2006-01 Vital Source Mag – January 2006
Revealing light
By Evan Solochek Bruce Nauman has spent his life and career bending artistic conventions, one of the few living artists successful at avoiding labels. And regardless of how one feels about the work itself, he is inarguably viewed as one of the most innovative living artists of our time. Recently, Nauman made the top 10 of the London Financial Times� �Top 100 Art World Movers and Shakers.� Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1941, Bruce Nauman�s family followed his father�s job as an engineer for General Electric around the country. They landed in Milwaukee while Nauman was still a boy. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he began honing his renaissance approach to life and art, studying mathematics and philosophy, music and physics. Eventually, Nauman�s interests began to focus on what would bring him fame in later life, and in 1964 he graduated with a Bachelor�s Degree in Art. The following year, Nauman began work on his Master�s Degree at the University of California-Davis, where success found him quickly. In 1965, at the age of 24, he headlined his own gallery show and published his first art book, Pictures of Sculpture in a Room. Nauman originally studied painting, but felt limited in the medium�s ability to adequately subvert what he saw as artistic preconceptions and order, and quickly abandoned it. Entranced by the old neon beer signs he saw from the window of his first studio in San Francisco (a former grocery store), Nauman turned his attention to the light itself, using its stark but fluid form and motion to play with language, imagery and iconic symbols. And while he has successfully explored a wide variety of mediums from sculpture to video, it is his work with neon that has garnered the most widespread attention. With works like My Name As Though It Were Written on the Surface of the Moon (1968), in which he tackles the relationship between name and identity, and One Hundred Live and Die (1984), which bombards the viewer with the banalities of life and forces reevaluation, Nauman sits at the top of the art world. And while each piece has its own identity and message, an overreaching theme does exist. �Nauman makes artwork that doesn�t look like art,� says Joseph Ketner II, Chief Curator of the Milwaukee Art Museum. �He wants to make it in a non-traditional medium, and so he employs a commercial medium, neon signs.� While rebellion and non-traditional art is nothing new, one facet of Nauman�s work transcends conventional subversion. He doesn�t �make� any of it. Nauman designs his pieces on paper, then hands the plans over to a neon fabricator to construct. �It parodies this whole romantic notion of the artist hand being the supreme expression of humanity,� Ketner says. �This whole exhibit will contain no objects touched by Bruce Nauman.� This inevitably raises questions about basic artistic tenets. Can a man who never physically touches his own art be considered an artist? What�s more important, the vision or the […]
Jan 1st, 2006 by Vital Archives
Forgotten Milwaukee
By Frizell Bailey In the December 2005 issue of Vital Source, the “Forgotten Milwaukee” series began to examine school choice. School choice has been controversial politically, with white Democrats largely opposing the policy and Republicans among the staunchest supporters. This does not hold true among black Democrats. Black parents overwhelmingly support school vouchers. According to the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 60 percent of African Americans support school vouchers and only 35 percent oppose them. This is almost the same margin of support as Republicans hold for the voucher program. But that “choice” is somewhat limited. The Wisconsin program only allows 15 percent of public school students in MPS to choose a charter or voucher school. There’s also the problem of transportation. More than half of choice schools offer either limited or no transport for students, and the program itself doesn’t provide any transportation guidelines or requirements. Income affects outcomesI do not question the conventional wisdom that public schools have failed students. However, a simple fact often gets lost in the debate over not leaving children behind: teaching is really hard. And teaching at-risk students is even harder. I found this out firsthand as a middle and high school teacher in the Mississippi Delta. Like many new, young teachers I thought I’d march in like Sidney Poitier in To Sir, With Love. Instead, I found the job to be far more difficult than I had imagined. Here’s the problem. What I didn’t understand at the time was that when poverty is extreme, people loose hope. It’s difficult to see the value of education when the only people around you that have educations are teachers or people who don’t look like you. I spoke with two local educators to explore this idea within Milwaukee Public Schools. Dr. Aquine Jackson is the chief academic officer for the district. Kathy Williams leads the Division of Teaching and Learning for MPS. Both agree that income plays a role in the success or failure of students. The key issue, according to both, is one of preparedness. Students whose parents don’t have the time and resources to provide educational experiences to complement what happens in the classroom are at a disadvantage. This doesn’t change the reality that schools have a responsibility to educate such students, but it does make it more difficult to close the achievement gap. It is widely believed that a socially, economically and ethnically diverse student body benefits students, especially poor students. Just as is true for concentrations of poverty in housing, having a student body that is comprised primarily of students from disadvantaged backgrounds adversely affects their academic success. “There has been research that supports the idea that when there is economic diversity in schools, students make more rapid gains than when they are all in the lower income bracket,” William says. “There is not as great a concentration of needs and students learn from each other.” Williams believes that the problem is one of overtaxing the system. […]
Jan 1st, 2006 by Frizell Bailey
Babyshambles
By Paul Snyder Stateside knowledge of Pete Doherty is little more than �that walking hypodermic needle that got Kate Moss hooked on cocaine.� In England, he�s revered as a romantic, tragic figure: always arrested for possession, always missing gigs, always getting his ass kicked, and always writing great songs along the way. He was part of The Libertines, though his own demons got him ousted before they�d made their U.S. debut. But while the other three limped to their finish, Doherty formed Babyshambles and released a couple of punchy singles intent on outdoing his old mates and re-instilling faith in his pale, skeletal frame. Down in Albion was intended to be the pièce de résistance. It�s a piece, all right � 16 scatterbrain tracks that scream �addict!� far more often than �genius!� The lyrics so frequently recycle the themes of fading belief, depression and pleas to be left alone that they caricaturize themselves before the record�s finished. �I can�t tell between death and glory.� Er� right. Clever. The thing is, with some proper guidance and editing, this could have been a sucker punch. It�s hard to deny the great spark in �The 32nd of December� and �Loyalty Song,� but they�re in such droll company that no fire is ever allowed to catch. So download those two, plus the single of �Killamangiro� and their sprightly contribution to the Help! benefit album, �From Bollywood to Battersea.� But don�t shell out for this mess; if you do, you already know how Pete�s going to spend the money. VS
Jan 1st, 2006 by Vital Archives
Cat Power
By Erin Wolf Cat Power�s Chan Marshall has become something of a gothic folk legend, like the music she�s created over the past decade. Part indie rocker, part folk storyteller, part mystery, with complements of dark and brooding lyrics and extreme stage fright and self-doubt, Marshall rises above all her clouds with The Greatest. Going back to her Georgian roots, she employs her cultural background as the main emphasis on The Greatest, leaving the foundation of previous albums. Sonically, she re-constructs and tweaks her new songs with the help of capable Memphis musicians, including Al Green�s guitarist Mabon �Teenie� Hodges, Jim Spakes on saxophone and Doug Easley for a little dose of pedal steel. The Greatest begins with the startlingly beautiful title track about a boy who wants to be a boxer; its wistful reflection sets the tone for the album. The second track, �Living Proof,� warmly swells with horns and organs, showcasing Marshall�s lovely, throaty voice, which is better suited to the role of soul singer than dejected chanteuse. The Greatest features personal songs soaked with the languidness of a Southern afternoon, favoring relaxed storytelling and at times breaking the circle with piano-crooning introspection. 2006 finds Cat Power in a more comfortable and truly natural place � it�s as though all the tension and angst from previous albums has finally run its race, and Marshall is finally at ease. The Greatest speaks volumes for her personal journey. VS
Jan 1st, 2006 by Vital Archives
Madonna
By Jon M. Gilbertson When music industry observers can refer to an album that �only� went platinum as a serious failure, then it�s clear they�re talking about an artist who�s redefined the concept of success. In the last 25 years, that could only be Madonna, whose 2003 work, American Life, sold over a million copies without one Top Ten single. Hence Confessions on a Dance Floor, which revisits the clubs that first played her. Musically, it�s clearly a throwback; the tracks run together like the set of a particularly adroit DJ who knows her listeners don�t want to hear a single moment of silence to break their absorbed movement. Although �Future Lovers� touches upon the multiple harmonies of psychedelic-era Beatles, and �Hung Up� leads off the album as a genuine single, this is less a pop album to be heard than an extended mix of beats to feel as the lights flash and the drugs and alcohol do their things internally, and the sweat and sexual energy do their things externally. Lyrically, Confessions is mostly as empty as Madonna�s bank account is not, although that doesn�t prevent one or two musings, notably �Let It Will Be,� on the price of fame. Yet the combination of self-importance and everyday cliché�plus the use of the word �dork� as a rhyming lynchpin in the East Coast solipsism of �I Love New York��are in this context as beside the point as Esther, her Kabbalah name. The album is all about rhythm and motion, even if both point to the past rather than to the future, where Madonna supposedly was once leading the rest of us. VS
Jan 1st, 2006 by Vital Archives
The Reigning Sound
By It�s a cold November night when Greg Cartwright and his group The Reigning Sound take the Mad Planet stage. Cartwright clears his throat and apologizes for his hoarseness. But that�s not a problem, he sounds somewhere between Bobby �Blue� Bland and Paul Westerberg. In that perfect parallel universe, Cartwright�s songs are hits and writers don�t drop obscure references. A white artist hasn�t exhibited this much soul since Charlie Rich exited the planet, and as a young man Cartwright should have plenty of years ahead. With The Oblivions and later The Compulsive Gamblers, Cartwright helped pilot Memphis projects of chaos, blues, punk and Gospel. The Reigning Sound albums took a decided turn toward melody, featuring Alex Greene�s proto-soul keyboards and slowed tempos. While still wholeheartedly a mix of garage and R&B, lyrically Cartwright wears his heart on his sleeve and backs the whole thing up with hooks that refuse to leave your head. Outtakes, different arrangements, an odds & sods compilation: call Home For Orphans what you will, but this band�s crumbs are better than most groups� top-shelf material. �Funny Thing,� as close to a perfect song as you might hear, adds uncredited pedal steel to notch the melancholy factor. Much like Roy Orbison, �What Could I Do� frames what could be a short novel or black and white movie based around the interactions of three people, and leaves the listener intensely curious about the outcome. Chicago�s Green and vintage Brian Wilson come to mind throughout the album as The Reigning Sound work from solid, tried and true song structures, guitar or Hammond organ solos that build off the tune�s melody, and la-la-la vocal choruses. Nothing you haven�t heard before, but rare to hear it done so well in this day and age. And just when you fear it�s getting a bit introspective, the album�s finale is a live blast through �Don�t Send Me No Flowers I Ain�t Dead Yet.� Maxwell�s is a blurred snapshot. Recorded on a weeknight at the legendary New Jersey club, The Reigning Sound blast through a set that includes covers of Sam Cooke and Sam & Dave as well as a blitz through �Stormy Weather.� Not entirely breakneck, but when Cartwright asks the audience to bear with his guitar playing, �I�m down to three strings,� you know these guys will stop at nothing to get the music across. VS
Jan 1st, 2006 by Vital Archives
John Cale
By Eric Lewin Postmodern music sure is ironic. �Progressive� bands such as Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Warlocks and the rest of the MySpace-endorsed shoegazers generally make their way by rethreading Velvet Underground�s effects and hypnotic hum, some pulling it off more ably than others. Even more ironic is that John Cale, Velvets� second-in-command behind Lou Reed, refuses to overtly borrow from his old band. Black Acetate has its influences, to be sure, but none of them hung out with Andy Warhol. Acetate plays like a Frank Zappa record in that it relies heavily on eerie effects, creepy voices and funked-out Mothers of Invention-style bass lines. A well-lit room is recommended during the spooky �Brotherman;� when Cale groans that he writes �reams of this shit every day� in a Leonard Cohen grunt, it�s downright terrifying. For better or worse, Acetate doesn�t dwell in the horrific for too long. Hell, it doesn�t dwell anywhere for too long. Cuts like �Gravel Drive� and �Satisfied� are undeniably beautiful, not to mention flavorful, when positioned next to rockers �Sold-Motel� and �Perfect,� which border on danceable. Trying to outrun a monster legacy like Velvet Underground at all costs is an impossible task that Cale doesn�t attempt. While Acetate contains minimal elements of White Light/White Heat, it comes filtered through Velvet-inspired records such as Love and Rockets� Earth Sun Moon. A musician being influenced by musicians that he himself influenced? All this post-modernity is confusing, but it sure is fun. VS
Jan 1st, 2006 by Vital Archives
Inner Space
By Eric Francis Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Is there a room in your house suitable as a movie theater? I think there is, even if it’s a modest digital theater. This is the year of the Aquarius Odeon, to which the whole neighborhood can be invited regularly. It’s the spirit that counts more than anything, and the quality of what you present – make it weird, intellectual, retro and neo all at once. Given that your whole life has taken on this cinematic quality, Hollywood is the perfect decorating theme. This will help keep the dramas where they belong, on the screen rather than acted out in real life – unless you’ve been planning to audition for something, which I do recommend. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) Weird has been your middle name for a couple of years now, and you love it. You have the license to invent whatever you want and call it beautiful; if Andy Warhol got away with it, so can you. The essence is experimentation, fast changes and keeping what works. Going international would spark your imagination, and for some reason, African comes to mind. Dark colors, reds and browns – or pure white, not the usual blues and purples you’ve always loved so much. Keep it deep, and remember that all wealth comes from the Earth. Aries (March 20-April 19) You’re not the type to collect stuff, or even be particularly interested in it; but suddenly the material world means a lot more to you: material as in the textures of fabrics and colors of cloth that come to life in your fingers. This developing inner sensitivity seems to have become a passion, as if you’re seeing dark reds and browns for the first time in your life. Or like you never noticed the luxury of mahogany. Or food that you cook at home all afternoon. Will you ever go back to glass and chrome? Or Chinese take away? Let’s not ask. Taurus (April 19-May 20) Most of your renovation and redecoration is going to be psychological, so we might ask what constitutes the design equivalent of therapy. The answer starts with art, which needs to reflect the inner landscapes that have become so familiar recently. Choose pieces that represent who you are becoming, and images that depict feelings or settings you would like to make real. You’ve worked out your stuff’ enough to be feeling an unusual degree of dedication, passion and spiritual fire rising up. Keep it in sight, and look at it often. Gemini (May 20-June 21) For Gemini, the emphasis this year is on water, and a little goes a long way. You don’t want too much; it’s possible to use water for inspiration, or to drown emotionally. Balance is key. An aquarium would make a great addition to your home (invest in the best lighting you can get, so the plants will thrive), which will remind you of what the world of feelings is really about. At the same time, […]
Jan 1st, 2006 by Vital Archives
Amy X Neuburg
By Paul Snyder The audience at the Milwaukee Art Museum on January 7 will probably have no idea what to expect of Amy X Neuburg�s performance. That�s okay. She doesn�t either. �I�m very nervous,� she says. �But I thrive on that.� That evening, �The Metaphor,� a piece written by Neuburg for chamber ensemble, voice and live looping electronics, and commissioned and performed by Present Music, will have its national debut. The technology and looping, of course, pose no fears in the author. After all, she�s made a name for herself in the electronic music genre (though she prefers to call her stylings �avant-cabaret� ). Her solo live performances feature Neuburg and a stack of computers, building voice layer upon voice layer to create fully dimensional songs. The challenge with �The Metaphor� is going to be implementing this solo predilection for looping into an ensemble act. Now on top of countless loops of Neuburg, there will be countless loops of each individual player in the ensemble as well. Daunting as it sounds, she�s up for it. �It�s something new for me,� she says. �And I like that. I always want to challenge myself, and the ensemble asked me to compose this piece for them. There�s going to be a lot of high-tech sounds in addition to solo live-looping, but the thing with this is to get everyone looped simultaneously. When you can achieve that, six players end up sounding completely different. It�s immense.� It also demands a lot of precision. Neuburg says that she likes to let people know what�s going on in her shows, so she constructs her songs piece by piece on stage, which requires starting and stopping loops at exact moments, lest the entire song fall apart on the spot. This aspect is again made a bit more challenging by the addition of an ensemble, but Neuburg thanks her musical background for helping her work through it. �I notate everything,� she says. �Which is difficult sometimes, because I majored in voice, not composition, but you have to be so precise for the benefit of the other musicians. It�s not just a matter of starting a loop and stopping it � I write out exactly what I�m going to be doing.� A classically trained singer with a near four-octave vocal range, Neuburg received undergraduate degrees from Oberlin Conservatory (voice) and Oberlin College (linguistics), and an M.F.A. in Electronic Music from Mills College CCM. She started her professional music career as a member of the musical-theater group MAP, and then moved on to drumming for Amy X Neuburg & Men. Her last solo release, 2004�s Residue (Other Minds), received positive critical response. While Neuburg will incorporate some of her solo material into the show on the 7th, she says her new kick is working as a collaborator again, composing for ensembles. In addition to the Milwaukee performance, Neuburg also ventured to New York in December for a performance with three cellists. In March, she�ll take the spotlight at the San […]
Jan 1st, 2006 by Vital Archives
