• March 5, i« HE BATTALION
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to the end,”
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otecting the
ain issue for
d budget.
nteractive displays shed light on insect life
in [Rachel Barry
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George Edwards
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dr Force’s newF-
itical fighter,
one if it is from the “Backyard
tasters” exhibit which opened this
end at the Brazos Valley Muse-
jof Natural History and will run
jough April 24.
The exhibit features a series of
jantic robotic insects and a dis
lay of over 500 exotic insects
around the world, and it of-
sa glimpse into the lives of na-
ic’smisunderstood pests.
Elisabeth
(firsley, special
pts liaison
the museum,
ilthe exhibit offers a
lique perspective for
Iters.
'It’s like sudden-
you’re the size
a bug,” she said. |
ley are anatomi-
exact — you
get to see how
tywork.”
ipairof dragonflies with 10-foot
igspans hover over the exhibit, and an
jjnnous praying mantis eyes visitors.
Pursley said “Backyard Monsters”
its exciting exaggeration to interest
il educate.
Their sheer size is amazing,”
said, “especially when you
ink about how small they
tin real life.”
Pursley said through a
iplay called “Bug’s Eye
lew,” people can
into the
edfersized head of
and see the
id 1 srld through its com-
imdeyes.
‘It serves to enhance
nr appreciation of their
)lein our world,” she said. “It
iws you a sense of what their world
dike.”
Through nine interactive displays.
a iep
visitors have the opportunity to learn
facts about insects.
Children can learn the difference
between the thorax and antennae of
an ant by taking apart a plastic repli
ca of the insect and putting it back to
gether. Another display allows visi
tors to move a robotic insect with a re
mote control.
In another display, children can step
into the life of a larvae by climbing
into an enlarged honeycomb.
||^ But young, wingless
|n creatures of the human
kind aren’t the only ones
getting in on the action of
“Backyard Monsters.”
“(Backyard Monsters) is in
teresting for a big span of ages,”
Pursley said. “It has a
broad appeal.”
Mindy Bryant, project
chair for the service fra
ternity Alpha Phi Omega
and a senior English ma
jor, said APO is helping
the museum give tours to
elementary school children.
Bryant said the exhibit is “ab
solutely amazing” and “definitely
monstrous.”
“Everybody thinks (bugs) are ugly,
nasty, mean, useless creatures” she said.
“But through the exhibit, you learn that
they help with all kinds of things.”
Bryant said the exhibit offers an op
portunity for children to learn about in-
. sects while having fun.
“The more kids
S.v' xS. know, the better
off they’ll be,”
she said.
Pursley
said the sev
en display
cases exhibit
ing over 500
rare and exotic
insects have been
called one of the
finest private collections in the world.
Pursley said the museum hopes to
give residents of Bryan-College Sta
tion the opportunity to experience in
teresting exhibits without having to
Gwendolyn Struve, The Battalion
First graders from Bonham Elementary School in Bryan try to locate the queen bee among a colony of live honey bees at the
"Backyard Monsters" exhibit at the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History.
travel far.
“We really feel a strong duty to
provide an opportunity to the commu
nity where everyone can see them as
opposed to driving to Houston or Dal
las,” she said. “Our primary goal is to
provide an educational opportunity
for the whole family that is fun and
exciting.
“So the people who live here don’t
have to go elsewhere for quality fami
ly-oriented entertainment that is edu
cational, as well as exciting, interest
ing and fun.”
Looking into the colossal eyes of a
praying mantis and stepping into the
shadow of an enormous black widow
spider tends to put humans in their
place, Pursley said.
“It gives you a really good idea of
what you are up against,” she said.
Japanese symbols, icons convey
artists’ views of humanity, nature
Sub
Salad)
airs Center
rsity 691-2276
, Night News Editor
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& Kieran Watson
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ohn Lemons, Jennifer
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in 015 Reed McDon-
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tudent to pick up a sin-
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5<M University.
aid Building, Texas
Gwendolyn Struve, The Battalion
ink print (left) by Akiko Ishii and "Etiolation," a dyed silk piece by Rokugoh Harada are on display at
^Expressive Iconography" exhibit at J. Wayne Stark University Center Galleries.
'lohn LeBas
Battalion
i merican audiences now
1 have a unique opportuni-
*.ty to view Japanese art
:as A&M.
Expressive Iconography: the
‘of Akiko Ishii and Rokugoh
W will be displayed in the J.
: )te Stark University Center
ijsries through April 14.
-atherine Hastedt, registrar
^curator of the Stark Galleries,
•Ithe artists have developed a
: |te system of iconography to
^ their works.
tanography is a symbol sys-
tlike our alphabet,” she said,
^led this show ‘Expressive
■lography’ because I was
odby how each artist ap-
■ 5 thed their art.”
1 press release says Ishii and
:; ada, both contemporary
^ese artists, use “traditional
Ms and abstract images to
'ey deep meanings about hu-
E%and nature.”
ii creates traditional
characters with callig-
capturing phrases and
* a ges from poems and an-
Japanese stories.
said art is best expressed
i'ts imperfections.
' i s most attractive when im
perfect or fragmentary elements
leave room for imaginary perfec
tion in the mind of the observer,”
Ishii said. “Art should possess
something which appeals strongly
to the humanism of the spirit be
yond national or racial bounds.”
Many of Ishii’s works are
haikus, 17-syllable poems, and
wakas, 31-syllable poems, written
in large characters on paper
scrolls and folding boards. Ishii
spent years studying her art un
der a master, and such poems are
traditional practice media for cal
ligraphy trainees.
One piece, featuring a waka by
Priest Dogen, admires the beau
ties of the four seasons and reads
simply, “Blossoms in Spring,
Cuckoos in Summer, Moonlight in
Autumn and Snow in Winter.”
Ishii also expresses several pas
sages from the “Tale of the Heiki,”
an ancient Japanese poem. For
one of these works, Ishii wrote a
passage from a famous Heiki
chapter about Buddha’s temple:
“Sounds of the chime at Buddha’s
temple sang the fragility of life ...
Arrogance, like a dream in a
spring night, cannot last long.
Haughty people also die out even
tually like dust in the winds.”
Several pieces also came from
the Kojiki, dated A.D. 717 and
considered the oldest history
book in Japan.
Ishii also uses her art to over
step “national and racial bounds.”
In a simple language comparison
display, Ishii created two separate
but similar ink-on-paper pieces.
One reads “ABCDEFG.” The oth
er, “I, Ro, Ha, Ni, Ho, He, To,” is
the Japanese equivalent of the
first seven English letters.
Harada’s ultra-modern work
primarily consists of geometric
shapes dyed on silk.
“She was inspired by looking
through a microscope at things
around the house, like dust,”
Hastedt said.
Two of Harada’s comparable
pieces, “Pebble” and “Bubbler,”
consist of 16 circles within 16
squares. The former is colored
with browns and beiges and the
latter with blues and grays.
“She uses the bright colors be
cause she’s very interested in color
theory and how different colors re
act with each other,” Hastedt said.
Hastedt said people should
take advantage of this chance to
view Japanese art through the
Galleries’ open visitation and
scheduled tours.
“This is the first time we’ve had
Japanese art here,” Hastedt said.
“Providing a glimpse into the
iconography of this Asian culture,
the show represents a rare oppor
tunity for American audiences to
view their work.”
Partners ride in style in Cowboy Limo
By Tab Dougherty
The Battalion
T exas has an attitude all its own, which is
why Debbie and Stephen Hanel took a
truck, stretched it and made the Cowboy
Limousine.
“We wanted to start out with a truck simply
because it’s Texas, and I think it’s very suitable,”
Stephen Hanel said. “It’s very unique.”
Started in August 1995, the Cowboy Limousine
has enjoyed considerable success.
“We’ve been very satisfied,” Stephen Hanel
said. “As far as starting a new business and
getting it going, we’ve been very pleased with
the response.”
The Cowboy Limo features all the comforts
of a normal limo, including a privacy divider, a
television and VCR, a stereo with a 10-disc
changer, air conditioning controls for the back,
facing couches, a cellular phone, an ice com
partment and a bar. In addition to normal lim
ousine features, the Cowboy Limo has some
thing that only a truck has.
“It rides as well as a car limousine, and you’re
sitting higher,” Hanel said. “One of the big fea
tures that I like in a truck limousine is it has a
flat floor, and it doesn’t have the big drive shaft
coming up in the middle of the floor, so people are
more comfortable in it, and it has more headroom
than a car limousine. You can see better out of a
truck. You can enjoy the ride and enjoy the view
of what you’re seeing as you go by better than you
can in a car.”
Hanel said these extra features make the Cow
boy Limousine an enjoyable alternative to the
normal car limo.
“It’s the only one in the country,” he said. “It’s
the first, and I’m sure there will be more. I really
hope there will be. I’d like to see more limousine
trucks because my customers that use it love it.
I’ve had customers that have ridden in both the
car limousine and the truck limousine, and they
like the truck limousine better.”
Renee Metoyer, a sophomore psychology major,
said she enjoyed riding in the Cowboy Limousine.
“At first, I had my doubts, but it was one of
the best times I had,” Metoyer said. “It was
very comfortable and convenient. I’m sure I’ll
ride in it again.
Hanel said it is impossible to go anywhere
without attracting strange looks from people.
“Everywhere you go, everybody wants to look
at it,” Hanel said. “It’s just a lot of fun to ride in —
to be in. People like the attention they get when
they’re in it because people are staring at the
truck. It intrigues people.”
Stephen Hanel said he has made many trips to
the Houston Rodeo, and the Cowboy Limo is very
convenient for his passengers.
“It holds six people comfortably,” he said. “They
(riders) don’t have to worry about parking. If they
want to drink and have a good time, they don’t
have to worry about driving. It drops you off and
is there waiting when you come out. They can
have as much fun as they want, and they don’t
have to worry about driving and traffic.”
Ml of this positive response has encouraged the
Hanels to expand their rental service, and they
plan to make more Cowboy Limos.
Matt Sanders, a sophomore general studies
major, said he could not believe there was actual
ly a truck limo.
“When I finally got in it,” Sanders said, “I real
ized how much more than a normal limo it was.”
Hanel said that when he tells people he owns a
truck limousine, they cannot envision what it
looks like.
“They think, ‘Well, it’s just an old truck that
they did something to,’ but this thing is as elegant
as any car limousine,” he said.
Hanel said he enjoys the stares and attention
his Cowboy Limo receives and he wouldn’t have it
any other way.
“I just felt like in Texas, a limousine ought to
be a truck,” Hanel said.
Dave House, The Battalion
The Cowboy Limo, a stretched Ford F-350 pickup truck, is owned by Debbie and Stephen Hanel.