A&E

Restorers work to conserve art battered by Katrina

CHICAGO -- Helen Conklin whisks a cotton swab delicately across a 19th century painting of silvery fish set in deep earth tones. She's looking for, of all things, mud on the canvas -- and sure enough, there it is. She peers at another painting through a microscope, focusing on a cardinal's rich crimson robes that have faded to a sickly pink. That's the mark of floodwaters.

Gallagher gives 'smashing' performance Sunday

Loud laughter filled the IU Auditorium, coming from all directions. Comic and entertainer Gallagher, who has been making people laugh for 35 years, put Sunday's audience into hysterics. Gallagher's act included a little bit of everything, from simple jokes to twisted talks about everyday life to smashing pies. The infamous "Sledge-o-Matic" has been a staple at Gallagher shows for many years and hasn't disappeared yet.

'Star Wars' draws residents, alumni

Every time IU graduate George Starkey sits down for a cup of coffee at the Starbucks in Broad Ripple, a neighborhood on the north side of Indianapolis, someone wants to know. It happens so often that Starkey even has a name for it: He gets "Lucas-ized." "First someone turns around, and then you can start hearing necks snapping," said Starkey, who learned as a teenager of his uncanny resemblance to "Star Wars" creator George Lucas. "People say, 'Are you him?' I say, 'Just call me George.'"

Soviet Union art comes to Midwest

PEORIA, Ill. -- Call it a glimpse of a lost world, a world that never was but remains still, preserved in oil and canvas -- a world of workers united and equal, struggling to build a new society of justice and peace. Such was the Soviet Union's official view of itself in state-sanctioned artwork created between 1917 and 1991, a selection of which goes on display in "Behind the Iron Curtain: Russian Impressionism," which opened recently at Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences. The exhibit is testimony to the power of art -- and the eagerness of revolutionary leaders to use that power to help build a new kind of society. It is also testimony to the resilience of the artists themselves, who managed to create notable work even within the rigid strictures of a totalitarian state that banned abstraction and other forms of nonrepresentational 20th century art.

Mind your manners at Fashion Week

NEW YORK -- Anyone who knows anything about the fashion industry knows that fashion people have a certain way of doing things. We tend to follow social rules not written in any book or pamphlet, but rules that have been passed down to us through years of training.

'Darth Vader' to take over Buskirk-Chumley

With a vintage 1977 Darth Vader mug clutched firmly in hand, Gary Wood waited in line at an Indianapolis science fiction convention, hoping to get an autograph from David Prowse, famed for portraying the classic villain in the first "Star Wars" trilogy. Wood got the autograph, but he also got something he hadn't expected: a new cast member for an independent movie he was directing, titled "Saving Star Wars."

Controversial museum scrapped from 9/11 Ground Zero plans

NEW YORK -- Bowing to pressure from furious Sept. 11 families, Gov. George Pataki on Wednesday removed a proposed freedom museum from the space reserved for it at Ground Zero, saying the project had aroused "too much opposition, too much controversy."

Disney gives African art to Smithsonian

WASHINGTON -- A major collection of African artwork, some dating to the 1400s, was donated Thursday to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art. "This is a collection that has been sought after by everyone in the museum world because it is so great," said Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small. "Finally, for reasons I wholeheartedly agree with, it came here."

Singer Baez tests community standards for language

NEW YORK -- Another musician has tested the tolerance level for bad language on prime-time television, but she's no raucous rock star. Would you believe it's Joan Baez? The 64-year-old folkie was interviewed as part of "Bob Dylan: No Direction Home," the two-part "American Masters" series directed by Martin Scorsese that aired this week on PBS. She talked about how fellow musicians were frustrated with Dylan's use of the F-word.

'Darth Vader' relishes fans, avoids limelight

Dave Prowse estimates that 99.9 percent of "Star Wars" fans are perfectly normal, sensible human beings. Still, in the more than two decades since Prowse last appeared as Darth Vader in "Return of the Jedi," that one-tenth of a percent has added up. Whether it's being bombarded by fans while on a plane or visiting houses completely turned into "Star Wars" shrines, Prowse has noticed the craze the movies and his character spur in some people.

Cooks teach about Japanese food

For those who've grown sick of Gresham Food Court's take on Asian cuisine or are looking to expand their recipe repertoire, wander down to the Asian Culture Center this Friday for a crash course in Japanese cooking. Not only will tasty tucker be provided free of charge, but attendees can also learn about Japanese culture.

Carmichael Room honors famous IU music alumnus

You might have heard his music on a Norah Jones CD, at a Straight No Chaser concert or even back in pre-school without even realizing it.

For whom do you dress?

Around the Arts

Meet Darth Vader at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater What: "Saving Star Wars," meet Darth Vader When: 7:30 p.m. Friday Where: Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave. More info: 323-3020 The Buskirk-Chumley will show the Bloomington premiere of "Saving Star Wars," a comical film about two obsessed fans who kidnap filmmaker George Lucas. Following the movie, which cost $50,000 to make, fans will get a chance to meet Dave Prowse, who played Darth Vader in the "Star Wars" trilogy. Tickets are $10 for the public and $8 for students.

How do some classics become CHALLENGED?

John Steinbeck. Maya Angelou. J.K. Rowling. All three authors are on the list of the most frequently banned and challenged authors of the last 15 years, according to the American Library Association.

IU jazz supports Katrina victims

A dream came true. Money was raised for Hurricane Katrina refugees and a jazz great displayed his pupils' talents in an all-star cast Monday night at "A Benefit for New Orleans: The Cradle of Jazz." The concert was not only a big hit with attendees, but it was a wonderful display of compassion and a tribute to a city in need by a world-class music institution.

Local arts council elects new board members

The Bloomington Area Arts Council elected seven new trustees and appointed two new board officers at its annual meeting last week at the John Waldron Arts Center.

Brawn and Beethoven: Local sisters balance muscle, music

Sisters Abigail, Hannah and Sarah Biddle go to church at Martinsville Baptist Tabernacle and are enrolled in IU's pre-college music program. Abigail, 17, plays the harp and sings in church choir. Hannah, 15, plays the cello and piano and wants to become a musical score composer. Sarah, 13, plays the harp and the piano and is the baby of the family.

Oprah to revive 'The Color Purple'

NEW YORK -- "The Color Purple," a musical based on Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, will have Oprah Winfrey as a producer and investor when it opens on Broadway in December. In Winfrey's first Broadway venture, she will contribute more than $1 million of the musical's $10 million production cost, The New York Times reported Sunday on its Web site. The musical, which has been revised since receiving some bad reviews when it opened in Atlanta last year, will be called "Oprah Winfrey Presents: 'The Color Purple.'"

Hoosiers remember James Dean; childhood recalled

FAIRMOUNT, Ind. -- Nearly 50 years after his death, some of James Dean's former classmates are counting on his enduring fame to help save their decaying alma mater. Fairmount High School alumni gathered Saturday in a 1950s-era gymnasium behind the decrepit, 103-year-old building for their sixth annual reunion. Inevitably, talk turned to their movie star classmate. Wilma Jean Underwood Soultz-Brown, a classmate of Dean's, said she and others don't remember him as a Hollywood legend but as someone who "was just like the rest of us." "He drove the tractor when we had class parties out at the Winslow Farm -- and we always had a hay ride," she said. Soultz-Brown supports the idea of saving the original school building, which includes the auditorium where Dean first gave speeches and performed in plays overseen by the school's drama teacher, Adeline Nall.