A&E

Video games attract composers

LOS ANGELES -- Violinists playing sweetly beneath her, the video game heroine Lara Croft has two guns blazing and the full attention of 10,000 people at the Hollywood Bowl. The animated star of "Tomb Raider" games, which have collectively sold more than 30 million copies, unflinchingly braves explosions on a giant TV screen that hangs, incongruously, above the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra.

'Empire to Exile:' history through art

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - His horse is wild-eyed and muscular, a gallant force galloping toward a mountain top as soldiers in the background push a cannon alongside a rocky ledge.

Artwork formed by geology, human hands displayed

The word "artwork" normally does not conjure up images of rocks and fossils, but one of Bloomington's galleries does exactly that: it transforms rocks, crystals and fossils into marketable works of art.

Lotus seeks volunteers for annual music and arts festival

One of the many thrills of Bloomington life is surely the annual Lotus World Music and Arts Festival which draws talented musicians from around the globe to the city each September. This event unites community members, students, and area residents in downtown Bloomington for several evenings packed with world music, culture, food, and various other forms of entertainment.

Ball State to offer electronic art

MUNCIE -- Ball State University is offering students a chance to earn a fine arts degree specializing in electronic art and animation, which school officials say is the first program of its kind in Indiana.

Hot club of Naptown heats up July

Art and music lovers came out by the hundreds Friday night to the IU Art Museum for an evening of live music on the Sculpture Terrace. The cost-free event was the last of four performances in the Jazz in July series put on by the museum and other sponsors.

Opera 'Pinafore' promises fun, laughs

What do opera and "Saturday Night Live" have in common? The ability to delight audiences even after years have passed, according to IU stage director, Vince Liotta.

Music, culture of Silk Road dazzles audience

Imamyar Hasanov shook his head from side to side as he concentrated on the music he was playing. He was not the slightest bit angry -- in fact, he seemed to be passionately agreeing with something that was not being said. His music pierced through the air; it was music that shot chills down your spine.

City shows movies under the stars

For all film fans who have grown tired of watching movies in the frigid darkness of a movie theater, the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department has just the solution in their annual Evening with the Stars Movie Series.

New exhibit highlights fashion changes, meanings

Fashion is everywhere -- in television ads, in magazines and newspapers and on the internet. As times change, so does the style of clothing that people wear. What was considered to be "in style" or fashionable in 1930 is no longer what the public wants to wear. Looking back over a century and examining the style trends is an interesting way to look at just how much a culture can change.

Colorful photography, ceramics on display

Bloomington is a city full of art, music, and culture. Everywhere one looks, he or she can find a music festival showcasing music from around the world or an exhibit of unique art.

Silk Road Festival showcases culture

Bloomington residents and students will have the opportunity to travel halfway around the world and experience the cultures of Central Asia without even leaving Kirkwood Avenue this weekend. Saturday The annual Silk Road Bayram will take place in conjunction with several IU summer programs Saturday and Sunday.

Series to show Latin American films

If you've never heard of the films "Toca Para Mí" or "Machuca", Cristian Medina hopes to change that with his Latin American/Spanish Summer Movie Nights Series, which showcases Latin American and South American films. As director of the series, Medina, in conjunction with the Latin American student cultural center La Casa, is showing Latin American and South American films to provide a medium for Latin American discourse on campus.

Art and beyond at the Black Expo

The 2005 Summer Celebration will likely be remembered for the President's visit. But for those who attended the 10 day celebration in Indianapolis, memories will veer away from the political and toward the eclectic gathering of artists, musicians, dancers, vendors, health professionals, career consultants and college representatives, among other things.

Stretching the imagination

In a generation when children spoiled by CGI and high resolution gaming get a bad reputation for having short attention spans, a roomful of kids defied societal norms and sat still Friday night as a man with tennis balls tied to his arm acted like a talking frog.

Local bookstores stock up on new book, prepare for crowds

If "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" has fans waiting anxiously, it has booksellers salivating hungrily. With more than 1.4 million copies pre-ordered on www.amazon.com alone, the sixth book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series is shaping up to be the most hyped and long--awaited of the best--selling books.

"One day, 12 hours, six minutes ..." In the same way that Indiana anticipates the NCAA men's basketball tournament, the nation anticipates the release of the next installment of Harry Potter, due out Saturday -- "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." With Bloomington proving to be no exception, residents and visiting students alike are gearing up for the highly anticipated novel. Many questions hang in the air unanswered: What does J.K. Rowling have in store for her readers? Who is the half-blood prince? Who will die? But most importantly, why does everyone care so much?

Words, dulcimers come to Bloomington

Words might seem like quite everyday things, but they have extraordinary potential. This weekend, Bloomington audiences are about to see fantastic things done with those simple, little words.

African Film Series showcases diversity

For many people, when they think about cinema, they tend to neglect films that are not multi-million-dollar Hollywood blockbusters. Included in this negligence are many films from outside the U.S., including the African film community. In collaboration with the Summer Cooperative African Language Institute at IU, the Buskirk-Chumley is helping to shed some light on the thriving and vivacious but little-known African film community.

Casino exhibits French paintings

LAS VEGAS -- The French countryside could not be farther away, in distance or sentiment, from the long stretch of neon lights that line the Las Vegas Strip.