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(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Rainbow Brite. 1998 in Canada. Popples. The taste of salt water. My little brother in a blue sled on Christmas. These are some of my memories. Elements from the mind such as memories, passion and discovery form to make the new SoFA Gallery exhibit come to life in front of the visitor's eyes. \n"1000 Kisses," an installation by Andrea Stanislav, seeks to break all barriers between art and its observer through various methods of interactive and symbolic multimedia. \nUpon entering the gallery, my first impressions were of a bare, uncompleted space. I even thought I entered the wrong building. But as I started to look around, I noticed this wasn't your ordinary watercolor, stare-and-admire, be-polite-and-don't-say-anything art exhibit. I had stepped into a virtual playground. \nThree walls of mirrors, each sporting words, most of them random and not seeming to make any sense at all, dominated the first room of the exhibit. Two computers, used to view the exhibit's Web site, shared the space. After looking around for a few minutes, reading the mirrors and remaining completely confused, I peered into the next room. Sound echoed from it. \nStanding in the doorway, I faced a surreal image: a cluster of 9-foot-tall mirrored towers in front of a wall of color photographs, surrounded by two walls lined with tubes of lipstick. I began to wander and discovered that the lipstick was a complimentary gift and could be used to make kiss marks on the mirrored towers. Making my way through the small city of obelisks, I arrived at the back wall. Here sat what I expected: 1000 photographs of kisses. And yet I felt that something somewhere still begged to be recognized. So I stood, and circled, and thought, and it hit me: sound. Sound lightly hit me from all areas of the room and from behind the wall with the photographs. \nSo, expecting to find a janitor's closet or an "Exit" sign, I peered around the photograph wall, and to my surprise found a small viewing room where a film clip played. So I sat down in one of the wood chairs and took it in. Like much of the exhibit, it took a while to register, but I soon began to see an ice skater and various images of people kissing a mirror. \nAfter touring the complete installation, pondering what it all meant, reflecting on all my experiences, it all came together for me: experiences. I had taken part in every aspect of the exhibit. The worded mirrors stared back at me, I controlled the computers, I put on lipstick and kissed the mirrored towers, I was IN the art. \nThis highly interactive exhibit even has two notebooks, located in the first room, where visitors can share their favorite memories by writing them down. \n"My experimental, multimedia installations begin with the desire to capture the 'proof' of seemingly intangible energies," Stanislav said.\n"The exhibit has to be experienced live," he said. "And it is experienced by the way the person moves through the space. It can only exist in the way they experience it. Not in a book or in a slide.\n"The installation was conceived through the process of collecting photographs of landscapes in the act of motion, and of people in the passionate act of kissing. Then the collection of audio and text recording of their favorite memories began."\nMany Bloomington voices can be heard in these recordings and many Bloomington faces can be seen in the wall of photographs in the installation.\nThe installation experience provided a new and exciting way of looking at the world of art. The human psyche in itself is a work of art, and the exhibit uses that very element to produce an intellectual and interactive masterpiece.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Wednesday night, a group of female students rehearsed -- fine-tuning every note, reviewing choreography, straightening out any last wrinkles in their performance. In a few days, they would be entertaining a live crowd, promoting the release of their second album.\nLadies First, IU's female a cappella group, will celebrate the release of their new album Ticket to Anywhere today at 8 p.m. at the Willkie Quad Auditorium. The concert will feature songs from the new album. \nThe release is a quick follow-up to their self-titled debut, produced in the spring of 2000. Senior Nora Colwell, the group's director, said Ladies First has come a long way between albums. \n"As far as production, we utilized a lot more of the available technology," Colwell said. \nThe album also includes some live recordings from their spring concert last year.\nIn the spring of 1999, the desire to form a women's a cappella group led senior Sarah Gibson, original and current member, to contact Walter Shilanskas, then director of Straight No Chaser, IU's male a cappella group. The two collaborated, and, after a lengthy audition process, Ladies First was formed, originally consisting of 10 members. \nA year and a half later, with 13 members -- some old, some new -- the group thrives with sisterhood and energy, members said. \n"We've expanded in everything: our size, our quality of sound, our knowledge of a cappella performance…everything," Gibson said.\nThe women said they have become like a family, rehearsing eight hours a week and spending days at a time together on long road tours and concerts. \n"We love each other like sisters," said senior Gina Guido, a founding member.\nThe IU Alumni Clubs have sponsored Ladies First in tours all across the country including Arizona, Ohio, and California. Eric Behrman, director of the Alumni Clubs, said he has enjoyed his experience with the group and is proud to have them as part of his organization. \n"It's wonderful to see such a entertaining, talented bunch of ladies representing Indiana University," Behrman said.\nLadies First has generated mountains of compliments from students, faculty, and fellow musicians. \n"We tend to get a really positive response wherever we go because we're not typical," Colwell said.\nConcerts\n• What: Ladies First CD Release Concert.\n• Where: Willkie Auditorium\n• When: 8 p.m.\n• How much: $5\n• for more \ninformation, email ncolwell@indiana.edu
(11/20/01 4:03am)
It was like the tampon section at Kroger: nothing but women and a few sparsely scattered men, looking like deer caught in the headlights. Performing for an estrogen-packed house, Eve Ensler\'s "The Vagina Monologues" took the Buskirk-Chumley stage by storm last week as it succeeded in bringing many closeted women\'s issues to light. Beautifully performed, the show sparkled with energy, emotion and integrity, leaving the audience whooping for more.\nBased on more than 200 interviews with real women about their sexuality, "The Vagina Monologues" covers topics ranging from birth to rape to lesbianism, and yes -- those pesky gynecological exams. The three-woman show consists of intimate, engaging stories that provoke side-splitting laughter as well as sobering truths about violence against women. These stories are interspersed with informative 'vagina facts,' making for a touching yet educational experience. \n"The Vagina Monologues" presents not only a highly entertaining dialogue but informs the audience about womanhood itself. The set was simple: three chairs, each accompanied by a microphone and a table sporting some papers and a red coffee cup. If I hadn\'t known I was there for a theatrical performance I would have thought I was there for a lecture. Which, in a sense, is precisely what it was.\nThe simplicity of the set brought this lecture atmosphere out. There were no garish sets, no intense lighting changes, no elaborate costumes. The key element was the dialogue. Uninhibited by distracting sets or other theater whatnots, that dialogue came out in vibrant colors.\nThe show presented a laid-back atmosphere that resembled a slumber party or a 'night out with the girls.' The monologues sparkled with sincere emotion, bringing the truth in every situation described. \nThis experience could not have been nearly as effective if it were not for the phenomenal all-female cast of Tracey A. Leigh, Amy Love and Amy Stiller. All three actresses presented their characters intelligently and engagingly. \nThe performers read off scripts for the majority of the show. Rather than looking ill-rehearsed and fragmented, this provided a more intimate atmosphere for the audience. It was like they were reading newfound facts to us and we were all laughing about them together, as friends. Leigh and Love pulled off this effect rather well. Hardly glancing at their scripts, both seemed to have memorized the entire show. But Stiller frequently referred to her script, pausing momentarily it seemed, to find her place. During her monologues, this created distracting pauses that frequently were out of character. \nDespite these interruptions, all three actresses combined for an awesome ensemble, but what made the show so effective was the intimacy with the audience. Every viewer was engaged, some nodding heads in agreement, laughing in shock or blushing in modesty. \nSteeped in both comedy and hushing solemnity, \"The Vagina Monologues\" presented an unforgettable show, altering the audience's view of the "vagina" along with providing colorful examples of beautiful femininity.
(11/15/01 4:09am)
For the past few days, the word "vagina" has been poking its little head out of the woodwork. Not in the usual form of Kinsey reports, hushed chats between friends, or a new herbal drug trend. "Vagina" has been splashed on flyers, ads, and billboards for all to see across Bloomington and the IU campus to promote "The Vagina Monolo-gues," a play by Eve Ensler which is sliding through Bloomington this week as part of its national tour. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave., and runs through Sunday. \n"The Vagina Monologues" attempts to compromise all self-conscious barriers and delve into the broad spectrum of womanhood in all its glory. Celebrating every aspect of female sexuality, the show is based on interviews with more than 200 women describing their personal experiences and opinions about sexuality. These accounts, consolidated into about 17 separate monologues, are meant to inspire, confuse, surprise, and challenge every thought, pretense and stereotype associated with the vagina. \nWhile "The Vagina Monologues" has enjoyed considerable success in respect to the entertainment business, winning an Obie award, it has also served as the springboard for V-Day -- a movement to stop violence against women.\nIn fact, "The Vagina Monologues" has become such a success that celebrities everywhere have taken part in the event, including Calista Flockhart, Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon and Kate Winslet. \nThe show comes to Bloomington as part of a national tour, sponsored by The Roberts Group and The Theatre Counsel. \n"The show's an enormous hit across the country," said Tim Roberts, booker for The Roberts Group. "That's why we booked it. It tends to do very well in college settings." \nAdam Epstein, an IU graduate and promoter for The Theatre Counsel, worked with Roberts to secure the performances in Bloomington. \n"Adam really wanted the show to come here and work on his home turf again," Roberts said.\nThe performance here in Bloomington is scheduled to feature Amy Stiller, sister of actor and director Ben Stiller, along with Lisa Tharps and Geneva Carr. \n"The show gets to the essence of what theater is about in terms of connection with humanity," Amy Stiller said. "The intimacy of the show is what attracted me to it. It feels like you're in a room, at a party, with three friends, just hanging out."\nThe show's frank attitude has made for some hesitant male spectators. But Bob Tevyaw, company manager for the tour, said that the percent of males in the audience has been higher recently than in previous audiences. \n"The show is very empowering for women," he said. "Usually the audience includes about 10 percent men. But here, there's been considerably more."\nStiller thinks that anyone should be able to enjoy the show -- male or female.\n"It's not like it's some kind of self-indulgent performance art," Stiller said. "It's about self-acceptance, integrity, and truth. The show is about healing all of our hurt and shame. We all have places where we're hurting and this play brings that to the surface. And that's not gender-specific"