Permanence and Change

by Cynnie Gaasch

The massiveness of the project “The Wall: Reshaping Contemporary Chinese Art” curated and driven by Professor of Art History Gao Minglu is a recurring theme. Not only did Gao, formerly at the University at Buffalo and currently at the University of Pittsburgh, spend five years working on this project, but he also enlisted three major institutions to accomplish the project: the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the UB Center for the Arts, and UB’s Anderson Gallery. While at the University at Buffalo, Gao organized the exhibition “Chinese Maximalism,” a precursor to this show, in 2003 with some overlapping artists. As his authority in 20th and 21st Century Chinese Art grew, so did the necessity for an encompassing exhibition that could realize Gao’s vision of the unfolding world of Contemporary Chinese Art. As the exhibit expanded, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery joined Gao and UB’s collaboration with the Millennium Art Museum in Beijing.

Between Iraq and a Hard Place

by Ken Ilgunas

Saddam’s in court, Bush’s approval ratings are pitifully low, thousands of Americans are fighting for their lives across seas, and now over 2,000 soldiers are in coffins draped with the red, white, and blue. Much has changed in Iraq since entering the war in March of 2003, but an Iraq that is peaceful and free has yet to be realized. With a relentless Iraqi resistance, continued violence seems inevitable. With the 2,000th American military death, much of the media has used the milestone to shed more criticism on the campaign, questioning its potential for success, and reflecting on the war’s cost in human life. We have instituted free elections and have encouraged an Iraqi constitution, but will these improvements stand the test of time? Are they worth the lives of 2,000 American soldiers?

Michael Niman’s article two weeks ago [“Getting a Grip,” Oct. 20-26, 2005] on the horrors that are the Twelve Tribes community and their “hate bread” rocked the opinions of Buffalo’s small co-op shopping consumers. Although, I do not agree with the beliefs of the Twelve Tribes religious group, I feel as though the focus and uproar around them is shortsighted. Yes, the Twelve Tribes have some despicable beliefs and practices that go against the morals of many co-op members, but a trip down the aisles quickly shows that there are bigger proverbial fish to fry. I wonder if anyone ever stopped to question why the Co-op carries companies like to Dole whose cash crop farming habits have ruined usable land and enslaved poor farmers in many countries in the same way that sweatshops have enslaved the poor in Asia. Or Poland Spring, which is owned by notorious rainforest rapist, Nestle, who quite frankly does not have one bit of concern for which environmental habitat it ruins or endangered species it endangers even more. Companies like these have oppressed entire continents of people and environment. Surely in the shadow of such mega-corporations the Twelve Tribes group, whose members are there because to a great extent they choose to be, is insignificant and though in some practices they are similar, (racist, child labor enforcing, etc) they have done far less harm to world at large.

The Man Beneath the Brim

by Peter Koch

Meet Richard Pombo, a California rancher and Congressman whose reputation and physical presence are nearly as big as the white cowboy hat he often likes to wear on the House floor. “I grew up riding horses, driving tractor and feeding the cattle,” said Pombo, in a recent interview on NPR, “it was something I had to do every morning before school and every day after school... what a lot of people don’t realize is that you have an emotional attachment to the land.”

Adolescent Humor and Real Art

by Cynnie Gaasch

The artist’s statement accompanying A.J. Fries’ exhibition of new paintings at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center does not give reason enough for his art to take the form of paintings. Nor do the paintings themselves. As the artist describes, “the work is not about the objects represented; they concern the relationships between them…I may like the way the names of the two things sound together…”

How to Retire a Number

by Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell

By now it’s official: #16 Pat LaFontaine and #18 Danny Gare will be awarded the ultimate honor by the Buffalo Sabres organization this season, when their numbers are retired and hung to the rafters for all eternity.

Mysterious Skin/Apres Vous

by George Sax & M. Faust

Two boys’ shared, but obscured, experience of childhood sexual abuse is the thematic nexus of Greg Araki’s Mysterious Skin, making its video debut after failing to play local theaters during its spring release. One of the boys (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) becomes a cynical sexual hustler and exploiter of gay men. The other (Brady Corbett), unable to coherently recall his trauma, deflects it by obsessing on UFOs and alien abductions. Araki’s control of this complexly textured, time- and scene-shifting story is usually sure, despite a few patches of stiltedly portentous dialogue. Much of the film, particularly early on, is rendered in intense, garishly saturated colors, and deliberately off-kilter camera work, imparting a vaguely surreal tenor to what is already a movie that’s partly about strongly filtered, deranging memories. Those who remember Gordon-Levitt as the boy in the wacky sitcom “Third Rock From the Sun” will encounter a starkly different actor in an impressive performance, and the film as a whole has a disturbing, insinuating power.

The Rival Sonata

We take our music very seriously and love what we do. Our live shows are very high in energy and are definitely something to see. So if you have the chance to come to a show it will definitely be something you won't forget .And for those of you who have made it to our shows, we thank you and hope to see you at more. Thank you for your time... we love you all!!

Steve Baczkowski

by Lauren N. Maynard

Why you should know who he is: Multi-instrumentalist Steve Baczkowski is a Buffalo stand-out in the local “free improv” scene. He’s also very brave; at age 12 he decided to tackle the unwieldy and difficult baritone saxophone as his signature instrument and, by all outward appearances at his raucous and startlingly physical performances, he is well on his way to breaking the wild beast. Baczkowski has produced over 100 jazz/improvisational concerts in countless band lineups and has performed at fringe festivals, CBGB’s, in classrooms and international residencies. For him, rehearsed scores are secondary to that moment of “now” that free improv affords in live performance. His understanding of the lineage of experimental sax players, including such innovators as Peter Brötzmann and Odeon Pope, has helped him “engage the moment, where it sparks. It’s the real deal.” Having just released his first album this year, The Dim Bulb, first recorded in 2003 with drummer Chris Corsano and saxophonist Paul Flaherty, Baczkowski’s latest recording is a self-titled album with the loud and proud free-improv quintet Buffalo Suicide Prevention Unit. It seems this soft-spoken musician’s growing audience recognizes that he, too, is the real thing.

by Chuck Shepherd

■ Student Sarah Sevick filed a formal complaint in September with the U.S. Department of Justice, accusing Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas, of violating the Americans With Disabilities Act by not letting her keep her “assistance animal,” which is Lilly, her ferret. Sevick says that she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, including panic attacks, and that Lilly “soothes” her, but the school said it was concerned with other students’ safety. (In other ferret news, the British upscale clothing firm Burberry threatened to sue a pet-accessories shop in Dudley, England, in October, for selling outfits in the familiar Burberry “check” pattern, including a cap and cape designed for ferrets.)

by Rob Brezsny

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Charles Darwin developed the theory of evolution 20 years before he finally published a book about it. Why did he wait? Here’s one theory: In contrast to his radical ideas, Darwin was a conservative Victorian squire who cared deeply about his reputation. According to Professor John Carey, he was afraid that “the blow to Christianity and to the dignity of man inherent in [his] theory would encourage atheistic agitators and socialist revolutionaries.” I believe you’re facing a dilemma comparable to Darwin’s. The changes you’re going through will definitely mess with the status quo when you start openly expressing them. So will you postpone your coming out party, hoping that time will somehow make the New You more palatable? I’m not sure that approach would do anyone much good.