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REVIEW: Arbor Glyph

Maggie Watson Leave a comment

The Student-led Exhibition Committee is a newly-formed group of Stamps students, faculty and staff who aim to provide more opportunities for undergraduates to exhibit their work. The SEC’s inaugural exhibition “L’Assemblage” was displayed last winter in the Stamps building, and the committee has now brought student work to the walls of the Stamps Gallery with “Arbor Glyph.”

Tucked away in a small side room off the main display space of the Stamps Gallery, “Arbor Glyph” is an understated but cozy exhibition. An inviting semicircle of wooden chairs filled with soft pillows faces the single, large-scale artwork. A carpet softens the tile floor, and black fabric covers the walls. Calm instrumental music, mixed with birdsong, plays softly. The environment feels calm and secluded, a comfortable hiding place.

The artwork itself is a combination of painting and projection, spread across three tall paper panels that form a single image of a chaotic, colorful forest. The painting was created collaboratively by about a dozen Stamps students who attended a painting event in October. Their only direction was the prompt “depict a tree.” This spontaneous method of creation is apparent in the wide range of styles that share space on the canvas, from bold streaks of ink to carefully placed brushstrokes.

As I approached the work to take a closer look, I realized that where my shadow fell onto the wall and blocked the projection, the colors disappeared. I had been aware that there was a projected element to the artwork, but it was so well integrated that I had failed to notice that the painting was composed with only black ink. The colors of the piece are an illusion produced by the projector overlay, bringing vibrancy to the shades of gray.

Arbor Glyph, detail. Shadows cast onto the artwork reveal the shades of gray beneath the colorful projection.

The longer I looked at the piece, the more small details I noticed. Apples among a tree’s scribbled branches. Birds in the sky. Animals lying beneath the trees, sheltered by their branches. Mushrooms growing in the undergrowth. These details added subtlety and life to the scene. I also noticed that the colors of the projection seemed to shift over time, particularly the sky, which cycled through blues, greens and purples.

The artwork and the space encourage this kind of contemplation—I found the chairs comfortable and the music very calming. The small room felt like a peaceful refuge, and I was content to spend a long time with the piece, watching the colors slowly shift.

I enjoyed the exhibition itself, but to me, the most valuable aspect of “Arbor Glyph” is the mission it represents. While there are existing opportunities for Stamps students to exhibit their artwork in the Stamps Gallery, such as the Undergraduate Juried Exhibition, those opportunities tend to be very selective and set a high bar for entry. There is value in recognizing exceptional work, but there is also value in creating space for work that might not otherwise have the chance to be publicly displayed. The Student-led Exhibition Committee is creating exhibition opportunities that are more accessible for students, and for that I applaud them.

“Arbor Glyph” is on display at the Stamps Gallery until November 16th.

REVIEW: Hey, We Need to Talk!

Maggie Watson Leave a comment

Through its Vote 2024 suite of programs, the U-M Museum of Art has asked the campus community, “How can we strengthen our democracy?” Visiting artist Philippa Pham Hughes answers this question with the title of her exhibition: “Hey, We Need to Talk!”

Hughes, the current Visiting Artist For Art & Civic Engagement at UMMA, is a social practice artist who works to create a flourishing society through human conversation and connection. With the presidential election approaching and politics an increasingly divisive subject, it’s harder than ever to communicate with those who disagree with us. With “Hey, We Need to Talk!” Hughes encourages us to sit down, break bread, and talk honestly about our fears and hopes for America.

The second-floor Crumpacker gallery has been transformed into something that is part curated art exhibit, part interactive experience, and part community gathering space. Brightly colored wallpaper (designed by artist Louise Jones, also known as Ouizi) covers the walls, bursting with beautiful illustrations of the nation’s fifty state flowers against a pastel pink background. Groups of comfortable chairs and low tables form places to sit and converse in small groups. The space feels instantly joyful and welcoming. The works of art hanging on the gallery walls are well curated, chosen from UMMA’s collection to provide discussion prompts about American life and values, but they take a back seat to the social artwork of the exhibition as a whole.

The exhibition’s Gallery Guide describes it a “social sculpture,” and invites visitors to “complete the artwork” by making social connections with others in the space. It gently encourages discussion with other viewers, and provides a series of open-ended questions about the artworks as a conversation starter. There is also a tear-away card in the back of the pamphlet, asking participants to write their answer to the question, “What does it mean to be an American?”

 

A selection of answers to the question “What does it mean to be American?” written by visitors to the exhibition. Photos by the reviewer.

I found these cards to be the most compelling part of the exhibition. Large photo albums filled with them are placed on tables around the room. I sat and flipped through one, reading the answers, which ranged from silly to profound. Some were clearly written in elementary schoolers’ handwriting, some in other languages. They expressed a wide range of sentiments, from gratitude and hope to frustration and despair.

Throughout the period of the exhibition, numerous events focused on fostering dialogue about American democracy will be held in the gallery space. This includes the weekly Common Sense Diner events, where people with differing political viewpoints share a meal and guided conversation. Participants are not asked to reach an agreement or change their views—only to ask questions, listen, and try to find care and common ground if they can.

This exhibition is unlike any other I have experienced at UMMA. It goes beyond artwork on gallery walls, fostering genuine delight, comfort and connection. If we want to build a stronger nation where everyone can flourish, maybe all we really need to do is just sit down together and talk.

“Hey, We Need to Talk!” is on display at UMMA until February 9, 2025.

REVIEW: Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch

Sappy Leave a comment

I loved Dr. Seuss’s books growing up but never watched the movies, so to celebrate the end of the semester and the coming of Christmas, I watched The Grinch at the Michigan Theater on Sunday, December 10th. I haven’t watched any of the previous adaptations, but they seem pretty different. The first version, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, came out in 1966 as a cartoon that’s 30 minutes long. The second version, also titled How the Grinch Stole Christmas, came out in 2000 as a live-action that’s 1 hour and 55 minutes long. The most recent one is what played at the theater: the 2018 animation that’s 1 hour and 30 minutes long, which is simply titled The Grinch.

This version is essentially the Grinch’s origin story and the audience gets to learn who the Grinch is as a person rather than a thief. The best part is we get to see his relationship with his dog Max, who is youthful and energetic in the film but old and weary in the book. Another character they redesigned was Cindy-Lou Who, the little girl who catches the Grinch in the middle of his act. In the book, she was less than two and only on a page or so; in the movie, she’s much older and one of the main characters.

The animation was fun and very fitting for a children’s Christmas movie. The palette was bright and the characters were cute, even the Grinch. I enjoyed hearing the narrator’s lines and rhymes because they added more of the book elements too. His voice surprised me though because he sounded relatively young when I was expecting an old man reminiscent of Santa, which I wish they went with instead. Because I knew the plot beforehand, it felt like a very long movie and some parts were dragging on, but I enjoyed it overall and would rewatch it again once it’s closer to Christmas.

REVIEW: Reading and Q&A with Ross Gay

Sappy Leave a comment

On Thursday, December 9th, the poet Ross Gay gave a reading and held a Q&A session at the UMMA Stern Auditorium. I haven’t been to any poem readings before so I was surprised to find that the venue was so packed there weren’t enough seats. I’m a visual learner, so I often find myself zoning out when I’m required to listen for long periods. However, my professor told me that she fell in love with Ross Gay’s writing after she went to his reading, whereas when she read his poems they didn’t have as much of an impact. I quickly found out what she meant. When Ross Gay was reading his poems, it felt like he was giving a speech or acting out lines of a play. In other words, it felt like he was reading prose rather than poetry.

Since it’s impossible to speak line breaks, I was trying to notice how he may emphasize certain phrases more than others. I’m not sure if I’m looking too hard into things, but I did notice that at some times he’d pause a bit longer or change the inflection and volume of his voice. However, everything flowed so smoothly and sounded so natural it’s hard to point out specific spots to closely analyze unlike when reading poetry. The performative aspect was what drew my attention because he wasn’t simply reading words. He interacted a lot with the crowd through eye contact and hand gestures. It was interesting to see how his passion transfers off of the page and how he expresses himself, and it was an experience that made me realize how off I may be when interpreting an author’s work.

There were a few moments where the audience laughed which surprised me, but that could’ve been because the poem he read was about basketball, which I know nothing about. I think overall I’m always picking apart texts to find a ‘deeper’ message when it could just be something unknowingly lighthearted until read aloud. It made me realize that as a reader I often project my own emotions and experiences when interpreting other people’s work, perhaps blinding myself to the obvious. I only wish I had his poems written down in front of me to look at while I listened to further explore that concept.

REVIEW: University Symphony Orchestra Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5

Sappy Leave a comment

On Tuesday, December 5th, the University Symphony Orchestra played one of my favorite classical works of all time: Symphony No. 5, op. 47, D Minor (1937) by Dmitri Shostakovich. It’s an eerily beautiful, somber, yet exciting piece. I played this in high school, so it was interesting to be on the other side and listen to the interpretation of another conductor: Kenneth Kiesler.

The orchestra started very slow in the beginning, almost lethargic, which surprised me. It’s usually played quicker to emphasize how striking the opening notes are, but I feel like this version brought out the first violin’s melody much better as it gradually crawls into higher pitches. Once the tempo picked up, however, there was a sense of anxiety and tension in the music that is often present in Shostakovich’s other compositions. The contrast between the pianissimo and fortissimo sections created a similar effect that made everything much more dramatic and catching.

My favorite movement is the third movement, the Largo. It features a lot of wind solos that are all variations of a bittersweet melody, but the different instruments all create new textures. This same theme transfers to the strings that play much more dramatically loud and fast in comparison. The constant flip-flopping between solos and soli (when a section has a solo together) is so good at creating different expressions of anger and sadness. I especially like the harp and harpsichord’s arpeggios at the end of the movement right before the orchestra as a whole comes to a stop.

Afterward, the fourth movement, the Allegro non-Troppo, begins fierce with trills and loud beats of the timpani. This movement seemed much more symphonic to me than the others because of how much more interwoven the parts are and how the notes build off and layer amongst sections. This is especially the case once the key transitions from minor to major chords, which is what composers often do to end on a triumphant note.

I’m always looking for more opportunities to listen to my favorite pieces. I’m so happy I got to hear this symphony live again, and the USO gave an amazing performance of it.

REVIEW: The Polar Express

Sappy Leave a comment

On Sunday, December 3rd, as part of their free holiday classics series, the Michigan Theater had a showing of The Polar Express. It was my first time watching The Polar Express, and it was very different from what I expected. Since it’s based off of a children’s book, I was picturing something along the lines of Elf, a goofy and silly movie. Instead, the film features animated human characters that reminded me of the video game Detroit: Become Human. Furthermore, the colors were very muted and the background lacked vibrancy. Overall, it had a somber atmosphere unfitting for a children’s movie, especially a Christmas movie. However, it’s possible that the directors created it like that intentionally, because the movie is about a little boy who doesn’t believe in Santa.

Spoiler alert (but also not really): the main character comes to believe in Santa after riding The Polar Express to the North Pole. I thought they designed the North Pole beautifully; I really liked the layout of the city and although the colors were still muted, it was the brightest setting in the whole movie. It was also the most cheerful with what appeared to be hundreds of elves doing tricks like black flips and working hard to make Christmas a joyful holiday. My favorite part was the ending. I found it very bittersweet because it addresses how people eventually grow up to lose that childhood innocence. On the other hand, as the people around him grow older and stop believing, the main character never stops.

I didn’t find myself particularly enjoying the movie; there were a few moments where I was very frustrated. I’m curious how children like it, though, since I’m obviously not the target audience. Perhaps it’s the perfect tale to convince non-believers to continue believing.