MCA's two sides to Minimalism

An almost life sized painting of a black square may not be considered art to many people, but if Ad Reinhardt, famous Minimalist painter, were still alive, he'd tell you, "The more stuff in it, the busier the work of art, the worse it is. More is less, less is more."  

Morris's "Portal" courtesy of mutualart.com

That simple, yet explanatory statement is the theme for the Museum of Contemporary Art's newest exhibit, "The Language of Less: Then and Now", which gives patrons a look into the world of Minimalist art from its beginning in the 1960s to the present day rebirth of the genre.  

The exhibit, which opened October 8th, has two separate areas, one to showcase the classic, post Abstract-Expressionist Minimalists (open until April 8th) and one for five modern day artists who are redefining the meaning of Minimalism.  

The walls that house the exhibit are stark white, the floors a distressed, but plain gunmetal grey- neither draws attention, leaving that up to the array of paintings, sketches and sculptures. Like Robert Morris's "Portal", a life size cloud-white rectangular doorway that rests calmly in the front of the Then section- a good welcome to the simplistic, yet complex world of Minimalistic art.  

The rockstars of the movement are, for the most part, all there.  Sol LeWitt, Richard Serra, Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, Ad Reinhardt, and Frank Stella's work, evoke lengthy stare sessions and a few scratches to the head while at the same time inspiring wonder.  How a painting like Stella's "Clinton Plaza" (a black canvas riddled with a hazel colored maze-like design) can create such awe is an awesome question in itself.  

Stella's "Clinton Plaza" photo courtesy of moma.org

The Now portion of the exhibit explodes with such difference the feeling seems to be lingering in the air, rather, on the walls.  There are no black boxes or bright geometric shapes. This is a different kind of Minimalism, perhaps not Minimalism at all, at least not in the same sense as the trailblazers from the 60s intended. 

Here, Carol Bove, Leonor Antunes, Jason Dodge, Gedi Sibony, and Oscar Tuazon display their contemporary versions of Minimalism.  These artists' works range from the simple, Bove's "Tears", delicate silver chains hanging from the ceiling, to the ridiculously simple (and nonsensical), Dodge's "In Lübeck, Germany, Marlies Scholz wove a piece of cloth. She was asked to choose yarn the color of night and equaling the distance (12 km) from the earth to above the weather", to the freakily intricate, Antunes's "Caledonia", a stringy creation made from black ropes that resembles the web of a spider crossed with a dominatrix.  

Dodge's "Lubeck" photo courtesy of mcachicago.org

The modern twist is apparent; the artists are not ridding their work from metaphor and deeper meaning or removing themselves, but in fact inserting those factors back in. Tuazon's work is described in the exhibit as displaying his frustration and anger relating to societal issues and Sibony's collection is crafted from materials found in debris from old homes, which is something he was exposed to as a child and carried with him through his art.  Not exactly a separation. 

Antunes's "Caledonia" photo courtesy of mcachicago.org 

The showcase is something not everyone will "get".  It's not obvious, it's not easy and it's certainly not always enjoyable; sorry Dodge- the lightning rod? The three pillows? But it is an experience, and a memorable one at that. For a slow, Sunday afternoon, it's an ideal place to learn a little bit about less. 

5 music icons who broke into fashion

Photo courtesy of USAtoday.com

Bob Dylan is a man best known for his pitchy, raspy voice, poetry and most importantly, his music. He is a music icon and a fashion one as well.  Dylan's laid back folk music stylings are emanated through his dress.  From his night black wayfarer sunglasses to his casual denim jackets and flowy scarves, Dylan broke out from just the music scene and left his mark on the fashion world whether he intended to or not. 

This act of fusing two industries, two worlds of entertainment, may not have started with Dylan, but it certainly was carried on by him and in turn, continues to be carried on by some of the most recognizable and respected artists of that generation, this and the next.  Here are some of the most iconic musicians/singers from the past 50 years.

Miles Davis: Refined
Infamous jazz legend Miles Davis is known for his phenomenal abilities to create new sounds in jazz, but he also became known for his new looks in fashion.  A man who knew how to dress for each new decade, Davis’s crisp Ivey League and clean cut style lives on along with his musical talents.  "Miles Davis had a unique, refined style that complimented his jazz career.  Tailored pinstripe suits were custom made with flashy printed silk linings that contained personal labels," says Board of Directors member and Membership Chair of Fashion Group International, Kathleen Haines Finley.

Photo courtesy of theselvedgeyard.wordpress.com

David Bowie: Androgynous

People didn’t know if Bowie's alter ego Ziggy Stardust was a man or a woman, and that androgynous character is one of Bowie’s most famous.  A mention of the name David Bowie, often exerts a quick flash of Stardust’s face; that vivid red mullet, the lightning bolt across the face and intense red rouge.  If anyone ever did question what sex Bowie’s alter ego was supposed to be, one glance at those skintight body suits cleared that up. "David Bowie was the Glam Rocker with androgynous costumes even wearing cosmetics to compliment his costume as Ziggy Stardust.  The flamboyant japanese garments became a driving force in fashion design in the early 70's.  In the 80's, David Bowie had revealed a retro 1940's club feel in a few of his dance-pop videos," Haines Finley says.

Photo courtesy of thewintersnowfall.com

Madonna: 80s Chic

Madonna may be one of the few singers who are remembered more for her imprint on fashion than her music.  With her triangle bra, almost sacrilegious use of the cross, candy apple red lips, wild hair and suggestive outfits, like a bustier wedding dress, Madonna changed fashion forever. "Madonna has definitely created a bold avant-garde fashion statement from the eighties to current day.  She can be a material girl, an elegant geisha, or portrayed as Eva Peron in Evita (she looked very glamorous in this role)," Haines Finley says. Though the 80s is thankfully over, her bold and girl power fueled trendiness remains one of the strongest influences to ever hit fashion. 

Photo courtesy of sweetlyrics.com

Lady Gaga: Avant-garde

She’s an enigma.  It’s almost as though she’s not even a real person.  But no one since Madonna has revolutionized fashion like Lady Gaga. She made bows made out of hair mainstream, not wearing pants a trend and white blonde hair coveted.  But she’s gone beyond influencing conventional fashion.  "Lady Gaga has the ability to change her wardrobe in an instant! Through her wearing of exotic masks, wigs, and millinery to accent her eye-popping creative ensembles, nothing should be simple. There are no limitations with extravegant and extreme fashions," Haines Finley says.

Photo courtesy of womenshair.about.com

"Live at The Alley" goes live

Nelson(right) and Costas(left) at The Alley recording studio
Photo courtesy of liveatthealley.com

Marc Nelson, 31, sits in a dark recording studio, The Alley, in Valparaiso, Indiana, where he works as a mixer and partner. The red and blue squared retro wallpaper seems to make everything around it look vintage, including Nelson.  His posture is almost regal, which is fitting since he looks like a king sitting amidst all the shimmering silvers of the microphones, mixing boards and sound tools.  He fiddles with his iPhone4, which quietly chimes every few minutes, directs Oliver, his four-year-old Weimaraner, to the lush leather couch in the corner and regales stories from when he lived in Los Angeles.  “If you haven’t noticed, I’m very ADHD,” he quips. 

Though his attention span is close to a puberty stricken teenager’s, possibly lower, it’s exactly those tendencies that lead him to the idea for “Live at The Alley”, a TV series that exposes musicians from Chicago and Northwest Indiana.  The series, which airs Mondays at 9:30pm on Lakeshore PBS, is a thought child long in the making for Nelson.  It certainly wasn’t all strawberry fields getting started, but with the help of Evan Costas, 24, the idea has come alive.

Nelson has long been part of the music world.  He lived in L.A. and worked with studios as a mixer, managed the studio that The Alley came to replace and has been performing small gigs where he plays the guitar and sings. But it was when he worked as an assistant for CRC, one of the Midwest’s largest record studios, that he got the idea for the show. “They [CRC] had these things for Q101 where these massive national bands would come in to do radio programming and they would come in and perform live in the studio that night.  But they never had any visuals, ever and I always wondered why,” Nelson says. 

Throughout his time at CRC, the seed grew from a thought to an idea.  “Over the years I was thinking how we could do this and I started thinking about doing local showcases.”  Eight years later, Nelson met Costas, an energetic recent college graduate who took on camera work as a hobby.  “After I graduated my dad (who is the mayor of Valparaiso) thought it’d be a good idea to get some cameras and do a few commercials,” Costas says.  “So I initially did that and started getting into it and doing research and that’s how the passion grew.”

  The process for the show started after Costas filmed Nelson performing at Valparaiso’s annual Popcorn Festival.  “He shot the video of me and the next day he had it done.  It was missing some technical aspects, but man, he had the eye,” Nelson says.  From there, Nelson approached Costas about doing a show, he agreed and the idea Nelson had for so many years was finally falling into place.

Lakeshore PBS picked up the show after Nelson mentioned it at a local awards ceremony.  “I was in the area’s 20 Under 40, an entrepreneur award, and I mentioned I wanted to do the show while there and PBS contacted me and said okay.” The station gave Nelson and Costas an exact time space for 26 minutes, 46 seconds. According to Nelson, the specific time allotment combined with figuring out how to shoot the show made the first few steps miserable and caused a few hiccups in production.  “We shot the first episode, which was originally going to be 30 minutes on one band, which was great for about 18 and then all of a sudden you’re like I’ve got 12 more minutes left on the same band!”  A decision was quickly made to have two bands per episode, which made the show more engaging. Costas also admits, he wasn’t prepared for how extreme the work would be.  “I was kind of lazy about it at first,” he remembers.  “But Marc got on my case about it and I didn’t realize it’d be so intense so I busted my ass on the first show and it all started to work.”

Now, with 23 episodes shot, things are moving more systematically.  “We try to get the bands in and out in around three hours,” Nelson says.  “The band sets up around 3:00pm, Marc sets up all the equipment and I show up and start shooting the interviews, then we shoot the songs,” Costas explains.  “We do two takes of one song to see which one is better and they’re usually out by around 6:00pm.”  Three hours may seem like a short amount of time, but for busy musicians, it’s helpful.  “They really had their stuff together,” says Stephanie Ruggeri, a singer who will appear on “Live at The Alley”.  “It was cool seeing them both do what they love while I got to do what I love.”

As they move forward, a shared vision and desire to represent local musicians bonds the minds behind “Live at The Alley”.  “It’s hard for bands to make it big,” Costas says, “It’s great to see them get the exposure they deserve.”  “The big thing is to expose as much as you can to this generation.  The awareness thing is important for these bands that are good,” Nelson agrees.  The bands are also excited about the exposure aspect.  “I think people will be surprised to see how much talent there is in the Chicago/Northwest Indiana area.  There’s a lot of people who just don’t realize what’s out there,” says Nelson’s Alley partner, Chad Clifford, who will also appear with his band, the Crawpuppies, on “Live at The Alley”. 

The future of the show is up in the air.  Nelson and Costas are signed with PBS, but can shop around for a new network for the show’s second season.  There are lines of bands wanting to get a spot on the series and Nelson and Costas plan to continue their mission of getting good music out to the masses.  “We want to take it as far and as big as it can go,” Costas says.  The team doesn’t make any money from the show yet, but that’s really not the point.  They have too much energy and passion to worry about that right now.  “The show will be done after Christmas, so I’ll have to find something to do… we’ll probably be shooting season two and working on commercials, which I’d like to do more of,” Nelson says.  “I can’t just sit at my house, I can’t watch TV I have to be doing something constantly.”  There’s that ADHD kicking in. 

Dream House fails to live up to its name - 1 1/2 stars (out of 4)

With a cast like Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts, Dream House should be just that, but the eerie fairytale quickly turns into a moviegoers nightmare and the only thing dreamy about it are Craig's crystalline baby blues. 

Will Atenton (Craig), his wife Libby (Weisz) and two young daughters, Trish (Taylor Geare) and Dee Dee (Claire Astin Geare) move from Manhattan to a tranquil New England town so Will can have the quiet and time to write.  However, the family soon discovers that just five years ago, a grisly murder of a mother and her two children occurred in the very place they now call home.  

Desperate to protect his family and solve the mystery that surrounds his new home, Will uncovers unsettling details and stupefying truths that lead him to unearth secrets that he has long forgotten.  

Dream House begins with a ghostly suspenseful undertone.  Youngest daughter Dee Dee is scared of a man she sees outside the window, the two girls discover a hidden room in their closet filled with belongs of the murdered children, and neighbor, Ann Patterson (Watts) shoots weary stares in the direction of the Atenton residence.  

The wonder ends here.  With a twist at every corner that bogs down the plot, Dream House, looses its ghost story aura and becomes tiring.  Director Jim Sheridan (In America, In the Name of the Father) seems desperate to create an intense psychological thriller by adding too many layers, muddying up the already murky plot.  The surprises are predictable and have already been done (spoiler: think Shutter Island, Ghost, The Others).  Even the talents of Craig, Weisz and Watts can't save the thriller from becoming stale or dragging.

Wait to see Craig in a psychological thriller until The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo comes out this December.