A&E

Artists sell masterpieces on Fourth Street

Underneath the beating sun, hundreds of Bloomington residents and IU students guzzled lemonade and fanned themselves as they sweltered in the heat. They were not tailgating before IU's football victory in the home opener -- they were browsing the booths of artists and community groups at the Fourth Street Festival of Arts and Crafts. The Fourth Street Festival, a Bloomington staple since its inception in 1976, celebrated its 28th year of displaying the arts Saturday and Sunday on Grant and Fourth Streets.

HipHopera adds rap, pop to familiar art

LONDON -- Puccini's "Madame Butterfly" tackled interracial love and U.S. imperialism in Asia; Verdi's "La Traviata" put a tubercular prostitute center stage. Odd to think that opera has a stuffy reputation. Now a new batch of contemporary operas rangingfrom rappers rhyming about Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to an experimental musical about Microsoft boss Bill Gates sets out to change that image.

Graffiti event hits Indy

Aerosol cans will click-clack and the fizzing spray of paint might induce light-headedness or contact highs this weekend as Broad Ripple, one of Indianapolis' most vibrant and unique neighborhoods, holds its second Midwest graffiti expo. Subsurface, sponsored by the Indianapolis Arts Center in conjunction with the Broad Ripple Village Association, will publicly showcase 40 Midwest artists creating a graffiti mural 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. both Sept. 4 and 5.

The right time

'Black Woodstock' documentary to hold broadcast premiere on PBS

LOS ANGELES -- On Aug. 20, 1972, seven years after the urban upheaval in Watts, some 112,000 people came together for a daylong concert that would become known as the "Black Woodstock." They filled Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to hear performances by Isaac Hayes, Albert King, the Staple Singers, Rufus and Carla Thomas, the Bar-Kays, and more.

Mr. Morley blitzkriegs Europe, Part 2

We traversed the French plains to the center of Bohemian life -- gay Paris. The first thing most people envision when they think of Paris is the Eiffel Tower. Built in 1889, it is still the tallest structure in Paris and was the tallest in the world until the Empire State Building was constructed.

Around The Arts

Bluegrass award winner plays at Buskirk-Chumley Bluegrass music's four-time Female Vocalist of the Year Rhonda Vincent will perform 8 p.m. Saturday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. Vincent began performing with her parents' bluegrass band when she was 3 years old and appeared on their local television show when she was 5 years old. Before she reached her teen years, she had performed with several house bands.

IU's art administration masters program offers hands-on experience in management to participating students

Behind the scenes of every great opera, Broadway production or museum exhibit, someone is pulling the right strings to make the event happen. Beyond the costumes, make-up and lights, someone sits calculating ticket sales and strategizing audience development and marketing techniques. Without the arts administrators who work diligently behind the scenes, none of what is seen on a stage or in a gallery could be possible.

'The Color Purple' becomes a musical

ATLANTA -- After seven years of acquiring rights, finding backers and putting together a creative team, Scott Sanders is ready to present his musical version of "The Color Purple" to an audience, hoping it's the last step before Broadway. And Sanders' partner is Atlanta's Alliance Theatre, where a tryout engagement begins Sept. 9 for a five-week run.

Music Works to perform opera

Opera fans, do not despair. Your wait is over. While IU's opera season does not kick off until late September with "La Bohème," Bloomington Music Works is presenting "Three For All," a trio of one-act operas, beginning Sept. 2 at the John Waldron Arts Center Auditorium. Included in the evening's repertoire is "The Impresario" by Wolfgang Mozart, "The Telephone" by Gian Carlo Menotti and "The Stoned Guest" by P. D. Q. Bach. Bloomington Music Works chose to perform three one-act operas instead of a longer, more traditional piece for a number of reasons.

Activities at Latino Fest interrupted by rainstorm

Despite the ominous dark clouds over Bloomington, Karst Farm Park was crowded during Latino Fest Saturday. More than 30 tables were staffed by various local organizations such as Ivy Tech State College, Mujeres en Conexion, Culture Week and League of Women Voters, among others.

MTV Music Awards tamer, but still explosive

MIAMI -- There was no Madonna-Britney Spears kiss, no partially-clad Howard Stern coming down from the rafters, and certainly no wardrobe malfunctions. The MTV Awards show Sunday featured typical frenetic energy and sexy style -- and a few musical surprises -- but it was mostly a kinder, gentler version of past shows.

Play takes on excessive police force

The idea of police brutality and use of excessive force has been presented to the public in the form of news stories, fiction and non-fiction books, and now, thanks to the Bloomington Playwrights Project, in the form of a theatrical play.

The joy of budget travel

In 2000, I spent two weeks touring England and Scotland and fell in love with the adventure travel creates. I'd always wanted to go back to Europe and see more. The opportunity to travel to Europe came alive my sophomore year at IU. I'd researched the variety of programs the Office of Overseas Study had to offer where you could study in the land by which you've always been fascinated and get college credit at the same time.

Release of Siegfried & Roy tiger attack video debated

LAS VEGAS -- The company that produced the Siegfried & Roy magic show said Wednesday that it won't give federal investigators a video of the tiger attack on illusionist Roy Horn because it's protecting the performer's privacy. Feld Entertainment Inc. said it's offered on several occasions to show footage of the October attack to the U.S. Department of Agriculture but the agency has not accepted the invitation.

Music Video Awards expected to be tamer

NEW YORK -- In the 21-year history of MTV's Video Music Awards, viewers have been treated to some eye-popping moments -- Prince's bare buttocks, Lil' Kim's sequined pasty, Britney and Madonna's steamy kiss last year. After the firestorm over the MTV-produced Super Bowl halftime show, in which Justin Timberlake ripped off part of Janet Jackson's costume to reveal her bare breast, might we see tamer VMAs when they air Sunday?

Illinois sues Dave Matthews Band

CHICAGO -- Illinois' attorney general sued Dave Matthews Band Tuesday for allegedly dumping up to 800 pounds of foul-smelling waste from a tour bus into the Chicago River, dousing a tour boat filled with passengers. The lawsuit accuses the band and one of its tour bus drivers, Stefan Wohl, of violating state water pollution and public nuisance laws. It seeks $70,000 in civil penalties.

Tactual museum offers exhibits for the blind

ATHENS, Greece -- Dimitris Dovas runs his fingers over the face and body of Venus de Milo. "What incredible art!" he exclaims. Dovas might be breaking the cardinal rule of museums, where visitors can look at but not touch the prized exhibits guarded behind ropes or in glass cases. But in an unassuming building on a quiet side street in central Athens, something is different.

Eating disorder play returns Sunday

After years of struggling with an eating disorder, IU alumna Amy Fortoul has put her life experiences into a play detailing the highs and lows of her illness and recovery. Fortoul is the writer, director and sole actor in her autobiographical movement and spoken word theater piece "This is My BODY."

Around The Arts

Tibetan monastery displays relics A collection of Buddist relics is coming to the Chamtse Ling Temple, 3655 Snoddy Rd., this weekend. Collected by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, The Heart Shrine Relic Tour, which features pearl-like deposits often found in the cremation ashes of Buddhist spiritual masters, will be on display from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.