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Show tr-- i 'if by Autumn Thatcher E"3 o celebrate its I one-yea- r anniversary, Utah Artist 1 Hands has created a small exhibit featuring various artists within Utah. The theme of the exhibit is hands, according to owner Pamela O'Mara. Within the simple exhibit, there are various styles of art, each piece containing an image of hands somewhere in the work. The works of art range from paintings, sculptures and woodworks. O'Mara even showed me a boa made out of goat's locks with little hand charms woven into it. The setting of Utah Artist Hands is very naturalistic. The store is small and simple but contains a variety of artistic treasures produced by Utah artists. Besides the main styles of art that one can purchase, there are also beaded works, rings, necklaces, candles and much more. The items are unique and genuinely beautiful. I found myself distracted from the celebratory exhibit by the various items for sale within the store. I felt comfortable and at peace in this artistic environment. The owner even has a cage with some birds chirping away as customers shop to the sounds of music. The best part yoga-stylabout the store, however, is of collected. Artist Dave Craghead also created a sculpture, produced out of mixed media containing copper, pulp and wood is titled "Hand in the Box." The metal box reminded me of the little talking clock on Disney's "Beauty and the Beast." It was short and stout with little hands sticking out of either side of the box. Springing out of the box is a painted mask with extravagantly long eyelashes. The eyes of the mask are in fact mirrors that reflect images in the store. The various paintings on the wall are all beautiful in their own way. The most interesting part of the exhibit was viewing how different artists chose to portray hands. Some used abstract ideas while other artists painted realis e a- - I! i f vw; 'p j uiia . Christian by ' fl ' i J i ihi; Gentry v,:; existence tenches far into , . c11. - ..-- rn music ; , g ... es that inundate the ndio turnout v.'2s rsther disjointi- of performance should spread fast through wcrd of mculn and create a gre.'.f fvllowln when they corae back aiin. This tt.yiel (pfa.no, vic4Ln, cello, flute, clarir.ct end pfrcus-sio- ng, but the quality r. i c yrr.r.'.'y i c: ti :; w.v:i;ttra OPY ' - .;fr . rh This m i I dock, as you can see, has hands, in multiple ways. Therefore it's ideal. f8. University and Chicago ' University; They have been awarded 6s-- 4 tinuished chamtfr prizes vl g' r the Fischctf Naiicr.4 i Music Compet;tl: 1 tr;i .. " ' Coleman Chamber ?.'usic ' Competition. The nsemtl has performed at the Lincoln ; ' Center's Alice Tully Hall, Weill Reci,tal Hill, , Carnegie's the 92nd Street Y, the Annenberg Center in Philadelphia and San Francisco's Herbst Theater as f well as several chamber festivals including the Great Lakes J Festival in Michigan, Caramoor'1 International Music Festival ' and Chautauqua Music Festival." ' eighth blackbird is hailed as "ambassadors of nev music," signifies its dedication to the performance cf not only the established composers of the modern era, but also the young generation cf ' composers. Included in the conceit waa ' ' works by Michael Torke, Chin Yi, John Harbison, Fred LerdM , and Joan Tower. All cf thri? composers are representative of the varied and often antithetical compositional styles in ( American modem music. TI : . - ; ; : . Pago was a great opener, Tns is a itself of ' piece the 8s of minimalism with ' some added elements of p".. The repetitive nature cf thh piece could be too monotonous ' if it weren't for seme added done the by chorecrrajhy flyers a iittl? tit of hip swaying and stuff cf that sort It was , J entertaining. The next piece, Qi (1997), pro-- '' nounced"chee(" provided a great atmosphere cf the lyinl versus the percusive. Written by Chir.era- Chen Yi, rliis' piece provided another tast? of modern developments in musl-.- , cil composidon, rurly ti; ' ama!'T5mit;;in effa) m.r' : (1985), ct -- ? Vartiti:r.3(:)byjchn H:rMj::;.This piece exi lares the traditional usae cf theme Mwmju0 written by Joan Tower. ' Petroushkatet (1983) ii & combi- nation cfTcver'i great affinity . tov.'Jtri Stravinsky and a cf the grace and flow of figure skating, eighth black oird did a remarkable job of employas well as ing drama, to not overdo this piece, since it has been overdone to one degree by other chamber groups. It is a rare occasion to hear, such great music played greatly, eighth bhekbird stands as an icon not eswly in modem "art" music, but also in the American culture itself, More often than por-tray- al ' and varixtions, often used by Brahms and Beethoven, using a very chrcnitic language. The communication and Interaction between the instrumentalists, especially the clarinetist and violinist, was astounding. Yet, the piece seemed to go on a few : too many variations for my tastes. Not only did the University of Utah have a gTeat pleasure of having eighth blackbird in residence for a few days, it also had the honor of having the distinguished music theorist and composer Fred Lerdahl here as this semester's Maurice Abravanel Distinguished Visiting Composer, who was present at the evening's per self-restrai- Vt not, popular music Isn't all that representa tive of the high caliber of talent that exists In America. Sometimes one has to look beyond the narrowness of the television and the radio to find purs taUnt and quality. As ambassadors - nt J IS cf new music, eighth blackbird introduces a different slant on the modern world a slant that uses the traditional ensemble to present something completely different and unique, yet some-thin- s familiar and possibly more accurate than the cf popular music. -- dia-tril- ls christianrei-mag.co- m 1 w: mi, .1? e. $tHt the second half, eighth tlvcktixd used full forces, all six cf them, to present a recent work by Lerdahl. Time after Time (2000) is a journey cf sorts that uses a compositional device djvelopod Ly th composer himself csllsd expanding variations. Vvz constant fluctuation of rhythmic and melodic pas- - ' sages that are intertwined ' among thft instrumentalists provided cn environment where the listeners had to be actively enraging their senses to follow everything. It isn't the complexity tht called for such acute listening, it is the close attention to detail ar.d nuance by the comparer, end consequently the performers, that sucked the audience in.Frei Lerdahl is or e of the most ur.ius and inrpu-ir.voices cf modern American music. ' To end the shew, they ployed a classic modern thamber piece r To 1 k if J 1 two-moveme- nt 4 fit V cer-birJ- y ro'-rica- -- with modern expressionism. Half the ensemble (violin, clarinet tod piano) ended the first half of Hie concert with ' ft f i 3i yi 4 Torke piece, The Yellow waves, the classical enssnble of strings, wind 3, keyboards and percussion is still a via tie and functicnirsg f ores' in performance and composition. Among the thriving classical ensembles of the dsy is eighth t'ocitiid. The Virtue; 0 Stoic j lircyjht the ensembls to Lilby Gardner Hall for its Salt Is Va City debut. The . " fit Ch-?-.- It hasUienon rr.iny guises and in reality Is the most utilized. AHhou-- h cr.e wouldn't consider it, a parage hsri is a type of chamber en::...tl2, like the ja?.z combo, the t In? rrrass trio, etc. I guess yci cz1l even count all the hip hoppers with, the featured soloist and his 0? her posse members who run around ' on stage making strar.e grunts and "chyeahs" as a chamber ensemble. The latter is a definite stretch of the terminology. Nevertheless, ii is important to understand, the roots of such collaboiatiens of musicians. The classical ensemble has benchbeen a mark of great musical performance. Not crjy that, but the smaller group of instrumentalists has teen a forum with, which composers have been able tap en ar.i hzir great master works without the aid cf a larger fcedy of rTVviiebns i.e. the orchestra). Despite the change of this ensemble into tha various guislong-standin- autumnred-mag.co- h nsemble cr chamber music tf , 1 u , ' - g, " i has keen an art form that's tha V ft uiy A. tic images of hands at work. What makes this exhibit so interesting to view is the variety of pieces produced by different artists. This allows nearly every individual to find something that he or she likes. The atmosphere is fun and the works of art only enhance the beauty of the store. Utah Artist Hands is located in downtown Salt Lake City and maintains a pleasant environment, putting one at ease when entering from the sometimes chaotic streets of the city. The store was especially pleasant when I visited, as there were a number of animal activists protesting on the streets just outside of the store. The store somehow fit in with the protest, as it centers around art and nature. The store should be visited if not to shop in, then to simply appreciate its beauty and unique atmosphere. The art is especially enticing and the smell of coffee brewing for shoppers makes for comfort and relaxation. Expensive vacations are not necessary for just walk inside of Utah Artist Hands and relish in the beauty of simplistic nature and the stress will immediately subside. Utah Arts is located on 61 W. 100 South. The "Hands" exhibit will run until March 20, 2003. course the different works of art adorning the wall. Utah artist Tim Wilson produced many of the sculptures in the exhibit. One really cool piece was a Kanji scroll that had the sign for hands engraved into it. Another interesting sculpture by Wilson is one of a silver hand titled "A Child's Treasures." This small, sculpted hand held a marble, a feather and a seashell in its palm. I particularly liked that piece because it caused me to think of my childhood and the various simple treasures that I , " g Tt.s numbers efe'ghth blackbird ere emtsssacrsfctr new musk. BED Magazine march 13, 2003 Rj |