The Battalion
Aggielife
Page 3 • Friday, October 23, 1998
rom
rench
rOut
Stark Galleries feature
popular art pieces,
a Renaissance paintings
ROBERT MCKAY/Thf. Battalion
Lois Johnson, who visits the J. Wayne Stark Gallery during an ostrich farm
ing convention, admires “St. Paul Writing His Epistles” by Valentine De
Boulogne. The painting is a part of the Ancien Regime exhibit.
BY GRAY WHITTEN
The Battalion
ays died
ocial commentary, ranging from a painting of a
monkey violinist to stolen views of AOL messages
in pop-art form, line the walls of the J. Wayne
Stark Gallery as part of exhibits from two very dif
ferent places and times.
Sharing the walls are a sampling of French Renaissance and
roque paintings contrasted with a display of innovative and
uversiiv sometimes strange photographic works,
entialre::* The larger of the two exhibits, “French Painting of the
'edstoriAncien Regime from the Collection of the Sarah Campbell
e said, '■affer Foundation,” contains works from the 15th through
mselver fcth centuries. The Blaffer collection gives students a cross-
.essions:taction of what was one of the most influential periods in
f t history.
The French attained a cultural high-watermark by draw-
;ions,sai: igon the influences of the Italians and the Flemish, among
astnight'-' ihers, and held that position for centuries,
demented! | Enrique Montes, a senior construction science major and
imentafe in employee of the galleries, said patrons of the gallery are
not always the usual college crowd.
“We get a lot more non-students than students. There are
otof tours from local high schools and elementary schools
|rthe French paintings. Art classes and things like that,”
ontes said.
The Blaffer exhibit attempts to give a representative sam-
of the styles and subjects favored at the time.
The pieces on display have been gathered in the last 25
ars for educational purposes, according to information
ovided by the gallery.
Startlingly realistic works like Hubert Robert’s “The
lining of the Hotel-Dieu in Paris the Night of 29-30 De-
jcember 1772,” which is amazing in both detail and size,
d Charles Franqois Lacroix De Marseille’s “View of an
lian Port at Dawn,” showcase the artists’ talent for re-
ism and observation.
Several of the featured portraits and self-portraits, espe-
lally Valentin De Boulogne’s “Saint Paul Writing His Epis-
ps,” show an incredible care for accuracy in facial expres-
n, lighting and shading.
In the De Boulogne work, the face of Christ is visible in
(.linMin
Charity Phi-Esta
Bellamy Brothers, Junior Brown
perform tonight to benefit MDA
the writing table, almost as a reflection of Paul. This illusion
is a residual effect of the original image being painted over
by a poor artist.
Religious and mythological themes are some of the most
common in this exhibit. Some paintings portray everyday
scenes, but many are related to the heavenly beings that
shaped cultures and societies.
Gallery curator Catherine Hastedt said she tries to pick
relevant pieces when choosing pieces for a display.
“I try to bring in exhibits I can tie into the current cur
riculum, like when we have archaeological exhibits or some
thing,” she said. “We seem to have the best luck when
there’s an assignment related to the exhibit.”
After spending time in the presence of pieces of the past,
the works of the present that can be seen in “Luminous
Code: Photo-based Artworks” will either comfort or surprise
visitors with its skewed views of our world.
The works in the exhibit are divided by four “themes,” the
Natural, the Mnemonsyne, the Semiotic and the Surreal.
With work from artists of varying backgrounds, skill lev
els and origins, “Luminous Code” presents views of our
world in some unusual formats.
Some show stark realism while others, like Tom Cham
bers’ “Pueblo Fire,” show things that could be.
Featured photos are altered, computer enhanced or print
ed by alternate methods.
Ann Pizer’s “Corselet” is presented on an actual corset,
and photos appear on leather and other materials.
Jennifer Blessing of the Guggenheim Museum said the
images in this exhibit are linked by a common interest in
the expressive qualities of the photographic medium.
“What’s really interesting,” Hastedt said, “is how much
of contemporary society is depicted in it. Everything from
telephone to e-mail. It’s very topical.”
The care used by the photographers is obvious in some
works and questionable in others, but the collection as a
whole is an interesting visual experience.
“Luminous Code” will be on display through Nov. 1,
while the Blaffer collection will be on display until Dec. 17.
Hastedt noted that after the end of the French exhibit’s
stay at the Stark Galleries, it will no longer be traveling, but
will find a permanent home in the newly expanded Hous
ton Museum of Fine Arts.
BY RILEY LAGRONE
The Battalion
T exas A&M University’s
Phi Delta Theta chapter
will hold its first Phi-
Esta tonight at Wolf Pen
Creek Amphitheater.
The concert, which will ben
efit the Muscular Dystrophy As
sociation, will feature country
artists Pat Green, Junior Brown
and the Bellamy Brothers.
In addition to raising mon
ey for MDA, Phi-Esta has been
contacted by the Children’s
Miracle Network to help grant
Garrett Highsmith, a 6-year-
old boy who has been diag
nosed with cancer, his wish to
meet country performer Ju
nior Brown.
Not only is the concert be
ing organized for a good
cause, it will feature some of
the most talented country
artists to ever be assembled in
College Station at one time.
The Bellamy Brothers, who
will headline the concert,
have been performing music
together since the 1970s.
The duo has written such
hits as “Redneck Girl” and
“Do You Love as Good as
You Look?”
More recently, the Bellamy
Brothers left their label, At
lantic, to found their own Bel
lamy Brothers Records.
Also performing at Phi-Esta
will be rockabilly legend Ju
nior Brown.
In Austin, Brown’s gigs at
the Continental Club have be
come a must-see for fans, mu
sicians and visiting record ex
ecutives, and his albums
continue to blur the lines be
tween rock and country.
In fact, the singer-song-
writer even invented his own
type of guitar.
“I was playing both steel
and guitar, switching back and
forth all the time while I sang,
and it was kind of awkward,”
Brown said in a biography.
“But I had this dream
where they were just kind of
melted together. When I woke
up, I thought ‘You know, that
thing could work!’ They make
double neck guitars and dou
ble neck /steels, so why not
one of each?”
The idea worked, and the
‘guit-steel’ has become one of
Brown’s trademarks.
Brown, a master of both in
struments, combines guitar
licks and steel guitar lines so
flawlessly, it is sometimes dif
ficult to tell they are not the
same instrument.
Opening the concert will be
local favorite Pat Green.
Green, who began his ca
reer as a Texas Tech student
performing shows in beer gar
dens around Lubbock, has
been the opening act for
artists including Willie Nel
son, Jerry Jeff Walker and
Robert Earl Keen.
Green, who also frequently
headlines his own shows, re*-
leased his second alburn^
George’s Bar, in April 1997. ^
Russell Roberts, Vice Presi
dent of Phi Delta Theta, said h$
is looking forward to the concert.
“We’re really excited about
the first Phi-Esta, as well as
raising money for organiza
tions like MDA,” Roberts said',
“The whole point of events
like this is to generate money
to help people who need it.” *
PHOTO COURTESY OF PAT GREEN
Pat Green, a Texas country musician, will open for The Bellamy
Brothers tonight at Phi Delta Theta’s first Phi-Esta.
OFF CAMPUS AGGIES FUN FRIDAY
1. Tortilla Toss 12-2pm
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