Arts

‘Muppets’ plays to laughs from parents, not kids

By Varun Bhuchar | March 23, 2014

The Muppets puppet characters, a mainstay of American pop culture long before current Dartmouth students were born, were effectively rebooted with “The Muppets” (2011). Infused with meta-humor and modern sensibilities, the film brought the lovable scamps back into the cultural zeitgeist. The film’s follow-up, “Muppets Most Wanted” (2014), seems to have done away with all of that. The half-hearted effort relies too much on the reputation of its main characters and lacks any attempt to build on established tropes.

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Arts

Ted Baehr ’69 reviews movies for moral value

By Maya Poddar | March 23, 2014

Ted Baehr ’69 is founder and chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission, a non-profit that lobbies the entertainment industry to produce content aligned with Christian teachings. He is also publisher of Movieguide, a magazine affiliated with the Christian Film and Television Commission that features original reviews for movies and television shows based on their moral and Biblical content. Baehr, who studied comparative literature at the College and received a law degree from the New York University School of Law, has written several books on the subject of American mass media and Christian values.

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Arts

Student Spotlight: Phoebe Bodurtha '15

By Aimee Sung | March 23, 2014

Phoebe Bodurtha ’15 brought the 2014 Dartmouth Idol audience to a roar when she sang “Defying Gravity,” from the Broadway hit “Wicked,” at the show’s finale. Nabbing a first-place finish was no feat of luck. Bodurtha has sung since middle school and had performed in Idol twice before.

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Arts

Ensemble to showcase modern dance

By Marley Marius | March 5, 2014

By experimenting with music in unconventional time signatures and exploring a wide range of modern movement, the Dartmouth Dance Ensemble will perform the winter showcase “Diversions and Sports” tonight, headed by two-time guest director John Heginbotham.

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Arts

Coeducation enhanced College performing arts

By Aimee Sung | March 5, 2014

When 200 women joined the Class of 1976, the male-dominated Dartmouth community reacted with mixed emotions — some welcomed the female students, while others displayed hostility. The music and theater departments, however, largely avoided the eye of the storm.

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Arts

Drama students paved way at College

By Maya Poddar | March 4, 2014

Before Dartmouth became coeducational in fall 1972, a handful of pioneering transfer students in the theater department helped to pave the path for women to follow. The women had participated in the Congregation of the Arts, a summer arts program on campus from 1963-1969 that brought together musicians, composers, actors and dancers from various colleges.

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Arts

‘The Alchemist’ sparks laughter 400 years later

By Apoorva Dixit | March 4, 2014

“Fortune, that favors fools, these two short hours/we wish away, both for your sakes and ours.” So begins 17th century playwright Ben Jonson’s comedy “The Alchemist.” Director Nick O’Leary ’14 has added his own touches to recreate this classic, witty tale, which will amuse even modern audiences on Wednesday evening.

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Arts

Students await Spring Quartet concert

By Rebecca Asoulin | March 3, 2014

Several students sat outside Hartman Rehearsal Hall on Monday afternoon waiting for rehearsal with instruments on their laps and The Spring Quartet’s Tuesday concert on their minds. Barrett Clark ’17, a trombone player in the Barbary Coast Jazz Ensemble, pressed fellow musician Erin Huffer ’17 to come to the 7 p.m. concert. A real “jazzer” would see the Spring Quartet, he insistsed. “Live music always sounds better,” Clark said. “And you can never get enough jazz.”

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Arts

Behind the Curtain: Sherman Art Library

By Margot Bryne | March 3, 2014

Above the fireplace in the Sherman Art Library’s reference room sits a dragon-like emblem of Francis I of France, which displays a salamander, thought to be able to magically survive fire. Visual arts librarian Laura Graveline encourages students to visit Sherman, the College’s art research library, to see the expansive collection for themselves. Sherman houses catalogs from art museums, galleries and image databases. The library also includes the Art Special Collection, which displays collections of artists’ handmade books, facsimiles and other rare items.

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Arts

‘Gravity’ walks away with 7 Oscars, not best picture

By Varun Bhuchar | March 2, 2014

One of the closest Oscar races in history concluded last night with “Gravity” (2013) as the overall winner with seven total awards, including best director and best visual effects. “12 Years a Slave” (2013) garnered three prizes and nabbed the most coveted best picture award.

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Arts

Tricia Paik ’91 curates modern art

By Caela Murphy | March 2, 2014

This summer, Tricia Paik ’91 will take over as Indianapolis Museum of Art’s contemporary art curator . Paik, who is currently the associate curator of modern and contemporary art at the St. Louis Art Museum, has worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Morgan Library and Museum and the Museum of Modern Art.

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Arts

Student Spotlight: Matthew Mirliani '16

By Hallie Huffaker | March 2, 2014

Matthew Mirliani ’16 began writing music in middle school but kept his talent a secret until his junior year of high school, when he released his first album on iTunes to the surprise of family and friends. He has continued to write music, record and sing since, mostly working on his own using digital music creation software.

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Arts

Symphony orchestra channels Russia

By Michaela Ledoux | February 26, 2014

For featured violinist Alex Styk ’14, Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra’s Saturday evening concert will be a musical marathon. After a year of practice, he will solo in a 35 minute-long piece that involves lyrical syncopation and closes with a finger-numbing finale.

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Arts

Conference draws comic, graphic novelist scholars

By Maya Poddar | February 26, 2014

Sunday mornings are for reading comics: Garfield, Peanuts, Dilbert and Blondie. At least, that is how many children are initially exposed to the panels of drawings and text that attempt to tell a story and elicit a few laughs. Dartmouth’s second annual Illustrations, Comics and Animation Conference, running Friday through Sunday, will present a more complicated view of the art form.

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Arts

‘Monologues’ to promote dialogue

By Marley Marius | February 25, 2014

Tonight, Eve Ensler’s play “The Vagina Monologues” returns to campus for Dartmouth’s 16th celebration of “V-Week.” The yearly campaign was established in concert with V-Day, a movement launched by Ensler to end violence against women and girls. This year’s “voices” theme for V-February makes the production especially relevant, Center for Gwender and Student Engagement assistant director Michelle Hector said.

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Arts

Rollins Chapel to host experimental concert

By Dongjun Suh | February 25, 2014

On Thursday evening, the pulsing tones of Phill Niblock’s recorded music will reverberate throughout Rollins Chapel as the audience watches images from Niblock’s “The Movement of People Working” series. Niblock’s layered soundscapes will combine with evocative visuals in a rare audiovisual experiment. The upcoming concert will include two of about 20 films from “The Movement of People Working” series, both of which were filmed in China in 1986 and 1987. The two films have never been shown side by side in any concert before, Niblock said, because he rejects any set pairing between film and music.

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Arts

Student Spotlight: Hannah Williams '14

By Caela Murphy | February 24, 2014

As Hannah Williams ’14 sees it, computer programs open up endless creative possibilities for digital artists. What else can make you feel like a god, capable of creating anything from nothing?

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Arts

Behind the Curtain: The Davidson Ceramics Studio

By Aimee Sung | February 24, 2014

For the brave souls that make the trek down West Wheelock Street and across the Ledyard Bridge, Davidson Ceramics Studio is worth the trip. Located right off the Connecticut River in Norwich, the studio allows students and faculty to throw, fire and glaze their own pots, whether they have experience working on a potter’s wheel or are getting their hands dirty for the first time.

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Arts

Frame of Reference

By Laura Sim | February 23, 2014

When Cornelius Gurlitt, now 81 years-old, traveled across the Swiss border by train in 2010, a routine customs check led to an incredible find. The son of a prominent Nazi was traveling with 9,000 euros, prompting a police investigation that ended with the discovery of a priceless collection of drawings and paintings allegedly taken from war-torn Germany. Stored in his 1000-square-foot Munich apartment, Gurlitt had a collection worth an estimated $1.3 billion, including works by Matisse and Picasso. German prosecutors removed over 1,400 works of art and objects from his apartment in 2012.

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Arts

‘3 Days to Kill’ fails to develop characters, plot

By Varun Bhuchar | February 23, 2014

Not too far into “3 Days to Kill” (2014), recently retired CIA hit man Ethan Renner (Kevin Costner) returns to his apartment in Paris. As he puts his key into the door, a young boy opens it, and Ethan realizes his apartment has been taken over by squatters from Mali. After threatening the leader with a gun, the first of many minorities Ethan intimidates and beats in the film, he leaves his apartment to advance the plot, but I really wish he hadn’t.

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