Student artist displays work on Celtic-influenced manuscripts

View fullsize

Senior Jacqueline Christensen opened her exhibit, “The Manuscripts of Mont-Saint-Michel,” on Monday April 24 in the Bridge Gallery. The show features Christensen’s research and recreations of Celtic influenced manuscripts from the French monestary. (Ellayna Fredericks/Staff Photographer)

Art history and French double major senior Jacqueline Christensen debuted her exhibition “The Manuscripts of Mont-Saint-Michel” on Monday April 24 as part of her senior thesis. For the past year, Christensen has been studying the Celtic influences on the monastery at Mont-Saint-Michel in Northern France. To take her research a step further, she curated an art exhibition to mimick the illuminated manuscripts created at Mont Saint-Michel, which reflect the different cultural influences through artistic elements and styles. 

Christensen’s interests and the path of her research came together naturally. Her thesis was inspired by her experiences studying abroad in France in spring 2016, when she visited the monastery at Mont Saint-Michel.

“I just had this incredible sense of belonging there. I felt so attached to the place and I didn’t know why,” she said. “The only other time I felt that way in the past was when I visited Ireland with my family.” 

The Celtic people are usually associated with Ireland, but in the Middle Ages groups of Celts migrated downward and settled in French monasteries. After being conquered by the Roman Empire, the Celtic people slowly converted to Christianity at their own pace, creating their own unique Christian practices. 

Realizing the potential connection between her experiences, Christensen chose to delve deeper into the history of Mont Saint-Michel, verifying that the monastery is historically representative of the convergence of Celtic influences and the Christian cult of Saint Michael. 

Christensen completed her thesis paper in the fall semester, but needed a way to continue her research into the spring. Upon the recommendation of a professor, she decided to use her skills in watercolor painting to further her studies. 

“I’ve always loved painting,” she said, “but I’ve never been able to really incorporate it into any of my academics.” 

At first, she was unsure on how to blend art into the thesis, but after stumbling upon images of the manuscripts created at Mont Saint-Michel, she could immediately recognize the Celtic artistry. These manuscripts acted as proof for her conjectures about the culture of the monastery. As a result, she decided to recreate them herself as a visual representation of all the work she had done for her thesis. 

The exhibition and Christensen’s research as a whole are an incredible testament to how art can enrich our understanding of people, cultures and academic fields. Using watercolor started as a casual suggestion from a professor, and ended up leading her to the proof that tied her whole thesis together. 

For Christensen, art is not only a key tool in exemplifying her claims, but also a source of personal fulfillment in being able to do something she loves. 

“It was an extremely fulfilling journey,” she said. “It gave me the opportunity to pursue a passion that I’ve always had in the academic context.”

But to Christensen, this exhibition is more than just a representation of her research—it’s an act of advocating and a form of support for the arts at Geneseo. Christensen is also the president and co-founder of the Art History Association, which has promoted other student exhibitions in the past. 

“I really wanted to take this opportunity [through the exhibit] to promote the arts and as president of the Art History Association, that has kind of been our goal,” she said. 

She even hopes that with enough student support, the administration will reinstate an official art department at Geneseo. 

“I wanted to take this kind of activist approach because there are so many art enthusiasts in this school, and I wanted to make a statement that the arts are still very much alive,” Christensen said.

Flute choir welcomes spring with pop culture, upbeat tunes

In addition to the Easter weekend festivities, the Flute Choir at Geneseo welcomed in the spring season on Saturday April 15 with their annual concert: Flute Day. 

Every year, the choir of flautists put together a showcase of music for their friends and family, with a reception to follow. 

The concert was casual; it was more like a celebration or a gathering of friends than a formal performance. Choir member and English adolescent education major senior Catherine Blaszak kicked off the concert by saying, “Please, help yourself to some food, this isn’t formal … [We’re just going] to play a bunch of songs that we have fun playing.” 

Having fun is the main goal of the group, according to Blaszak. The nine members of the choir each have varying levels of experience; they joined the choir to play the flute in an accepting, stress-free zone. There are no auditions; all you need is a flute, some basic musical literacy and a willingness to learn.

The program was as light and upbeat as a spring day, and reflective of the group’s interests. 

“The music is a bunch of movie and Disney stuff because that’s what we like,” Blaszak said. 

They kicked off the concert with a Beauty and the Beast medley. The sound of nine flutes playing in harmony was enchanting, complemented by the sound of the light rain drizzling outside. The Beauty and the Beast tunes were followed with two companion pieces, “Enchanted Eggplant” and “Dance of the Radishes;” the first was a whimsical waltz and the second a more upbeat and springy tune. Both featured a piccolo played by mathematics and adolescent education major senior Jackie Pfaltz. 

Next came a piece that was new for the group: “I See the Light” from the Disney animated movie Tangled. The piece was filled with long, sustained notes and rocking melodies, conjuring the movie’s well-known romantic boat ride scene. The sound was impressively full and rich, despite the flute’s high register. Other popular Disney pieces were to follow, and soon the audience was mouthing the words along with the music.

In addition to songs from movie soundtracks, the group performed more classic tunes as well. One notable piece was “Jupiter,” from the famous orchestral suite “The Planets” by Gustav Holst. They also included a few Irish pieces, one of which was called “Rose Cottage,” which contained intricate moving parts under a beautiful Irish melody. The other was a medley of popular Irish songs, including “Danny Boy.” The choir ended their performance with an audience favorite, a musical medley from the Harry Potter movie series. 

After snapping a few pictures together, the audience and the choir enjoyed pizza, cookies and refreshments. As the group chatted with the audience members, Blaszak and Pfaltz talked a little more about what the Flute Choir at Geneseo is all about. It was clear that the club is more than just a choir; they’re there for each other as friends, too. 

“We’re all a good group of friends,” Blaszak said. “We had a movie day the other week, and just hung out and laughed.” 

Pfaltz agreed, saying, “I think that kind of just sums up the vibe of the club. It’s very much an inclusive and safe environment … and we just love playing the flute.”

Artist Honl uses geometric forms to translate community, human feeling

View fullsize

Ellie Honl’s exhibit “Sheltered Strategies” opened in the MacVittie College Union’s Kinetic Gallery on April 5. Honl uses geometric shapes to convey themes of community and raw human emotion, and her collection moves in a cycle around the gallery. (Ash Dean/Photo Editor)

The newest exhibit in the Kinetic Gallery is a captivating display entitled “Sheltered Strategies” by Ellie Honl. Located in the MacVittie College Union, the exhibit made its Geneseo debut last week on April 5. 

The depiction of geometric structures, or shelters, is the central theme tying the collection together. Using this link, the pieces make up a sort of sequence or cycle around the gallery, telling a story. 

The shelters are pictured in clusters resembling groups of homes, as they present the concept of a community. At the start of the cycle, the shelters are pictured as some type of environment of adversity. 

The first piece is titled “Abandoned,” as it features a dilapidated structure with broken windows. Honl uses mixed media; the shelter made of stiff wood and plastic is set against a softer printed background. In “Abandoned,” the background is made up of reddish, watercolor-like hues and a large dark shadowy mass, which seems to be encroaching upon the run-down structure.

The following pieces in this leg of the sequence depict other structures in various predicaments; some are being swept away by murky waters or battered by winds. By the time the viewer comes to the end of this row of pieces, there is a shift. 

The last picture in this phase is titled “Fortified” and depicts a cluster of shelters, but this time is protected by a sturdy wooden wall and a moat. The drawbridge of the wall is lifted, protecting the shelters from the ominous shadows swimming just outside the barricade. 

The next two pieces show the shelters against a dark, solid blue background, stark and strong. This sets off the next part of the story, where the shelters start to strengthen and even fight back against the opposing forces of nature. Some of the shelters are up on stilts to rise above the dark shadows, while others are thrusting wooden spears against the darkness to fight it off. Some are even flying through the air, firing ammunition against a dark turbulent force. 

One notable piece is titled “Going with the Flow.” It shows the structures inside of a boat, floating atop a dark sea. Instead of being beat down by the world, the shelters are now holding their own. 

The final piece in the sequence is “Acceptance,” the only piece without any geometric structures in it. It depicts a brightness that looks like clouds in the sky. There are no shadows and no structures—none of the chaotic darkness shown in the other pieces. By the end, the shelters have finally done their job.

The shelters in this collection make for an interesting subject. They are almost personified; they are rigid and stark, but somehow they seem to possess emotion, as the viewer sees their battle with their environments. We feel for the poor houses. 

But in the real world, it’s not our buildings and homes that battle life’s ups and downs—it’s the human beings living inside them. This collection recalls those who are without homes, whose shelters have been taken from them by natural disaster, war or poverty.

Honl’s work is created based on how people react to trauma in their lives and the coping mechanisms they use. In her creative research, she utilizes theories about human defense mechanisms from Sigmund Freud, as well as other current theories. Honl’s chaotic landscapes and backgrounds are a metaphor for the uncertain and unreliable circumstances of life. 

Human psychology may be a dark and touchy subject for some, but the light color palette and simplicity of these pieces make these issues more easily consumable. It gives the viewer a way to contemplate these ideas openly and comfortably. 

As she has portrayed through this collection of artwork, Honl hopes that, “if we confront and effectively cope with our circumstances, we will become stronger and more resilient as individuals and as a society.”

Alumni exhibition emphasizes Geneseo art program success

View fullsize

“ABC: 3 Person Alumni Exhibition” opened in the Lockhart Gallery on March 29. The show features the work of three Geneseo alumni: Andy Smith ‘81, William Finewood ‘72 and Don Cicconi ‘78. The three artists work in different mediums, but all show the value of having arts programs at the college. (Ellayna Fredericks/Staff Photographer)

The newest exhibit at the Lockhart Gallery showcases the artwork of talented Geneseo alumni. “ABC: 3 Person Alumni Exhibition” features pieces from Andy Smith ‘81, William Finewood ‘72 and Don Cicconi ‘78. All of the artwork is presented together in the gallery, highlighting the different artistic styles and techniques that these Geneseo alumni have developed.

Finewood has ten pieces in the gallery, the most out of the three artists, which are mostly focused on nature and wildlife. From the exhibit, it is evident that Finewood works in two main mediums: graphite or colored pencil and paper sculpture. The works done in pencil are mostly landscape scenes, with plenty of depth created by skillful black and gray shading. The layers of space he creates give the impression that the scene stretches on for miles. In the front, there are often various animals and wildlife. 

What makes these pieces so stunning, however, is the amount of detail captured throughout the whole scene by Finewood—even as the landscape takes the eye further into the distance. It looks as though the viewer is there with the animals, observing them in their natural habitat, all without being seen. You could be on top of a mountain with the mountain goats, or crouching in a stream next to an elegant egret. 

The remainder of Finewood’s work is made of paper, which he crafts into figures that are framed and mounted on the wall. These pieces also have a sort of natural theme. One is made with strips of brown paper to make up the texture of a rooster’s feathers and another shows a woman in gardening clothes, holding a pot of flowers. 

The one piece of Finewood’s that stands out is “PlayMeArt.” This work uses paper and other media to portray a woman playing a guitar, which seems to be made of a painter’s palette. It’s a beautiful representation of unity within the arts and is a perfect way to reflect the coming together of these three artists in one show.

Smith also focuses on aspects of nature in his work. The only artist of the three to provide a formal artist’s statement, he acknowledges that the world is becoming smaller and smaller in this technological era. The result is an increased exposure to many more images of human despair and ugliness. 

As increasingly global citizens, we want to be aware of what’s happening in the world, but whether or not we are looking for the information, we are often confronted with negative global events. As a response to this, Smith photographs a female figure pictured in beautiful natural landscapes. He believes that these photos are reminders that even in a world that seems so full of human ugliness, humans can share and enjoy the beauty of the earth and each other.

Cicconi has four pieces in the exhibition, but they’re notable for their stylistic differences when compared to the other works. Instead of scenes or landscapes, Cicconi uses Asian characters or geometric shapes as the subjects of his art. He doesn’t provide a specific artist’s statement like Smith.

“[I do] not attempt to make any kind of formal statement with my art … it is up to the viewer to interpret the images through their own experiences,” Cicconi said.  

This statement is intriguing because some of his pieces include languages that most viewers in the United States don’t understand. In effect, his acknowledgement of having no artist’s statement is a statement in and of itself.

All in all, the exhibition shows us how Geneseo students have developed their talents over time, making it even more important to realize that these types of exhibits may start to become fewer as time goes on. 

While it’s true that you don’t need a degree to make art, keep in mind that these are alumni of the Geneseo studio art department––a department that no longer exists. 

This exhibit is not only proof that Geneseo does have the potential to cultivate its students’ talents in launching them toward successful artistic careers—it also serves as a reminder that unless Geneseo supports students’ arts, both the students and the community will end up missing out.

Annual Insomnia Festival challenges students’ creativity, time management

As college students, many of us have been forced to pull an “all-nighter” for one reason or another––to write a 10-page research paper, or perhaps to read an entire textbook in one sitting. A group of creative Geneseo students signed themselves up for the ultimate “all-nighter”: the Geneseo Insomnia Film Festival, which took place on Friday March 24. 

Modeled after the Apple Inc. Insomnia Film Festival, the Geneseo students were challenged to write, shoot and edit a three-minute video in just 24 hours. In addition to the time crunch, participants are required to include at least three unique “elements—” which are special themes, topics or features—which are only revealed to the students at the start of the 24-hour period. After all the videos are submitted, they are judged and scored; then, a winner is revealed at an awards ceremony on Geneseo Recognizing Excellence, Achievement & Talent Day.

The competition started on Friday March 24 when the clock struck 5 p.m. The groups were crowded in a South Hall computer lab, where this year’s surprise elements were displayed on a large screen. 

The list of 20 different elements included some technical suggestions, such as using “Dutch Angles” or split screens—but most of them were humorous scenarios to give the students some ideas to work with, like “a frisbee used as a dining plate” or “an average sized person with very small hands.” 

As soon as the elements went up, the room was filled with excited chatter. Students stopped at a refreshment table—stocked with coffee and cases upon cases of energy drinks—before rushing off to start planning. 

Computer & Information Technology’s Instructional Support Specialist, Joe Dolce, is the man behind it all, holding the first GIFF in 2012. In the past, Dolce had helped students to submit a video to Apple’s Insomnia Film Festival, where they competed with dozens of other schools—but when Apple discontinued their festival, Dolce decided to start an insomnia fest of our own here at Geneseo. Since GIFF’s first year, there has been a huge turnout of students ready to learn about videography and to have some fun. 

“There are roughly 70-something maniacs starting to make their videos in the next few hours,” Dolce said, shortly after the countdown began. “My goal is to have 100 students participate.”

Dolce emphasizes that the GIFF is more than just a friendly competition. It also teaches the participants—or “insomniacs,” as Dolce likes to call them—valuable life skills. Most kids, he said, don’t even realize how much they’re learning in terms of small group work and interpersonal communication skills.

“It gives students a chance to step out of their normal comfort zone,” he said. 

In addition to communication skills, students get an opportunity to familiarize themselves with video editing, as they use software provided by CIT. An increasingly dominant medium, video is everywhere; knowing how to manipulate video is a valuable skill that can strengthen any resume.

The final video submissions are due at 5 p.m. sharp the next day, and the judges have already selected this year’s winner. The participants have to wait until the awards ceremony on G.R.E.A.T. Day to find out who won, however, it’s certainly worth the wait. 

The three highest scoring videos are shown at Wadsworth Auditorium; with refreshments and hot finger food provided. The insomniacs also get one “Golden Ticket,” which can be given to any faculty member. If that faculty member presents the ticket at the door, the faculty member and the student that gave it to them are entered in a prize raffle. Prizes come from local Geneseo vendors, like the Geneseo Family Restaurant, the Geneseo movie theater and Aunt Cookie’s Sub Shop. 

So while you’re out enjoying the G.R.E.A.T. Day festivities, stop by Wads and see some of the hard work your peers have completed—and laugh a little, too. 

Oh, and don’t forget to start brainstorming for next year.

Playwright, television writer alumna to speak at commencement

For many of us, returning from spring break means graduation is looming just around the corner and the nerves are starting to set in. This year’s commencement speaker, however, might help to put all our minds at ease—at least a little bit. The 2017 graduating class will be addressed by alumna Molly Smith Metzler ‘00, writer, editor and comedic playwright.

Since graduating from Geneseo, Smith Metzler has written numerous plays, including “Close Up Space,” “Elemeno Pea,” “Training Wisteria” and “Carve”––which have been presented in the Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights’ Horizons, The O’Neill Theater Center and even The Tristan Bates Theatre in London, among many others. Recently, she made the move to television, writing for the one and only “Orange is the New Black” as well as the Hulu series “Casual.”

Smith Metzler’s writing often comes directly from her experiences growing up, making them not only incredibly relatable and straightforward, but also captivating and entertaining for the viewers. 

One of her most successful plays, “Elemeno Pea,” was inspired by her experiences waiting tables at a club in Martha’s Vineyard. “Elemeno Pea” features main character Michaela, who is based off a particularly difficult customer that regularly gave Smith Metzler trouble at the club. Following Michaela’s posh vineyard life and laughable antics, the play has a sense of real-time comedy that’s simply irresistible. Her family shaped her comedic voice so much that after hearing a reading of “Elemeno Pea,” her sister said, “You owe me a 10 percent commission.” 

Her most recent play, “Close Up Space,” is about a ruthless editor who is known for tearing apart the manuscripts of fresh-faced writers with red ink. The inspiration for this play came from Smith Metzler’s familiarity with the publishing world––the title itself is actually proofreading jargon. 

In addition to being a playwright, Smith Metzler is also the Playscript Editor for American Theatre Magazine. She admits, however, that she is often her own biggest critic and that she is thankful for the supportive environment that surrounds her. 

“As a community of writers, we are all in this together, and you have to celebrate your friend’s success as much as your own,” she said.  

Smith Metzler’s commencement speech is sure to touch upon her successes and experiences as a writer; but, funnily enough, it was Geneseo that piqued her interest in playwriting to begin with. Smith Metzler was originally an English major planning to get a Ph.D. in English literature, but after taking a playwriting class at Geneseo, she “fell desperately in love with playwriting,” and shifted her plans accordingly. 

“I signed up on a lark,” she said, “and it really just changed my entire life.” 

The play she started writing in that class became “Training Wisteria,” which went on to win three Kennedy Center American College Theater awards.

After Geneseo, Smith Metzler completed graduate writing programs at Boston University, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and Juilliard. This is just one example of how having the ability to explore many areas of knowledge and culture makes a SUNY education invaluable. 

“You have to be lean and sharp and hard on yourself. It takes forever just to write one good page of dialogue, and I love the challenge of every sweaty, horrifying, exhilarating moment,” Smith Metzler said.  

Ask any Geneseo senior: that sounds a little bit like college. Based on her career, her success and her comedic flare, Smith Metzler is sure to give this year’s commencement ceremony a sense of warmth and excitement.

Children’s author Bruna passes, leaves Miffy legacy behind

View fullsize

Children’s author Dick Bruna passed away on Feb. 16 at the age of 89. He leaves behind the legacy of his globally popular character, Miffy. (Peter Dejong/AP Photo)

Dick Bruna, famed Dutch author, artist, illustrator and graphic designer, passed away on Feb. 16 at age 89. 

Bruna has written over 120 books, but is most known for the creation of the character Nijntje—known in English as Miffy—which is the little white rabbit beloved by children all over the world. After her debut in 1995, Miffy quickly spread from the pages of children’s books to various forms of merchandise; now, Miffy has an entire museum in her honor. She can even be spotted on the walls of the Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, welcoming visitors to the Netherlands.

The simplicity of Miffy has won the hearts of not only children, but also adults and well respected artists who appreciate the genius that goes into Bruna’s design. Miffy is always represented only by the flat black outline of a bunny, with two black dots for eyes and a small “X” for a mouth. 

Yet, through this simple, unchanging face, Bruna could somehow communicate any emotion. With the only variations being perhaps a small teardrop, a hat or an outfit change, Miffy’s lack of defined features makes her all the more expressive. The rest of his aesthetic is similarly minimalistic, as he only used strong lines and primary colors. 

To Bruna, visual variation is not what makes the books special. The most important thing, he said, is that “Miffy is always Miffy.” Surely, it’s this universal nature that propelled the little white bunny into such popularity; the 32-book series has been translated into over 50 languages and has sold over 85 million copies. 

“He’s the most translated author in the Netherlands, except for Anne Frank,” children’s book author Agnes Vogt said in a New York Times article.

But despite her simplicity, an impressive amount of effort and expertise goes into every single frame. 

“For a book of 12 pictures, I make at least a hundred,” Bruna said.  

He would draw her again and again, ensuring that Miffy’s face was showing the right emotion. Her face is constant, but her moods are precise and thoughtful. With only two eyes and a mouth to work with, Bruna would craft just the right Miffy for each story—she could look sad or happy, surprised, disappointed or slightly cross. Even his tools were made with the utmost care, as Bruna used only paintbrushes that he cut himself.

Considering Bruna’s family and background, however, it’s no wonder he developed such a knack for precision and a strong philosophy for design. Born in Utrecht to a family of publishers in the Dutch countryside, Bruna started out designing and illustrating over 100 posters and 2,000 book jackets for the family business. As a child, he didn’t attend school, so he trained his own artistic eye by studying the work of Rembrandt and Van Gogh. 

His early designs often featured silhouettes of figures over solid colors, foreshadowing his style for the Miffy series, which was only a side project. Later, he spent time in France, where he was influenced by the bold, two-dimensional aspects of artists like Henri Matisse and Fernand Léger.

Eventually, Bruna’s true genius matured, as he published his first book in 1953, called De Appel (The Apple). Miffy was born soon after. 

Bruna’s legacy is sure to outlive him through the many books he leaves behind and through the image of Miffy, which continues to be present in the Dutch culture as well as around the world. But even in his great success, Bruna’s life didn’t change all that much—he continued to live a humble and simple life, in a way embodying his own artistic identity.

Students affected by FLO defunding: Where are they now?

President Denise Battles made the decision this past semester to end Geneseo’s financial support for the Finger Lakes Opera Company. Putting up high-quality, professional productions of famous operas like Bizet’s “Carmen” and Verdi’s “La Traviata,” FLO was a valuable asset that not only brought art to the community, but also employed many Geneseo students. 

FLO also provided internships—40, to be exact—in areas such as marketing, arts administration and technical-theater, and it allowed music students to perform in the opera’s ensemble. 

The decision to defund FLO—effective Nov. 11, 2016—was met with an outcry among students both inside and outside the music department. Many of these students took immediate action by hanging flyers around campus to raise awareness of the situation, by petitioning door to door in the Geneseo neighborhoods and by speaking out at Student Association meetings.

Now as the new semester has begun and Battles’ decision remains firm, there has been a marked change among the student body. The response to the defunding of FLO has created an atmosphere of heightened resilience and awareness of the possible threats to the arts at Geneseo. Even non-musical groups, such as SUNY literary magazine Gandy Dancer, have come forth with statements of support, emphasizing the importance of a true liberal-arts education. A few months have passed since the decision went into effect, but the passion from students seems just as strong as ever.

As a result of these changes, some Geneseo students have been affected more than others and are now scrambling to deal with the consequences. Vocal performance and history double major senior Noah Chichester and vocal performance and communication double major sophomore Nicole Rizzo were some of FLO’s biggest proponents last semester, spearheading much of the awareness effort and attending SA meetings together.

Rizzo’s academic experience has perhaps been among the most affected by Geneseo’s disassociation from FLO. Rizzo’s interests and career goals are specifically in arts administration, and an important part of her decision to attend Geneseo was the opportunity to work with a high-caliber opera company like FLO. Now that this is no longer an option, Rizzo’s academic plan has been derailed. 

“One of the school’s values is ‘inclusivity: fostering a diverse campus community marked by mutual respect for the unique talents and contributions of each individual,’” Rizzo said. “You can imagine my frustration with this statement.” 

Since the decision, she has been forced to apply to other schools with the programs that she needs. 

“I would just really like to see the college attempt to be more transparent,” Rizzo said. “I don’t want future students to be stuck in my situation.”

Rizzo won’t be the only one who will be inconvenienced. As of 2016, the SUNY system has researched and implemented a new “Applied Learning” initiative, designed to strengthen and increase the use of internships and other hands-on learning experiences. For Battles to cut FLO in the face of this initiative has baffled and saddened students like Rizzo and Chichester.

Battles’ reasoning behind the initiative was to “utilize the money in the Geneseo fund for scholarships for incoming students,” according to Chichester. 

This sounds all well and good, but what about the students that already attend Geneseo who hold the expectations that their interests and needs will be valued? 

“I didn’t find that to be a convincing enough reason,” Chichester said. “I think it’s sad that her business model for Geneseo is to run it based on whatever will be the most profitable.” 

FLO’s Founder and Artistic Director and professor of music at the college Gerard Floriano has future plans to fundraise in order to turn FLO into a certified non-profit, according to The Livingston County News. In addition, the company will present Puccini’s “Tosca” in a special performance at Canandaigua Academy this August.

The Filharmonic a cappella group brings valuable lessons to student musicians

View fullsize

The Filharmonic a cappella group visited Geneseo on Saturday Feb. 18, hosting both a workshop and concert. The all Filipino-American group helped Geneseo’s student musicians improve their skills and learn new techniques. (Elizabeth Jacobs/Staff Photographer)

The famed Filipino-American a cappella group, The Filharmonic, made a stop in Geneseo as part of the Limelight and Accents Performing Arts Series. The Filharmonic hosted an a cappella workshop in Doty Hall, which was followed by a concert of their own on Saturday Feb. 18 in Wadsworth Auditorium. 

As a professional a cappella group, The Filharmonic were contestants on the popular TV show “The Sing-Off,” appeared in Pitch Perfect 2 and have been guests on “The Late Show with James Corden.” 

As such an accomplished a cappella group, The Filharmonic took some time during the workshop to share their skills and experience with the a cappella groups on campus. Students from Between the Lines, Exit 8, Emmelodics, Southside Boys and Hips ‘n Harmony were all present, as well as a couple of groups that traveled from the Rochester Institute of Technology. 

The Filharmonic gave a brief performance before asking if any of the groups in the audience wanted to perform one of their own songs for critique. BTL chose to perform their rendition of Blackstreet’s “No Diggity,” as arranged by alumnus and former member of BTL, Sam Evans ‘16. The Filharmonic gave constructive feedback, as they worked with the group to further improve their a cappella skills. 

Coincidentally, The Filharmonic sings a version of that same song in many of their concerts, so they had particularly helpful insight for the group. After BTL left the stage, one group from RIT performed one of their songs. The Geneseo groups in the audience were supportive and eager to hear what collegiate a cappella groups are doing at other schools.

The Filharmonic spent the remainder of the workshop taking questions from the audience. They discussed their experience on tour, their unique background of being an all-Filipino group and the future of a cappella as a genre. 

They ended the workshop by stating how impressed they were with the high level of musicianship from collegiate a cappella groups, how far a cappella has come and that groups like the ones here on campus are sure to create a promising future for a cappella.

The lively energy at the workshop carried over into the concert that followed. The Filharmonic gave a full performance at Wadsworth Auditorium, sharing their own renditions of popular songs from a range of popular artists such as Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber and Rihanna. 

The group kept the audience on their toes with crazy beat boxing breaks and audience participation. There were quite a few laughs, too, as they even called up a girl from the crowd and serenaded her on stage to a song akin to the scandalous blockbuster hit Magic Mike. 

After the show, students lined up for a meet and greet with the group. The Filharmonic spent some time chatting casually with students, taking pictures and signing merchandise. The group was incredibly approachable and met every fan with a smile. 

This Limelight event provided Geneseo students with a rare opportunity to meet, to learn from and to sing with touring professional musicians.

Met releases over 300,000 photos in collaboration with Creative Commons

View fullsize

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has partnered with Creative Commons Zero to release more than 300,000 images of their famous artworks, free for the public to download. This is a part of the museum’s recent Open Access efforts to adapt to the tech era. (Courtesy of Creative Commons)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is the largest art museum in the nation, and one of the largest in the world. It is expansive not only in terms of physical space, but also in the size of its permanent collection, which contains over 2 million works, separated into seven sections. 

People from all over the world travel to New York to wander through history in the museum’s countless rooms and halls—but as of Feb. 7, patrons won’t have to travel so far. The Met has made all images of public domain works available online under Creative Commons Zero. That’s over 375,000 images from over 5,000 years of global culture at your fingertips.

All of the images—many of which have achieved worldwide fame—can be used, altered and shared by anyone with no costs. Students, educators, artists and art enthusiasts alike now have easy access to this vast encyclopedia of artwork, thus opening an array of new artistic possibilities. 

The works are part of a digital catalogue that has been constantly growing over the years as the museum expands its collection. Making the catalogue publicly available on the Internet is part of The Met’s Open Access policy change in an effort to adapt to the new digital age. 

Some may view this change as damaging to the art’s integrity instead of as a cultural advantage; while posting the works publicly will surely reach more people, it could also be argued that viewing art online detracts from the visual and conceptual value of a piece. 

Key aesthetic aspects of a work—such as texture, size or physical dimensions—are minimized or lost when hidden behind a two dimensional screen just a few inches wide. Sometimes viewing art is meant to be visceral. Is it worth having thousands of works readily available through this mass digital medium when the impact and meaning of those works may be diminished by it?

On their official website, the Met explained that the transition to Open Action is an important step in fulfilling their mission statement in a new era of technology. The Met crafted their mission statement over 140 years ago, pledging to be a “museum and library of art, of encouraging and developing the study of the fine arts, and the application of arts to manufacture and practical life.” 

When this statement was created, the museum’s prime focus was the wellbeing of the people of New York City, but now technology has provided us with the tools to share information on a much larger scale. Ignoring this opportunity to reach more people would be failing to live by that mission. 

“Since our audience is really the 3 billion Internet-connected individuals around the world,” Chief Digital Officer at the Met Loic Tallon said, “we need to think big about how to reach these viewers, and increase our focus on those digital tactics that have the greatest impact.”

All of the public domain artwork can be found at creativecommons.org, along with key information about each piece, which includes title, artist, medium and date of creation. It’s possible that The Met’s transition to Open Access will pave the way for other museums to follow suit.

Regardless, The Metropolitan Museum of Art has now opened its doors not just to New York City, but to the entire digital world as well.

Photographer behind Beyoncé’s artful pregnancy photo revealed

Beyoncé shocked the world last week with the announcement that she and her husband, rapper Jay-Z, were pregnant for a second time. And if the sight of Bey’s baby bump wasn’t exciting enough, she also disclosed that her family would be growing by two this time. That’s right: Beyoncé is pregnant with twins.

The unexpected announcement came via Instagram, as she posted a beautiful pregnancy photo that has now topped the world record for most Instagram likes. The photo shows Beyoncé kneeling in front of a brightly colored bouquet, holding her belly. She is nearly nude, with silk underwear and a veil draped over her head. 

This striking photo was just the first in a series that was released the next day. The shots are incredibly dreamy and ethereal, yet strong—a gorgeous portrayal of motherhood. So, who is the mastermind that Beyoncé chose to capture her growing family so artfully?

The photographer behind the images is Awol Erizku, a Yale graduate who was born in Ethiopia, raised in the Bronx and is currently based in Los Angeles. He is primarily a photographer, but also works with sculpture, music and film. 

His work has been shown in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, but he’s also established a presence in the entertainment industry by collaborating with rapper ASAP Rocky and by photographing actress Viola Davis for The New Yorker.

Erizku’s work has always been deeply tied to music and pop culture, while also focusing on notions of black beauty. His early works transpose famous artworks from the past into the current context of black culture by replacing the traditional white subjects with young black men and women. 

One of his most famous pieces features a black hand with long painted nails holding a red rose—a re-creation of the common symbol seen outside nail salons, which usually pictures a white woman’s hand with her nails freshly done. 

Some of his more recent works focus specifically on the intersectionality between music and visual art. His 2016 exhibition at the Nina Johnson Gallery in Miami was accompanied by a mixtape he curated himself, as he said, “For me the mixtape is like a hypothesis and the show is the proof … Mixing is like art to me. The sound has to follow the concept behind the work on display.” 

He takes musical inspiration from artists like Rihanna as well as Beyoncé and Jay-Z. He also uses familiar music in his gallery exhibits to reach out to the audience he wants to talk to: people who live in the Bronx, Little Haiti or Compton. People recognize the music, and it makes them feel more comfortable walking into a space they wouldn’t normally enter.

So it makes perfect sense for Beyoncé to choose Erizku for her pregnancy shoot. While she didn’t immediately name Erizku as the photographer, the symbolism and aesthetic didn’t make it hard to guess. 

One photo in particular was a dead giveaway, featuring Beyoncé posing on top of an old red Porsche overflowing with flowers. The same Porsche was used in a previous exhibition of Erizku’s, titled “Ask the Dust.” He has since been confirmed as the photographer responsible for the shoot.

The specific poses that Beyoncé srikes are also very meaningful and reflective of Erizku’s previous photography. The insta-famous shot of Beyoncé kneeling in the flowers is symbolic of the traditional image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, a Roman Catholic patroness and mother figure in the Latin culture. 

The Virgin is typically pictured in a frame of flowers, similar to those in the photo of Beyoncé. Another shot from the series depicts Beyoncé standing similarly to Sandro Botticelli's masterpiece “The Birth of Venus.”

The opportunity to photograph Beyoncé has catapulted Erizku’s work even further into fame and notoriety. Based on the stunning works we have seen from him thus far and the strength of his artistic mission, we can be sure to expect even more beauty from Erizku in the future.

Student-led music club fosters encouraging learning environment

Cadenza is a blossoming student-oriented club dedicated to teaching basic music skills in a low pressure, open and friendly environment. Students of all majors and levels of experience are welcome. The club held its first official meeting on Tuesday Feb. 7. 

This unique club began to take shape in the spring of 2015 when a group of music majors realized that they were all struggling with similar topics in class. Coming together on their own, these students began to host informal workshops to help each other with their studies. 

Part of being a music major requires learning skills that may be outside of one’s specific instrument or expertise, so students who were more experienced in certain areas—such as piano skills or music theory—would take turns hosting the workshops. Students with different musical backgrounds could share their knowledge and help each other become more well-rounded musicians. 

Over time, these workshops became more regular, as they began to draw interest from an increasing number of music majors. A few participants realized that people of all majors and skill levels could benefit from these sessions, however, and decided to make it an official interest group on campus. 

Cadenza is currently led by two of its founding members, sociology major senior Katherine Zaslavsky and French major senior Noah Weiss, both double majoring in instrumental music. 

From the very beginning, Cadenza has been almost completely student-led and oriented. It offers something that a college music class can’t: an opportunity to improve music skills or to learn something new at your own pace and without the pressure of grades or credits. It can be a learning supplement or a hobby; attend only a workshop or two, or attend weekly. 

The only staff involvement is from its advisor, adjunct faculty in music Jim Tiller, who stands in as conductor every so often.

The club held an interest meeting on Jan. 31, where students shared their ideas for specific topics or areas of music that they would like to learn about more. The material is always determined based on the needs and the interests of members, as anyone can suggest ideas for workshops, regardless of skill level. 

The material is often focused on music theory basics and on filling in the gaps with material that some musicians may not have been exposed to in class or in high school. This year, however, Cadenza is starting off with a basic piano workshop, with no prior experience necessary. 

One main difference between Cadenza and other campus clubs is that it’s not cumulative in any way—you can pick and choose what meetings you’d like to attend based on the material being shared. There’s no final performance, no auditions and no requirements; it’s all about learning.

But it’s not all business all the time. Every so often, Cadenza will host a musical game night with random questions about various famous musical works and the scandalous behavior of historic composers. (They were the celebrities of their day, after all.)

While Cadenza is a great opportunity to foster a budding interest in music with no strings attached, it also opens a way for students to become more involved in the music department.

The music department has many resources that can be used to expand upon any area of interest. Did you like learning solfège and sight singing? Maybe consider the voice class for non-majors. Want to expand your piano knowledge a little further? The music department offers piano classes as well.

As of right now, Cadenza is only a few members large, making for an intimate but laid back learning atmosphere. The club has potential for growth, however, and is a great example of how we should be encouraging exploration of the arts.

Photography exhibit exposes landscapes as cultural symbols

View fullsize

The Lederer Gallery’s first exhibition of the semester—“Heterotopia” by Shreepad Joglekar—opened on Jan. 25. The series of photographs binds two locations on opposite sides of the world (Kansas in the West and Russia in the East) by displaying how the landscape of each has become a symbol of the cultures surrounding them. (Ash Dean/Photo Editor)

The Lederer Gallery in Brodie Hall opened its first exhibit of the semester on Jan. 25. “Heterotopia” is brought to us by photographer Shreepad Joglekar, an immigrant from Mumbai whose work centers around the idea of “place” and around how humans interact with the natural and constructed landscapes that surround them. 

Growing up in India, Joglekar was exposed to American culture mostly through television. Early on, he was intrigued by the places and settings he saw, like the cozy coffee house of “Friends” and the idyllic home-interiors of Mrs. Doubtfire and Home Alone. 

But after arriving in the United States, Joglekar found that he was unable to relate to his surroundings; it was then that he started to use photography as a tool to investigate an environment that was so culturally different from the one he had previously known. 

Joglekar began to view landscapes as a representation of the people occupying it, instead of as a separate entity that exists independently. In other words, a landscape is a product of the culture that uses it. 

Building on this theme, “Heterotopia” is only the latest of Joglekar’s work that explores how different landscapes, places and terrains are reflective of local and national cultures. Set up in the back of the gallery is a video that includes a lecture given by Joglekar himself to provide biographic context and conceptual framework for the exhibit.

The main exhibition consists of two sets of photos, which capture two parallel—but also contrasting—environments. On the left side of the gallery, images of a live fire village at Fort Riley, Kansas hang. Live fire villages are areas crafted to simulate the conditions and the terrain of war zones overseas. 

Fort Riley was used to train U.S. soldiers before deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan; consequently, the photographs are reflective of those landscapes—stark, dusty, arid and dominated by the color beige. Although the village is in Kansas, the scenes look foreign and unfamiliar to the eyes of an average American. 

On the right side of the gallery are photos of Kronstadt, a small island off the coast of Russia near St. Petersburg. The island is home to a historic 17th century naval site, and the photos depict lush green vegetation with remnants of small structures and gardens created during times of war. Passed down through generations, the sites and gardens sustained families during the World Wars and the Russian Civil War.

 Joglekar has linked these two places with one common phenomenon. They are on opposite sides of the globe, but the two have been shaped by national and international conflict. The environments have changed—both by natural and man-driven forces—to suit the needs of the humans occupying it. 

The landscapes themselves become symbols, as the fire village represents an American military culture and as the Russian gardens symbolize defiance and independence for the people who once lived there.

Joglekar creates not only a link between distant spaces, but also between distant times. The structures in Kronstadt have been dilapidated by time—their bare wooden skeletons overtaken by the surrounding greenery. They are relics of the past, serving as a testament to the history and culture of the people of Kronstadt. The fire village in Kansas, however, is a strikingly vivid representation of our current military situation. 

As an immigrant, Joglekar is intrigued by American culture and attitude toward foreigners. He said how “out-of-sight international conflict” is important to the American cultural experience, relaying fears and assumptions about the distant other. 

As American citizens, we are privileged with the ability to live our daily lives without being actively conscious of the fact that we are, in fact, at war. In the context of recent political changes involving immigration, Joglekar’s insight and point of view is invaluable.

Latest Gandy Dancer issue emphasizes support for student art on campus

The latest issue of Geneseo’s literary magazine Gandy Dancer is fresh off the press. Created by Geneseo students, Gandy Dancer consists of submissions from students, staff members and alumni from any SUNY school. 

The magazine is published biannually by the students in the Department of English’s ENGL 426: Editing and Production class. Each new group of student editors is led by professor of English Rachel Hall.  

Gandy Dancer includes works of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, visual art and a postscript, as well as other submissions with literary value, such as reviews or interviews.

The layout of issue 5.1 certainly keeps the reader stimulated. The all-important first piece is a short work of fiction titled “Bare” by English major junior Rachel Britton. In just a few pages, Britton brings the reader to the edge of a wooden dock to face the brightness of the moon and the darkness of a lake at night in order to illustrate what it means to make yourself vulnerable.

Following this story are two original oil paintings by SUNY Plattsburgh student Robert Guitsy Wolf and Geneseo English adolescent education major junior Gabi Basile’s captivating poem “Stars-and-stripes Sicilian.” Rather than sorting the entries by genre, the journal flows from one art form to another. 

First, the heart is touched by an intimate story before the eyes are treated to bright splashes of paint. Finally, the ears follow the rhythm of a skillfully crafted poem.

This issue features Plattsburgh photographer Amanda Tetreault. Included is one digital photo—done in color—and four black-and-white film photographs. 

The first in Tetreault’s feature, “Our tub” stands out as the only photo in color; it pictures the corner of a pastel blue bathtub, a pink wall and a subtly patterned beige floor with flecks of the adjacent blue and pink. The angular quality of the solid floor, wall and bathtub make an intriguing image.

“Our tub” is also noteworthy compared to Tetreault’s other four photos in the way that it utilizes space. “Our tub” captures a very small, close-up space, while the following four black-and-white photos display landscapes that stretch far into the distance, taking the eyes far away and making the viewer feel small.    

The magazine showcases the talents of dozens of SUNY students. But Gandy Dancer is more than just a magazine—it’s a community. 

Before launching into the students’ submissions, the first piece of writing in the magazine is a letter to readers from the Gandy managing editors, senior English creative writing majors Oliver Diaz and Evan Goldstein, emphasizing the importance of supporting the arts at Geneseo and beyond. It describes the role of art in our lives, stating, “Finding beauty, responding to injustice and reaching out to others is the responsibility of artists.” 

But the letter also went a step further and put this concept in the context of recent events, both on the Geneseo campus and in the world. It addressed the elimination of the Geneseo Department of Art and the Finger Lakes Opera Company, stating the disadvantages of an education without art.

“What do we lose when we lose the arts? A dynamic culture and vital access to the ways in which other people think through life,” Diaz and Goldstein said.  

The letter also went as far as to mention the election, to support the concept of the public school system and to explain that art is a vital tool of communication and understanding.

This issue of Gandy Dancer is a testament to the vibrancy of a community that is oftentimes neglected, as well as the talents and passions of the students and faculty of New York’s state universities. The most recent issue can be found online at http://www.gandydancer.org, and print copies are also available for purchase.

Greenfield shares valuable writing, publishing advice

The Writers’ House at Seneca Hall held an event with special guest professor of English Tom Greenfield on Wednesday Nov. 30 entitled “Weird Ways Writers Get Published, and Weird Things that Happen to Them When They Do.” During the talk, Greenfield discussed his experiences as a writer out in the field, showcased examples of the advantages of being a published writer and provided valuable insight and advice for aspiring student writers. The presentation not only brought clarity to a process that many students are not sure how to approach, but it also made it clear that Greenfield is more than willing to help Geneseo students succeed at publishing.

Before the presentation, Greenfield met a few of the Writers’ House residents at Letchworth Dining Hall for dinner and casual conversation. These students were surprised that Greenfield would ever want to spend an evening in a dining hall filled with pajama-clad students to eat Campus Auxiliary Services food, but the conversation flowed freely.

As one of the original fellows for the Writers’ House, Greenfield discussed with residents what it means to live there, potential ways to improve its student-writer community and possible future goals.

After dinner, the group made their way over to the Writers’ House for the presentation, where Greenfield began by making perhaps the most important statement of the night: “I encourage writers, especially who are in school, to make sure they are writing for people other than their teachers.”

But what is there to learn about writing that can’t be gained from a teacher in a classroom? Greenfield continued, saying that when he was a student writer, he “wanted a response from A) someone who didn’t know who I was, and B) someone who didn’t care if I lived or died.”

As a student, Greenfield decided early that feedback from his teachers and those that knew him well wasn’t enough, so he started to submit pieces of writing to various editors and magazines. While he admitted that he heard “no” more often than he heard “yes,” it changed his idea about writing and even teaching.

In the presentation, he defined a clear distinction between writing and writing for publication. Through his successes and failures while trying to get published, he realized that it’s necessary to work within a system and to learn what he calls “game theory.”

To get your writing published, you need to determine what an outlet wants and how you can best fill that space. And if you can work within that system, you never know where your writing may take you.

Throughout the presentation, Greenfield provided examples of individuals who published writing in different ways, which led them down rather weird and unexpected paths. For example, Geneseo alumna Tracy Strauss ‘96 started a blog that ended up landing her a segment on “The Steve Harvey Show.”

Additionally, writer David Feldman published a series of curious books entitled Imponderables, where he asked puzzling questions such as “Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise?” and “When Do Fish Sleep?” His series of books created a whole new inquisitive genre and received attention from talk shows like “Late Night with David Letterman” and “Larry King Live.”

These quirky examples showed students how having your writing published and “getting your name out there” can create real opportunities that wouldn’t have otherwise been possible. And to see faculty members like Greenfield, with a wealth of experience and stories to share, actively working with students outside the classroom was extremely encouraging––not only for those interested in writing, but for the student body in general.

It’s important not to forget that Writers’ House events aren’t exclusive to residents and that anyone can attend. Whether it’s a speaker such as Greenfield or an open mic night to share poetry and short stories, there are always opportunities to take advantage of the resources we are so lucky to have here at Geneseo.

Annual Author’s Event celebrates faculty, alumni work

The Geneseo community fosters, encourages and supports the intellectual growth of its students; as a student community, Geneseo actively celebrates each other’s passions—both inside and outside of the classroom. There’s nothing like going to a musical performance and seeing your friends display their talent and hard work on stage or like watching the Geneseo hockey team dominate the rink. But there is an area of campus culture that students may not be aware of: that of our faculty and staff. Geneseo is incredibly dedicated to enriching the lives of its students, but what are the professors up to?

I had the privilege of attending a special event in Milne Library on the snowy day of Nov. 21. The annual event, called Author’s Event, celebrated the writings, performances and publications of the Geneseo faculty and staff.

Author’s Event has been held for about five years and is for any faculty or staff member who has published material in the past year, academic or otherwise. It’s an opportunity for staff to gather and to converse with each other about their work and their interests––in addition to eating some cake, too.

President Battles was in attendance, as she gave a friendly, but informal “thank you” to the authors, as well as to Milne Library for organizing the event.

As seemingly the only student present, I felt like a fly on the wall in a part of our educational community that not many of us experience or even know about. Curious, I spoke with Milne Reference and Research Librarian Sue Ann Brainard—one of the organizers of the event—about the origin of this celebration and why there aren’t more students involved.

Brainard highlighted an important issue: even though so many of our staff members are actively publishing research and other writing, there is no single place in the college where the publications are collected, listed or recorded. It is Brainard who keeps track of it all through emailing faculty members and through independently gathering information in order to compile a list.

The list of publications for 2016 was organized into a PowerPoint and projected on the wall during the event. Additionally, there was a display table that contained some of the actual faculty-authored books. Among the displayed writings was a collection of stories by professor of English Rachel Hall, research by visiting assistant professor of art history Alla Myzelev and a collection of poetry that was edited by Robert Doggett, chair of the English Department.

Brainard stated that the main reason that they’ve never invited students to the event is that Milne Library doesn’t have the space or the budget to accommodate such large numbers. She does wish, however, that students would become more involved and invested in the work that their professors are doing in their respective fields.

“What a lot of students don’t realize,” she said, “is that their professors have to be published.”

For a student studying a specific field—whether it is in the STEM subjects or the humanities—the work of a favorite professor could become an invaluable resource. Many students have even worked with professors and published collaborative material.

“That’s how these students get published before they even graduate from college,” Brainard said.

The Author’s Event showcased one such student: alumna Erika Danielson ‘15, who published research with Jeff Over from Geneseo’s geology department.

Attending this event showed me new ways to utilize the resources and great minds that make Geneseo the flourishing intellectual community it is. As students, we are always enthusiastically supporting each other in our academic, artistic and extracurricular endeavors–– so let’s not forget to do the same for the professors that do so much for us.

“Big Top MTC” to offer musical escape for all students

Need some positivity as finals week approaches? Geneseo’s Musical Theatre Club will be opening its biannual revue show, “Big Top MTC,” on Friday Dec. 2. Each semester, MTC gathers together some of their favorite numbers around a single theme. This year, they’re taking Geneseo to the circus. Past semesters have seen such themes as superheroes or revolutions, but this year’s “Big Top” theme is sure to please. Students should not only be prepared for crazy costumes and characters when seeing the performance—they should also be prepared to laugh.

Since the show is a revue, the audience will be treated to musical numbers from a variety of popular shows including “Hamilton,” “Legally Blonde,” “Something Rotten” and High School Musical. But don’t expect them to sound like the old show tunes you’ve heard countless times before, as MTC has hidden a few tricks up their sleeves to give the show some Geneseo flare. (Picture the cast of “Legally Blonde” hanging out at the Statesman.)

Some of these tunes are also used to introduce the audience to members of the group. All the students who joined the club this fall—who have dubbed themselves as “The Flash”—will perform the “New Kid Song.” Additionally, the entire group will perform the opening number, called “Welcome to Wonderland,” which pokes fun at the alumni who are sure to be sitting in the front row. In addition to song and dance, there will also be short, humorous skits interspersed between numbers in order to break up the evening.

While it seems to be all fun and games on stage, there’s also an incredible amount of hard work that goes into these shows. Students spend many weekend mornings rehearsing; during the final week of rehearsal, the students sometimes don’t leave Wadsworth Auditorium until after 1 a.m. But for these students, it hardly seems like work. MTC isn’t just a club—it’s a community for its members.

“It’s not so much rehearsing as it is, to me just being with my friends,” MTC member and musical theater and communication double major sophomore Erin Burris said.

But more than just a social outlet, MTC is also a team that encourages everyone to shine and to grow together by doing what they love.

“It’s a very ensemble-driven show,” Burris said, “and that kind of humbles me, and I think [it] humbles everyone because we’re all working [together] ... we’re all featured in our own ways. We’re all shining, but we’re all shining together.”

There is a place for everyone in MTC, whether or not you’re a musical theater major like Burris and others. The club welcomes many different types of students, such as education majors, English majors and even physics and math majors. MTC is a unifying force among students, according to biology major junior Yvette May.

“This one thing brings us all together,” May said.

This club and all of its performances are entirely student run. Consequently, cast members really get to experience first-hand all the components that go into putting on a spectacular show.

“Big Top MTC” has two shows: one will be on Friday Dec. 2 and another on Saturday Dec. 3 at 8 p.m. It’s sure to revive and to delight any tired brain. And who knows, you may spot the guy in your science class or the quiet girl in the library dancing in a kick line and singing their hearts out.

Students celebrate upcoming National Book Review Month with homemade bookmarks

The weather is getting colder, the holiday season is approaching and Geneseo students are starting to feel that end-of-semester stress. As things start to pick up, it’s important to remember to take some time for yourself—and what better way to recharge than curling up with a good book? The Geneseo Writers’ House, located in the North Village at Seneca Hall, hosted a DIY Bookmarking event on Tuesday Nov. 15. Students made and decorated their own bookmarks, drank cups of hot tea and entered for a chance to win a Barnes & Noble gift card. But besides providing an opportunity to relax and to get a little crafty, the event was also in preparation for National Book Review Month, which is coming up in February.

NaRMo is a month dedicated to the all-too-often neglected practice of reading, writing and sharing book reviews. The literary celebration was started here at Geneseo a year ago by assistant professor of English Lytton Smith, along with English major senior Nicole Sheldon and Editor and Production Manager Allison Brown. This year, junior English major Heather Molzon has joined the NaRMo team and together, she and Sheldon put on the DIY Bookmarking event.

Many readers forget to consider the importance of a good—or bad—book review. As students, we’re all on a tight schedule, so setting aside time to read may already be a challenge. This is where NaRMo comes in. Reviews can be useful in quickly finding that book you know you’re really going to enjoy.

Writing a review can also be particularly valuable and rewarding for any bookworm out there. Putting your thoughts down on paper in the form of a review can bring clarity to your own understanding of what you’ve read, and it can provide an opportunity to let the world know about a book you loved. Even if the review isn’t all positive, it encourages critical thinking, it enhances the ability to analyze a work and it can help a reader to determine the kinds of literature they like most—not to mention it helps others to decide whether or not to read a particular book.

The bookmarking event in Writers’ House was a way to encourage people to pick up a book during these busy times and to bring it home with them over break. Then, students can write a review when they come back to Geneseo at the end of January—just in time for NaRMo.

Students post reviews on the NaRMo website, with categories including fiction, drama, poetry and even children’s books. Reviews can be posted on the website at any time, but the NaRMo team has plans to fill the month of February with different literary-related events. There will be cozy, laid-back events similar to the one on Tuesday in addition to possible readings or speakers visiting the college.

Molzon and Sheldon said that although this tradition is only in its second year, they hope to grow and expand it with more campus events, the power of social media and—most of all—student support. Their goal is to put it on the map alongside other widely celebrated literary “months,” such as National Poetry Month and National Novel Writing Month.

It is projects like NaRMo that help create depth and intellectual diversity in the Geneseo campus and community. If NaRMo can encourage students to get the ball rolling in February, think of the positive impact it could have on the academic careers of its participants. So pick your book for winter break and be sure to leave room in your calendar on Jan. 31 for the NaRMo launch party—you’ll be sure to start the spring semester ahead of the game.

Alaskan poet shares traditional culture, appreciation for environment

The Geneseo Literary Forum invites international and local writers to Livingston County to give readings, run workshops and visit classes each year. The campus welcomed Joan Naviyuk Kane, an award winning Inupiaq poet who currently resides in Anchorage, Alaska, on Thursday Nov. 10. Kane’s poetry centers on themes of movement and nature, as well as ecological, domestic and historical shifts in time. Set in her homeland of Alaska, her work also incorporates the customs of Alaska’s indigenous Inupiaq people.

Kane grew up in Anchorage, but her family is originally from King Island, before they were forcibly relocated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the mid-20th century. Her latest collection, Hyperboreal, sits on a border between cultures and between the past and the future. Through this collection, Kane reveals a way of life that is unfamiliar to many of us—one that has developed and endured in the beautifully striking, stark conditions of the far north.

During the reading, she read poetry in both English and the Inupiaq language, flowing from one to the other so naturally that the audience was taken into the world of her people. The unfamiliar sounds and patterns of speech—so different from English—were so captivating they left the audience hanging on every word. Her voice itself had a rhythm, as if it were moving, walking and treading nimbly through the forests and landscapes of which she spoke.

One poem from the collection is titled “Legend” and is divided into four different parts. The Inupiaq people are said to have survived five disasters throughout history: an eclipse, a flood, a famine, a flu epidemic and lastly, a forgetting of the traditional ways of their people. The four sections of “Legend” correspond to the first four disasters, but Kane explained that she never writes about the fifth. She hopes that her poetry will be a remedy for the last disaster—that she can preserve the Inupiaq culture in her words and poems.

A question and answer session followed the reading, allowing the audience to interact with this transfixing poet. Upon being asked about her living environment in Alaska, Kane explained that Anchorage is the closest you can get to the “real” Alaska without leaving a city. Growing up, on one side of her home was the city and on the other was a large stretch of Alaskan forest. She also mentioned that Anchorage is one of the most diverse cities in the country, with over 100 languages spoken there.

“The north has always been a haven for people who are displaced,” she said.

But this Alaskan landscape that she grew up in is changing rapidly. Kane admitted that these changes are often disheartening. The glaciers are melting and the landscape is becoming warped.

“People’s homes are sinking … I don’t exactly have to imagine a dystopian future,” she said.

The sounds of these poems are so deeply rooted in the natural world and in a culture so connected with the land that they only work to emphasize the current political discussion of the environment.

On a more lighthearted note, when a student asked if Kane had a favorite poem, and if so, why, she curiously responded, “I really like the poems that I don’t quite understand.” Sometimes when we make art, we don’t immediately comprehend the significance that it may have.

Kane’s answer to this question created a sense of hope—we may not always have the solutions, but through insightful thought and creativity, together we can find the knowledge and understanding that we need.

If anything, Kane’s work focuses on the sense of community felt in traditional Alaskan life—both with the natural environment and the people living in it. The words of English Department Chair Rob Doggett can perhaps remind us just how integrated community is to our own everyday lives.

“You came here because you love poetry,” Doggett said. “And that is a community I am proud to be a part of.”

Kane's poetry collection is currently on sale at the Geneseo University Bookstore.

Photography exhibition manipulates organic beauty into unconventional collages

If you Google the phrases “crashing waves” or “blossoming tree,” what images would surface and why? Photographer Anastasia Samoylova presents such questions in her exhibit “Landscape Sublime,” which opened on Nov. 2 at the Lockhart Gallery on Main Street. Originally from Moscow, Samoylova is now based in the United States, where she can use digital art and photography to explore such ideas as “environmentalism, consumerism and the picturesque.” This particular exhibit seeks to examine landscape photography in widely circulated stock and public domain photographs that are found in online image libraries. Furthermore, Samoylova displays how these two types of photographs display the cultural concepts of nature, the environment and beauty in her exhibit.

So what does the Internet tell us natural beauty looks like? The photos you would find are idealized, as they are meant to depict the conventional notion of perfect “beauty” found in nature. Samoylova uses these idealistic pictures and creates something new, consequently challenging conventional beauty in this age where nature can be viewed from a screen.

She takes these photos—which any of us could easily find online—and distorts them, folds them and flips them. She combines the altered images with other digitally produced textures and color blocks, so it is as if the viewer is looking through a distorted kaleidoscope.

“Blossoming Trees” utilizes several stock images of what look like cherry blossom trees, only they’re bent and distorted—as if they’ve been reflected in a funhouse mirror. The images are then grouped together to seem like pages of a book or petals of an actual cherry blossom. The tableau is interspersed with geometric areas of green, yellow and other bright spring colors.

This piece takes those original, predictable and ideal stock photos of nature and presents the beauty of their subject in a way that isn’t exactly natural. The resulting image is made by the screen and for the screen, but still displays the organic beauty of nature, as well.

Another notable piece in the collection is “Forests,” which uses light in a particularly engaging way. This work—and the collection as a whole—follows a similar pattern as “Blossoming Trees,” except with the addition of different computer-generated blocks of color. These forest images, however, have more of a unique fractured quality. There are slits cut into the forest images, which give off an effect similar to rays of light that shine through the leaves and trees of an actual forest.

The “Landscape Sublime” collection takes up most of the gallery space, but there are also a few pieces from the Geneseo Permanent Collection displayed by the entrance of the exhibit. These pieces follow Samoylova’s theme of nature, but starkly contrast her modern images. These works are all done in many different media; one is a photograph of a tree on a hillside lightly dusted with snow and another is a small watercolor painting of thin tree trunks.

All of the pieces from the Permanent Collection, however, have a very gray or muted color palate, as opposed to Samoylova’s bright splashes of color. The Permanent Collection’s work provides an aesthetically different perspective on nature, but also complements Samoylova’s artistic message by highlighting those differences.

The Lockhart Gallery has been making an effort to recruit younger, more modern and contemporary artists for the space. Samoylova, who is only 32, is a great addition to the gallery’s record, as her work has received international success.

Her ideas give a fresh and thought-provoking interpretation of landscape, how it is represented in this modern age of technology and how we interpret its beauty.