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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 1998)
le Battalion Page 3 • Friday, November 6, 1998 'i Page 1 tacks, the fill lie day befoJ e, respective! e, these two red pots pots build tin nior redpots ; completed, ntop, and Be: shed, symbol oftfe at the hell Texas. tfelt Artists from Purse Building Studios > Page 1 assistant dr y Rape Crist ?lors at the a p to thevir: if their actie: to force the: because" I, control of :en over, ai em,” she ss the counsf t the offense ; an anon® ns. She said ises confide: ictims. ssociate dire of Student. ? not a good tappensto' they area? hat student UPDshoii for the dis: nbers of e reports ol ves. in Houston display works at MSC Visual Arts Gallery BY RILEY LAGRONE The Battalion W hen Jack Stenner graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in envi ronmental design, buying and renovating an abandoned warehouse in downtown Houston probably weren’t a part of his post-graduate plans. Luckily for the 14 artists who work in the Purse Building Studios, that is exactly what happened. The building, once owned by Purse and Compa ny Wholesale Furniture, is now owned by Stenner. It houses 12 studio spaces, a 1,000-square-foot ex hibition hall downstairs and numerous, smaller ex hibition spaces on the upper floors. The goal of the Purse Building Studios is to pro vide low-rent work spaces for dedicated artists, as well as an environment that promotes creativity and open discussion of ideas without outside pressure. Elizabeth Joblin, one artist in the Purse Building Studios, said she feels fortunate to be able to create art in such an open and productive environment. “It was all kind of word-of-mouth at first,” Joblin said. “I feel indredibly lucky to be there ... to see all the other art.” The 700- to 2,500-square-foot studio spaces are provided for the artists practically rent-free. Their only expenses are the costs of maintenance and pub- “Ode to Joy,” a painted steel and polyester sculpture by Marissa Munoz, is one of the exhibits on display at the MSC Visual Arts Gallery from the Purse Building Studios artists. licity. The artists in the building are also encouraged to take advantage of the exhibition spaces — the larger gallery is rotated among artists or used for special events. If the perks of the studio seem to outnumber the downfalls, then Stenner has reached his goal. The beauty of the Purse Building Studios is it brings together such varied talent into one building. It allows sculpture to mingle with painting, painting to mingle with collage and all forms of expression to influence each other. The result is work that speaks volumes about its creators, as well as the art community as a whole. The MSC Visual Arts Committee is exhibiting works from some of the Purse Building Studios’ artists now through Nov. 19 in the Visual Arts Gallery on the second floor of the MSC. Some of the artists, whose work is currently on display, were given the opportunity to speak to a group of A&M students at a small reception Wednes day night. They shared their feelings about what influences them, as well as the state of art in today’s society. John Gaunt,' the creator of paintings such as “Plane” and “Grill” (both currently on display in the Visual Arts Gallery), said his intention is to scale down his work in part to contrast the myths that cur rently haunt artists. Some of these pressures. Gaunt said, are be liefs such as “all art must be heroic” or “all artists must suffer.” “Over the last few years, I have been working on simplifying my [art],” Gaunt said. “This was a de cision based in part on my aversion to the excesses in the art market and to my belief that art and artists are being required to propagate empty myths.” Two other artists, Joblin and Marcus Adams, also shed light on the reasons for their choice of media, their personal interpretations of their work and a variety of other topics. Erin Petersen, chair of the Visual Arts Commit tee and a junior international studies major, said she is happy an exhibit with such varied talent is being shown at Texas A&M. “This exhibit is unique because it not only brings a diverse collection to the Gallery but also concentrates on the art by showing the artistic process,” Petersen said. “What we are trying to do with the show is to concentrate on the studio as a place where artists can work outside of the mar ketplace without [that] pressure. The Visual Arts Committee is very fortunate to be able to work with these people .,. they are very generous with their time and knowledge.” Hep Cat Hop brings Swing to B-CS BY STEPHEN WELLS The Battalion C ollege Station, it has been said, suf fers from a lack of interesting things to do on the weekend — if one does not two-step and drink cheap beer. With Bonfire still two weeks away, stu dents may be wondering where they can find some innocent, indulgent fun without going to a club. This Saturday at 9:30 p.m., that place is the Ramada Inn and the event is the Hep Cat Hop, a celebration of Swing arranged by The Guide. Liz Adams, a promoter of the event and a marketing graduate student, said the Hep Cat Hop is an authentic Swing dance party. “It’s basically going to be a Swing rave,” Adams said. “A lot of larger cities have Swing clubs people can go to, but we don’t right now. We decided a one-night celebration was just the thing.” Adams said the inspiration for the event came from an innocent discussion about throwing a party. “It started out as just my husband and I wanting to throw a party for some of our friends,” Adams said. “We didn’t want just a normal party, we really wanted people to dance. I talked about it with some other people, and the idea just es calated from there.” Chris Mercer, a promoter of the event and Class of ’95, said although the event has been planned in a short time, people are very interested. “We’ve been working on it for about a month and a half,” Mercer said. “We real ly wanted to have it before the Swing club opened here, to get people interested in the scene. “People are calling us all over, from Waco to Houston to Austin, and asking about the show. It’s going to be huge.” Mercer said the Hep Cat Hop is not just a dance event. The atmosphere of the Swing era will be present at the event. see Hop on Page 4. enlighten • entertain • inspire Before Garth. Before Reba. Before Shania. There was Patsy. Alu,ay riine Patsy clt base d ° n Patsy Cline had only five years to become a legend. Fortunately, she made the most of her time. November 10 & 11 at 8 PM Rudder Auditorium For tickets, call 845-1234. 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