WOSU Arts Blog

Why did our ancestors who made cave paintings in France thrive while Neanderthals died out? What do our closest living ancestors have to teach us about what it means to be human? How do images of the human brain reveal our faculties for language, the use of tools and the ability to forge social bonds? These questions and more are examined in “The Human Spark,” a three-part television series. In this video, host Alan Alda and the producers of the series discuss their interactions with dozens of scientists to get at the sources of human uniqueness through the lenses of neuroscience, anthropology, human evolution, child development and primatology. The series premieres on WOSU Jan. 6, 13 and 20, 2010.

- Scott

American Masters: Louisa May Alcott
Thursday, December 28th at 9pm on WOSU TV
Friday, December 29th at 9pm on WOSU PLUS

Louisa May Alcott, the author of “Little Women,” is an almost universally recognized name. Her reputation as a morally upstanding New England spinster, reflecting the conventional propriety of mid-19th century Concord, is firmly established. Raised among reformers, iconoclasts and Transcendentalists, the intellectual protégé of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, Alcott was actually a free thinker, with democratic ideals and progressive values about women – a worldly careerist of sorts. Most surprising is that Alcott led, anonymously and under the pseudonym A.M. Barnard, a literary double life not discovered until the 1940s. As Barnard, Alcott penned some thirty pulp fiction thrillers, with characters running the gamut from murderers and revolutionaries to cross-dressers and opium addicts – a far cry from her better-known works featuring fatherly mentors, courageous mothers and impish children.

Visit the filmmakers’ Web site for more.

PREVIEW:

– Scott Gowans

Let the arguments begin. Nick Chordas, who writes film reviews for The Columbus Dispatch, posted a link to Moviephone that included the 10 worst films of the decade. I don’t think much of the list – especially when it omits “Freddy Got Fingered” (2001), Tom Green’s excruciating excercise in raunch, but it’s a starting point, anyway.

10. The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
9. Cat in the Hat (2003)
8. Little Nicky (2000)
7. Basic Instinct 2 (2006)
6. Catwoman (2004)
5. Swept Away (2002)
4. From Justin to Kelly (2003)
3. Glitter (2001)
2. Gigli (2003)
1. Battlefield Earth (2000)

Note that all of these are all either big-budget or big-name-cast films, and don’t include the small pieces of trash (any of the thousands of torture-porn flicks) that are routinely ignored – for good reason.

I guess I’m thankful I saw only five from this list.

- Scott

And now a bit of whimsy from one of the great lyricists of all time – Tom Lehrer. Who else would try to rhyme Mississippi with Yom Kippur? Appropriate for the season, yes?

I’m spending Hanukkah, in Santa Monica,
Wearing sandals lighting candles by the sea.
I spent Shavuos, in East St. Louis,
A charming spot but clearly not the spot for me.

Those eastern winters, I can’t endure ‘em,
So every year I pack my gear
And come out here to Purim.

Rosh Hashona, I spend in Arizona,
And Yom Kippa, way down in Mississippa.
But in Decemba, there’s just one place for me.
‘Mid the California flora,
I’ll be lighting my menorah.
Every California maid’ll
Find me playing with a dreidl.
Santa Monica, spending Hanukkah by the sea

Release Date: 1999
Lyrics and music by Tom Lehrer

– Scott Gowans

In an effort to gather content for “Columbus Neighborhoods,” WOSU will hold a special community event on Sunday, December 13, from 2pm to 4pm, at the Trinity Baptist Church, 461 Saint Clair Avenue in Columbus. The event will provide an opportunity for past or current residents to share stories, historical films, and photographs representing the King-Lincoln/Near East Side neighborhood.

(Some also refer to the area as Bronzeville, while others identify it by its two busiest streets: Mt. Vernon Avenue and Long Street.)

Individuals can reserve a time to share their information with WOSU at the event on December 13. All videotaped interviews will be posted to www.columbusneighborhoods.org and some may be included in the documentary series. Time slots for each interview will be 15 minutes long. To reserve a time to share your films, photos, or stories about the King-Lincoln/Near East-Side neighborhood, call (614) 292-9678 or e-mail wosu@osu.edu.

“Columbus Neighborhoods” will examine the historical origins of featured neighborhoods and trace their development. The series will celebrate the present residents, surviving traditions, and history of each neighborhood, including its architecture, economic base, and cultural assets. It will serve as a video scrapbook of the most fascinating places to live, work, and visit in Columbus.

WOSU 89.7 FM will broadcast a live holiday performance from St. Joseph Cathedral in downtown Columbus on Sunday, December 6, at 3pm. Hosted by WOSU’s Christopher Purdy and led by Minister of Music Paul Thornock, the Cathedral Choir’s annual performance of music for Advent and Christmas will feature the singing of traditional seasonal music with the Cathedral organs and brass, plus readings, motets, and anthems.

“My colleagues and I are delighted to represent WOSU and be a part of this live performance,” said WOSU FM Host Christopher Purdy. “A Festival of Lessons and Carols features holiday favorites for everyone. I’m pleased that WOSU FM can broadcast some of the best local music making live on our air.”

The Emerging Artists Studio is a weekly radio show that showcases regional emerging artists, and is hosted by Karen Bell. This interview features Stephanie Rond.

Bio:
Stephanie Rond earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Ohio State University in 1997. Her most recent body of work deals with American cultural icons, stereotypes and craft. She exhibits consistently and is involved in many arts organizations including the Ohio Art League and ROY G BIV Gallery. In addition, Stephanie is Curator of the Carnegie Gallery at Main Library in Columbus Ohio. She is also part of the art collective Cowtown Lowbrow and co-founder of CAW, Creative Arts of Women.

About the Arts Initiative: The Arts Initiative is a university-wide effort to poise Ohio State as a leader in the arts, expanding the university’s artistic engagement as we connect with our communities. The Arts Initiative cultivates public and private partnerships with arts, cultural and educational organizations to further the interests and resources of the university, shaping a lifetime of creativity for individuals on campus and far beyond.

Music provided by Restless Blend; the song “High St. Traffic” was written by Erik Braun.
Brian Linville-drums and percussion
Erik Braun-guitars
Matteo Amburgy- keyboards
Marshall Skinner- bass guitar

This interview features Jenai Cutcher.

Bio:
Jenai tap dances, writes about dance, teaches dance, and makes dance movies. While based in New York, she performed with Brenda Bufalino, Barbara Duffy, Savion Glover, Derick Grant, Lynn Schwab, Rumba Tap, Ritmico, and Tap City, among others. In Columbus, she has collaborated with many dancers and musicians including Brian Casey and Honk, Wail and Moan, dance professor John Giffin, and percussionist Joe Krygier in Drums Downtown. She is currently an Artist In Residence at The Shoebox in the South Campus Gateway Arts Alley. “Thinking On Their Feet” is Ms. Cutcher’s first documentary film.

This interview features Adam Brouillette.

Bio:
Adam graduated from Columbus College of Art and Design in 2002, and has had work exhibited in several galleries in Ohio and have begun to exhibit outside the state. He currently serves as the president of the Couchfire Collective; he has been a member of the Ohio Art League since 1999, and serves as Chair of the Membership and Programming Committees. He has also helped other local arts organizations, such as the Greater Columbus Arts Council and the Grandview Arts Council, by participating in discussions on how to best serve artists in the community.

This interview features Dwayne Blackaller.

Bio:
Actor. Writer. Deviser. Director. Teaching Artist. He teaches at OSU, has a lengthy acting resume, and is the creator and co-creator of many new theatrical works, including: H.G. Wells: The Science of Fiction (Coming Spring 2010); The Comet: 2009; Destinopolis: 2009; and Act-O-Matic: 2009. He is also the Artistic Director and co-founder of Whistling in the Dark Theatre Company.

Head to Arts in the Alley at South Campus Gateway on Thursday, Dec 3, for lots of arts activities! An opening reception will be held that night 6-9 pm for the solo show Sarah Weinstock: In the Overlap, with drawings and paintings (shown on right) by the local artist and OSU alumna in the Arts Initiative space, 1568 N High St. Her show continues until Jan 22. That same night, Take the Floor will be part of the festivities at the Arts Initiative to celebrate our new wood, sprung floor. Surprise performances to celebrate the floor and join-in-the-fun sock-hop dance party will be part of the evening, says organizer Jenai Cutcher of JamJam Productions.

Across the alley at the Ohio Art League Gallery, the popular Annual Thumb Box Exhibition kicks off the same evening, showcasing small works by OAL members. That show continues until Dec 29. All pieces, available for sale, will be 6 x 6 x 6 inches or less.

http://osuartsinitiative.blogspot.com/2009/11/royal-visit.html

Live radio: Service of Lessons and Carols from the St. Joseph Cathedral in Columbus, with the Cathedral Choir and Brass

Sunday December 6, 3pm, on WOSU 89.7

This annual performance of music features the singing of traditional seasonal music, readings, motets, and anthems that tells the story of the birth of Christ.

http://www.saintjosephcathedral.org/

From the blog by Christopher Purdy: “I recently heard the Cathedral Men’s choir sing compline. It was exquisite. Lessons and carols should be wonderful. Not to be missed in that great space.”

– Scott

“Seabiscuit” – the documentary not the movie – airs Monday night, November 23, on WOSU TV at 9pm. Even if you’re tired of hearing about The Great Depression, or this latest Great Recession, there’s plenty to love about this documentary from American Experience.

In the 1930s, when Americans longed to escape the grim realities of Depression era, Seabiscuit became a working man’s hero. “For a brief moment in America,” says Laura Hillenbrand, author of the best-selling Seabiscuit, “a little brown racehorse wasn’t just a little brown racehorse. He was the proxy for a nation.”

Here’s Seabiscuit vs. War Admiral, circa 1938:

– Scott Gowans