Finding true art in "A Search for Self"

By Gabrielle Wiegand - Feature Writer

Versatile Russian artist Alexandra Pregel has found a new following here on the UIS campus thanks to her show at the Visual Arts Gallery. More than 20 of Pregel's works are on display in "A Search for Self" that will continue through Feb. 26.
Pregel's life was one of great adversary and change, which is apparent in the different styles and genres she experiments with.
Born in Russia in 1907, she was surrounded by great minds from an early age. Her mother had a Ph.D. in philosophy, her father was a government minister and her stepfather was a famous poet and literary critic.
She began studying painting in Paris, under the tutelage of two neo-classic artists and continued her study at the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs.
In 1940, she escaped the German invasion of France with her second husband to the United States. She was forced to leave behind 300 of her original works that were never recovered and begin her life and her work anew in a totally strange place.
Pregel went on to have exhibitions of her work in the United States and Paris at various prestigious galleries over the next 40 years. Pregel died in 1984 but her spirit lives on around the world through her artwork.
A student of many styles, Pregel was excessively original in not prescribing to any one school. However, each of her works gives the viewer the impression that she is letting us in on a small bit of her soul.
In her more figurative works, I believe she felt like the women in her paintings. She is the old lady in “Knitting Woman,” perhaps not literally but that was what she felt at the time.
She is the naked woman lying languidly on the bed in “Nude.” In “City Through the Window,” we are looking out with Pregel, revealing in the beauty and comfort a dish or glass provides while appreciating the city through a barrier of glass and safety. And in “Paris,” we are her companions as she strolls down a Parisian avenue.
Half of the works on display give the viewer the feeling of being in Pregel's mind, looking out at the world. The other half, more abstract works give the impression of being thrust into Pregel's nightmares.
            In “Departure,” “Light” or “Dark Sun,” bright, primary colors and geometric shapes make us feel Pregel's uncertainty and loneliness. Fleeing to a foreign land during a war must have been truly traumatic for the artist. She was a woman without her country, an artist without her own style. In every stroke of her brush I felt some of her inner despair and turmoil.
The Visual Arts Gallery is located in room 201 of the Health and Sciences Building on the UIS campus. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday. For further information, contact Lara Stremsterfer by phone at 206-6506 or by e-mail at visarts-ga@uis.edu.

Jazz group lacks energy during show

By Gabrielle Wiegand - Feature Writer

That smell you might have noticed around Sangamon Auditorium this weekend wasn’t the trash, it was the performance that stunk. Jump Rhythm Jazz Project, a dance company based in Chicago, specializes in the rhythm-first approach to dance. Unfortunately it takes more than rhythm to be a good dance company, in my mind. Good choreography is also pretty important and something JRJP was sorely lacking. 
The performance was rather short and revolved mostly around one man, Artistic Director Billy Siegenfeld. The show began with Billy coming out in front of the curtain and trying to teach the audience to snap their fingers and get into the beat. Despite the “Wow! Who let the crazy man out of the asylum” vibe I was getting, I thought, hey, this might be fun. I was wrong.
The choreography did not go with the music at all. We were listening to beautiful Cole Porter and Frank Sinatra tunes, and high energy Outkast music, but it did not complement the music whatsoever. 
Overall, I was disappointed with Siegenfeld's choreography. Good dancing tells a story and/or invokes emotion into the hearts and minds of the audience. But sadly, all the JRJP invoked in me was boredom and a little frustration over my lost Saturday night. A few times the dancers reminded me of a bunch of fifth-graders running around with their arms out, pretending to be airplanes. 
In “Bye Bye Blackbird,” the most talented company member, Jeanie Hill, performed a very energetic tap dance while Siegenfeld sat on a chair and sang “Bye Bye Blackbird.” His presence and his singing were incredibly distracting and detracted from Hill's dancing.
There were a couple of dances that did not make me want to jump off the mezzanine balcony. “For Buster” was a dance choreographed by Hill. She and two other female dancers tap danced to “Begin the Beguine.” It was a beautifully executed, high-energy dance that encompassed the whole body - not just the feet. 
In “You Make Me Feel So Young” Siegenfeld and Hill danced together rather adequately. The first half of the dance was a little “Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers on an acid trip,” but the second half was very graceful. 
Overall, I could not help but think that Siegenfeld must be getting a little old. He was a little heavy on his feet throughout the show. The rest of the company was filled with very talented dancers. I regret that they could not have material worthy of their talents. 
Between each of the dances, the house lights came up for the few minutes it took for the performers to change costumes. I understand the need for the pause; however, it was very distracting and it broke whatever magic there was. 
The costumes served absolutely no purpose and did nothing to accentuate the dancers' movements. 
The highlight of the show would have to be during intermission when a couple of women seated behind me almost threw down.

Totally blah

By Stephanie Orr - Assistant Editor

If you like bland, uninspired rock music, skip this review and go buy Morning Over Midnight, the Virgin Records debut from fivespeed.
            fivespeed is not a bad band, but they are not a good band either. They are just a band. One that sounds like a hundred other bands that are all begging to be your friend on MySpace.com.
              This album is incredibly nondescript, and because of that it is hard to really review it. I can honestly say that when I put the CD in and it finishes playing I can’t really remember anything about the band or the songs except that they sound a little like Three Days Grace, but not quite. I’ve had to listen and repeat the CD more times than I should just to have enough of an opinion about them to review Morning Over Midnight.    
            But at the same time it isn’t an album I can’t listen to.
Once you put it on it just sort of fades out and becomes background noise. There just isn’t anything special about the album, or the band. fivespeed fails to capture and hold attention.
            fivespeed hails from Peoria, Ariz., and consists of five members who are all “involved with the writing,” said lead singer Jared Woosley in a press release.
            In that same press release Woosley also said, “Diversity is one of the keys to what we do—no two songs sound the same,” which makes me wonder if he even listened to the album.
            Morning Over Midnight is just a string of tracks, each one sounding just as bland as the one before it with no single song standing out at all.
            There are notable, but unremarkable, changes in the musical composition, but the vocals are stale. Woosley doesn’t seem to have much of a range, at least not on this CD.
The other thing that makes fivespeed resoundingly average is the fact that the lyrics are buried under the music making it hard to understand what message Woosley is trying to convey with his voice. Even if the vocals had been given more prominence I don’t think the band would impress because the lyrics are as average as everything else.
Actually, the lyrics might be worst thing about the band because in the CD cover they read like truly awful poetry. One or two lines in and you get the impression that continuing to try might cause irreversible damage to your sanity.
fivespeed’s only redeeming quality is that it is not physically painful to listen to. It won’t make your ears bleed or your brain explode, but it won’t get you excited or make you want to dance either. It isn’t good or bad, it just is. Perhaps the best way to think about it is this: fivespeed is the elevator music of rock.
Maybe the problem is that I expect bands to have something interesting about them, like music that catches the attention of the listener or lyrics that strike an emotional chord. I don’t think that is an unrealistic expectation, but it is surprising how many bands fail to make a mark.
Grade: C-

Finding true art in "A Search for Self"

Jazz group lacks energy during show

Totally blah