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Show Arts Eimta tammmmeimij: Artists say democracy doesn't choose art By Tyson Hiatt Signpost art editor Russian painters Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melmid believe that there are many similarities in the art of pre-glasnost Russia and the United States, even though the two countries differ socially and politically. Komar and Melmid spoke Wednesday night to about 50 people and reminded the audience that art is a reflection of our society, its thoughts and ideas. They illustrated thisby showing a painting of a huge statue of Stalin in a box with children peeking. The art depicts a curiosity of what has passed. Melmid showed similar pieces of art in Russia such as a painting of Lenin surrounded by Russian troops, and then followed it with a similar painting of George Washington. He then showed a part of Russia which had a large sculpture of Lenin's head. "This is thelargest statue of Lenin's head in our country," he said. Melmid then turned the slide and a picture of Mount Rushmore appeared. "And this is the largest statue of George Washington in your country." The two artists also have a sarcastic view of some things in both the Russian and American culture. They showed a slide of an American flag with the stars erased and a picture of the milky way in its place. "This is our version of your flag with more stars," Komar said. When Komar and Melmid came to the United States, they had a survey done to see what most Americans are looking for in their paintings. Research found that most Americans liked blue as their favorite color followed by green and red. They dislike art that includes sharp edges, orange, brown and gold. It was also found the majority of people liked to see wild animals and water in their " " Ft "' '"77 X : ( "- 1 " i - . .. j . . " MATT THOMAS THE SIGNPOST Russian artists Alexander Melmid and Vitaly Komar spoke to Weber State University students Wednesday evening about American perceptions of art. The artists now live in New York. paintings and don't like nude art. Americans' favorite artist is Norman Rockwell, followed by Claude Monet. One of the members from the audience asked Melmid if he was compromising his integrity by performing art that people wanted to see instead of what he felt was art in his heart. Melmid responded by saying that not all art produced by artists is unique. "If you look at art from children or mentally ill people, it all looks the same," he said. Even if he is doing what others want, his work is still individual, he said. "To express yourself as an individual is hard work; it is not given." Melmid said that in Europe art used to be only for the aristocrats. If the peasants thought something was good, it couldn't be because they didn't know better, he said. Melmid also said the decisions made in a Democratic society are a drastic change. In democracy we let the people choose the government and the policies but not the art, he said. "In art we still believe in the system from the past," he said. But, he added, "Democracy chooses everything but art." Comedy team draws laughs With Comedy Sportz, audience participation is a must By Jeff Young Signpost staff writer A nationally recognized comedy team made its way to Weber State University and amused the crowd with its impromptu style of comedy at Wednesday night's Campus Comedy Improv. This talented group of individuals called Comedy Sportz made their way to WSU by way of San Jose, where the group is based. They perform to sold out audiences in San Jose as well as travel around the country performing at schools, corporations and even bar-mitzvahs.During the show Wednesday night, they told the audience their participation would be a must in order to enjoy the show. "It's great to have a high energy audience like this one because the show revolves around audience participation," said manager Jeff Kramer. Although there are over 30 members from the San Jose franchise, only four members of the group performed. The team consists of Kramer, Chris Bushnell, and Gale Brennan and Derek McCaw. One of the rules in their act is that anyone calling out obscene or vulgar things has to wear a paper bag over their The Signpost REVIEW head. "It is easy to get a cheap laugh," said one member of the team. Throughout the show the group put on different skits. The plots were created through suggestions by the audience, such as when they sang a tune about different types of emotions. The audience suggested the emotions twiterpated, dumbfounded and impatient. They titled this act an "Emotional Symphony." A few minutes later they used a couple of audience members in their act. In this act the audience members were paired with a comedian to portray Siamese twins; one would start the sentence, and the other would finish it. They even let the audience pick the topic. The Comedy Sportz concept began several years ago and has spread nationwide with franchises in 22 cities. The San Jose group also competes in national and regional competitions against teams from different cities. Their unique "clean humor" style is suitable for both adults and kids. f Ik 1 J ; s ,v '.V . aft STEVE CONLIN IHb SIGNPOST Comedy Sportz gets a little crazy during their performance Wednesday. |