New exhibition pinpoints pinhole photography

By Allison Reitz

The University Art Gallery, located within the Star Store, is currently home to the pinhole photography exhibition titled “Made In Poland.” The show features the work of seven Polish photographers, who all have interesting ways of interpreting the art of pinhole exposures. Some of the cameras used to photograph are even on display (as shown below).

Above, Jaroslaw Klups captures daily life in an innovative manner: he straps a pinhole camera to his head for several hours at a time. These images are on display in the exhibit “Made In Poland.”

A new semester means new classes, new experiences — and new art exhibitions. A short trip down Route 6 into New Bedford unveils a world of art and culture, at the heart of which is the Star Store and the University Art Gallery.

Currently, the gallery hosts “Made in Poland: Contemporary Pinhole Photography.” The exhibition is curated by Walter Crump and Jesseca Ferguson and will be on display through September 15. The gallery is open daily, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Organized in collaboration with Boston University and Lesley University, the exhibition features the work of seven Polish photographers: Andrzej Bogacz, Tomasz Dobiszewski, Danuta Gibka, Jaroslaw Klups, Georgia Krawiec, Marek Noniewicz and Edyta Wypierowska.

The photographers explore their worlds, capturing the surroundings with the unique eye of their homemade pinhole cameras. The subjects range from the everyday to the extraordinary, always with beautiful results.

Bogacz explores the life of his grandmother by examining her personal effects in the series “Nine Memories of Grandmother.” A walking cane, reading glasses, shoes — these objects serve not only as a reminder of the life Bogacz’s grandmother led, but also as a direct link to the past. Each object tells a story that continues on through the circulation of the photographs.

A more self-expressive perspective comes from Gibka, whose images feature the artist and a man named Arthur. Predominantly nude shots, each image tells a story of intimacy, interaction and individuality. The fuzzy focus of each photo adds to the blurred distinction between a lover and the self.

An interesting aspect of this installation is the fusion of photography techniques. Two photographers in particular combine photographic styles with surprisingly inspired results.

Krawiec uses toned silver gelatin to add some color to her pinhole prints, but also adds some interest by experimenting with photomontages. By combining different images in the same print, she creates ethereal and creepy views of Warsaw.

Noniewicz also gets experimental in his series “Self-Portrait Inside Camera Obscura.” As the title suggests, the nude portraits feature the artist situated inside a camera obscura. The pinhole camera captures the moment as the camera obscura’s lens projects an image of the outside environment over Noniewicz while he lounges inside. The combination of two less-than-modern techniques is captivating and ingenious.

The Star Store, located on 715 Purchase Street in Downtown New Bedford, is an off-campus extension of the College of Visual and Performing Arts. Renovated in 2001, the building has since become a gravitational center for student artists.

The University Art Gallery is the largest gallery space in the Star Store and features a constantly rotating schedule of exhibitions. Past exhibitions have included student thesis shows and traveling exhibitions of work by artists such as Robert Beauchamp, Philip Trager, Ernst Haeckel, Karl Blossfeldt and Paul Rudolph, the architect of the UMass Dartmouth main campus.

For updates on future exhibitions in the University Art Gallery, visit http://www.umassd.edu/cvpa/universityartgallery.

Capturing time has never looked so easy

By Shara Sarnelli

David Allen’s paintings capture the abstract beauty of water. The exhibit is currently on display in the Star Store, located at 715 Purchase St., New Bedford.

People constantly wish that they could freeze time so they can live in that certain moment for just a little bit longer. David Allen of Westport, Massachusetts does exactly that with his personally painted abstract pieces.

This abstract artist grew up by the beautiful bodies of water in and around Westport where he became fascinated by their elegance. Allen sought to capture time when he began painting images of brooks and streams.

One can tell by his work that he has indeed created art which captivates single moments in incremental slices.

Gallery 244 at the Star Store had an exhibit called “An Artist’s Statement” dedicated entirely to the metaphoric works of David Allen this past summer. The paintings were all created sitting by watershed’s brooks.

Allen blurred the movement of the water in his pieces to represent the energy of life’s shapes, forms, textures and colors. The blurred movements make the masterpieces poetic and emotional.

THE BEER BARON

Take a swig a of this: Long Trail IPA

By Gary Albert

It can be said that beer is an acquired taste. I’ve been fascinated with beer ever since I became old enough to buy it legally. People that know me well know that I usually try to taste a different beer every week. Over the past year and a half, I’ve tasted close to 100 different brews.

Every beer is unique in its flavors and if you train yourself to notice them, a good beer can be discerned from a bad one very easily. The same beer may even be different on draught or from the bottle, from the bottle instead of a can. A seasonal brew from a microbrewery may change from year to year. The glassware used when drinking a beer can even alter how you taste it.

Every week I’ll be going over the finer and not-so-fine points of a different beer, and rating it based on the different qualities it possesses. Sometimes it may be a beer I’ve selected on purpose, other times one that has been suggested to me, and sometimes it might just be a random selection.

Since I’m just getting back into the saddle with this, I’d figure it would be good to start off again with Long Trail (as I did last semester), this time it is Long Trail India Pale Ale (IPA). It is from the Long Trail Brewing Company in Bridgewater Corners, Vermont, and this is one of their newer year-round beers, first brewed in the Summer of 2005.

IPAs were originally brewed to overcome the difficulty of shipping beer overseas. In order to preserve the ale better, more hops and higher alcohol content were added to these ales.

Long Trail IPA claims to be a “real IPA” because it is unfiltered. Prior to 2005, Long Trail brewed a filtered IPA. This beer is definitely unfiltered; it pours a cloudy, lemon-orange color into my American pint glass, with a strong head of foam that leaves thick lacing at the top of the glass. The color is light for an IPA, at least in my opinion. The smell is citrus, but it’s a light smell much like the other Long Trail beers I’ve tried. Despite it being an IPA, this beer reminds me more of a Hefeweizen or a Wietbier than the IPAs that I’m used to, even though it has the bitter aftertaste of them; the wheat malts used in the brew are most likely responsible for this.

The mouth-feel combines the sweetness of the malts and the bitterness of the hops, but the hops just aren’t as “there” as I’d hope; it has a nice tartness to it. The hops aren’t overpowering, but they’re definitely present and stand out.

While drinking this, I find myself desiring chips and salsa; some pepper jack cheese compliments the flavors within it very nicely. Much like Long Trail’s other brews, this beer is VERY drinkable, and very refreshing. The only thing that might affect its “drinkability” is the intensity of the “hoppy” aftertaste. Another aspect that is really interesting to note is that as the beer warms, I’m feeling as if its flavor is becoming more complex, with the hops, malts and citrus becoming more distinguishable.

I’m not overly impressed, but Long Trail has indeed created a solid IPA, but I still feel like I’d prefer to spend my night drinking a wheat beer like Magic Hat Circus Boy or Hoegaarden. I really think that there is something missing in the hop flavor of this brew. I’d recommend this to someone who is interested in a good beer to drink with spicy food, or just wants to try something a little different than the usual. Percent alcohol is slightly higher than most typical beers, at 5.9%.

Appearance: 3.5

Smell: 3.25

Mouth-feel: 4

Drinkability: 4.25

Taste: 3.5

Overall I’d give this beer a 3.75 out of 5, simply because I’m not thrilled about it. But I’m sure it has its own fans — I’m just not it’s biggest.

If you have a recommendation for a beer for me to review (anything goes), want to comment on or criticize my review, or just have questions regarding beer, send me an email at UMDBeerBaron@gmail.com

MOVIE REVIEW

‘Superbad’ is supergood

By Shara Sarnelli

“Spider-Man 3”
Rating 5/5

So many movie buffs have been waiting for a movie to be released that finally feels real; a movie that utilizes relatable teenage experiences, but does not glorify them; a comedy during which audiences cannot cease laughter while watching due to the ridiculously hilarious dialogues (and the clips from the theatrical trailer are not the only funny scenes).

Released on August 17, “Superbad” grossed $31.2 million its opening weekend, regardless of the fact that it did not quite reach the top of the box office. And that number is only growing. Sony Pictures, as the distributors, are said to be proud to have released what could be considered the best comedy of the summer.

Starring rising comical stars like Jonah Hill of “Grandma’s Boy” and Seth Rogen of “Knocked Up,” the movie “Superbad” was bound to produce some laughs. Basically, the movie is an hour and 54 minutes of non-stop hilarity, but those laughs didn’t come cheap: “Superbad” is rated R for numerous, yet blatant reasons. The film is full of omnipresent vulgar, sexual content, and exceptionally strong language along with drug and alcohol use.

From the producers who brought comedy fans “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Talladega Nights,” comes the coming-of-age tale that so many have anticipated. The main characters of “Superbad” include two, socially awkward teenage boys who are about to graduate high school. The best friends have always been exceedingly dependent of one another, but now, they have gotten into different colleges where they will be forced to move through life apart. They need one last memory together — and this time, it’s time for them to break out of their shells and have a “real” teenage experience.

One night. One shot. Evan (Michael Cera) and Seth (Jonah Hill) plan to reverse their seemingly ceaseless failure with the opposite sex. Evan is a shy, passive boy whereas Seth is overly obnoxious and volatile. Their one shot turns into a catastrophic night driven by sheer panic, cynical hope and humiliation; it’s that night that will never be forgotten, but not necessarily in a negative sense.

Behind foul, offensive language, the movie finds truth. Maybe not all people can relate to “Superbad,” but the majority of people definitely can in some way or other. If intense, foul language is something you are not interested in, perhaps this is not the movie for you. But if you do not mind the raunchy, sexual statements, and you enjoy genuine, teenage flicks, this movie is highly recommended! It is the perfect coming-of-age comedy that deserves five out five stars, with five being the highest.

Book Review

The Chosen-One versus the Dark Lord

(SPOILER ALERT)

By Shara Sarnelli

So many of us watched The-Boy-Who-Lived as he grew up to discover his true identity: a wizard. We stood by his side and supported him as his famously known past slowly unfolded before his green eyes. For ten years of our lives, and seven of Harry Potter’s, we were intrigued by the compelling writing of J.K. Rowling.

This past July, what all of us muggles, or non-wizarding folk, have been waiting for, was finally released: book 7, the last book of the Harry Potter series. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” is, ultimately, the final confrontation between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort, better known as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Good versus evil. Love versus hate. Seeker versus murderer. The Chosen-One versus the Dark Lord.

“The Deathly Hallows” is a whopping 749 pages, 759 pages including the epilogue. Almost every single one of those pages is completely necessary. One of the only flaws in the entire book is that a couple of the chapters could be cut down. But the overall conclusion and fortitude make the tiny flaws too small to even matter.

Harry and his best friends Ron and Hermione, apparate (which is like teleporting) from one forest to the next while they attempt to figure out how to find and destroy Lord Voldemort’s horcruxes. As important as the horcruxes are, reading about the three friends constantly apparating, yet figuring nothing out right away, is useless.

Book 7 strongly focuses on Harry, Ron and Hermoine’s quest to uncover and destroy the seven horcruxes. Horcruxes are secret, magical objects in which Lord Voldemort has split parts of his very soul into, which is why he proved to be invincible during the previous six books. Harry must obliterate all seven horcruxes if he ever hopes to put an end to the evil Dark Lord.

Along the way of saving the wizarding world by searching for the hidden horcruxes, Harry and his companions learn The Tale of the Three Brothers, also known as The Deathly Hallows. The story of The Deathly Hallows, written and imagined so creatively by Rowling, ties Harry’s past and future together. All the pieces of the puzzle begin to fit into place.

As the pieces of Harry’s destiny come together, vital parts of his present begin to fall apart. He has already lost Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Sirius Black, who is his godfather and the closest thing he had to his deceased parents. As the book grows darker, at least half a dozen more beloved lives are lost, all leaving Harry feeling wholly responsible.

On top of the towering heap of lost lives, Voldemort’s followers join the Magic of Ministry in attempt to take it down, thus controlling the wizarding world. All the while, the many, unique creatures of the world choose sides between good and evil. Total havoc and panic shrouds Hogwarts and the wizarding world. The only way to regain sanity is left up to Harry himself.

Through all of the mayhem, Harry can’t help but wish to have grown up as someone else. Why couldn’t he have lived a typical childhood? Why couldn’t he have spent endless, happy moments with his crush Ginny Weasley? Why was it he who was crucial to the prophecy? From the very day of his parents’ deaths, Harry bore the weight of his destiny as a leader encompassed by terrifying responsibilities.

As each book was released, the darkness within them expanded. This final book is definitely the darkest of the Potter books. As the psychic connection between Harry and Voldemort grows stronger, Harry is more irritable, ceaselessly on edge. Harry’s journey is bone-chilling and heart-racing, making it nearly impossible to close the book before one has finished reading it.

Rowling has written incredibly intense scenes that send chills up and down the spine. Some of the highest intensity is felt when Harry and Hermoine visit the place where Harry was born, Godric’s Hollow.

As the two enter Godric’s Hollow to visit the grave of Harry’s parents, Harry gets a strange feeling that someone is watching them. He feels someone’s mysterious eyes piercing into their souls, following their every move.

They then proceed to the home in which Harry was born. Upon arrival, a woman approaches them, but refuses to speak. Harry and Hermoine identify her as Batilda Bagshot, a former friend of Dumbeldore.

The woman continues to not speak. Harry and Hermoine follow her into her home. Once inside, and with Hermoine in a different room, Batilda finally speaks to Harry.

The two walk upstairs and within a few moments, the woman’s skin uncoils, revealing the large, evil snake belonging to Voldemort named Nagini. The snake attacks Harry. Hermoine rushes upstairs and the two of them find themselves in a hopeless battle against the murderous snake.

The Dark Lord swoops into the room only moments before Harry and Hermoine leap from the window towards safety. Many more scenes are just as suspenseful as this one.

Rowling ends the series with closure. Fortunately, The Deathly Hallows does not leave Potter fans wondering as Rowling does not plan on writing a follow-up.

The world of Harry Potter will be missed. It is a magical place that many of us, if willing to admit it, dream to be a part of. Even though both ordinary people and surreal people coexist, cars fly, dishes wash themselves, owls deliver mail and paintings talk, the wizarding world is utterly identifiable. The wizards live in a world where death and daily calamities are inevitable. Individual beliefs are defined by none other than love, loss, growth, change, faith and fate. Those wizards, whom we have come to admire so much, are not that different from us muggles as we envision them to be. Goodbye, Harry, you will be missed.

CD REVIEW

It's time to 'Riot'!

By Shara Sarnelli

Rock music has been a worldwide, popular genre since before most of us were alive, but rarely in this day and age will the media introduce a great rock band with a female lead singer who has powerful vocals. But now, thanks to the famous Warped Tour, Paramore has been discovered.

Paramore, who happens to fall under the rock/emo genre, was born in Franklin, Tennessee. The band consists of Hayley Williams singing lead vocals, Josh Farro playing guitar, Zac Farro on drums and Jeremy Davis playing bass.

Each member of the band unearthed their passion for music in different ways, even the two brothers, yet somehow, everything came together idyllically. The four members, who began as five, are each between 18 and 22 years old, making them one of the youngest rock bands around that has a high amount of chemistry. Hayley Williams hadn’t even reached age 18 when the band began making music together!

The strong chemistry that circulates between the band members can be felt and sensed through their music, which is why record label Fueled By Ramen was glad to add Paramore.

Once Paramore went into the studio to put together their debut album, “All We Know is Falling,” producers James Wisner who has worked with Dasboard Confessional and Underoath, along with Mike Green who has worked with Yellowcard, were more than happy to assist the southern rock band.

On June 6, 2007, Paramore released their second full-length album called “Riot.” “Riot” consists of eleven profound tracks, including their hit song, “Misery Business” that conveys teenage aggression and desire. Each track is filled with so much emotion, hope, failure and truth. Hayley Williams’s vocals are incredibly intense, making the emotion felt in her words possible and believable. As a result, fans feel that they can relate to the story-like songs while being able to rock out to catchy music.

With Williams’s compelling voice, lyrics from tracks like “Let the Flames Begin,” have proved to be quite prevailing. The second verse of this track, “somewhere, weakness is our strength, and I’ll die searching for it. I can’t let myself regret such selfishness, my pain and all the trouble caused, no matter how long. I believe that there is hope buried beneath it all, hiding beneath it all, growing beneath it all,” is one example of how inspirational Paramore’s lyrics are.

This album is definitely a step up from “All We Know is Falling,” which was an excellent album as well. It is apparent through the improvement of the vocals, lyrics and music that Paramore has been working hard to make “Riot” better than ever.

Since the release of this album and their appearance on Warped Tour this past summer, Paramore has sold more albums and merchandise, has had more sold out shows than previous years and has been praised in areas of the media, such as Spin Magazine.

Paramore’s first debut album deserves 4.5 out of 5 stars, with 5 being the highest. “Riot” earns all 5 stars as it is an album that contains a lot of talent and passion. It can be replayed repeatedly without picking out any flaws. Paramore is on tour now, but they are touring through countries outside of the United States. Look for them around the greater Boston area once fall has come to an end. For more information and updates, check out www.paramore.net.