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Show 5 ARTS U art students make SLC their canvas Thursday January 23, 2014 www.dailyutahchronicle.com Shawna Meyer STAFF WRITER From Jan. 24 to March 7, the Finch Lane Gallery will showcase a collection of community-inspired murals called "Perspective Realia: Ten Years of Urban Art." V. Kim Martinez, a professor of painting and drawing at the U, has been planning and implementing these public art projects through a mural class, which is offered each Fall Semester. In this class, students research, plan, propose and paint largescale murals throughout the Salt Lake City area. Martinez said the project was set up in collaboration with a few community partners and the Utah Transit Authority. Originally, South Salt Lake parks and recreation manager Tim Williams contacted the Department of Art and Art History and offered them a grant to beautify the TRAX corridor. After painting a few unique murals along TRAX lines, Martinez looked to establish a sense of community in her hometown of South Salt Lake. "Community art is about giving everyone a voice. [It needs to be done] in a way that becomes a social action for everyone involved," Martinez said. Collectively, the students from Martinez's mural classes are responsible for designing and bringing to life around 25,000 square feet of artwork. During the class, students gain many important skills so that, after graduation, they will have a competitive edge when it comes to creating art in the public sphere. They also learn the importance of teamwork, mentor elementary students in painting and educate the neighborhoods about the legal procedures involved in creating the murals. "As a class, we worked hard this last fall to create a mural for the NICU at the University Medical Center," said Judy Gustafason, a senior in fine art with an emphasis in painting and drawing and a student in Martinez's class. Every student creates a design. Then they present their design to the class, and the class chooses who gets to present to city officials, who offer feedback. The students revise their designs before unveiling them to the community. Finally, the citizens get to vote for whatever design they believe best represents the neighborhood. Each students' artistic style makes working collectively to produce a cohesive piece more difficult. Without a rigid plan, these paintings could quickly become chaotic and confusing. However, Martinez devises a plan months in advance, and she adheres to that plan throughout the entire process. The students and Martinez utilize either a specific color palette, a unique line or even a certain painting technique, which ensures PHOTO COURTESY AMELIA WALCHLI Art on display at the Finch Lane Gallery. a consistent style. When it comes to these murals, nothing is done behind closed doors. The community not only receives a beautiful piece of artwork, they also get to watch the entire process from design to chalk-grid to finished product. The hope for these colorful scenes is that they will thrive both on the walls of the neighbor- hood and in the hearts of Utah citizens. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 9 p.m. to 5 p.m. The art house will also screen a documentary, which reveals the intensive process that went into creating the massive collages. s.meyer@chronicle.utah.edu PHOTO COURTESY RYAN RUSSELL Against Me! members Left to Right Inge Johansson, James Bowman, Laura Jane Grace, Atom Willard. REVIEW Transgender Dysphoria Blues' a musical, emotional triumph Dylan Griffin STAFF WRITER It's been more than three years since the last album from post-punk rock band Against Me!, but with the release of "Transgender Dysphoria Blues" it's clear that a lot has changed. Lead singer Laura Jane Grace came out as a transgender wornan in 2012 after struggling with gender dysphoria for most of her life. To say that "Transgender Dysphoria Blues" is Grace's most personal work is not only an understatement but also an underacknowledgement of what has been achieved with this album. It's been said before that good artists can communicate their personal frustration, but great ones can make them universal. That's what Grace has achieved here. The album wraps itself in a blanket of personal anxiety, loss of identity and boiling frustration — all culminating in a heartfelt cry for acceptance and understanding. Lyrically, the album rides a wave of frustration, but holds onto its riot-inducing rhythms. Only Against Me! could make a song called "F---MYLIFE666" sound as upbeat as it does. Songs such as "Transgender Dysphoria Blues" and "True Trans Soul Rebel" root themselves in existential cries of help because of the various stigmas associated with being transgender. "Drinking with the Jocks" rides a guitar riff of coke-induced paranoia about hiding your identity from your peers. "Unconditional Love" is Grace's acknowledgement to her wife and bandmates. The album's 3o-odd minute runtime is turned all the way up to a nervous breakdown, only taking a moment to breathe on the song "Two Coffins." Rather than the uncertainty and paranoia Grace displayed toward those close to her on "Unconditional Love," this song is a romantic thank you to her wife for "the way that you smile at me." It's a calming moment in this storm of an album. The album caps itself off with "Black Me Out," which is one large emotional release. Grace seems to let go of all her frustration, anger and doubt in favor of simply getting rid of the toxic relationships that put those emotions in her in the first place. On its own it succeeds, but backed by the proceeding spiral of emotions, it might be the rock anthem of the year. It's only January, I know, but I envision myself blasting this all year. While the entire album needs to be played on a big speaker, "Black Me Out" deserves to be turned all the way up. There were times in the past few years of Against Me! that it seemed this album would never be released. Now that it has, it stands as the group's best and most mature work, lyrically, emotionally and sonically. The subject matter and spectrum of emotion it covers are a triumphant achievement. Grace has created a landmark album not just for the band, but for the genre of rock itself. d.griffin@chronicle.utah.edu |