;eated on McAllister Alley across
Steven C. Hirshon, director of the Douglas Albert Gallery, shows Tina St. Pierre
of Boalsburg. some prints. The art gallery, located on McAllister Alley, opened
last month. .
arts
Acting saves 'Kiss Me Goodbye'
By SHAWN ISRAEL
Collegian Staff Writer
Sally Field is Kay Villano, a so
phisticated young New York woman
all set to marry Egyptologist Ru
pert Baines (Jeff Bridges), when
the ghost of her late husband Jolly
(James Caan), a debonair choreo
grapher, suddenly appears. Sure
enough, Kay finds she still has feel
ings for Jolly, even if he has been
dead for three years. So Kay has to
choose between her wonderful, if
dead, first husband and her devoted
husband-to-be, less dashing than
Jolly but alive.
Okay, "Kiss Me Goodbye"
doesn't have a strong plot. The
viewer can guess how the story will
resolve itself with little mental
stress. Despite its predictability,
though, "Kiss Me" is one of the
happier surprises of the holiday
season. This film is genuinely
charming, thanks to some of the
snappiest movie dialogue of the
year and fine performances by the
whole cast. It's a triumph of style.
Charlie Peters' screenplay swells
with devices from the old screwball
comedies: the nagging mother, the
incompetent father, the dog who
hates the leading man with a ven
geance, thellysterical doubletalk of
the heroine trying to explain a hope
less situation. The film has rhythms
of such classics as "Bringing Up
Baby" and (with the ghost angle)
"Topper."
What really makes "Kiss Me
Goodbye" work are' the perfor
mances. The characters here are
natural and relaxed, even believ
able. They make the viewer want to
see what will happen in spite of the
very unoriginal plot.
Especially good is Bridges in the
role of Kay's strait-laced fiance.
Bridges could have been stuffy and
joyless, but instead he's glib, pas
sionate and quick-witted. He• may
be the most likeable "nerd" ever
played on the screen.
Sure, "Kiss Me Goodbye" may
not be an intellectually challenging
or deeply meaningful movie experi
ence. Maybe it is just fluff. But it's
wonderful fluff.
This nice music teacher from
Nebraska (Perry King) takes an
opening at the big city high school
(Abraham Lincoln High, no less)
and finds himself in a nightmare.
The guys look like rejects from Sha
Na Na, the girls look like the Go-
from the Tavern Restaurant, opened
last month to offer art to people and
gallery space to artists, closing what
director Stephen C. Hirshon called a
dearth in the community.
"In the true sense of the word, a
gallery gives exposure to artists, and
I like to talk about art," said Hirshon,
who is working on his doctorate in art
But nothing rescues '1984 from obscurity
Go's with hangovers. Students have
to pass through a metal detector,
every square inch of the building is
drenched in graffiti. The principal
is a cowering, complacent stuffed
shirt. Most of the faculty wield guns
and knives, but haven't the courage
to use them..
Naturally, our hero's feathers get
ruffled by a group of very destruc
tive punks. Later his car gets de
faced, one of his students is knifed
in the cafeteria and his wife is gang
raped on the night of the big band
concert. Everyone looks the other
Jeff Bridges, Sally Field and James Caan star in the lighthearted "Kiss Me Goodbye."
history at the University. "What I
plan to do is make people aware of
what is available, both nationally and
locally, what would fall within an
individual's taste and interest, and
what is likely to maintain or increase
its financial value."
A visitor enters the gallery to find
an eyeful of prints, paintings, photo
graphs, glass, mobiles, ceramics and
sculpture. The room is small but the
subtle wall and floor coverings, track
lighting, plants and jazz music help
relax people into just looking at all
the art work.
Presently, two one-man exhibits
are featured prints by Robert
Kipniss from New York, and color
photographs by Centre Daily Times
photographer Dick Brown. The shows
are displayed individually so one can
concentrate on the style of each art
ist.
Kipniss, a nationally recognized
printmaker, has about 30 pieces on
display, mostly lithographs of bare
landscapes. Hirshon said the gallery
owns all these particular prints and
more of the artist's work is 'available
through the artist directly.
"The most important thing is to
find art that people want to live
with," Hirshon said. "That's why we
have the walls full to build a solid,
broad house of people 'involved in art.
We don't want to intimidate people
into styles or subjects," he said. "I
always try to open up into areas the
gallery might not represent, and we
have connections with other galleries
to find what people want."
If someone wants a Rembrandt, for
example, they are available, Hirshon
said. "I could probably get one. An
early stage etching, about 4x5 cm,
could be purchased for about $2OOO.
Now an 'etching is done in stages, up
to six, so an early one is rather like a
sketch. But it is a Rembrandt and
highly unlikely to ever decrease in
financial value.
"My primary interest here is edu
cational," Hirshon said. "Most peo
ple go through and will like three
way, of course, and it all leads the
poor teacher to very violent action.
"Class of 1984" is a film whose
creators actually take a clever med
itation on the growing menace of
high school violence seriously. But
the film is unforgivably grim and
paranoic from start to finish and
has all the practical value about
delinquency that "Godzilla vs. the
Smog Monster" has about ecology.
The punks are a mix of the Man
son family and the Three Stooges,
except their heads don't make hol
low noises when slugged with blunt
These ceramic creatures perch atop one of the sculptured vessels on display at the Douglas Albert Gallery
pieces. I will bring each one u 0 front
and place it on this easel, and we will
sit and talk about it. I like to know
why one piece is chosen over another.
Some people are more interested or
comfortable with landscapes or ro
mantic subjects, others like partic
ular styles or media. I explain what
the artist is doing in terms of his
career, whether it's early or late, and
what elements have changed.
"This lithograph, 'Anna' by Harold
Altman, is a later work," Hirshon
said, pointing to a print on an easel
behind him. An older woman sits
alone on the edge of a park where
people engage in conversation, sit
alone and play, and as the light toys
with the leaves and branches of the
objects. They're not as funny either.
Continuity is nonexistent, and the
film looks as though someone
smeared Vicks Vapoßub on the
lens.
Only Roddy McDowall arouses
any sympathy as a biology teacher
who tries to teach the creeps genet
ics at gunpoint after they desecrate
his lab. Everyone else is playing a
type in this useless charnel of beat
ings, rapes, explosions and other
acts that only succeed in making the
viewer disgusted.
A definite loser.
trees, she sees everything almost as
the artist. "It is still about park life,
but the woman has an increased
monumentality compared to his ear
lier prints," Hirshon said, removing
"Anna" from the easel and replacing
it with "Path Parc Mont Souris," an
earlier etching by Altman. "Here the
figures are no less integral to the
landscape but are less individual and
smaller." The print focuses on light
in the trees and the variety of
movement in the park, but there are
no major figures.
Hirshon explained the different
techniques involved in an etching and
a lithograph; he showed how to iden
tify an etching by the embossed bor
der caused by printing off a copper
New
music alternatives
"DIG THE NEW BREED," The
Jam, Polydor PDI-6365.
At last, the Jam recorded live in
concert. This latest and final re
leas? by England's favorite trio is
an attempt to capture the raw
power of a Jam concert. It suc
ceeds extremely well by stressing
the Jam's stark arrangements and
avoiding the often used technique
of enhancing the mix with studio
recorded tracks.
Although singer/guitarist Paul
Weller's voice is sometimes errat
ic, this album sticks to the basics
and the Jam ends its career with a
powerful collection of hits, uncom
•promising in their freshness and
energy.
"SPECIAL BEAT SERVICE,"
The English Beat, I.R.S. 5P:70032.
With its third American release
the English Beat breaks new ,
ground, bringing its distinctive
brand of ska to new heights. The
Beat incorporates mandolin, clar
inet and trumpet, dramatically
altering its former sound into a
sort of jazz-ska hybrid.
Another change of pace is Wes
ley Magoogan's replacement of
Saxa, the., veteran saxaphonist
whose haunting sax breaks made
such songs as "Mirror in the Bath
room" and "Can't Get Used to
Losing You" memorable. But Ma
googan's upbeat style contributes
greatly to the Beat's change in
sound.
Tunes such as "I Confess" and
"Sorry" highlight an outstanding
side one. Side two is more remi
niscent of earlier Beat material,
but is full of catchy riffs and
melodies often found lacking in
most ska music. A definite must
for anyone liking the Beat or ska in
general.
"WE ARE . . . THE LEAGUE,"
The Anti-Nowhere League, WXYZ
Records.
Where the strength of the-En
glish Beat lie's in the band's musi
cal depth, the Anti-Nowhere
League takes the opposite ap
proach, with basic arrangements
containing little melody or har
mony.
Despite this, the League is a
surprisingly potent band, vaguely
resembling the Sex Pistols in
plate. He also talked about the differ
ent styles achieved in each technique.
Artists are invited to submit portfo
lios and talk to Hirshon about their
exhibits, the gallery displays art it
owns and has on commission.
Hirshon said there has not been any
trouble finding artists so far, but that
the gallery is always looking for
talent. He likes to see about 20 pieces
or slides of an artist's work to get a
solid feel for what an artist does.
The gallery is open Tuesday and
Wednesday from 11 a.m..to 8 p.m. and
Thursday, Friday and Saturday from
11 a.m. to 9 p.m. It is closed Sunday
and Monday.
The gallery also offers frame serv
ice.
The Daily Collegian
Wednesday, Jan. 12
albums offer
style, tone and subject matter.
Because of its liberal use of pro
fane language, the League will
never gain national recognition,'
but obviously isn't trying to.
But don't think this detrimental
to the group's music. Far from,it,
for its first album, We .are . . . the
League," is perhaps the besCpunk
album made since the demise of
the Sex Pistols. Songs such as
"Woman," "I Hate People" and
"Snowman" are examples of the
social insight that abounds on this
album..
Although I don't recommend
buying this album for your kid
brother on his birthday, We are
. . . the League does contain solid,
no-frills punk guaranteed to quick-,
en your pulse and make you think.
—by Dave York
—by Dave York
"BEATITUDE," Ric Ocasek, Gef
fen, GHS2O22.
This ambitious but brooding
work is by the mastermind of The
Cars. Since Ric has taken progres
sively more control over 'each
Cars Ip, I knew a solo effort was
coming.
Ocasek's alienated, "Misfit
Kid" persona is still dominant,
and his unusually mechanical vo
cals haven't changed since The
Cars' debut.
Gone, however, is his fascinat
ing handle on creative lyrics. He
seems to have lost his sense of
humor. I don't hear any really
quirky phrases like "crossword
smile" or "send me a letter on a
midnight scroll." Another glaring
omission is. Eliot Eastman, Cars'
lead guitarist. I didn't realize what
a big contribution he made until I
heard Ocasek's music without
him. Eastman gave the Cars the
right amount of rock to offset their
sometimes overdone electronic ef
fects.
The only other Car on Beatitude
is Greg Hawkes on keyboards.
Roger Greenawalt, Fuzzbee
Morse and Casey Lindstrom trade
off on guitar licks that make al
most no impact on the music. The
only noticeable noises are Oca
sek's vocals and weird synthesizer
effects. I feel like I'm in the Cam
pus Casino.
—by Dave York
Ocasek scores, thankfully, on
"Jimmy Jimmy." This song has
what every other tune is missing:
a driving backup beat that high
lights the vocals and the interest
ing stream-of-consciousness
lyrics. —by Christine Curcio
comics, etc.
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5 Preposition
B Swiss capital
12 Rake
13 Nucleic acid
14 Samoan capital
15 Asian sea
16 Abrade
17 Expression of longing
18 West Coast capital
20 Bomber org.
22 Ex•drinker's assn.
23 Body orifice
25 Rocky pinnacle
27 Time of day
29 South Arabian capital
31 Capital of Meurthe-et•Moselle
35 Water follower
37 Capital seen at Capitol
Down
1 Armenian river
2 Ibsen heroine
3 .._ Lumpur
4 Capital of Montana
5 Former Dem. Pres.
6 Burden
7 Capital of Morocco
8 Kind of relief
9 Greek•derived prefix
10 Latvian capital
11 Okinawan capital
19 Capital of Wisconsin
21 New Hampshire capital
24 Zodiac sign
26 Egyptian sun god
27 High mountain
28 Extinct bird
39 Abbr. following 18 A
40, French capital
42 Novel component
44 D.C. is Its capital
45 Weep
47 Odd: Scot.
49 Existential verb
51 ,Scand. country
53 Capital of Delaware
56 Capital of 51 A
59 Euripidean drama
61 Zoroastrian king
62 Digital growth
63 Dallas ed. Inst.
64 Ancient Gk. dist. and capital
65 Au natural
66 Poetic contraction
67 Surfeit
30 Part of GNP
32 Negative response
33 French vineyard
34 Opposite of 32 D
36 Correlative conjunction
38 UN org.
41 Finite form of 49 A
43 Capital of Aube
46 Captial of Idaho
48 Spanish prov. and capital
49 German capital
50 Brother of Jacob
52 Italian capital
54 Give off
55 Demolish
57 Top
58 Corrida cheer
60 Convent resident
The Daily Collegian
Wednesday, Jan. 12
Crossword
Capital Idea by Doug Micklo :
(answers in Thursdays Classifieds) '