The Battalion • Page 3
Tuesday • June 6, 1995
Exhibit lets
students focus on nature
Eddy Wylie, The Battalion
A student's sculpture from last semester is one of the
works on display in the J. Wayne Stark Galleries.
By Amy Collier
The Battalion
B y creating original works of art, some Texas
A&M students are showing that flowers are
not just for fragrance.
The J. Wayne Stark University Center Gal
leries are presenting 29 floral designs by students
in “Perspective 95,” an exhibit open until July 2.
James Johnson, a senior lecturer of horticultur
al sciences, taught the floral art class that has its
work on display.
Johnson has coordinated the annual exhibit
since 1989 with Catherine Hastedt, registrar and
curator of the Stark gallery.
Hastedt and Johnson created a pool of artwork
from the University Art Collections and another col
lection of floral art. Students in the class then chose
a work that inspired them. They then had to inter
pret the artwork in an original design of their own.
In addition to using traditional art supplies,
students were also required to use natural materi
als in their artwork.
What resulted is a wide variety of interpreta
tions, made with materials ranging from flowers
to orange slices.
Johnson said he gave the assignment to his class
to help them connect with nature.
“We are losing opportunities to stop and reflect,
to feel, to appreciate and to understand simple
things around us,” Johnson said. “It is a noticeable
fact that our daily routines are becoming faster-
paced and filled with more deadlines.
“This design exercise requires each student to
put on the brakes, to stop and look into a work of
art, to think about it and to respond to it.”
Hastedt said the annual show is eagerly antici
pated because it broadens people’s perspectives
on art.
“People get a good taste for the wide variety of
artwork here on the A&M campus and also gain
an appreciation for the talent of the students,”
Hastedt said.
The use of flowers also makes the art unusual,
Hastedt said.
“It brings art to another dimension,” she said.
“It’s a way of showing people that floral design is
a form of art. Perhaps it will inspire people to look
around and see nature as an art form.”
Students enjoy the exhibit because the designs
are made by fellow classmates, Hastedt said.
“I think it’s an added benefit that other stu
dents could come in and see what their peers are
doing,” she said. “Students can see it and think, ‘I
can do that too.’”
Hastedt said that, even though some of the
works are literal interpretations of the original
pieces, some are highly imaginative, and others are
sparked by memories students had when they saw
the original work.
Julie Hooks, a senior agricultural development
major, used one of the Academic Building’s origi
nal windows — removed during renovations last
year — in her interpretation of “Home No. 1” by
Lucinda Johnson.
“In my composition, the window represents a
doorway for the flowers trying to survive as we
would move through the doorways to survive,”
Hooks said.
Johnson said that besides the excitement of hav
ing their art displayed in an exhibit, students gain
knowledge about nature and their own self-worth.
“It can bolster self-confidence, increase self-es
teem and plant the seed for creative problem-solv
ing later on in life,” he said.
It’s cl Wonderful Town
Night life is what you make
of it in Bryan-College Station
I was walking along the row
of bars we so affectionately
know as Northgate when I
got back this summer. A few
tumbleweeds flew by me. I
think I heard a coyote
scream. And I asked myself,
“Where is everyone?”
Well, they abandon this
•town in the summer.
But the music scene in the
greater Bryan-College Sta
tion metroplex is still alive.
And it is right where we left
it. The pool-playing, bar and
dance-club scenes are also
maintaining a pulse this
summer — even if they may
need some life support.
That’s where we come in.
Bars are not like Morrissey.
If we ignore them, they don’t
get any closer to us. They
close down.
Instead of breathing life
into these places, too often
we prefer to complain.
“There’s nothing to do in this
small, conservative town.”
But the size of a town
has nothing to do with it.
When I was home over the
break, I ran into some old
friends from high school.
They were all trapped for
summer in Katy, another
small town, right?
Hell no. Katy is right next
to Houston.
But my friends were not
too happy about the prospect
of another summer spent
having bonfires in fields.
And the complaints started. ...
“There’s nothing to do.”
“What are we going to do
tonight?”
I offered a suggestion:
“There’s that little place
down the road called, ‘Hous
ton,’” I said. “We could go
there. I’ve heard it has bars
and clubs and stuff.”
It was almost worth it to
Michael
Landauer
Aggielife
Editor
make the drive back here to
go out.
My friends continued to
wallow in misery until we
rented a movie. Renting
movies is not bad, but it is
something you do when
you’re 16 and your parents
won’t let you take your car
anywhere. You go to Taco
Bell, see what’s up with the
field party scene and then
rent a movie and go home.
We don’t have to do that
anymore.
Clubs need our support. Bars
are not like Morrissey. If we
ignore them, they don't
come any closer to us. They
close down.
We’re big kids now. And
we have bars and clubs.
Kven in the summer.
So, as I walked down the
barren streets of our city, I
fell into the “there’s nothing
to do” trap.
And then I heard a
sound. A pinch was needed
to make sure it wasn’t a
dream. And when I realized
it was a real live band, I
started on my Jimmy Stew
art victory run. You know
the one, where George Bai
ley from It’s a Wonderful
Life realizes that he’s back
in Bedford Falls and he’s
got a second chance at life.
I realized that we have a
chance for fun. I ran along
Northgate yelling greetings
at all the buildings.
Later, as I sat in my j ail
cell wondering how I got ar
rested for public intoxication
when I was perfectly sober, I
realised something. We’ve
got six bars across the street
from campus. We’ve got
places to hear live music in
downtown Bryan and other
places on any given weekend
night. And it takes longer to
get out of my neighborhood
back home than it takes to
get to Bryan.
We’ve got pool halls,
dance halls and enough
movie theaters to show every
Ronald Reagan movie on a
different screen at the same
time — not that this would
ever, or should
ever, be
attempted.
Some people say
this town is too
conservative and
that, even with all
these options,
somehow we don’t
party like other
towns. But individ
ualism and live music do exist
here. If we recognize that and
ignore the closed-minded peo
ple who exist everywhere, we
can still have a good time.
And, yes, a lot of people
have gone home this sum
mer. But as much as they
would like to, they could not
take the bars and clubs with
them. They left them here
for us to keep an eye on until
they came back.
So we owe it to the poor
saps home working this sum
mer to venture out into Ag-
gieland, take in a band, shoot
pool and stop complaining.
Punchbowl goes nowhere with a
typical Primus sound and old tricks
By Amy Uptmor
The Battalion
Primus
Tales from the Punchbowl
Interscope records
★★ 1/2 (out of five)
There are no unexpected tricks
on Primus’ new album. Tales from
the Punchbowl. That is, if you
know what to expect from a band
like Primus.
What listeners should expect is
one of the most unconventional
sounds in modern music. Mission
accomplished, but this album
would be much better if most of
the songs did not drag on forever
and take the listener nowhere in
the process.
Take the song “Southbound
Pachyderm,” for example. This
tune is a six-and-a-half minute
repetitive ode to flying elephants
— literally. It sounds funny, but it
is not. Extensively long songs are
an art form that Primus has yet
to master.
“Space farm” suffers from the
same problem, minus the lyrics.
This song is an irritating instru
mental that could be amusing if it
was 30 seconds long, but, unfortu
nately, it runs about five times
that long.
Primus does succeed at what
they are best at — novelty music
— on this album with the song
“Da Anza Jig.” Arguably, no other
band this far from the country
end of the musical spectrum could
get away with using a banjo as
the lead instrument, but it works
for Primus.
But what really makes this song
work is bassist Les Claypool’s sto
rytelling ability. The song, com
plete with background music remi
niscent of the theme from the “Bev
erly Hillbillies,” is a kind of “where
are they now” story of four friends
from the singer’s past.
It rates up there with “Johnny
was a race car driver” as far as
classic FYimus songs go.
There are some other classic
Primus songs on this album.
Primus’ lyrics are, to put it mildly,
unusual. “Hellhound 17 1/2 (theme
from),” a song that tries in vain to
be serious, ends by asking the
question, “Is there heaven is there
hell/Is that tuna melt I smell?”
Claypool does succeed in making
some serious points. “Year of the
Parrot” compares plagiarism to
teaching a mimicking parrot to
sing. Lyrics like “Take a Zeppelin
rifi/And you alter it a bit/You make
lots of money,” are used to deal
such accusations. He even names
Kate Bush and Van Morrison as
guilty of “mimicry.”
One of the more disturbing mo
ments on the album comes in
“Mrs. Blaileen,” a lovely little bal
lad that tells of an abusive
teacher’s effects on an already-dis
turbed child, Don, who snaps and
stabs one of his classmates, Steve
— nice song topic. This song tries
to make a good point, but is a lit
tle too twisted to work.
Claypool’s eerie bass line adds
an almost whining sound to the
background of this already gloomy
song, which ends with the boy
handing a bloody knife to his father
and telling him, “I think I hurt
Steve.” Leave it to such a deranged
group to sing a song about an even
more deranged boy. The result is
not good.
Primus is a decent band, and if
you do not take it too seriously,
this album is at least fun to listen
to. Of course, it would be a lot more
fun if most of the songs were much
shorter and didn’t sound the same.
BUSINESS IS BACK!
Italy Spring Semester 1996
Study Abroad Programs
161 Bizzell Hall West • 845 - 0544
Students will select minimum of 12 hours:
ECON 489/: Economics of the Eur. Union
I BUS 489 Prof. Pier Luigi Sacco
LBAR 332/: Culture of Mgmt. in the Eur. Union
MGMT 489 Prof. Pier Luigi Sacco
ARTS 350: Arts and Civilization*
Prof. Paolo Banicchieri
ANTH 201: Introduction to Anthropology
Dr. Sylvia Grider
ANTH 205: Peoples and Cultures of the World
Dr. Sylvia Grider
PSYC 405: Psychology of Religion
Dr. David Rosen
PSYC 306: Abnormal Psychology
Dr. David Rosen
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