An exhibit of baskets from around the world, both utilitarian and art objects, will be on display in USM’s Art Gallery on the Gorham campus from Thursday, January 27, through Saturday, March 12. The exhibit is curated by basket artist, educator, and curator Carol Grant Hart of Salisbury, Connecticut and Art Gallery Director Carolyn Eyler.
Category: Arts & Culture
LifeStyle
I am a reformed junkie. A spa junkie, that is. The term “spa junkie” refers to the women and sometimes men who are nearly addicted to spas and will frequent them as much as humanly (or monetarily) possible. And I, admittedly, was one of them.
I received my first professional massage at age 9 because of a back problem.
Student playwright scores with November/December
Each semester, USM students write an original play as part of a playwriting course taught by Professor Walter Stump and one of those plays is chosen for production the following semester. This time out, that play is “November/December,” written by theatre major Chris Gyngell.
How to kill brain cells without drugs
I am the worst kind of writer. I am the kind of writer who calls himself a writer, but never makes time to write.
Student artists find inspiration in children’s books
When Susie Bock thought about all the advantages of adopting the Edith C. Rice Children’s Literature Collection, she could never have foreseen it’s current use.
Rebecca Goodale, an art teacher and bookmaker at USM has come up with the idea of having her students draw inspiration from the illustrated children’s books, some of which are ancient.
Battle of the Bands
They can dance if they want to, if they don’t, nobody in Gorham will. On Thursday the 18th in the Portland computer lab there was dancing o-plenty as four unidentified men strolled right on in with a boom box and did a shirtless boogie to the unt-unt-unt of techno.
Debbie does Portland
For as long as there have been folks making movies, there have been folks filming other folks getting it on. And since the American household was invaded by the VCR in the 1980’s, the porn industry, once a purveyor of poorly shot, plot-less fare intended for stag parties and “specialty” movie-house release has evolved into a billion dollar concern.
Portland Iris
In an orange barn in the woods, in a part of Portland where most of us never go, Jeff Barnum uses an Iris printer to create archival reproductions of contemporary artworks.
Demosthenes’ Corner
USM has a variety of illustrious speakers coming here every week. Here is a sample of some of them.
LifeStyle
This column was doomed from the start. A good indication of this is that I am sitting here, as we speak, in the bathtub, the night before my deadline, typing away. That’s right, the bathtub.
Why this isn’t a preview of the Bill Street Songbook
This week, my esteemed editor (Tim, of the red hair and swanky ties) handed me a fairly simple assignment: write 800 words on the upcoming Bill Street Faculty Concert on November 19. This is not that article.
Loathing on Campus
A crowd of nearly 50 students descended like a pride of threatened lions on an unarmed intruder.
I was walking to class, just getting out of work at the bookstore, when I heard a middle aged man shouting. It was Brother Matt. He looked like he came right off of a New York street corner.
In honor of memory
The Wellsprings of Memory is an exhibit in the Glickman library dedicated to the soul of remembering.
The pic is mightier than the sword
A few weeks ago, my roommate Jake and I decided we needed a competition. Now, this was not to be just any kind of competition involving intellect or brute strength. We did not involve ourselves in any kind of physical challenges or battle of wits. Ours was a challenge to be judged by not only our peers but by America herself.
17 haikus about the Maine Brewer’s Festival
Beer poetry from the Arts editor.
Running away to join the circus
It all started in one not-so-sunny morning class when my Professor announced that he wanted to do a “dialogue” exercise….
Words & Images seeks submissions
Words & Images, the annual literary and art magazine from USM has opened its submission period for the 2005 issue. From now until Dec. 31, the staff will be accepting submissions of previously unpublished prose, poetry, and prints of artwork for the new edition.
Wet costumes, death threats and the Horror show
I woke up on Sunday afternoon and rolled out of bed in my shrimp costume. I was still alive. This is notable because I had received a death threat on Saturday night. A shirtless and heavily tattooed gentleman had approached me on the street and told me that “if [I] blew the trombone one more time [he] would wrap the fuckin’ thing around my neck.
Loverless Strikes!
The aggressive grunginess of Loverless’ rock-n-roll proves that you need look no further than Portland to satiate your urges for dirty, sexy music. You will have a chance to satisfy this dirty urge on Thursday, when Loverless plays at Geno’s.
Lifestyle: A Mink in Sheep’s Clothing
I am officially fed up with restaurants that suffer from what I call “closet pretension.” These places strategically appear as if they wouldn’t dream of indulging in the self-important airs that other traditional fine dining establishments do, as they are much too casual in their down-to-earth-minimalism.
Destinations
Upcoming events in the Arts world.
Real’ Theatre Comes to USM With “Six Characters In Search of an Author”
On November 5, the curtain will rise at Russell Hall on Pirandello’s “Six Characters in Search of an Author,” the final production to be directed by USM faculty Minor Rootes, who is retiring at the end of this year. Originally written in 1921, the play nevertheless asks a timely question in this era of reality television: Can a performance ever be realistic?
Passion at the Merrill
No performance of any opera has been improved by the presence of a leaf blower on stage. The Stanislavsky Opera Company’s performance of La Traviata at the Merrill Auditorium on October 26 was no exception. Apparently stage designer Vladimir Arefiev found the temptation irresistible.
The Accumulation of a Lifetime
In Maine there are probably more pieces of landscape art than actual vistas, but nowhere will you see a more handsome collection of them than at the USM Art Gallery in Gorham.