The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, February 2, 2007 Page: 18 of 24
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2007
THE RICE THRESHER
■HUM!
I
COURTESY MENU COLLECTION
Danny Lyon's Mary, Santa Marta, Columbia epitomizes the captured beauty of the mundane in Everyday People.
People proves to be anything but ordinary
bv Miri Kim
THRESHER STAFF
The Menil Collection allows
its relatively young photography
collection to shine in Everyday
People: 20th-century Photogra-
phy from The Menil Collection.
The exhibit features both iconic
images and works that have never
been displayed.
'everyday people'
20th-century
photography from
the menil collection
★★★★ of five
The Menil Collection
1515 Sul Ross
The photography collection,
compiled since the late 1960s, is
a deviation from the majority of
the Menil's holdings. Known for
their collections of Surrealist and
abstract art, John and Dominique
de Menil became attracted to
photography's realism and sense
of immediacy.
The de Menils developed a rap-
port with various photographers
such as Henri Car tier-Bresson
(1908-2004) and Danny Lyon,
whose works occupy a central
position within the gallery. From
the rapturous demeanor of an of-
ficial from Santiago to the laughter
shared between three young black
girls, the notable works by Emil
Cadoo, Walker Evans, James van
der Zee and others also contrib-
ute to the diversity and incisive
portraits of the exhibition's mostly
anonymous subjects.
The exhibit's innovation is im-
mediately evident as an array of
Car tier-Bresson's works greets
the viewer. Subtle identification
numbers silk-screened directly
onto the wall replace the wall
labels that normally accompany
each photograph. The images are
allowed to directly confront the
viewer without the mediation of
wall labels.
The photograph
REDEFINES
the subject-
viewer
relationship by
rendering the
viewer as the
new object of
scrutiny.
While the photographs feature
everyday people, the quality of
the images themselves are far
from ordinary. The title subject in
Walker Evans' Coal Dock Worker,
Havana (1933) stands against a
gray wall. A stark white cigarette
in his mouth offsets the shades of
gray and black from his well-worn,
grimy clothes and angled hat. The
shade on the worker's face barely
obscures a compelling, level gaze
that provokes discomfort and con-
frontation. Havana brackets one
end of Evans' grouped works but
seems to visually set itself apart by
virtue of its subject's presence.
In contrast to the hard gaze in
Havana, a row of inmates clad in
white uniforms and caps in Danny
Lyon's The Line, Ferguson Unit,
Texas (1967-69) shows the power
in the absence of eye contact as
they upturn soil in the foreground
of the piece. The work represents
a 1970 Rice Institute for the Arts
exhibition and photojournalistic
examination on the Texas prison
system, Conversations with the
Dead, a collaboration between
Lyon and convicted felon Billy
McCune. Far behind the line of
inmates and profiled in detail by
a fair-weather sky, a single leafless
tree occupies a central position
in a grassy field. The tree offsets
the downward cast of the inmates'
gaze with the vertical spread of its
branches. It is an unsentimental,
pensive group portrait rendered
almost redemptive in its careful
treatment of the subject matter.
Another group portrait depicts
a gallery replete with fine art,
viewers and a dapper family pro-
viding four expressive responses
to an unknown object of study. Be-
musement, insouciance, scrutiny,
awe — these unique reactions
create a magnetic aggregate
in Cartier-Bresson's Tretiakov
Gallery, Moscow (1972). The
photograph redefines the subject-
viewer relationship by rendering
the viewer as the new object
of scrutiny.
Each image and its relationship
with the other images deserves a
measure of consideration. Despite
its brevity, the exhibition provides
an insightful exploration into the
Menil photography collection. Por-
traits of community, religion, com-
bat and moments in time produce a
holistic, pulsating imagery.
WARIO
From page 9
True to the frenzied nature of
the game, the "stories" consist of a
wacky cartoon introductory scene,
a fast-paced series of microgames
culminating in a Boss Stage, and
some sort of wrap-up scene that
often leaves the gamer more
perplexed than satisfied. Still,
completing these stages comes
with some rewards: New stages
are unlocked, and sometimes a
minigame appears that lets the
gamer play a fuller, more relaxed
variation on a skill demonstrated
in the microgames.
WarioWare's
HYPERACTIVE
HUINKS will
keep gamers on
their toes,
sometimes
literally, for hours
of addictive fun.
Trying to understand the bi-
zarre and sometimes crude humor
of WarioWare is missing the point
of the game. The characters, sce-
narios and punchlines are as ran-
dom as the micro- and minigames
themselves, and they exist as
feeble excuses to put the gamer
VENUS
From page 9
he displays his unblemished acting
prowess with a graceful, poignant
performance that hearkens back to
iMwrence of Arabia. Cross your fin-
gers come Oscar day for OToole's
part in Venus. OToole received his
eighth Oscar nomination for his Ve-
nus role, and even refused an hon-
orary Oscar, wanting to earn the
real thing first.
The director keeps his so-
cial consciousness visible yet
relatively transparent, letting the
story speak for itself. Behind the
camera, artistic skill frames shots
to characterize the confinement
of old age and the open freedom
of youth.
British screenwriter Hanif Ku-
reishi (The Mother) wrote a script
with emotion and plenty of good-
natured humor that feels developed
and mature. It provides a sophisti-
cated respite from recent films
like Stomp the Yard. A particularly
humorous dialogue occurs after
Maurice fails to tell Ian he recently
underwent surgery. These small
moments of quick wit make Venus
entertaining, but its artistic value
comes most often from the cast.
As the situations change and
characters become catalysts for
one another, the actors alter their
roles to prevent the plague of
through a quick-paced series of
pointless exercises. This becomes
increasingly apparent after con-
quering the single-player game
and unlocking multiplayer mode.
With storylines out of the way and
all games open for play, the real
fun of the game emerges. As if the
action were not frantic enough,
imagine playing with 10 other
people, passing a single remote
back and forth while trying not to
laugh too hard as your roommate
thrusts virtual dentures into Gran-
ny's mouth.
Overall, WarioWare: Smooth
Moves is a success for a console
that is rapidly proving itself as a
great multiplayer platform. The
functions of the Wiimote are still
novel enough that the mechanics
of the game are exciting and fresh,
while the addictive music and
flashy anime-cum-Nintendo-style
visuals help keep the energy
levels through the roof. Wii users
will also appreciate the integration
of Miis into gameplay; all that time
spent perfecting the look of avatars
for friends, family, and celebrities
on the console really pay off when
a microgame pits the gamer's Mii
against a random Mii in the sys-
tem for arm wrestling or darts.
Though it falls a bit short in single-
player functionality, Smooth Moves
is a must-have addition for any
Wii library.
flat characters. Whitaker skill-
fully performs her transformation
from a petulant model wannabe
into a compassionate woman. Her
parasitic relationship with Mau-
rice — Maurice quotes Macbeth
and Shakespearean sonnets to her
confusion — is portrayed with a
wide range of emotions, which is
surprising given that this is Whita-
ker's first wide-release film. She
becomes Maurice's Venus with
beautiful maturity.
Maurice is a deeper character
than one might think. He acts as a
career — playing a corpse, "more
or less," at one point — but reveals
his true character to Jessie. The
transfer from lethargy into charm
obviously taxes Maurice, but he
desires a fulfillment in the last
years of his life that he thinks only
Jessie can provide. It is strange to
think this might be the last attempt
at acting fulfillment for OToole
as well.
Even though Venus and its cast
was overlooked in other Acad-
emy Awards categories, its enter-
tainment value and comforting
story make it a worthwhile movie
venture. The bittersweet ending is
a nice touch and proves movies can
risk deadening their humor for a
thoughtful conclusion.
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Brown, David. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, February 2, 2007, newspaper, February 2, 2007; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443111/m1/18/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.