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Arts & Life
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- Written by: Jacque Adams
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. — Now on view at The Middletown Art Center, “Apart & Connected” is an exhibition showcasing artwork in a wide array of media, from paintings in oil, wax, and acrylic on canvas, to sculpted clay vessels with various functions.
Works in the collection reflect common themes: feelings of change, isolation, new directions, and human connection.
The gallery space is energized by bright monumental paintings harmonizing with felted forms alongside the ceramic sculptures, whose heavy-weight and purposeful-shape give feelings of grounding and stability.
Be sure to catch the exhibit by June 20 when it closes.
Ceramic work on exhibit in “Apart & Connected” range in function, size, surface, and intention. The common thread is the material and the flame.
“Our materials are from the earth,” said Jacque Adams, current resident at Cobb Mountain Art & Ecology Project, or CMAEP. “Clay and wood are the bare essentials that create vast results in the firing.”
Multiple ceramic artists participating in the exhibit are associated with CMAEP, founded by Scott Parady.
The project hosts an artists-in-residence program that provides opportunities for cooperative moments amongst artists.
Practicing and professional ceramicists come from around the country, working alongside Parady to care for the land, create new projects and utilize the ample studio space and kilns. To learn more about Cobb Mountain Art & Ecology Project visit www.cobbartandecology.org.
Biannually, CMAEP artists join together as a team to fire a 250-cubic foot Anagama kiln for a total of 12 days using a mixture of hard and soft-wood sourced from the property. The large-capacity kiln bestows various surface results throughout different zones in the kiln’s chamber.
Surface variations can be observed from piece to piece within the exhibition; some vessels became overly saturated in wood ash, which melted and became glaze, other vessels which received just as much ash, but not the highest temperature, are finished with a harder texture of un-melted ash along the form.
Every firing gives a different result, due to where the work is placed in the chamber and how the team fires the kiln.
“Our end-result is heavily dependent on one another, which is unique for art-making. This distinct quality attracts us to wood firing and the community keeps us coming back,” said Adams.
Vessels in the exhibit showcase the wide range of textures, color and artistic approaches that can result from such a laborious firing and diverse group of artists.
The presence of these varying clay vessels reinforms the themes of “Apart & Connected” through process and materiality. Viewing the work in person is highly encouraged, as it allows for details unseen to the camera lens.
“Apart & Connected” will be on view through June 20 at the Middletown Art Center. The gallery is open five days a week, Thursday through Monday, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
MAC activities are in full swing. To find out more about upcoming events, programs, opportunities and ways to support the MAC’s efforts to weave the arts and culture into the fabric of life in Lake County visit them at www.middletownartcenter.org.
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- Written by: Kwame Dawes
There is a long and ancient tradition of poetry as a form of prayer, even in the face of faithlessness or persistent belief.
Here, in a poem from his new collection of new and selected poems, “The Naked Prince,” South Carolinian poet, Ben Greer, brings to my mind the faith we have in words, even as he contemplates the comforts of his own faith in God.
Ease
By Ben Greer
Sometimes my prayers are short
they stop above my head
and God must bend to lift
the ones which I have pled
not nearly hard enough.
But when I think again
about my little pleas
is it some kind of sin
to offer them with ease?
I’m getting old, not long to live.
I hold my life above a sieve.
American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2020 by Ben Greer, "Ease" from The Naked Prince, New and Selected Poems, (Press 53, 2020). Poem reprinted by permission of Permissions Company, LLC and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2021 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Kwame Dawes, is George W. Holmes Professor of English and Glenna Luschei Editor of Prairie Schooner at the University of Nebraska.
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- Written by: Tim Riley
‘CRUELLA’ RATED PG-13
The setting of “Cruella” begins in the mid-1960 and finds its footing in 1970s London amid the punk rock era, which is befitting for its titular character, a young grifter named Estella (Emma Stone) determined to make her mark in the fashion world with a subculture flair.
As opposed to our familiarity with “101 Dalmatians,” a divergent origin story is at the heart of “Cruella,” where we learn that a very young Estella (Tipper Seifert-Cleveland) endured a tough childhood and became an orphan who made her way to London.
Her two-tone black and white hair sets Estella apart from everyone else, but she finds dodgy soul mates in a pair of London pickpockets, Jasper (Joel Fry) and goofy Horace (Paul Walker Hauser), who become her accomplices in petty crimes and then on a grander scale.
Taking a low-wage janitorial job at a posh department store, Estella seeks to work her way into an apprentice position with the haughty fashion designer Baroness von Hellman (Emma Thompson).
After landing a dream design job, Estella becomes increasingly resentful of the abusive Baroness, morphing into her alter ego of Cruella to engage in an ingenious bit of fashion terrorism that seeks to disrupt her boss’ hold on a lofty perch as the sartorial trendsetter.
More disturbing is a revelation of the real source of Cruella’s discontent and resentment of the Baroness. While Cruella moves to a dark side which makes her naughty if not an incipient anti-hero, it’s the Baroness who is a hands-down evil tyrant.
There is a rooting interest in Cruella’s fashion escapades that are designed like a commando operation to upstage the Baroness, whether during a gala costume ball or the unveiling of a new line of haute couture.
Abetted by the media circus that chronicles her impromptu fashion shows, in part due to the interest of journalist Anita Darling (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), Cruella revels in flamboyant antics that unsettle the cold exterior of the Baroness.
Motivated by revenge for reasons ultimately disclosed, Cruella’s ambition is not just to take the fashion world by storm, but to emerge on top in a contest of energetic verbal jousts and one-upmanship with the icy Baroness.
“Cruella” has plenty to offer most audiences, from a great soundtrack of the period, ranging from the funk band Ohio Players to punk rock The Clash to the broad range of Nina Simone, to the visual appeal of elaborate costumes and sets.
On the whole, “Cruella” is a campy adventure that savors the naughtiness of its titular character and those in her orbit. It’s pure fun and thankfully lacks animal cruelty, though Cruella has good reason to dislike Dalmatians.
Cruella claims late in the story that she’s “brilliant, born bad and a little bit mad.” Add to that the mid-credits scene and Cruella saying she’s got a few ideas about the future, and this may not be the last we’ve seen of Emma Stone vamping it up as a Disney villain.
ABC TV PREVIEW
During its recent Upfront presentation, FOX claimed to be the number one network for the second year in a row.
ABC has released their 2021-22 season prime-time schedule, asserting it holds the top spot of the entertainment networks among adults 18-49 for the second year in a row.
There is likely minimal, if any, interest among viewers as to where a network stands in the ratings. All we care about is investing time in new or ongoing series that hold our attention.
For the fall season, ABC has announced two new series. “Queens” is about four estranged and out-of-touch women in their 40s who reunite for a chance to recapture their fame and regain the swagger they had as the Nasty Bitches, a ‘90s group that made them legends in the hip-hop world.
“Queens” stars Eve as Brianna aka Professor Sex, Naturi Naughton as Jill aka Da Thrill, Nadine Velazquez as Valeria aka Butter Pecan, Brandy as Naomi aka Xplicit Lyrics, as well as Taylor Sele as Eric Jones and Pepi Sonuga as Lil Muffin.
Inspired by the beloved award-winning series of the same name, “The Wonder Years” is a coming-of-age story set in the late 1960s that takes a nostalgic look at a Black middle-class family in Montgomery, Alabama, through the point of view of 12-year-old Dean (Elisha “EJ” Williams).
With the wisdom of his adult years, Dean’s hopeful and humorous recollections show how his family found their “wonder years” in a turbulent time. “The Wonder Years” stars Don Cheadle, narrating the series as adult Dean Williams.
While two midseason series, “Abbott Elementary” and “Maggie,” are in the works, the most consequential limited series to come most likely early in 2022 is “Women of the Movement,” shining a light on Emmett Till’s mother and her search for justice for the vicious killing of her son.
The tragedy of 14-year-old African-American Emmett’s brutal torture and murder during the Jim Crow era in 1955 Mississippi galvanized the Civil Rights movement. Adrienne Warren stars as Mamie Till-Mobley and Cedric Joe as Emmett Till.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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- Written by: Kwame Dawes
Sometimes defining what we mean by love causes us to fumble around, until we find the right language, or, as in this case, the perfect lived image that captures it all.
Tyree Daye does this here in his poem, “Ode to the Common Clothes Moth”, which is truly an elegant ode to his love for De Lissa.
Ode to the Common Clothes Moth
By Tyree Daye
In these days of less and less sun your love points and I follow
like the blind moths you beg me not to kill
half-asleep and the sun lesser than a minute before
I’ll let you go into the night and you say and I follow your love
of winged things to the back door
watch you empty your hands into the sky
In the morning you will wake before me
and walk out into the yard
the sun acts like a father as if it never left
moths sing of you from wherever
moths go to sing
American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2016 by Tyree Daye, “Ode to The Common Clothes Moth” from Cardinal, (Copper Canyon Press 2016). Poem reprinted by permission of Permissions Company, LLC and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2021 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Kwame Dawes, is George W. Holmes Professor of English and Glenna Luschei Editor of Prairie Schooner at the University of Nebraska.