undefined magazine book 1

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4undefined : book one

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{substance} undefined : Book One : January - February - March 2008

features:

Jennifer Hill

dialogue:

profiles: essays:

Christian Thee

Fashion Rocks Columbia

Jeremy Carter

A New Home for Our Nick

Bob Allison

Scotty Peek

Jerry Stover

14 : Anna Redwine

20 : Mike Krajewski & Justice Littlejohn

54 : Les Hall

16 : Frank Martin : Art, Culture and Community Identity

22 : Dan Everett : The Art of Escape

69 : Lisa Holland : How We Live

56 : Featured Gallery : CityArt

57 : Passion Into Profit : Perry Lancaster &

Allen Stephenson

62 : Caroline Lewis : Contemporary Dance

70 : William Starrett : Columbia City Ballet

* 13 : painted violins

59 : consumptional art

68 : wood you?

78 : mundane or extraordinary?

Her/My Family (tie two) detail : Scotty Peek : page 50

undefined magazine is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any manner, in whole or in part, without the publisher's written permission. Write us at: undefined Magazine 709 Woodrow Street : 322 : Columbia, SC 29205 803.233.3796

©2008 All Rights Reserved

These pages are the labor of many talented hands, from writing, design and editing, to sales and marketing. We encourage youto contact us with any feedback or story ideas at our website. Please support the artists, your community leaders andadvertisers. For advertising information please contact Lesley Hoskins at 803.337.6712 or [email protected]

Alexis Geiter : [email protected]


1. David Wright : EditorA graduate of Furman University with a B.A.

in Sociology, David is an accomplished musi-

cian, avid wood-worker, and ever-attempting

perfectionist. His talent, personal insights,

and addiction to the written (and spoken)

word are self-evident in this publication.

2. Lesley Hoskins : Marketing/SalesLesley has a double major in European

Studies-History and Literature and has trav-

eled the globe extensively. Originally from

California, she calls Columbia home after 16

years in the area. “It's so exciting to finally be

working for a publication that has local con-

tent and real value for this community.”

3. Frank C. Martin, II : Writer Writer, curator, art historian, and critic of

visual culture, Frank Martin, is a member

in good standing of the International

Association of Art Critics (AICA: Association

Internationale des Critiques d’Art) based in

Paris. His current projects include contribu-

tions to a forthcoming publication organized

by Harvard University and the Oxford

University Press pertaining to biographies of

artists of the African diaspora.

4. Melissa Spivey : Graphic DesignerMelissa Spivey is a graduate of U.S.C.'s School

of Journalism. Born and raised in Columbia,

she has always been passionate about art,

design and her hometown. Doing graphic

design for undefined encompasses them all, so

she can have her cake and eat it too!

5. Jenny Maxwell : Writer Eons ago, Jenny Maxwell moved to Columbia

to work at WIS-TV and attend USC. Her pro-

fessor James Dickey urged her to leave her

job, “bag groceries and write poetry full-time.”

Maxwell passed, viewing this as the only

career move that could actually pay less than

television. She eventually did leave WIS—to

work as an independent writer, producer, and

director. Presently, she is also editor of a local

women’s magazine and recently completed a

documentary for SCETV.

6. Brad Allen : Photojournalist You can always tell when a person loves what

they do for a living. Photography is a passion

for Brad Allen. His modern approach and

timeless style come from blending the best tra-

ditional photographic methods with cutting

edge digital techniques. From commercial

work to portraiture, Brad Allen creates

dynamic images with personality and style.

the crowd

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photography: Brad Allen

9 undefined : book one

Mark Pointer : Designer/PublisherThis is a dangerous undertaking. I am a little nervous. Art is, of course, many things to

many people; it stirs up passion like few other things in life. We are striving for the “healthy

confusion of pleasure and disquietude” that my favorite college professor used to preach. You

may agree or disagree with some of the topics covered in this issue, but I am proud to have

assembled it – by, with, and at-the-side-of a remarkable team of talent.

This journey to uncover the multiple layers of Columbia’s established and emerging

cultural visionaries has been an expected joy-ride that I know will encourage, enlighten, and

engage our readership. Supporting the growth and new economic development of this city, on

any scale, is to be commended; and We, the staff and writers, feel privileged to have

interviewed and profiled just a small sampling of artists and residents that truly care for –

and are nurturing – this city’s cultural potential.

Undefined – a concept born in 2005, actualized into action just over a month ago. Now a

tangible reality for all, it makes its official debut into the hands of You, our Reader.

Thanks for being here. Enjoy.

www.beundefined.com


7. Tony Lee : Musician ExtraordinareTony Lee graduated from the University of

South Carolina and promptly moved to Los

Angeles, CA. He returned to Columbia to tour

the country with a rock band. After stints in

the golf and insurances industries, he now

teaches private drum lessons as well as main-

taining an active playing career with several

local acts. You’ll see him out eventually. Talk

to him.

8. Shayna Katzman : WriterShayna Katzman was born in London, England

where she lived and worked prior to returning

to her Southern roots in Columbia. Shayna

graduated The University of London with a BA,

with Honors, in Art History and Anthropology,

while working at the top end of the retail mar-

ket including Tiffany & Co, Jimmy Choo, before

landing a job at Modus Publicity. Shayna is cur-

rently free-lance writing and working as a PR

and Communications Specialist.

9. Katie McElveen : Writer Writer Katie McElveen was mesmerized by

Christian Thee and Bruce Bahr’s home. “Like

Christian’s artwork, the house revealed itself

in layers,” she says. “Around every corner

there was another surprise just waiting to be

discovered.” Her work has appeared in Real

Simple, Southern Living and Modern Bride.

10. Lisa Holland : WriterLisa Holland, Ph.D., has a doctorate in psychol-

ogy and is a licensed marriage and family ther-

apist. Her practice, Holland Heart, uses cogni-

tive therapy to help clients manage specific

emotions that affect heart health.

11. Kasi Koshollek : PhotojournalistPhotojournalist, Kasi Koshollek, has been a

photographer for over nine years. She has

worked for several magazines and newspapers

in both her home state of Wisconsin and in

South Carolina. Kasi earned a bachelors degree

from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in

2004, where she studied journalism. She

currently owns her own business KasiMya

Photo located in Columbia.

12. Jennifer Reese : WriterJenny is a graduate from the The University of

Georgia with a degree in magazine journalism

and a minor in art history. Her experience in

media includes print and television work, but

her true zeal lies in critical writing. In her free

time, Jenny enjoys cooking, painting, playing

soccer, movies and television about

disillusioned characters, Trivial Pursuit,

pranks, zombie flicks, Star Wars and

Dynamite Cabernet.

the crowd

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photography: Brad Allen


I have been given the task of helping to build a new magazine from nothing but an idea. Withthe exception of some freelance editing, I’ve never in my life attempted anything like this before.But when presented with the opportunity and asked if I would like to help construct it, there wasnot a single moment’s hesitation. Not a second. Because I instantly knew: a) The necessity forwhat we have in mind; and b) How enjoyable it would be to put together, in every respect.

Thinking about it now, though, it’s not really a “task” - if you consider that word to be a specif-ic “given”, something that falls within a provided set of guidelines, something asked of you thathas implied demands to fit within a certain set of boundaries. So, in essence, I wasn’t given a taskat all. I was given the kind of free reign most writers dream about – the tabula rasa of assign-ments. So long as the chosen content is founded in Truth, and uninvolved with the more baseaspects of the human condition, “we can do anything we want”. Great. I can work with that.Thanks.

However: “It just has to be good” is a bit more daunting. As parameters go, that’s got to be themost difficult achievement that any of us can hope for in the things that we choose to do – or thethings that we feel compelled to do. So this is where it gets tough. And this is where it’s gottentough for all of the individuals involved with this magazine – the struggle to attain Excellence.Now I have the freest of reins, but the somewhat intimidating (non)-task of producing.

That said, most of the individuals featured herein were hand-picked in less than an hour -which goes to show that Columbia is in no way lacking talent. More time was spent choosing theactual paper we were going to print it upon. Not just the content, but the medium itself has tobe exceptional.

In our opinion, which we are hoping you will respect and appreciate - Talent of this caliberjust hasn’t, to now, had the proper platform to be showcased. And this is the very reasoningbehind what you are reading.

So, as eclectic as this is – as seemingly different as these people may appear – there is a com-monality: They have a dedication to Excellence at whatever cost, and an obsessive attention todetail and perfection within their chosen field, discipline, or craft. An outstanding passion fortheir art. A compulsion to create better-than-the-rest. An original and perceptive take on theworld around them. Whether you want to call it a “talent”, or a “gift”: it is really simply the unwa-vering compulsion, and a honing over time, to maintain truth, quality, and integrity in the thingsthey do. And in our opinion, these represent the best of the best. Those who take the most rawof materials – be they physical, intellectual, or a combination of the two – and make them theirown.

Whatever you do – if you sculpt glass, play cello, or grow vegetables; make wine, beer, or bread;build guitars, chairs, or stone fireplaces – Whatever. If you do it well, and consistently, and to thebest of your ability, then you belong Here, among others who share the same level of passion.

And it is our intention to produce as high-quality a magazine as we are capable of providing.With neither fluff nor filler. A medium that is as solid and outstanding as the individualsrepresented within.

“Anything short of libel or pornography – those are our only parameters. It just has to be good.”

- Mark Pointer

editor’s statement

David Wright, Editor


What is becoming an annual rite-of-spring will once again take placein 2008 when 34 artists magically transform violins to raise money forthe South Carolina Philharmonic.

The Philharmonic’s third annual Painted Violins fundraiser kicks off inMarch when 34 instruments – including violins, violas, and cellos – aredisplayed throughout the Vista.

Renowned artists were recruited from around the Midlands to trans-form the instruments into pieces of art of varied media by painting them,featuring them in sculpture, or decorating them in whatever way theartist was inspired. In addition to being displayed separately throughoutthe Vista, the violins will be showcased together twice: for a preview-show at the Vista’s City Art Gallery on April 3; and during thePhilharmonic’s last Master Series concert of the season at the KogerCenter on April 5th.

The Philharmonic will accept bids at the City Art preview show, at the April 5th concert, and at the SCP office suite at 1237 Gadsden Street inthe Vista. All proceeds will benefit the SCP. Sponsors for the 2008 Painted Violins are: Congaree Vista Guild, Stentor Violins, Star Music,Mustard Graphics Studio, photographer Les Stringer, Scene Weaver, City Art, Dupre/Dukes Catering, and Musician Supply.

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1: Paula Bowers2: Melissa Ligon3: Jennifer Hill4: Fran Gardner5: Lindsay Wiggins6: Billy Mustard7: Kristina Mandell


anna redwine

Ionce spent an afternoon with Anna Redwine at theRiverbanks Zoo and Botanical Garden, attempting todraw the colorful perennials in the Annual Display of

Plants. Anna, a New Orleans native and a student in theMasters in Fine Arts program at the University of SouthCarolina at the time, brought an arsenal of colored pastels,pencils, and variously shaped canvases. She thoughtfullyspread them out on the warm brick, and helped me huntfor images to represent.

A total amateur, I struggled with perfecting shades andlines in a muddled mess, all the while wondering whatconcerned her – how she saw the bountiful SouthernMagnolias and the intricate Gloriosa Lilies; how ridiculousshe thought my disproportionate rose drawing was. Nomatter how silly I felt or how horrible I audibly beratedmyself for my lack of talent, she made me feel like I wasMonet at Giverny. After seeing her body of work – whichhas exhibited in Columbia and New York City – I realizedthat she meant every ounce of encouragement she spilled.She was just as ardently trying to see the landscapethrough my eyes and to identify with my world.Simultaneously, she was capturing the perspective of thelife in that garden as if she was a part of it.

“If I have to choose one rule, it’s to do my best to inhab-it the experience of other things and other people,” saidAnna, who is now on staff at USC’s Walker Institute ofInternational and Area Studies. “When I see a butterfly,for instance, it’s not just that I think about what it’s physi-cally like to have wings, but to have a lifespan that has xamount of days, or to live in just one small area of land; Ithink about how that refreshes my experience and then Igo back to my life and I appreciate it for my face value.”

That rule inspired “Anna Redwine: Life in One Breath,”and “April Drawings,” exhibited at 80808/Vista Studios inOctober 2006 and April 2007, respectively. Influenced byher studies of Asian art and her work with Czech painterPavel Rouchka in Frauenau, Germany, these carbon ren-derings on 24 x 28 inch birch panels almost entomologi-cally represent single moments in the existence of smallanimals and insects.

“I complete each drawing in a minute or two as I’mwatching the animal— they’re strictly from life,” sheexplains on her website, www.annaredwine.com. “When

the animal moves, so do the marks I make. If the animalleaves the drawing is over. In East Asian calligraphy thisapproach of creating a work of art in one sitting, never towork back into it is referred to as painting in ‘one breath.’

Truth be told, Anna doesn’t spend much time at botan-ical gardens like the one we toured for our “artist’s day” –a term she respectfully coined more for my benefit thanhers. She waits for her subjects to come to her.

“The most interesting experiences are something thathappens inside (my house),” she said. “If there’s a spider inthe sink, I don’t want to kill it or have it bite me … orwatching a tiny, tiny insect on my arm and realizing thatmy arm is its habitat.”

While human relationships with nature will always bepart of her scope, Anna said she is shifting towards a focuson “the wonderful world of people.” Like the mosquitoesand ladybugs that have fortuitously landed on her wrists,some of those people have also found her.

Sligh Films recently commissioned Anna to draw orig-inal artwork for the film “The Four Children of TanderWelch,” the story of a hospice worker charged with locat-ing the three daughters of Welch, his ailing patient. Thecolorless, images (also displayed on her website) capturethe heavy introspection of the subjects, who are grapplingwith the decision of whether or not to connect with theirestranged and dying father.

Anna’s portrayal of Rebecca, one of the daughters, isparticularly stunning. A carbon on panel drawing of ayoung woman perched sideways on an armchair with anignored book on her lap, pensively staring into nothing foranswers, exhibits Anna’s ability to identify with the manyhuman conditions. That is no easy task, whether it’s forpeople or animals.

“During the best drawing experiences, I feel in my ownjoints the way their bodies move and I am able to predictdecisions they make as they interact with their environ-ment,” she explained to 80808/Vista Studios Curator WimRoefs for the “Life in One Breath” exhibition catalogue. “Atthese times I view the animal with empathy as another liv-ing thing. In Costa Rica I was taught the phrase, sort of anational motto, “!Pura vida!” Pure life. That’s my ambitionin art.”

profile

text: Emily Boyle photography: Kasi Koshollek


Is Art what it used to be? Of course this question isrhetorical… its answer is both “yes” and “no.” Themeaning of “art” and the continuing development of

the Western-Euro-centrist concept of “Art” (capital “A”and small “a”) upon which a consideration such as thisone is predicated, varies with every generation, as well itshould, particularly in a democratic society. If, whilereading this essay, the perfectly reasonable question of“Why must the meaning of A/art change?” was thrustupon your inner conversation, don’t be alarmed. Theanswer is quite straight forward. The multiple purposesof A/art in our culture reflect the transformations of theculture itself, and a dynamic, functional democracymust constantly change in order to adjust to the transi-tions of the society it supports.

Consequently, our A/art today cannot be exactly likeany A/art of the past, even when we intentionally andself-consciously imitate, emulate, venerate, and contem-plate the past, we are still outside of its circumstancesand context. We must originate our own specific A/art ofour particular historical moment. Stasis is not really anoption, here. This is not necessarily true of other cul-tures, where canonical traditions mitigate the need forconstant innovation. In a dynamic, capitalist, democra-cy, we must, in other words, remain…”undefined…”

However, our saving paradox is that we are compelledto search for “definitions” of our undefined intellectual,cultural, and aesthetic identities, even as they evolvebeyond our immediate grasp. This can be uncomfortableif we fail to realize the value of this self-critical process,

and its most compelling manifestations are often in thecreative realm of “Art” and “art.”

What is Art/art? Capital “A” Art suggests the “high cul-tural” creative endeavors with a principal function ofunique expression both personal and cultural, oftenexhibiting profound intellectual motivations, and engag-ing elevated emotional powers of communicative viabil-ity. Small “a” art is really the creative crafts and artistryof trade and commercial exchange, into which category,much popular cultural work may be consigned (bywhom? Well…let’s not go into that topic just at themoment…).

These separations are constantly being challenged inour democratic culture, and rightly so, because what ismore indicative as an indicator of democratic freedomthan aesthetic expression.? Afterall..”beauty” is in theproverbial beholder’s “eye,” making it (“beauty”) a sadlycapricious, completely unreliable, and utterly subjectiveentity…essentially a reflection of the human perceiverswho seek it out.

For instance, what, exactly, is “Art” (or “art”) in SouthCarolina? What is Art in Columbia? Does A/art matter toour society? If so why and how? The inaugural issue ofundefined…is a new tool which may be utilized toinvestigate the nuances of these questions which under-gird significant social and cultural issues pertaining toquality of life, our sense of community, and that elusiveincoherence of public consciousness, our collectiveintellectual awareness (Yes, there is such a thing as our“collective intellectual awareness”…in fact that is pre-


cisely what is expressed through the politics of aesthetics, in public mon-uments, in museum collections, in public architecture, through neighbor-hood beautification (or neglect)…even in the political processes of howwe discern, understand and acknowledge our elected public officials.

Many other factors intervene of course, but our collective sense of aes-thetics have a powerful influence which sometimes supersedes ourawareness of rational truth…for example George Bush and John Kennedywere both elected in large part because of a mastery of communicativeaesthetics and an ability to elicit empathy from a large number of specta-tors, in one instance even when the object of observation made less sensethan his opponent ( I will of course refrain from citing which instanceI am suggesting and will, with a consummate diplomacy leave thereader to assign Richard Nixon, Al Gore, or John Kerry as the losingrational presence).

Consequently, public arts education, and the discursive interactionsthat community arts are intended to engender, have quite a direct impacton crucial interpretive phenomena for our contemporary society such asdetermining our levels of media literacy, or engaging and sustaining ourindividual and social critical thinking skills, and responses to creativity.

In an age where the proliferation of images surpasses anything knownto human consciousness from the past, the inevitable issues of quality,value, and excellence have become much more compelling cultural ques-tions with new challenges that did not plague our ancestors even in thequite recent past? How are we preparing ourselves and our successors toassess concepts of cultural quality? How does the hegemonic dominationof technological and scientific interpretations of phenomena unbalancethe awareness of spiritual, intuitive and irrational aspects of human con-sciousness?

We are forced to call the conventions of our lives into question throughthe exigent critique of the status quo social order by our artists of everydescription. Art/art is crucial to our awareness of our own humanity, andin order to appreciate mediocrity, goodness, and greatness, or the oppo-sites of these conceptual realities, the ideas discussed around issues ofaesthetics are essential to developing axiological “fitness.”

This concept of a kind of “muscular” intellectual inquiry processbecomes increasingly important as the sources of our informationbecome increasingly obscure, thanks to the advancements of technologyand the spawning of infinite information sources on the world wide webof dubious motivation, reliability, and accuracy. This is not a condemna-tion of enhanced accessibility to information, on the contrary, this essayencourages the acceptance of increased complexity, but the cautiouslycynical power of caveat emptor (“let the buyer beware”) has never beenmore necessary and appropriate. Skepticism is the post-modern compan-ion of choice, but we cannot ignore idealism and that frightened guardianof “purity”….the dreadfully assailed concept of “innocence.”

Such words seem almost out of place in contemporary culture, but are,again in a paradox, more necessary now than ever before as the worldrealizes its inter-dependant reality with ever-increasing urgency (note theglobal causality equations of world financial markets, the universalimpact of climate change, and the intensity of geo-political activities thataffect our daily lives shaping our access to oil, rice, sugar, various foodsand, that most important resource, potable water….).

What do all of these things have to do with A/art? Simply this, manyof our perceptions of our shared realities are mediated through responses


to A/art. Our favorite song may make us aware of politi-cal or spiritual shifts. Our favorite painting, sculpture,performance or poem may have transformed our atti-tudes concerning politics, abortion, gender identifica-tion, or race. A/art is ‘life’ and vice-versa. In the futurethis column will seek to explore questions concerningcommunity, art and culture. Is Art an “intention” morethan a “destination” ? Often it may be both, and then,both simultaneously! Art is not merely the thing we per-ceive and its process, it may also well be consideredeverything implied in or through the creation and com-pletion of an A/art object or performance, or manifesta-tion of a phenomenon, and all of the co-extant things towhich those things may allude. We will not apologizehere for addressing com-plexity.

Complexity is a reality ofhuman consciousness, andalthough we may enterinto a futile struggle to“understand” the diversemanifestations of A/art,we believe that the effortmade, and its potentialresults are well worth thechallenges that will ensue.

Through offering aprocess by which we maybegin looking at contem-porary art and culture, anddiscussing ideas and issueswith contemporary artists,thinkers, writers, culturalworkers and others, wemay ask questions such as,“What does our societyneed contemporary art todo and how can we facili-tate getting it done?”

Of course such ques-tions may be completelyirrelevant to the artistsand the works we mayaspire to consider.However, human beingsthrive not only on inspira-tion, but also on agitation.Our minds, contemplative by design, are capable oftransforming not only our individual personal realities,but may devise the means of affecting our fellow wayfar-ers on the small, cerulean orb, third from the Sun, wherewe formulate our questions on the nature of “reality”and ‘being”. Questions which may be more about ourown individual maturation and evolutionary intellectual

processes than any actual answers we may encounter inour journey.

What rationale can we provide for the incredible arro-gance of an A/art critic’s assumption that his or her opin-ion is of any value to anyone besides him or herself? Do we, as a society in North America, in the UnitedStates, in South Carolina, and in Columbia, need “seri-ous” or even “silly” art criticism?

It cannot feed the hungry. It will not rehabilitate theinfamous “corridor of shame.” So what “good” is criticiz-ing a lot of “A/art/” in any case? If we need it, what exact-ly do we need it for? Well, first of all, what will happenhere will probably be less A/art criticism than A/art advo-cacy. Why? What is the difference?

A/art criticism is in aform of theoretical crisis inWestern culture in general,because A/art may be per-ceived in certain incarna-tions as a form of external-ized Philosophy. How canwe critique a system ofcommunication devisedfrom a unique humanexperience?

The answer is, “Very cau-tiously.” The role of A/artcriticism in society hasbeen equated by one writerin the past, with the role ofgood plumbing; i.e. sys-tematically and efficientlyidentifying waste and pro-viding a means for its dis-posal and simultaneouslydrawing in clean, life-giv-ing water without conflat-ing the two.

This maybe a bit hyper-bolic, however, the inten-tion toward A/art advocacywill be centered on shap-ing or opening a dialoguewith the public, withartists and with culturalworkers and other contrib-utors to our society con-

cerning their ideas, aims and dreams for the culture weshare and their ability to understand how individual andpublic artistic expression help transform, articulate andshape the values of a community.

As an individual identified as a “critic” and as thewriter of this short essay, I clearly have a vested interestin responding to this question, and I have elected to

Martin and one of his favorite books.


address it, offering the position that critical assessmentand its discourse are crucial to human and humanedevelopment, even when, or especially when polemical,because people are social, and communicative crea-tures, whose brains thrive on stimulation, the processesof evaluation, and our ability to form judgments makeus human. Critical assessments, built upon empiricalobservation, research, and consensus, are based largelyupon trust and reputation, often formulated in highlyvolatile-political climates, and such judgments are noto-riously ephemeral, must be subject to personal bias, andare ultimately completely subjective.

But it is the meaning between the individual mean-ings that creates the dialogue of importance. This doesnot make them any less fun of course! And silly art crit-icism is an important aspect of aesthetic inquiry.Humor often permits a level of candor which would becompletely unacceptable in a ‘serious’ critique.Consequently, some tongue-in-cheek humor may insin-uate its way into future cerebral peregrinations acrossthe printed page.

So, in summary, in building a sense of community,A/art and ideology are virtually inseparable; whether wethink of the Great Pyramids of ancient Egypt, or early20th century German Machtkunst (Power Art) of theNational Socialist Party, A/art defines a culture’s histor-ical presence.

Politics and art are complementary and interdepend-ent, consequently in order to better understand the cul-ture of Columbia, we must look first and foremost to thestrength of her cultural institutions. These will indicateher democratic health and relevance and tell us all weneed to know about the openness or insularity of hersociety. Thus our attitude toward and collective expres-sion of A/art is in some sense our destiny, even our fateas a democracy because of the character of its public dia-logue which externalizes cultural and social values witha directness matched by few other cultural institutions,including our traditions of free press and politicaldebate.

Constraints on artistic expression will indicate for oursociety precisely those challenges to free thought andpersonal expressiveness that are most likely to providecautionary indicators to the protectors of the fragile spir-it of American individualism so dear to the conceptual-ists whose sacrifices provide a foundation and guidelinefor our future.

The interpretative skills and critical discourse neces-sary to sustain a responsible grasp of a meaningful con-cept of “freedom” is sustained by the creative, intellec-tual, spiritual and expressive zeitgeist of our culturalproducts and processes. We must nurture and cultivatethem in order for them to inspire and elevate us.


mike krajewski & justice littlejohn

Artists have been collaborating for centuries, meeting in the middle with their ideas, techniques and philosophies.Justice Littlejohn and Michael Krajewski are doing more than meeting in the middle, they seem to have the samethoughts. Through some unexplained painters’ telepathy, the pair join forces in mind and material to create multi-

tiered collaborative works, each teeming with both allusion and innovation. “We feed off each other,” Krajewski said. Theunspoken connection between Littlejohn and Krajewski extends beyond creative direction; “ I felt the familiarity in hiswork,” Krajewski said after attending one of Littlejohn’s art shows. “It only felt natural to work together.” Now that thetwo have been, as Littlejohn said, “collabin’” for two years, their pieces are virtually undetectable as a marriage of tech-niques. “I think we both have our own styles,” Krajewski said, but “It’s harmonious,” the duo said in unison.

Laid back and impetuous, Littlejohn and Krajewski rely on impromptu inspiration. Their self-proclaimed “unmeditat-ed style” is reminiscent of Miró’s controversial process and evident when finished paintings are titled on the corner ofDevine Street and impulse. “Sometimes we’ll be out at a bar and one of us will just say, let’s go sling some paint,”Krajewski said. “Usually we’re just freestyling.”

Organized chaos is their style, with pieces containing references to collage, still-life, Cubism, Fauvism and Pop Art, toname a few. In addition to the collaboration between the artists, Littlejohn and Krajewski unite the history of art withoriginal vision. Littlejohn, with a degree in art history from Wofford and a Master of Arts in Teaching degree for art edu-cation from USC, presents palpable knowledge through allusion to the artists of the past. Self-taught Krajewski brings afresh, almost unadulterated point of view to the team, setting the table for a collaboration between formalism and pureconception. “The philosophy is as important as the painting,” Littlejohn said.

Littlejohn and Krajewski cite few creative differences, but are open to criticism, constructive or not. “We’ll be straightbrutally honest,” Krajewski said. It is this honesty that keeps the work cohesive, what Krajewski described as a willing-ness to be open, rather than so typically private, about art. “Sometimes you gotta get your toes stepped on,” Littlejohnsaid. “The comfort factor shows in the art.”

Yet to formally debut their collaborative works, Columbia art lovers should expect to see pieces like Thomas Ravenel’sDinner Party (complete with cocaine hors d’oeuvres), Inertia (what Krajewski called a “refreshing” still life) and theGauguinesque Touchy Subject on display soon.

profile

text: Jennifer Reese photography: Brad Allen


Lying on the floor of a Holiday Inn conference roomin Kuwait City, I attempt to make the boundaries ofmy body dissolve. Dr. Shetty, the leader of the

Natyananda Meditation Club, weaves his way through thescores of bodies as he speaks into his cordless microphone.His thick Indian accent softly guides us through our med-itation: “You are relaxing…notice your breathing…nowfeel your body expanding…all of the peoples and buildingsinside your body…the whole country is inside you now.”At this point, I am starting to become one with the build-ing and I can feel Kuwait inside me and, wait a minute!What’s that static? Who’s voice is that? “TEST, TEST,TEST. More on the bass. "Shake-a-Shake-a-Shake-a 107.9hits!" A couple of chuckles around the room, but thesound system seamlessly snaps back to Dr. Shetty’s com-forting voice: “…the whole globe is inside you…you areenormous…feel it, feel it now.” The room is silent oncemore, and I fade away. Until the DJ’s voice bursts thesilence: “Super sounds 107.9 shake your butt. Shake it.Can you turn up the treble?” Dr. Shetty is unfazed, andcontinues: “You are seeing now the stars of the galaxies!Feel how huge and enormous you are. You are at one with

the cosmos.” More from the mystery DJ, “Shake your buttsuper smooth party people test test test.”

That experience is a great example of why I love livingoverseas. Too many highlights to share them all, but here’sa few: Touring the Grand Mosque of Kuwait and hearingthe prayers sung inside the worship area, rolling leechesoff my legs during a rain forest hike in Sri Lanka, makinghard boiled eggs inside volcano steam vents in Bali, andhiking remote dilapidated sections of the Great Wall withmy son on my back. Living overseas has afforded me manyadventures, and I am thankful.

I am a School Counselor, trained in the Carolinas. Ibegan working in Avery, Caldwell & Watauga Counties ofNC for a few years. My degrees at Furman & AppalachianState University prepared me well, but I was ill-preparedfor the debt I had incurred. Stunned by a SchoolCounselor’s monthly salary, I broke out my mental abacus.I calculated that I would be 173 years old when I sent in myfinal student loan payment. Also, that year, End-Of-GradeTesting was in its early stages; the “No Child Left Behind”was starting to rear its ugly head. So, I began to researchinternational education opportunities. I had no idea how

the art of escape

Our man in Shanghai

(and Kuwait, and Sri

Lanka, and Bali...)

text: Dan Everett


much that one Saturday afternoon on the internet wouldchange the course of my life. Up until that day, I was onlyaware of teaching English overseas, and did not realize theextensive opportunities that private international schoolsprovide. This is my ninth year working as an ElementarySchool Counselor in international schools. My overseasjourney started in Kuwait in 1999, and continues today inShanghai, China.

Missing out on my family’s and friends’ day-to-day liveshas been the hardest part of my overseas life. The internetmakes it easier, as well as 8 weeks off in the summers, butthat is still the biggest challenge. Like many before me, Istarted my first job overseas and thought to myself, “I’lljust stay for my initial two-year contract, and then headback home. I’ll make a little cash, then get back to reallife.” After my first contract extension, people started ask-ing me questions like: “So, when are you coming home?”Which to me, sometimessounded like: “So, when areyou going to stop avoiding reallife and grow up?” Then, I metmy wife from Nova Scotia, inKuwait. And we had our firstchild in Shanghai. Most havestopped asking when I’m com-ing home. I am home. I havemany homes.

Living away from the Stateshas given me a different per-spective on many things. Iremember coming back after 9months away one year. I wentto the supermarket to pick upsome shampoo. I remember standing in the aisle, staring,for quite possibly 15 minutes. Someone finally approachedme and asked if I was OK, to which I think I replied, “Somany kinds!” At that point, they just walked away quicklyand assumed I’d escaped from Bull Street.

This story highlights what I notice most now when Ireturn home. The intensity of our consumer cultureastounds me every time I’m back. Advertisements inun-date us at every turn. I can’t believe how many…bill-boards, radio, TV, and magazines. I understand the corpo-rations have moved into our elementary schools as well. Itwas only a matter of time. Everything seems to be cen-tered around buying things. We must have 342 choices foreach thing we buy. We must have these things available tous immediately. We are entitled to these things. After all,this is America. Screw Joe’s Hardware and his third gener-ation small business. At the Super Wal Mart, I can getmuch more than a screwdriver, Joe. I can pick up deodor-ant, pickles, some underwear, and a birthday card. Joedoesn’t even have his own parking lot. Good luck, Joe.

Your day has come and gone. Perhaps you can apply at theWal Mart after you file for bankruptcy? I hear they’re look-ing for some help. You, your son, and his son could work39 hours per week as Greeters. Find your own benefits,Joe. You’re a part-time employee now. But, hey, Wal Marthas brought many jobs to your community. So has Bed,Bath & Beyond…The Gap…Old Navy. It may be hard tofind your community now, as you may mistake it for theone down the road. But…here’s an idea, Joe. In twentyyears, re-open your hardware store and call it this: “Joe’sOld-Timey Hardware Store: A Fully Functioning Hands-on Museum.” The kids will love it, but you may want toconsider teaming up with the golden arches. You’ll needsomething to bring in the patrons.

Now at this point, I feel the need to apologize to you, thereader. I am prone to rants. I am really not that cynical. Ilove returning to the States. I love the ease of getting

things done. I love the one-stop shopping. I love the airquality, the water quality, thegreen space. And if I am everin need of specialized medicalcare, guess where I’ll be head-ing? It’s just that I see RonaldMcDonald and Starbucks andall the rest. I see what they’redoing. They are slowly spread-ing their tentacles around thisglobe of ours. And soon, I’llhave to travel to Bhutan orNew Guinea for a taste of anauthentic culture. Maybe Ishould look on the bright side?

In the not too distant future, when China enjoys its placeat the top of the economic heap, we Americans can havethe last laugh.

We can chuckle to ourselves and say, “Hey China! Youmay have surpassed us in financial & military might, butwe got you China. We sold you our golden arches. Youmay have worked hard to develop your country, but wehooked your kids on Big Macs. And now, we can sit backand watch them all become obese, develop Type IIDiabetes, and squander what this generation of yours hasachieved.”

It happened again. I told you I was prone to ranting. Mypoint is, that I see others trying to emulate our lifestyle.You are successful if you own a car, a house, and all therest. If the same percentage of people in Asia consumed aswe do…well, there’s a sentence I can’t finish. It’s simplynot possible. It’s not sustainable. Something’s gotta give.

As long as it’s not me doing the giving. As long as I’mstill allowed to continue flying around the world. My glob-al nomad lifestyle requires copious amounts of jet fuel.

Chasing a camel in Kuwait


and enter the world of Jennifer Mae Hill.

“What I make is inspired loosely by my childhood. I loved My Little Pony and Care Bears. This is astrange mutation of that, the adult version.” Hill has been taking sweet-faced toys apart and re-inventing

them since she was a teenager. Now, after years of waiting tables then assembling her sock oddities, plushanimals, and dolls late into the night—her work is getting noticed.

“I’m an acquired taste, but there are people out there who like it.”

text: Jenny Maxwell photography: Kasi Koshollek

Imagine Strawberry Shortcakehad a really bad hair day...

profile


One of them is director Zach Helm, who selectedJennyMae Creations for the movie Mr. Magorium’sWonder Emporium, the story of a magical toy store

starring Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman. The movie’sart department found Hill’s website (jennymae.com) andshowed her designs to Helm. But they left her off the finallist of toy suppliers for thefilm.

“The director said,‘Where’s the girl whomakes the freaky stuff outof socks?’”

So, Hill was back in. Alucky break but not an easyassignment. “They wanted40 the next day. I saidwhoa, whoa, whoa, wait aminute. That’s not muchtime. They said ‘we cangive you a week.’”Jennifer sews each of herplush dolls by hand. “Iworked day and night.”

Then, the movie request-ed replicas of the same 40dolls, so that they could bepainted gray. “Thankfully,I took pictures of every-thing. But I had to tellthem I can’t make themidentical, no matter how hard I try.”

Jenny grew up in Chapin with an interest in theater andart. “I was making weird art all through high school. Mymom was always supportive. In the beginning, I think itwas unusual for my dad. When I got in this movie, he said‘oh my God, really?’”

After high school, Hill attended a college theater pro-gram, but became frustrated, left school, moved back, andstarted working at the Columbia Marionette Theater.There, she met her husband Lyon Hill, the theater’s artdirector. “I was very much inspired by him and the thingshe was making.”

Her first works were collages. Then, she picked up a kitand sewed a sock monkey for Lyon. That led her to playaround with stuffed toys. “I’d never sewn anything before.Just six months ago, I learned to use the sewing machine.”

Commissions are an intersting part of Jenny’s work.“People give me fabric with sentimental value…an ex-boyfriend’s t-shirt, a baby blanket falling apart.” She turnsthat fabric into characters like No Girl, the two-headed ILove You doll, and Brokenhearted Goat. “They are very

therapeutic for people. That includes myself. I make thingsI would like to have.”

Jenny may have stories in mind for these characters, butshe keeps them to herself. “I like it when people give themtheir own story. One woman’s is her co-pilot in her car.People email me the stories. I wouldn’t want to take that

away.”Her creativity extends

beyond inspired stuffedcreatures. She creates col-lages and voodoo dolls.On her worktable is a pot-ted plant she’s makingfrom mismatched dollparts. “It’s so hard toexplain when people askwhat I do. You should hearme blabber on, trying toexplain.”

The tiny voodoo dolls,packaged in their ownwooden boxes completewith pins, have a followingin Great Britain. “A littlestore called The TwilightZone sells these. I sellmany of them in Englandfor some reason.”

Hill sees herself as partof a large community,

where artists connect to one anoth-er’s websites. “If you find one of us,it leads you to others.”

Missing in Columbia, she says,is something like the AustinCraft Mafia, “a group of womenwho own these cool indie storesonline.” In Columbia, she says, it’smore likely that visual artists “holeup in their homes and work on theirown,” much as she does.

Jenny’s own home is filled withitems that inspire her. It resembles anemporium—of dolls, art, and parts thatthe house is near-bursting to contain.There are clouds painted onthe living room ceiling, mari-onettes hanging in the backbedroom the couple uses astheir studio.

“We collect pop-up books,”

The “two-headed I Love You doll” and Jenny, among friends.


www.funkymonkeysc.com1217 Lincoln St. 803.779.1811

scynkemo.funkywwww.funky 803.7t.1217 Lincoln S

mc.co 779.1811

Hill says, gesturing to a bookcase crammed full of them. A series of prints bySeonna Hong hang over the sofa. Jenny’s husband proposed to her on Disney’sSmall World ride, because Mary Blair, the ride’s designer, is another of Hill’sfavorite artists. She sets a laughing clown doll in motion. “He’s from a thriftstore. He laughs a long time. It’s really scary. I had to own him.”

“I’ve always loved Tim Burton. I’m a bigfan of his for sure.” She’s drawn to art, she says, that “blurs the linebetween grotesque and scary and cute and pretty. I like that place.”

She realizes that’s not a place for everyone, that not every person is com-fortable with her work. “If everyone loved them, they’d be way too general.”When she sells her plush creatures at craft shows, which she describes as “theworst,” she says kids want to buy, “but I listen to their parents talk them out ofit. Kids really do love them.”

Hill feels momentum building, aside from her movie debut. A Decembershow at the Columbia Museum of Art was asuccess. She’s featured in the January issueof Fiberarts magazine. Her website is gen-erating orders. “I have been doing this forseven years. It’s been a slow progression.”

In the works now is a new studio, goingup behind her house. Meanwhile, she’dlike to get her work into more stores andultimately, have her late night projectsbecome her day job.

“Waiting tables frees me up to dothese creative things. I work fivenights a week, usually late at night.I do most of my work on thecouch. I watch bad cable televi-sion and sew.”

“I never want to stop doingthe handmade stuff. But to havethis become a full-time business,stop waiting tables, that would bemy dream.”

Jenny Mae’stiny voodoo

doll set. Shesells the hellout of these

in Britian.


By all measures, Columbia-based modern American artistChristian Thee has had a spectacular career. He’s painted sets for25 Broadway shows, and designed 12 more. His mastery of theancient art of trompe l’oeil — painting that fools the eye — is sowell known that Donald Trump hired him to create a Persianmural for his Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, and Joan Riverscommissioned him to convert the foyer and a ceiling of her NewYork residence into works of art that transported viewers toanother place.

In Connecticut, he turned a lowly elevator into a library withnothing more than a palette, a brush, and his instinctive ability tocreate depth where there is none, to create light where darknessruled. Tiffany & Company used Christian’s work as a backdrop forthe precious jewels on display in the windows of its legendary 5thAvenue store.

Even the British monarchy has been impressed by his talent:in 1981 Queen Elizabeth asked Christian to paint a portrait ofPrince Andrew on his 21st birthday. Along the way he’s hadnumerous one-man shows and has been featured in InteriorDesign, House and Garden, Art in America and Town and Countrymagazines. Oh, and he’s also a magician so talented that DavidCopperfield performs a trick that he developed.

christian thee

feature


With such an immense and diverse bodyof work, it would seem logical to won-der if Christian Thee has a masterpiece.

Turns out he does, but you won’t find it hangingon a wall. That’s because it’s his home.

Tucked behind a tangle of foliage, the house sitsalmost hidden from the street. There’s no view of thebackyard from the driveway, no open garage door tooffer a glimpse into who lives here. Stepping toward thefront door, I even wondered for an instant if I was in thewrong place. But given Thee’s talent as a trompe l’oeilpainter, his love of magic, and his playful spirit, I foundmyself expecting the home to resemble Willy Wonka’swild Chocolate Factory: where doors led to crazy spacesor to nowhere at all, where windows could be real orimagined, and where innocent-looking light switches,when flicked on, might fill the room with sound.

I couldn’t have been less correct. Like much of Thee’swork, the house unfolds like a perfectly-timed produc-tion, sharing its delights only when the time is right.

“The house is an extension of me,” says Thee as he ges-tures around a great room that glows the shade of aTuscan sunset. “I looked around and got ideas and wentto work.”

That was a few years ago. Thee had just returned toColumbia after more than 35 years in New York andConnecticut, back to design the set for a play that one ofhis dearest friends, Columbia advertising executiveCynthia Gilliam, was producing. “We’d just beenthrough a winter with 17 snowstorms,” he recalls. “Wehadn’t used the front door in months. Then Cynthiacalled. How could I resist?”

After searching for a house, he found one that, thoughstodgy on the inside, was on a lot that would allow forthe expansion of a studio. Being on a lake didn’t hurteither. “I loved the lake location,” he says. “I knew I

The artist: Thee works on a large scale piece in his studio.

text: Katie McElveem photography: Kasi Koshollek

could make the house wonderful.” He has. Each room is a gallery of its own

— a treasure-trove of stories and memories,of surprises and delights, that reveals itselflayer-by-layer. The great room’s built-inbookcases, for instance, are filled not onlywith books and bric-a-brac, but with whatlook like tiny dioramas. On closer inspec-tion, they are actually intricate models ofsome of the sets that Thee built during histime in New York, complete with tiny actors,props and architectural details that werefaithfully recreated when the plays were per-formed and lighted professionally. Thesemodels are captivating.

Light is part of what Thee does best, andin this instance he uses the floor to achievethe look he’s after. Thanks to a soft glow thatcomes from a coat of wax and a lot of elbowgrease, the handcrafted terra cotta tiles givethe light a place to dance.

In Thee’s house, even the walls are can-vases: the twig motif that borders the wallsis a Victorian design that Thee felt would,along with the yellow walls, bring the roomalive. Tromp l’oeil surprises, like the vasewhose flowers are actually painted onto thesurface, bring smiles, as does a tiny bird’snest set into a corner. A single real twig,perched on a beam, gives depth.

But Thee’s trompe l’oeil work isn’t hisonly talent that’s on display. In the past yearor so, Thee has been working on pieces thatrepresent an Italian art form called arteinformale. Characterized by compositionsof found objects — think bits of hardware,shells, lids, spools, and other random itemsthat catch the artist’s eye and are thenattached to a surface and united with paint — informalestest an artist’s eye for composition. In Thee’s capablehands, the pieces have a geometric elegance that beliestheir humble parts. “It’s a complete departure fromwhat I’ve done in the past,” says Thee. “But it fulfillssomething in me.” The informale that hangs from thewall in the great room is a case in point. Rich with tex-ture, its pattern of rectangles and repeating circles makeit a study in structure. Bronze paint, aged ever so slight-ly, gives the piece the look of an antique metal door.

Thee could have called the piece ‘finished’ then. Buthe didn’t. The counterpoint of the rainbow of colorsreflected from the strips of holographic Mylar film that

Thee wove throughout the informale elevates it from abeautiful composition to a unique — and thoroughlymodern — work of art. “Actually, I apply the Mylarbefore the piece even begins to take shape,” explainsThee. “That way, the light that refracts from it is an inte-gral part of the design.”

Besides giving him the ability to make rooms comealive, one of the benefits of Thee’s training as a setdesigner is his skill at hiding things that most people justlearn to deal with. Take his red room. The shirred fab-ric that covers the walls is in-and-of itself very attractive,yet it also serves a purpose by hiding the wires that sup-port the many pieces of art, including a ruby-colored


The magician: Thee performs in a magic room of his own design.


informale, that decorate the space. “It makes it reallyeasy to change up the artwork, too,” says Thee. Twoeasy-chairs and a remote hint at a television, but it’snowhere to be found, until Thee picks up one of theremotes. One-push of a button and suddenly a televisionrises out of the top of a lovely painted chest. I hadn’tnoticed that the family photos on display were setaround the perimeter of the chest — not in the middlewhere the appliance laid in wait. “There’s nothing pret-ty about a television, but you need to have one,” saysThee. “This was a perfect solution.”The house has a number of other ‘perfect solutions’,including four secret doors that provide shortcutsthrough the sprawling residence, a bed that Theedesigned and had constructed to include storage, and aroom devoted entirely to Thee’s magic. “It makes it easyto put on magic shows after dinner,” he explains.

As lackluster as the rest of the house was when hebought it, the room that Thee admits he hated the mostwas the dining room. “It had white enamel panels with

green wallpaper inlays,” he recalls. Although the roomhad no windows, Thee didn’t mind. “That played intomy plan to make it look like you’re inside a garden pavil-ion.” The plan worked. The room is a day that’s perpet-ually clear and sunny. Monkeys and brightly-plumedbirds peer into the room as peacocks strut on thegrounds beyond. The sky is such a perfect shade of bluethat you can almost smell the emerald-green lawn. Atnight, the 600 Austrian crystals that Thee placed aroundthe room sparkle enchantingly. “I was accused of gildingthe lily,” smiles Thee. “I guess I did.”

Gilded or not, the room, like the house, has becomea favorite gathering place for Thee’s friends, family andneighbors. “Christian’s parent’s home was a gatheringspot, so it makes sense that this house would be, too,”says Cynthia Gilliam. “I think it signifies that he’s put-ting roots down here and that he’s here to stay. I hopeso, because it’s wonderful to have him back.”

The set designer: Thee peers through his mock-up of The Orientation Gallery at The Columbia Museum of Art.


#6, 2005, 30 x 31

#10, 2006, 37 x 37

#12, 2006, 24 x 24


The artist/magician: One of the many trompe l’oeil jewels in Thee’s home.


fashion rocks columbia

Clothes are inevitable. They are nothing less than the furniture ofthe mind made visible.

–James Laver

Headliner’s “Music Fashion Fusion”: fashion and music showcase” revealed muchof the extraordinary and exciting cultural renaissance currently underway within

the community.

text: Shayna Katzman photography: Jason Steelman

The feeling of an imminent climate-change shiv-ered my spine on the night that Headliner’s burstat the seams with crowds of Columbia’s most fash-

ionable. Stylish arbiters of local arts-and-fashion scenesswarmed the venue to witness an army of models trans-form the shadowy, beer-splattered venue into a shim-mering style-spectacular!

Headliner’s “Music Fashion Fusion: Fashion andMusic Showcase”, achieved more than to merely show-off local talent. It revealed a part of the extraordinaryand exciting cultural renaissance currently buildingfrom within our community. Almost without knowing,this event and its reception summarized a current out-pouring of creative innovation, independent thinking,cultural-progression, and generalsense of acceptance.

By the time the doors opened,crowds of people had already gath-ered outside the club and lined thehalls, eagerly waiting to be let in. Asingle row of seats surrounded therunway, and was already at-capacitywhen I arrived. VIPs perched inanticipation, waiting for themoment that models would begincascading down the runway.

I ventured into the VIP area, per-mitted only by the red wristband,which had been confusedly securedonto my wrist by the bemused door-man as he managed the crowds atthe door.

Hairstylists, make-up artists, andevent promoters anxiously flewaround the sectioned-off area,preparing for the show to begin. Isipped my complimentary cham-pagne-inspired drink from a plasticflute, and stared up at the delicatesilver chiffon drapery flanking the stage and sparklingunder bright, colorful lights. Focusing on the doorman,who resembled a Metallica band member, was all I coulddo to remind myself that I was at Headliners. The poorman appeared stunned – as was I – by the size of thecrowd, and the manner of people this show had attract-ed. Headliner’s is more commonly home to wearers ofbaggy jeans, wallet-chains, Converse-sneakers, andeverything pertaining to Rock-and-Roll. But on thisnight, girls poured in shaking their heads of golden high-lights and clicking 4” stilettos. In equal numbers, menwearing outfits pulled together with shirts tucked-in,

strutted polished loafers. The venue had most likelynever hosted such a star-styled audience.

The fashionable crowd stormed the bar, mingledand exchanged air-kisses while music by DJ Conquerstarted to pump. However, the room stopped as thefirst model was propelled down the runway to paradethe collections.

Models styled by Sid-and-Nancy, Revente, Bohemian,Salty’s and Lola transformed the models into a parade ofchic-groupies. They displayed a mad mix of very of-the-moment, but still very wearable looks, that transportedthe audience in many stylistic directions. From bubble-dresses to trouser-jeans, shirts and T’s, to sexy sequinedminis, knits and sensible hooded sweatshirts and coats

to an incredible Michael Jackson-esque red velvet jacket. We sawplenty of pieces for those who likebasics with a toughened-up edgeand lots of cool, chic, clothes thatgirl’s love to wear.

Unfortunately there was one badturn in the show, when curatorsseemed to favor a particular pair ofblack Lycra hot pants, veering dan-gerously close to lingerie-territory.Each of the models stormed the cat-walk in a pair during the night,leaving us all wondering if this wasintentional or if the models werejust too slow to put on their wholeensemble before their next turn.Whether it was the boring repeti-tion of this single item, or the factthat some of the models were notquite as skinny as Baumer’s gui-tarist, I really felt that the stretchy-offenders took away from the over-all high-quality show. Robin Price,buyer for Bohemian, was blown

away when one of her shirts came down the runwaypaired with nothing but hot-pants (and not the jeans shehad planned for that outfit). More dressed-up aspects ofthe collections – such as demure evening-coats, prettydresses, and girly tops – fortunately provided a fresh hitof sweetness to counter the scary hot-pants!

What pulled the runway show together was the the-matic styling of the models’ hair and make-up (perhapswhat the repetition of stretchy shorts was intended todo?). The models’ uniformed look was quite Pop-y, andarty. Mac Make-up artist’s painted harsh, graphic stripes,in bright or neon colors across models’ cheeks and drew


Fierce make-up and hair influenced the lookand feel of this show.

text: Shayna Katzman photography: Jason Steelman


attention to their eyes by keeping the eye make-up verystrong. Kelly from Salon Solé styled models’ hair usingfeathers and twigs to accent dramatic, teased and tou-sled up-do’s.

The models exited the catwalk with a showering ofcheers and applause. Baumer, the headlining band, setto play directly after, had a hard act to follow, and I wasnot sure if they could rise to the challenge. I had neverheard Baumer prior to this event, but found a GuitarWorld quote on their band website that described theirsound as occupying “a musical purgatory between NewOrder and Nine Inch Nails” which made me certainthat as soon as the band embarked the stage, the roomwould clear. However, like Guitar World’s write-up, Iwas wrong!

The audience, previously poised VIPs included,mounted the now vacated runway to catch a better lookat the band. Their set was a mish-mash of old and newmusical styles (Think Killers or Modest Mouse), playedwith rocker-cool style for the duration, winning over thefashion crowd by creating a sexy, stormy atmospherethat made them want to get up and dance. The “MusicFashion Fusion” was confirmed and achieved when Ioverheard an audience member pondering where oneguitarist might have found such skinny jeans (she want-

ed a pair for herself!). Emphasizing how fashion is soimportant to live music acts and their ability to com-mand an audience’s attention, and another example ofthe mutual benefits that occur when fashion and musicare brought together.

Over the past decade, numerous bands, designers andpromoters have caught onto the “Fusion” concept,exploiting its targeting of wide and varied audiences.Headliners were the next to pick up the trend FashionRocks originally conceptualized for The Prince’s Trust,U.K non-profit organization, debuting in London, in2003. In Columbia, production organizers may haveseemingly lacked charitable cause; however, any goodexposure for Columbia’s up-and-coming fashion indus-try is a great cause in-itself. Opportunities like these arevital for individual successes, but also important in cre-ating opportunity for cultural progression within thewider community.

Daniel Price, one of the pair of Mac Make-up artistsinvited to paint the faces of the models used in the show,agreed the evening had proved to be a success: “I don’tcare what you want to call this, as far as I am concerned,tonight we are in New York!”, said Price. “There is sucha buzz in here tonight, everyone looks amazing andeveryone is having a good time”. A South Carolina


native, Price exemplifies the many young, homegrown talents, living inColumbia and working hard at making it big in the fashion industry, whoall share an active interest in encouraging the industry to expand andthrive locally.

Events such as this provide valuable opportunities and experience forindustry hopefuls, and it is extremely interesting to see internationalfashion-trends filter into local Columbia culture. Instances of our localfashion-set, effortlessly moving from Motor Supply into the mosh-pit,further serve to illustrate the current fluidity of Columbia moving for-ward, very much in-line with the fashion world’s dictating that: in-orderto be ‘fashion-forward’ you must continuously remake yourself.

To sum up, the finest aspect of this event was probably what it seemedto represent on a grander scale. I very much enjoyed being a part of thenight’s events; however, sensing a change in Columbia’s motion is whatenthuses me!

In this generation, trends in music and fashion have become the cul-tural manifestations that most accurately reflect modern societies inintimate detail, sometimes replacing the role that art has historicallyplayed in uncovering these profound levels of cultural understandingand truths.

Fashion, like a great painting, reflects things that are happening in theworld. Both are able to evoke accurate impressions of a society in waysthat books and other historical writings cannot convey. For this reason,a show like this can be very revealing!

If Botticelli were alive today he'd be working for Vogue. –Peter Ustinov

Models discuss “strategery” before the show.


As idealism dies, a thirtieth birthday approaches,and the rent’s due - the time to take practicalaction draws near. When self-taught musician

and formally trained luthier Jeremy Carter’s dreams of arock ‘n’ roll lifestyle began to slip away, he saw his musiccareer in a different light. “I thought I was going tomake it as a rock star…didn’t happen,” he said. Afterleaving high school early to pursue a formal education inguitar building, Carter saw an opportunity to remaininvolved in music without chasing unrealistic aspira-tions.

“The idea that I’mgonna be famous‘because my songs rockso hard’ is ridiculous.Go down to Art Bar andyou’ll meet 45 peoplewho say the same thing,”Carter said. LikeMichelangelo, whosewet-nurse was from afamily of stone-cutters,Carter, the son of anarchitect, was born tocreate

A Columbia native,Carter spent five monthsat the Totnes School ofGuitar Making in Devon, England, where his brotherJeff had previously trained in the art of instrument con-struction. The Carters’ education was focused on a clas-sical and organic approach to building instruments withno power tools, which would prove integral to Jeremy’smatured artistic philosophy. “This is what it takes to bea guitar builder,” holding an entirely handmade guitar,“and it broke,” Carter said.

“The thing in England was hardcore for sure.” Uponhis return to the states, Carter’s academics continuedat the College of Charleston and later the Art Instituteof Chicago, where he earned a Bachelor of FineArts degree.

Carter then relocated to Seattle with his brother Tim.In the Northwest he further pursued a career in instru-ment making - a craftsman at heart now forging a newmethodology. Carter took a job at a local luthier factory,“Dusty Strings”, where he contributed to the production

of more than 45 harps amonth; in the meantimeconstructing a guitarsolely out of the factory’sscrap material. “It waslike following a recipelist,” Carter said. “Ilearned more there thanI did in college.” Inaddition to his unvar-nished training at thefactory, Carter furtheredhis unofficial artisticeducation at a local artstore. “I learned somuch more about artworking in an art supplystore in Seattle,” Carter

said. “In art school they don’t teach you anything tech-nical - they teach you how to conceptualize and bullshitabout ‘Art’.”

After more than a year at the factory, Carter left witha creative theory now based in classical and utilitarianconcepts, which he would bring home with him toColumbia.

Carter’s workshop sits in the backyard of his blue-

jeremy carter

artist

Jeremy Carter works on the finish of several of his pieces.

text: Jennifer Reese photography: Kasi Koshollek


brick house, which is surprisingly neat for two maleoccupants. The workshop is clean, orderly, and smellsfresh, like the air is cleaner inside.

Here, Carter crafts his instruments (with powertools), including those he sent to American Chopper, theYeah Yeah Yeahs and The Cure. Instruments inprogress adorn the counters. Pieces fashioned fromrosewood are stunning and,like all of Carter’s instru-ments, are handmade, limit-ed editions. The only (ana-log) clock in the shop is neg-lectful of daylight-saving’stime, and classical musiccourtesy of NPR fills thesilence between red-brickwalls. Like a perfect sym-metrical equation, Carter’spieces are visibly inspiredand therefore visuallyinspiring.

He c u s t o m - b u i l d sacoustic, electric, andhybrid instruments with astyle and inherent philoso-phy that keeps the woodcenter-stage. Carterbelieves in, and depends on,the natural beauty of thewoods he uses to speak foritself. Unlike some of the“flashier” guitars mass-pro-duced by larger manufactur-ers, Carter’s instrumentsmaintain an organic pres-ence. “I’m trying to showoff the wood,” he said. Withhis perfectly-balanced Yin-and-Yang of classical educa-tion and real-world training, Carter manages to craftpieces that command attention. “I ultimately want tocreate people’s dream instruments,” Carter said. Bothstyle and substance meet harmoniously in Carter’s

instruments; awe-inspiring aesthetics and intricateengineering blend to materialize intercessory works ofart that occupy the threshold of beauty and intellect –that of the Ideal and the Real.

Although Carter’s instruments are first priority, hefinds time to return to his musical roots: the local bandscene. Why Johnny Kills, formed in 1995 and since

reorganized, remains aproject that capturesCarter’s affections. “FivePoints taught me how to‘rock’, back in the day,”Carter said. The bandtook its name from anafter-school-special-likepsychology class videoabout schizophrenia, and isreleasing a new album,“SEX”, in 2008. As theband’s bassist, Carter said,“I love music. I’ll alwaysplay music,” but added thathe “get(s) really turned offby the competition in theindustry, especially on thelocal level.”

Locally, Carter alsomanages a music studio.There, scratched-out songtitles garnish the doorwayto organized chaos - afamiliar mark of the artistat work. A crossed-out“Sober is the New High”marks the threshold ofwhat Jeremy describes as“the classic rock-and-roll-

boy’s clubhouse dream”: a reminder of the realism thatis acquiescence. That which has been discarded is notforgotten - much like Carter’s rock ‘n’ roll dreams. Thetrash-can full of PBR cans and beer boxes is shadowed bya looming dirty coffee-pot and a prominent “No

Carter dries his own wood for years before he can work it.

Smoking” sign. Once used to pursue ideals of fame andfortune, the WJK Studio now manifests the pragmaticsof adult life.

Carter’s disappointment with the music industry wasa blessing in disguise. He eventually realized that therock-star dream is virtually unattainable, and used thisknowledge to build a business that would cater to thechosen-few who did attain it: “I’d still be falling for that

white-boy dream of ‘I wanna be a rock star’,” Carter said.The local luthier also feels strongly about music educa-tion. His girlfriend, who teaches at a local elementaryschool, is dedicated to the Save the Music Foundation, ofwhich Carter is a proponent. “It’s sad. I think that’sjust America. These kids don’t even know what a pianois,” he said. “Music kept me from becoming a drugaddict or a dumb ass.”Meanwhile, Carter confuses his neighbors by cuttingdown trees on his lunch break and building giantteepees in the backyard for wood-drying. “My neighborsall think I’m insane,” he said, laughing, and declared thatthe teepee “is the best piece of incidental art I’ve creat-ed all year.”

The painter, writer, luthier, musician, and artist inmany other rights hasshifted his focus tomusical arts. A liai-son to the organic andman-made realms ofartistic creation,Carter’s talents are attimes intangible andextend far beyondmechanics.


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The sun was beating down on Main Street, on anabnormally hot December day, as I peered into thedarkened storefront that has been the face of The

Nickelodeon Theatre for nearly three decades. I wasthere to meet Bruce Bahr, Director of Marketing andMembership of “The Nick”, where we would begin ourtour and the film house’s future home would be revealedto us.

The Nickelodeon Theater is South Carolina’s onlynon-profit Theatre, and a celebrated, integral part of thecommunity’s liberal arts scene. The facility is managedand operated by the Columbia Film Society, under lead-ership of Executive Director Larry Hembree, and servesas a hub for this non-profit community arts organiza-tion, established in 1979 to “stimulate discussion andenhance appreciation of media arts in the community bypresenting a wide variety of alternative films and spon-soring media arts events and educational programs.”

The CFS recently embarked on a capital campaign,beginning with the purchase of another downtownbuilding in which to take permanent residence. Thismajor project is ready to start with the restoration of thecirca 1939 Fox Theatre building.

Having lived in Columbia for over a year, it shamedme to have to admit that I had never physically beeninside The Nickelodeon’s 937 Main Street residence.Despite being repeatedly impressed by an unequivocalvariety of cultural and artistic films and documentariesthe theater consistently offers, and despite being persist-ently tempted by the exceptional schedule of classic, for-eign, and independent films, I have yet to actually makeit to a show!

I often hear the organization acclaimed in conversa-tions, and pay attention to “The Nick’s” involvementwith numerous and wide-ranging events and happen-ings around town. I have even been fortunate to meet

a new homefor our nick

text: Shayna Katzman photography: Kasi Koshollek


the CFS’s charming and witty Larry Hembree, sociallyand at parties, which makes disclosing my lack of pres-ence difficult to explain.

After hearing so many remarkable things relating tothis South Carolina aberration, I suppose I had envi-sioned the building it occupies to be equally grand. As Istared into the tiny, shadowy store-front before me, Iwondered if I had arrived at the wrong address. It was-n’t until Bruce Bahr’s image appeared in the darkenedwindow glass, to warmly invite me inside, that I realizedI had in-fact been waiting correctly outside the illustri-ous theatre’s front entrance

Bruce Bahr was a delightful and engaging host; ani-matedly describing the capial project and the oldState/Fox Theater restoration plans currently underway.A walk to the project site took approximately 5 minutesfrom The Nickelodeon’s current dwelling, where wearrived at 1637 Main Street – soon to be The

Nickelodeon’s second Main Street address. I was quite taken aback on arrival, when Bahr direct-

ed our attention to a filthy, dungeon-like wooden doorwedged between Lourie’s Clothing store and KingsJewelry Store, a block down from The ColumbiaMuseum of Art. “I had wanted a sign out here to say:‘The Future Home of The Nick”, but every time I haveput one out, it gets stolen!” Bahr reported. I stared atthe cracked white paint, peeling off the door at hand,while wondering if Bahr had honestly brought us to theentrance to their fêted new location and if in fact it was- why on earth you would want to publicize it.

“You know when we purchased this building therehad been no power for the lighting in years,” Bahr fur-ther explained, forcing the horrid old door to creakopen, revealing a tall, decaying staircase that was evenmore revolting. “We had only toured the interior with aflash-light before the decision was made to purchase the

project

text: Shayna Katzman photography: Kasi Koshollek


building”. He continuedsmiling broadly, quitehonestly leading me toquestion his sanity! Howcould a seemingly knowl-edgeable and intelligentbusinessman encouragethe use of public fundingto purchase this ram-shackle building?

The spirited heart ofColumbia’s downtownwas, at this time, bustlingwith office-workers fin-ishing lunch-time sand-wiches and executivesleaving their expense-account lunches, many ofthem breaking the flow ofpedestrians to pause andstare at our group as westood congregated andpeering into a MainStreet abyss. Nervouslyfollowing close behindBahr as he ascended theunsightly staircase, I triednot to imagine whatawful surprises lurkedahead until LarryHembree appeared andbegan descendingtowards street-level togreet us. “We are going tobe living like rock stars inhere!” Hembree exclaimed with characteristic enthusi-asm and energy, sharing with us his animated delight forthe hovel.

I concluded that it must be common amongst CFSmembers to lose touch with reality from watching toomany films, since I could not muster a better explana-tion for all the merriment that this dump was causing,nor find other ways of understanding how this eyesorehad been purchased under the glow of a flashlight.

My lungs grew heavy with a dark, dank, musty scentthat cast images in my mind from the depths of the1940s air-raid shelter I had visited when I was six.However, the staircase did not lead to a bombsite, and bythe time we reached the Mezzanine level I too was filledwith excitement. Despite my brash initial judgment,Columbia’s new acquisition turned out to be a 9000square-foot time capsule, in which the very essence ofGolden-Age Motion Pictures had been captured andfrozen in time. The old Main Street Movie Theater, for-

gotten by most, had beenrun-down and left todecay, it’s Marqueeremoved, waiting to be re-discovered on Columbia’sMain Street.

The building (original-ly known as the StateTheater) is a maze-likeconstruction - continual-ly shifting to present youwith new surprises, eachconjuring up differenteras past. Each of thebuilding’s rooms aresteeped in history, andcould have been purpose-fully planned by a muse-um curator aiming to lin-early trace the history ofColumbia’s Main Street,parallel to the progres-sion of movie-going cul-ture. Images of the pastare fervently conveyedthrough objects and dec-oration dating back tothe theater’s 1939 open-ing. Although the build-ing foundation itselfdates back to the nine-teenth century, its firstincarnation as a theaterwas during Columbia’sMain Street heyday. In

the 1930s and 40s, the State Theater blossomed as theonly independently owned theater in the area. Bahrdescribed the Main Street of this period as a “DowntownTheater District” of sorts. After the depression-era neg-lect and damage, the theatre was renovated and rebornin the 1970s as “The Fox Theater” before falling victimto the 1980s when Main Street became a run-down andsleazy haunt.

“We call them mystery spaces,” explained Bahr,pointing at a large cavity cut out of the building’s manyartificial, unexplainable walls. “We found full sized,original “Guys and Dolls” promotional posters here, pris-tine and rolled up inside.” These gems hidden under thebalcony provided a fitting introduction to all the otherdelights this construction had in-store.

C.F.S Members and friends of the NickelodeonTheater have been hard at work for the last year unpeel-ing, as one might an onion, the layers upon layers of dec-orations and adornments which had built up inside the

The new location of the Nick on Main Street.


theater over several stylistic eras and life-times for thetheater - daily getting closer to their aim of restoringwhat would have been the State Theatre’s original 1930scharm, and its stylistic features designed at the height ofthe Art-Deco DesignPeriod.

Inside the main-theater,the auditorium stretchesupwards into impressivecathedral ceilings. Whilein ruins, rows of exhaustedvelvet chairs stretch as faras the eye can see. Anenormous viewing screenframed by tattered drapes,still dimly lit by original1930s frosted glass sconces.The curved glass sconcesand matching overhead-lighting features original tothe 1936 theater.

Images of the Theatre’s glamorous past now shinethrough from the auditorium’s décor. Tacky leopard-print fabric is currently being removed from the audito-rium walls that it had previously enveloped; revealingmagnificent and virtually flawless silver leafed pilasterstopped by gilded Sunburst Patterns. Similarly, in themezzanine lobby the hideous patchwork of both 70sretro-printed and Faux-Persian carpet has been

upturned to reveal luxurious hardwood flooring beggingfor further restoration. All this gaudy decoration addedduring the 1970s has ironically aided current restora-tion. Instead of removing the original decoration, they

had been covered over -leaving the beauty of theoriginal, delicate 1930sfeatures protected and pre-served, to be re-discoveredand brought back to life inour generation.

Physical aspects of thetheatre’s structure andinterior are not the onlyattributes that the buildinghas preserved. The entiretheatre is sprinkled withfascinating relics leftbehind by past occupantsand visitors that serve toreveal interesting tid-bits

from the past. I was drawn to an empty, half-crushedretro-designed Coke can that had been discarded on themain auditorium floor.

The Projection Room was riddled with treasures.Bahr directed our attention to a hole in the ceiling thatcontinued upwards for over 9 feet. As we stared intothis mysterious cavity, he redirected our attention to ahuge stack of “DOG WORLD” Magazines, circa 1945,

The main upper theater.

The Capital Campaign to raise the funds for the renovation is underway and anyone interested inhelping the Nick to "Move Up Main" can call Bruce Bahr at the Nickelodeon at 803-254-8234.


piled on the floor that had been uncovered from the holein the false ceiling in which they had been absurdlyburied. One metal cabinet in particular seemed set uplike a curio, filled with a wealth of antiques includingWestern Electric Light Bulb packaging, discarded RCARadio Tubes, and old film reels.Small details like this discarded “junk” serve to provideunique insight into the recent past and help to retainrecords of trends in material and popularculture. The entire building has held ontomany long-forgotten secrets and storiesfrom past times. Through the restorationprocess, its wealth of knowledge can beuncovered, utilized, and teach us aboutthe past.

Now, we move back - to revisit the cur-rent home of The Nickelodeon. The small77 seat store-fronted Theater, with its tinyfoyer hardly bigger than a New York studioapartment kitchen, welcomes 23,000 visi-tors a year – yet the minute projectionroom allows barely enough crawl space fora single person to squeeze through. This isthe place that I had never been to before,but yet seemed so inviting and familiar. Itwas here that I was reminded of the overtimportance the media arts, and the artform’s historical impact on culture and

society as a whole. The Nickelodeon, as it currently exists, is a living

incarnation John Sloan’s 1907 painting “Movies, 5Cents”. Sloan, a member of the Ashcan School of Art,was known for painting realistic views of popular enter-tainment and public audiences in New York at the turnof the 20th Century, when early motion pictures were anexciting new form of mass communication anddescribed as the “Theater of the working man”. By thetime Sloan painted “Movie’s, 5 Cents” in 1907, nearlyevery American city had at least one “nickelodeon”,which was the name that was given to movie theatreswhere short silent films were shown and people sangalong to projected slides-all for a nickel, the price at thetime for a beer.

Bahr articulately summed up The NickelodeonTheatre’s vision and purpose in Columbia, “getting peo-ple out of the habit of sitting at home alone in the darkto watch movies, and out to the Nick - where they canshare the emotions involved in seeing a film with oth-ers.” He said, “It’s more what seeing movies is meant tobe about.” The wish of The Nickelodeon - to invite audi-ences into the liberating public sphere of popular cul-ture - is an aim that is profoundly in-tune with the mes-sage that artists such as John Sloan had wished toimpress upon their art audience 100 years prior.

In “Movie’s, 5 Cents” Sloan visually displayed thepower that came from exposing people to the freedom ofa physical arena where mixed classes and genders couldmeet, mingle, and have a good time. It is interesting thatthe important role that cinema has historically played -in encouraging people to open their eyes to new pointsof view, to experience real life and to broaden their cul-tural and social horizons - is still so relevant today.

Bruce Bahr reveals one of the original design elements of the theater.

Undated photograph of the Fox in its prime.


A century after John Sloan’s painting and the eraof renaissance in American art, Bahr describes “theintimate space of movie theatres” and how this spaceis so important to their audience as it creates a sort ofclub that everyone is welcome to join. This parallels1900s theorizing that led cinema to be labeled as thefirst Democratic art - for the ways that these dark-ened spaces, created by films, allowed encountersbetween men and women and crossings of race andclass lines that had been impossible a generationbefore.

The creation of Movies, and moviegoers, at thestart of the 20th century embodied the more inclu-sive and integrative aspects involved in new art. TheNickelodeon is allowing our generation to under-stand and benefit from the importance of motion pic-tures, a century later, in Columbia. TheNickelodeon’s move will get the Columbia FilmSociety closer to their goal: allowing them to screentheir films to a much larger audience, attracting

greater attention,therefore encour-aging more peo-ple to attendshows – and inturn more peoplewill gain benefitsoffered by theunique art form.“Columbia isgoing from a goodcity to a GREATcity”, said Bahr,unafraid to gethis hands dirty

for The Nickelodeon Theater and the greater goodof this city for which he is so hopeful for and sopassionate about.

The Nickelodeon’s clean-up, restoration, expansion,and relocation project, and decision to renovate the oldtheatre in lieu of building new one, falls in line with city-wide trends to preserve what remains of historicalColumbia and a current widespread climate of hope forrevitalizing the city’s downtown areas. The Nickelodeonproject is playing a significant role in proving the capi-tal’s historical and cultural value to the rest of the state,as well as contributing to spreading awareness for theimportance of the arts in the community.

The Nickelodeon project has the potential to changethe nature of Columbia’s entire downtown in revealingmore of the city’s valuable history. This will hopefullycontinue to encourage other projects to follow and ben-efit our economy by attracting many more residents tomove inside the old downtown. Here is added potential

to aid and increase cultural tourism in Columbia,attracting more visitors to the city that are interested inart and experiencing Southern history. Many outsidersbelieve Charleston is the only South Carolina city thatdisplays tangible history, yet his project could dramati-cally upgrade Columbia’s profile as a tourist destination.

Bahr predicts that when this project is complete, thelast of the architecturally untouched buildings on MainStreet that have so far managed to escape modernizationattempts could potentially transform this charming sec-tion of downtown. Restoration of the buildings sur-rounding the theatre’s new location could potentially re-enrich the stretch of street from The Columbia Museumof Art and the cluster of already-established vibrantmusic and art’s venues into a salubrious cultural enclave.Bruce Bahr pondered one last thought before our part-ing: “Now if only Workshop could move in across thestreet from us…”

Original art deco fixtures and design will be restored.Construction notes from 1935.


Scotty Peek is a local artist whose work has beenshown all over the Southeast for the past ten years.He is also my brother-in-law. Journalistic ethics

dictate that writers aren’t supposed to interview theirrelatives. Perceived bias of a piece being too “fluffy” andoverly-positive is the first caveat. Perhaps worse, thereis also the risk of the inter-viewer and intervieweeoffending one another tothe point that holiday gath-erings become awkwarddances where the two par-ties sit as far away fromeach other at the dinnertable as humanly possible.Certainly, these are fairenough reasons to leave thejob of discussing family inprint to total strangers.

So much of Scotty’s bodyof work, however, isfocused on relatives that itonly seems fair for a familymember to turn the attention back on him. Before I mar-ried his wife’s brother, I spent two years studying educa-tion at the University of South Carolina. Scotty gave mean oversized pastel green image of generations past fromhis Pothos series as a housewarming gift, along with thegraft of the pothos that inspired the exhibition. Thatoriginal plant was a late 1960s wedding gift to his (andnow my) in-laws. I placed that piece – and the ivy-likegreenery that accompanied it – in my bedroom. Since Ilived alone, the non-descript faces of a young coupleholding a baby had a protective presence for me. I likedto think they kept me company.

Just as that hazy image connected me to my futurefamily, his drawings of his wife, Sally’s, (and my hus-band’s) distant aunts, uncles and cousins in his Her/MyFamily series also tied him to his new relatives. The sub-

jects have a familiarity that is instantly recognizable.The faces – often blurred by the charcoal and pastelmedia he uses – have a universality that anyone with ascrapbook of memories could identify.

“Many of the images are of people to whom I am nowrelated but will never meet or know,” he wrote on his

website, www.scottype-ek.net. “Rendering theimages is a way for me tofamiliarize myself with mynew family and participatein my own personal waywith Sally’s past.”

Though family is a rec-curring theme, Scottyresists the idea that all ofhis work is about one spe-cific idea. Pothos, Her/MyFamily, his other fine artconcentrations, and hisrecent forays into portrai-ture are part of an ongoingdiscussion that often gen-

erates more questions than answers. “Art as an everyday conversation is something I think

about a lot,” he said in a recent interview. “Nothing tooprofound, just a way of discussing what a person isthinking about....kind of mundane actually. Imagine ifevery conversation we had was profound and each of usonly talked about one thing. That would be both over-whelming and boring for everyone.”

The depth and breadth of this ongoing conversationis evident in the Forest Acres home he shares with Sallyand their nineteen-month-old daughter, Sophie . He hassold or traded much of his work, but the few remnantsspeak volumes. Globes he collected at small Tennesseeantique stores, wire sentences he made during histenure in the Master of Fine Arts program at the USC,and even an orange and brown elementary school

scotty peek

artist



satchel full of fading colorings expose the varied andintense thought processes that often led to his full-scaleexhibitions.

Myrtle #3985 is one such relic that still remains in hispossession. This middle-aged woman with thoughtful,sullen eyes is one oftwenty portraitsdone for the 2004“A Garden ofMyrtles for Myrtle”exhibition inMyrtle Beach.

Considering thatMyrtle was a popu-lar name in the1920s and that hiswork would beinstalled in roomsbuilt in 1924,Scotty researchedand reproduced these images of women named Myrtleto celebrate the name’s tradition and the tree common toSouth Carolina.

Myrtle #3985 – the number represents the possiblecount of Myrtles in the world at the time and the shadeof pantone he used in creating the piece – was a school-teacher whose husband had absconded with all of hermoney. Now hanging in Scotty’s living room, Myrtle#3985 sparks comments about state history, connec-tions among strangers, and a debate about whetherevery piece of art needs a back story to be understood orvalued. Again, Scotty does not want to place one, myopiclabel on anyone’s perception.

“I don’t think it’s fair to define art for anybody,” hesaid.

Without adding an Andy Warholian counter-positive

to twist dendrites (such as “I don’t think it’s fairfor anybody to define art”) Scotty leaves thethought hanging in the air. None of what hedoes has to be more complicated, because, forhim, art is a form of communication: a state-ment that can return a response or end insilence. He does, however, always have a point. “I’m a person who predetermines what (mywork) is going to look like. If I don’t, I’m notmotivated to go in and make those marks,” hesaid. “I always hated free writing in Englishclasses. I guess there’s a point where it’s psycho-analytic but I like to think out the sentence inmy head.”

In the past year, Scotty has shifted his focusfrom creating his fine art to painting oil por-traits on commission – a change in course thatdid not happen on purpose.

“My first client was somebody who wantedan oil portrait and I told him that I would do a drawing,”he explained while standing in his understated homestudio, displaying the works in progress of children’sfaces. “They were having a hard time finding a painterthat they liked. I had to get out my dried up oils and Idid a portrait for them. In a way, it happened acciden-tally and it turned out to be something really good.”

Kinsey B., one of his first commissions, demonstrat-ed what a little dry oil could do. Almost photographical-ly clear, the smiling young girl in a soft, blue dress couldeasily walk off of the canvas. His other portraits – paint-ed from photographs he takes himself – also echo theconventions of his fine art concentrations. Precise anddeliberate, it is easy to imagine these immortalizationssparking familial conversations in the living roomsof the portrait subjects – not too distant fromthose inspiredby Pothos orHer/My Family.

Scotty arguesthat there is adefinite differ-ence betweenfine art and por-traiture. This is adebatable real-ization consider-ing that theworld’s mostfamous piece ofart, the MonaLisa (which isincidentally onhis bottle ofodorless paint

Myrtle #3985

Peeks’ work in progress at his new studio.

Her/My Family: blanket


thinner), is an enigmatic portrait.Though historical commissions likedaVinci’s are now displayed at in thefinest art museums on the planet,Scotty says the lack of complete artisticcontrol makes portraiture more of acollaborative effort than the product ofone person's work. Not that one is bet-ter than the other. Perhaps that argu-ment would play out more thoroughlyat a dinner table.

Regardless, the challenge of a newmedium – or of painstakingly perfect-ing a subject’s teeth (he says those arethe hardest) – keeps him in his studio.Working full-time as the curator andassistant director of the SumterCounty Gallery of Art during the week,he spends week nights and weekendsaddressing whatever audience – inmuseums or homes – he encounters.

“I don’t know if I would say anything if no one wasthere,” he explained, considering the spaces he’s filledwith his work. “I wouldn’t talk out loud to myself.

Unless the artist is making art with no intentions toever show it, it’s always in the back of your mind that

someone is going to see it. For me, there is some kind ofresponsibility not to speak a language that the personwho sees it is not going to be able to understand; it’s justhow it works.”

We’re listening.

Scotty plays with his nineteen-month-old daughter, Sophie.


les hall

Ask Les Hall to name one thing everyone should know about him, and he will tell you: “I beat Dan Marino at arm-wrestling!” This answer reveals much about his character and his attitude towards his career. Les Hall loves to win.He is driven to excel at any task he undertakes, from arm-wrestling to Guitar Hero, but perhaps most importantly

his mastery of multiple musical instruments, performing, recording, music production, film-scoring, computers,technology…

He tackles every aspect of his diverse interests with airtight determination and a ruthless drive to succeed. He describedhis perfectionist (often obsessive) attitude as having a profound impact on the music he generates. Despite many success-es, he is refreshingly down-to-earth, not inclined to self-promote or acclaim. Our conversation was sprinkled with hischaracteristic, sarcastic sense of humor, self-deprecating wit, and highly infectious laugh.

It is just 6pm on a Saturday at Goatfeathers, an hour of the day in which Hall claims he does not usually exist. Betweensips from a pint of Stella, he intelligently and articulately delivers insightful and thoughtful answers to each of my ques-tions. The raspy-voiced musician’s chiseled features are set off by a pinstriped “top-hat device” resting on his head. Heradiates rock star quality æ exuding authentic rock-and-roll appeal, but without the pomp. We discussed everything fromAmbien to Zappa (his greatest musical influence). Every topic he discussed with acute self-awareness, realism,and honesty.

But what else should you know about Les Hall? He prefers to play “loud, obnoxious nonsense”, and is obsessed withstriped socks and hates eating. He loves Apple computers and symmetry, and he would never own a restaurant, write jin-gles, or sell cars. He claims to cook great food while sleepwalking, but never remembers the recipes. Hall cannot leave thehouse without his iPhone, cigarettes, lighter, but will not carry a wallet in his back-pocket as it disturbs his feeling of sym-metry. I asked Hall what he would rescue from his burning house or studio, to which he replied, “Second to any life-form,my vintage guitars.”

Les Hall is a Columbia, SC native, and after many years away he has recently returned home from what he describedas “the endless party that is L.A.” to focus on creating new material in his downtown studio. Hall represents the wealth oflocal home-grown talent present in Columbia’s bourgeoning, ever-changing music scene. What sets him apart is that hehas seemingly recorded and performed with all-manner of talent, but he has emerged from the local pool and landed inthe mainstream.

Hall’s résumé reads like a who’s-who of hot local and national acts, working across wide-ranging musical genres withan impressive and diverse catalog of names including Crossfade, Trey Anastasio, Rob Zombie, and Howie Day, to namebut a few. When asked his favorite artists to work with, Hall answered: “Too many to mention.”

Music has been a part of Hall’s life from an early age. “My parents were always very supportive of my ambition tobecome a musician, but they wanted me to have a back up-plan,” he explained. “Having a back up-plan seemed like admit-ting that I didn’t believe in myself enough to succeed - so I never made one”.

Luckily for us, for now he plans to continue realizing his dreams right here in Columbia.

profile

text: Shayna Katzman photography: Vega Chastain


City Art Gallery is an evolution of the businessbegun by Wendy Wells and Heather Noe’s motherin 1969, and for the past 10 years it has been a

home to regional artists from all over South Carolina.The business began as an arts supply store, an aspect thatremains unchanged. City Art sells top of the line art sup-plies, houses and sells interesting and beautiful art, andhas a custom frame shop.Located in the CongareeVista, City Art is nestled ina historic cotton ware-house that dates back tothe early 1900s.

The patina of the build-ing suggests a dense histo-ry and provides a starkcontrast to the contempo-rary art that fills its walls.The arts supply store islocated in the basement ofthe building, and City Art’sgallery space is split intothree distinct sections: alarge main floor gallerywhere select shows arefeatured, a second levelgallery where works froma variety of artists are set up in salon fashion, and a sidegallery where a wall of stacked cubbies are home to pot-tery, metal and glasswork, small paintings, photography,and jewelry.

The owners “are committed to providing the publicwith original art,” and their lasting presence and pletho-ra of original works professes just that.

One way that City Art has brought original art to thepublic is through the renting out of its space. The mainand side galleries make a unique and beautiful settingfor wedding receptions, rehearsal dinners, and businessfunctions. The gallery is unlike any other rental space,and not only because of the creative and interesting artthat hangs there.

Acting as a backdrop for the art are beautiful brickwalls, lovely wooden floors and beams, and one of thestate’s oldest freight elevators draped in twinkle lights.

Soft lighting and music throughout the building adds tothe charm created by the other elements in the space. Byopening the gallery to families and businesses, the own-ers have made it possible for those who attend the func-tions to be exposed to the artwork on a personal level.Wells believes that “viewing art during a wedding recep-tion is much less intimidating than visiting a gallery dur-

ing normal hours becauseone can talk about whatthey like or don’t likewithin a relaxed setting.”She believes that thismakes it easier for some-one to approach art in agallery or museum later.

Since Wendy andHeather assumed the busi-ness in 1997, City Art hasbecome a gallery filledwith the charm of localart. Some of the 50+artists representedinclude Alex Powers, TimFloyd, and Kathy Casey.The success that City Arthas achieved is due, inpart, to the artists.

More importantly though, the business savvy sistersknow how to reinvent their gallery so that it remainstrue to the ever-changing taste of their customers.

Every piece of art in the gallery is one-of-a-kind,something which has clearly proven important to thepeople of Columbia. Travelers to Columbia make CityArt a must see destination and the gallery has had a loyalfollowing of collectors. But with a range of styles, sizes,and prices City Art has something for everyone and isaccessible to the everyday passersby that would like tocome in, see the space, and appreciate the art.

Check out City Art’s website at www.cityartonline.comOr Come By! City Art is located at 1224 Lincoln St. 803.252.1803

City Art Gallery: Historical Columbia Meets Contemporary Art

CityArt staff: Wendy Wells, Heather Noe, Evan Donevant, Randy Hanna, Charles Whetzel

gallery


Perry Lancaster believes in and has a passion for helping young entre-preneurs. Many people associate Perry, as the Manager of Brittons onDevine Street , but Perry is so much more, and on closer inspection

represents a dichotomy of definitions. The man possesses a sincere interestin all things related to his mastery of the retail industry and stops short ofnothing when it comes to delivering excellent and beyond the normalcustomer service.

Approachable and a wealth of information Perry is and I was fortunateenough to meet Allen Stephenson that sought his expertise in the retail andmarketing industry. Allen, is a prime example of determination in everysense of the word. His story has been told and retold around the world nowand he is known as the polo shirt designer “upstart” that blends Southerntradition and comfort with Italian style and quality. Not bad for a 24 yearold entrepreneur who just ayear or so ago was a seniorat USC. It was there that hewas given an assignment towrite a paper on a fictionalretail enterprise and hecame up with the conceptfor Southern Tide- a men’sline featuring a well madepolo shirt.

But not just well made,exceptionally crafted in thebest fabric and attention toevery thread and place-ment. The professor was soimpressed by Allen’s paperand presentation that heencouraged him to “go do it” and Allen did. Allen came to Brittons afterendless months perfecting his product and Perry bought 18 shirts. Brittonshas sold over 800 Southern Tide shirts for one reason only; they are simplythe best in overall construction, fit, fabric softness and durability and finish-ing details. His women’s line is debuting this March at Brittons.

Allen refers to Perry as a marketing genius yet Allen can take credit forhis awesome logo the Skipper Jack fish complete with bobber that marks hisline.

Allen’s creed “I do not want to just sell a label. I want to sell the bestquality shirt I can.”

Allen is laid back and without pretense fora serious minded business manwhose line is now carried in over 19 stores across the Southest and best ofall he still likes to fish when he has time.

Perry Lancaster and Allen Stephenson

Turning passion into profit

text: Lesley Hoskins


Nahuel Pinot Noir | Alto Valle de Uco, Argentina | Darker in color and less sweet than some U.S. West Coastpinots, but not as “earthy” as some French Burgundies, it is a melding of styles – a red wine drinker’s pinot. At 1300meters above sea level, the vineyards embrace a wide range of temperatures, from the cool mountain nights to brightsunny days.

Oroya | Tierra de Castilla, Spain | Winemaker Yoko Sato decided there were no good wines to go with all of theflavors of sushi - so she made one. After experimenting with various grape blends, she settled on three Spanish var-rietals – floral Airen, tart Macabeo and sweet Muscat (to offset the wasabi).

Plungerhead Old Vine Zinfandel | Lodi, California | Any wine with a picture of a plunger-capped man on thelabel has to have something special inside the bottle or it would quickly become a one joke wine. This wine deliverswith cocoa, vanilla, clove and cherry pie aromas and flavors of boysenberry, cedar, raspberry and coconut spice.Start the New Year with Plungerhead and Barbeque ribs.

{consumptional*} art

*We know, not a real word....

text : Robert Sox, WineStyles Wine and Gifts


From conception to completion: Jonah and the Whale slowly take shape. Firstmaquette, artist rendention, armatures and sculpt, the molds, cast pieces and

weld, patina.

bob allison: sculptor


Bob Allison has just recently completed andinstalled a world-class sculpture of “Jonah and theWhale” for Shandon Baptist Church on Forest

Drive. The round, 15-foot fountain-sculpture has anenormous whale head-and-tail weighing over 1,000pounds, and a 6-foot Jonah in mid-air as he is spewed outof the whale’s mouth. Seeing it in person is essential,and for those engaged in kinesthetic experiences thewhale’s tail is hanging over the edge and accessible, asare the tips of Jonah’s toes.

Dr. Dick Lincoln, the pastor of Shandon Baptist, com-missioned Bob to sculpt this idea for the church’sentrance. He wanted a life-like, old-world fountain andbronze sculpture that captured this famous Biblical storyand created emotion and awe. Bob did just that.

What else can you feel when you see the look so con-vincingly sculpted on the face of Jonah; that expressionof disbelief and relief as he flies out of the huge mouth?Bob used a unique patina to cover the body of Jonah, andevery feature – from the angular muscles of his chest,arms, and legs, to the waves of his cloak – conveys anexpression of movement that will delight and amaze.

The exciting aspect of this commission is that Bob isa native of Columbia, a graduate of Dreher High Schooland USC. Bob worked for years at Blue Cross BlueShield as a computer programmer, and then one day, atage 41, resigned and decided to sculpt full-time:fulfilling a lifelong passion to create astounding workssuch as this.

As a youth living in Columbia, his house was without

air conditioning. But his grandmother had this luxury,and it was at her house, watching color television, thathe designed and created with clay some of his earliestworks of art.

He moved to Colorado a few years ago with his wifeand two children, but returns to add new creations toColumbia’s culture-rich history. His “Leap of Faith” canbe seen at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden – a huge bull frogleaping in mid-air just to the side of a walking bridge tothe barn.

He has created unique sculpture for PalmettoRichland Hospital, Still Hopes Retirement Center,Hammond School, and many other locations inOrangeburg, Summerville, and North Carolina. Bob istruly a unique and diversely flexible artist who capturesnature, the human body, animals, emotions, and move-ments in a 3 dimensional format that is loved andenjoyed by all ages. We are so fortunate to have thefruits of his world-class talent.

www.robertallisonsculpture.com

“Art is the window into the soul ofthe community”

–Bob Allison

“In each piece, it is very important for me to focuson the smallest of details. From the placement of ahand; strands of hair blowing in the wind; the eyecontact between the subjects; to the tiniest finger-nails. In my view, it makes the sculpture complete.”



On December 13 & 14, 2007, an artist of immensetechnical ability and national commercial successbrought an intense and beautiful “experience” to

the audience of DraytonHall Theater. Not an eyewas dry, or a heartunmoved.

“Finding My Way” – cho-reographed, produced, andperformed by CarolineLewis – breathes fresh lifeinto the Columbia dancescene. The piece is set tooriginal music written byMary Lee Taylor ofthe South CarolinaPhilharmonic Symphony,and played by The UptonTrio featuring Taylor onviolin, Billy Shepard onpiano, and DusanVukajlovic on cello.

This one-woman con-temporary dance piece isthe result of a promiseCaroline made to hermother, Joan HightowerLewis. It expresses herlove for her mother, andpays tribute to her mother’scourageous battle withbreast cancer. Two yearsago, after a 17-year fight,Joan Hightower Lewis passed from this earth. All pro-ceeds from "Finding My Way" go to benefit the Joan

Hightower Lewis Endowment for Lutheran Hospice. One of the beautiful aspects of "Finding My Way" is

that it not only allows the audience an opportunity towitness a human being inthe throes of grief, but thenbrings the audience throughthe transformation into thereawakening. Caroline takesthe audience with herthrough a volatile onstagejourney, as she immersesherself in the anguish, theacceptance, and the growthfollowing her mother’sdeath.

Her movements areintense and powerful; sheholds nothing back. In fact,the opening dance sequenceis so raw that the audiencebecomes almost uncomfort-able. If art is meant to movepeople, then this is truly Art. In the telling of her story,Lewis incorporates itemsthat belonged to her mother– providing a brief respitefrom the intensity of theemotional whirlwind, at thesame time drawing the audi-ence into the “real-ness” ofthe moment.

The tokens and pictures,which initially torture, become warm and loving memo-ries. Caroline received her mother's gifts of kindness,

caroline lewis

dance

text: Nyna Dalbec

graciousness, and strength. In turn, Caroline's audience is extended theseas well, and invited to embrace them through the shared experience of thiscathartic and beautiful piece. In Caroline's own words she is finding herway everyday, she has found hope and love, and she wishes the same for allthose present. This comes through clearly in her work – there is no doubtthat her audience is touched and altered by this intimate experience.

Ultimately, Caroline provides an uplifting evening of phenomenalexpression through movement. Caroline, originally from SouthCarolina, has been dancing for over 20 years. At the age of 18 she movedto New York City. She spent the next six years performing in music videos,theatrical productions, commercials, fashion shows, and award programs.Some notable highlights include the VMAs with ‘N Sync, Latin GrammyAwards, WNBA National commercial, French Energy commercial, DisneyIndustrials, Britney Spears’ “Me Against the Music” video, and MTV’sBody Rock Fitness Video.

Though successful as a commercial dancer, her true passion lies in con-temporary dance. She has had the opportunity to work for Mia Michael’sR.A.W., Dee Caspary's IV Dance Company, Notario Dance Company,Rhapsody and Company, A.S.H Contemporary, and Justin Giles “SoulEscape”. In 2001 she traveled to Seoul, Korea to perform for Jason Parsonsand POZ Dance Theatre.Following her mothers death, it took time forCaroline to regain her footing, to find her center, to find her senseof self again.

Now – stronger than ever – Caroline teaches dance at Southern Strutt,a nationally awarded competition school, and at USC SummerConservatory. Although Caroline has returned to her home state, she con-tinues teaching and choreographing competition and pageant pieces forschools around the country. She also tours the country as a teacher andchoreographer with “Shock the Intensive”, a multi-style dance conventionwhich holds daylong events in various cities throughout the country. Inaddition: she is a personal trainer, a certified nutritionist, and a contribut-ing author to the book “The Care and Feeding of a Dancer – What YouNeed to Know On and Off the Stage”, by Toni Branner and Jenna LeeBranner.Caroline has choreographed numerous competition pieces forstudios around the country, many of which have received awards andrecognition; however, she considers “Finding My Way” to be her "first truecreation".

Her love of creating brings her to transcend the bounds of any single,pre-existing concept or definition of dance. This is what makes her workso powerful. While she considers contemporary and jazz to be her strongpoints, she enjoys the challenges of any genre or style. Caroline's greatestasset is her ability to move within and, at the same time, beyond thedefined movements and styles of the wide-range of forms from which shedraws. She considers Braham Logan Crane, of ASH Contemporary Dance,a major influence on her work.Although Caroline’s loss has been great, ithas been a catalyst for something beautiful and strong in its vulnerability,truth, and honesty. Hopefully this artist will continue to exalt Columbia –and the world – with such inspirational, enjoyable, and meaningful Art.

Check her website for upcoming events: www.carolinelewis.net

63 undefined : book onetext: Nyna Dalbec

[email protected]


When I began my career, I started out in construc-tion management, and one of my first bosseswould often say to the crew, “we have the bene-

fit of 2000 years of progress and electricity, put down thehand tools and use the power tools!” At the time I real-ly thought he knew something I didn’t know and Iadmired his stance on work. I was young and my own“tool” skills were just starting to develop so that phraseseemed like real wisdom to me. Since then, I have for-gotten my early interest in management, and insteadhave dedicated my life to woodworking and woodwork-ing knowledge.

As my skills and knowledge have grown I have cometo realize how terribly wrong my old boss really wasabout hand tools. I can’t fault him, he was a businessman, not a craftsman, and time is money.

These days I work alone in my studio/shop and buildone of kind pieces of furniture or occasional cabinets formy clients. Like everyone I have to make a living, butthe work, not the money, is the motivation behind whatI do. I strive to make each piece of furniture, or even the

simplest kitchen cabinet, a lasting piece of sculpture forits new owner. Without hand tools though, the excel-lence I hope to achieve would be impossible to reach.Hand tools, specifically hand planes, offer more thenjust a way to connect the woodworker to the wood.

While heavily into construction, I had the good for-tune to work with different types of people with differ-ent work habits and skills. I learned something from allof them, but the most influential person of all was a car-penter named Ricardo. Several years ago I was renovat-ing a historic house in Columbia and had hired a friend’sconstruction company to help finish the job. Ricardo, aself taught master carpenter with the odd habit of hum-ming Alabama song’s while he worked, was the head car-penter for my friend’s crew.

At that time I was still a professional remodeler andowned every jobsite carpentry tool imaginable. On thefirst day that we worked together, Ricardo arrived beforethe rest of his crew and their equipment and began towork. Immediately he asked me for my hand plane. Istared at him blankly and said I didn’t own a plane and

jerry stover

artist

text: Jerry Stover photography: Kasi Koshollek


pointed towards all the other tools. And then I said it, “Ihave two thousands years worth of carpentry progressover there, can’t you use one of the power tools?” Thesedays I remember that moment the way my motherremembers the Kennedy assassination. Ashamed of thatcomment, it would be the last time I ever said it andmeant it. Ricardo, who was considerably older then me,gave me a look that I now recognize as the same one Igive my teen age nieces and nephews when they areshowing their age, but he said nothing, shrugged hisshoulders, and went to the power tools to work. I spentthe afternoon impressed by his work, but noticing hewas constantly frustrated and fuddling with the tools.He had also stopped humming.

The next day, my friend and Ricardo’s boss arrivedand brought Ricardo a beat up Stanley number 4 handplane. When you think “hand plane” in your head, thisis that plane. Millions of them have been made and usedfor well over a hundred years. I noticed two thingsimmediately.

First Ricardo started humming again and secondlyhis production doubled and looked better then any workI could perform. I was intrigued. I spent the next fewweeks watching him work. At first I was still hesitantabout hand planes, but the more I watched the more Iknew it was a skill I needed. Ricardo could do anythingwith a plane.

I watched him trim laminate for a counter top, fixbroken windows and doors, correct a humped floor and

create amazing door thresholdsjust to start. When he focusedhis skills to custom tables andraised panel doors I was amazedat the speed and purpose withwhich he put tool to wood. Hecould use the plane and nothingmore then his hand as a guideand get perfect results. At thattime I had already fallen in lovewith making furniture and Iknew my work would notprogress until I mastered theplane.

It took a couple more weeksto work up the nerve but eventu-ally I put aside my embarrass-ment and asked Ricardo to teachme how to use the tool. My lifehas not been the same since. Ican highlight the majormoments of my life in the fol-lowing order: the day my daugh-

ter was born, the day I married my wife, the day I grad-uated from college, and the day I learned to use a handplane. Seriously.

Today, a hand plane is never far from my side.Ricardo returned home several years back, but I owehim deeply for the lasting gift he has given me. Learningto use hand planes did several things for me. It openedmy eyes to hand tools in general. The more I learnedabout them, the more Iscoured flea markets andEBay in search of them.With each new tool came anew skill and improvedwork.

As my knowledge inwoodworking grew, so didmy commitment to the craftand my inevitable switchfrom construction to furni-ture. But the most surpris-ing benefit of hand planeswas a chance rediscoveringof my own family roots.

Recently I returnedhome from a trip to my fam-ily's farm. A place that hasbeen in my family far longerthan anyone still living can


remember. The farm is sadly no longer functioning and visiting it is likestepping back in time 150 years. While investigating a collapsed barn Istumbled upon a half dozen wooden hand planes. The planes had not beentouched in thirty years. They probably have not been used in fifty. Uponshowing them to my father, the last generation to grow up on the farm, hecould remember watching my great grandfather and grandfather use them.Eventually when he and his brothers became old enough, they used them.

I have furniture in my home built by three generations of men with thevery planes I now possess. It is something of a wonder to me how wood-working, in all its function and purpose, can have the added side effect ofturning woodworkers into part time historians. With the discovery ofthese hand planes though, I am especially moved because their history ismy history. I can see the wear on the handles from where they have beengripped and used and couldn’t help but notice how well my own hands fitthose marks of wear. These planes are a tangible connection to my past andmy ancestry.

As I work in my shop, I often find my hands drifting to those old planesand I instantly think of the furniture made with them in my home. It is notuncommon for me to turn off the machine I am working with and pick upone my working hand planes instead. I wonder if my grand children willone day hold the planes I use in the same awe that I hold my great grand-father’s.

The very tangible connection I have discovered to my family has onlyserved to push me even harder to better understand the methods of wood-working used by my great-grandfather’s generation in order to improve mycurrent work. I study joints and techniques and try to master them if theyare new to me. I enjoy seeing the way craftsmen from his era understoodwood and used that knowledge to help them work it. I buy texts from theera and read them with the thought that I am reconnected to men in myfamily. Men I never met, but now in this one small way, feel that I know. I am restoring my great grandfather’s hand planes and plan to return them

to their intended work. These willnot be display pieces in my handtool collection, but will instead betools used by a fourth generation ofmy family. It connects me to themand hopefully will one day connectanother generation to me.

No power tool could ever do whata simple piece of straight wood witha blade in it has done for me. I alsoteach woodworking classes and Icommonly ask my students, “Whohere believes that 2000 years ofprogress combined with electricityhas made hand tools obsolete?”Someone always raises their hand.That’s when I pull out my Stanleynumber 4 and the class starts with,“let me tell you about a craftsmannamed Ricardo…”


Claude Dozorme’s“Woods of the World”(pictured above) knife

collection features a box of sixlaguloe steak knives made of

mixed woods from around theglobe. You can find them atnon(e)such, $375. Claude

Dozorme’s pocket knife(pictured below) is also

available atnon(e)such.

wood you?

His letter came unexpectedly a few months after wehad ended the relationship. He wanted to meet forlunch so that we could have “closure.” Closure…it

sounded like guilt to me. Anyway, we did and it was weird.As we left the restaurant and walked to our cars I preparedfor a chilly-hug-and-back-pat. Instead, he looked mesquare in the eyes and asked, “are you in - I want you tocommit.” “Huh?” My brain went flat. I tried to organize itall but nothing fit; his words and actions did not match. Iwas confused but my heart was desperately trying to helpme out. It was giving me the familiar cues that I thought Ihad finally learned to trust as parts of my decision makingprocess. But instead, I ignored my pounding heart andsweaty hands and shoved out an answer: “okay, yes, I’ll giveit another try.” What… what did I just hear myself say?

I hadn’t trusted my emotions. After our split I hadmoved from Atlanta to Charleston. I was grieving therecent death of my father, taking care of family business,gathering my research and trying to write the final chapterof my doctoral dissertation. I needed something thatresembled normal because my life at that time felt chaot-ic. I justified that a reconciliation would at least feel nor-mal. It didn’t.

Situations like mine can make us feel that we don’t rec-ognize ourselves. We analyze and figure and sometimes, asa last resort, we pull out a sheet of paper and begin makingthe proverbal list of positives and negatives. Sure, there aretimes when we must opt for a choice that overrides ourheart’s desire, especially when it comes to children, and achoice between the kid’s camping trip and the big game.Even when love is a factor, sometimes we go with what wethink because we are afraid to trust the validity of our emo-tions. After all, we’re smart and we believe our emotionsare just a touchy-feely reaction to life’s events, and certain-ly not as reliable as our brain and all our analyzing.

Actually, research in areas such as heart-brain commu-nication, stress responses and consciousness reveal thatthis is far from the truth. Our emotions can be reliableindicators of our brain’s ability to sense danger and stress-ful situations. Although my situation wasn’t dangerous, itcertainly was stressful and my body must have remem-bered the old stress, as it prepared me to run away.

The thing is, if we try… eventually we get it. We cometo know without a doubt that we can justify a decision, butif our heart’s not in it, it’s not a match. It’s time to give ouremotions as much credit as our thoughts. They work inconcert. We can tell ourselves that everything is okay, butwhen our heart races or we begin to sweat, something iswrong. Psychologists call this mismatch incongruence.The Congruence Principle suggests that our brains searchfor matches in memory in an effort to calm and protect us.When we are clear and on target in our lives, our thoughts,emotions and behaviors should match or at least feel simi-lar to us. If not, our heart will remind us that something’snot right. I knew something wasn’t right that day, threeyears ago. I felt incongruent and I didn’t listen to my heart- until several months later. I finally got it.

Here’s what I've learned about listening to our heart:

• Know the Difference Between Feelings of Excitementand Fear: Feelings of love and fear resemble each other inphysiological responses.. These responses are produced byyour Autonomic Nervous System which links your heartand brain and automatically directs parts of your body thatdo not require conscious control like your heart rate anddigestion. Your heart responds to your conscious thinkingand unconscious appraisal of situations.

• Remember the Consequences: Not listening to yourheart and making the noble choice to win temporary favoris usually not a win.

• Look for Congruence: Are your thoughts, feelings andbehaviors similar? Are you thinking ‘it’s no problem’ butyou’re feeing anxious? Do you agree to something that youknow is wrong for you, and then feel your heart race?Check for harmony in words, emotions and behavior.

• Change the Order of Your Thinking: FIRST, feel youremotion, THEN, make your decision. Know what it feelslike to listen to your heart.

Lisa Holland is a doctor of psychology and a LicensedMarriage and Family Therapist practicing in Columbia.


Part One: Can We Actually Listen to Our Hearts?

text: Lisa Holland

how we live


This February heralds a world premier as theColumbia City Ballet presents Cleopatra in all itssplendor and pageantry. This production will be a

huge milestone for the arts community as the ColumbiaMuseum of Art, in tandem, presents “Excavating Egypt:Great Discoveries from the Petrie Museum of EgyptianArchaeology”, which opens January 24th and runsthrough June 8th, 2008. This exhibit offers a fascinatingview into the lives of both royal and everyday Egyptians,with ancient objects and artwork from early-Egyptian tothe late-Roman period.

Columbia residents will have the unique opportunityto visit and observe the Egyptian cultural artifacts onloan at the museum, and be transported through timevia the colorful re-creation of both mighty Rome andexotic Egypt as these cultures come alive on stage.

The man who brings this rendering of Cleopatra isWilliam Starret, a passionate director and award-win-ning performer who has spent endless hours perfectingthe score, the choreography, and the overall composi-tion. I was fortunate to meet with William, and witnesshis enthusiasm – and the evidence of his historicalresearch – as he laid out his vision for this unique per-formance which will be presented in two exciting acts.The music, the costumes, the sets, and the choreographyare all under his personal direction and will be locally-created. Whether one is a history lover or not, we allknow the tale of the mighty Queen of Upper-and-Lower

Egypt – who by beauty and wit seduced two of Rome’sfinest generals: Julius Caesar and Marc Antony. Themystique, so entranced in this story, is the display of allthe famous themes of human nature; from captivating-love and devious-murder to intriguing-betrayal and dra-matic-death. And that is why, once heard, no one canforget this ancient tale.

After being introduced to the dancers, I realized theywere selected not only for their talent but also for theirability to bring out the essence of these historic charac-ters. For the part of Cleopatra, William selected thelovely and talented Regina Willoughby, who is beautiful-ly-cast for this role – as is Mark Krieger as Marc Antony.The role of Julius Caesar will be performed by RobertMichalski, who, with his strong almost-Roman physiqueand features will be quite believable, along with JoseSerrano as the evil and jealous Brutus. And so is themagic of performance: William weaves his tale. Hisdancers perform. And we, the audience, will simplybelieve.

What a fantastic opportunity for Columbia to cultur-ally embrace and support both of these unique presenta-tions, as the Ballet celebrates 20 years, and the Museumof Art celebrates 10 years in their new location.

Call today and order your tickets for the ballet.Also, plan on experiencing the exciting journeythrough Egyptian history via the Museum of Art’sspecial exhibit.


William Starrett : Executive & Artistic Director : Columbia City Ballet

the arts

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lace

in

the Ca

thed

ral

and

begins

at 12

:30 p.m. Lun

ch is av

ailable in

Satterlee Ha

ll from

12:00

– 12:30

and

from 1 – 1:30.

Lunc

h is $5. Ad

mission

is free

.www.trinityep

isco

palcathe

dral.org

Saturd

ay, Jan

uary 12

A Tribut

e to Lew

is G

rizza

rd starring Bill Ob

erst

Woo

d Au

ditorium

, Fine

Arts Ce

nter of Ke

rsha

wCo

unty | 803

.425

.767

6Bill Ob

erst b

ring

s Le

wis G

rizz

ard

back

int

o ou

rhe

arts as he

perform

s th

is spe

cial one

-man

sho

wwith

mus

t-se

e Gr

izza

rd h

umor and

can

dor. Sho

wbe

gins

at 8 p.m. Ticke

ts are $25

for adu

lts; $2

0 for

stud

ents. | www.fine

artsce

nter.org

Friday

, Jan

uary 11-M

onday

, Jan

uary 14

Wha

t Wou

ld Jes

us B

uyNicke

lode

on The

ater | 803

.254

.823

4In this hilariou

s do

cumen

tary p

rodu

ced

by "Su

per

Size

Me's" M

orga

n Sp

urlock

, Re

verend

Billy take

s on

American

corpo

rate giant

s su

ch as Wal-M

art an

dDisn

ey and

the

com

mercialization

of C

hristm

as and

life its

elf.

| www.nicke

lode

on.org

Tuesda

y, Jan

uary 15-Thursda

y, Jan

uary 17

Lake

of Fire

Nicke

lode

on The

ater | 803

.254

.823

4Do

cumen

tary abo

ut one

of th

e mos

t co

ntrove

rsial

issu

es is Am

erica: abo

rtion. | w

ww.nicke

lode

on.org

Wed

nesday

, Jan

uary 16

Doug

Graha

m &

Frien

ds, clarinet

Trinity

Episc

opal C

athe

dral | 803

.771

.730

0Ea

ch h

alf-ho

ur con

cert tak

es p

lace

in

the Ca

thed

ral

and

begins

at 12

:30 p.m. Lun

ch is av

ailable in

Satterlee Ha

ll from

12:00

– 12:30

and

from 1 – 1:30.

Lunc

h is $5. Ad

mission

is free

.www.trinityep

isco

palcathe

dral.org

Creo

le Jaz

z Se

rena

des with

Dan

Vap

pie

New

berry Op

era Ho

use | 80

3.27

6.51

79www.new

berryo

peraho

use.co

m

Thursday

, Jan

uary 17

The Ar

tie Sha

w O

rche

stra

New

berry Op

era Ho

use | 80

3.27

9.51

79www.new

berryo

peraho

use.co

m

An Eve

ning

With

Tru

mpe

t Pa

lyer Peter Eva

nsNicke

lode

on The

ater | 803

.254

.823

4Join A

merican

tru

mpe

t play

er Peter Eva

ns as he

pres

ents a solo co

ncert at the

Nick.

www.nicke

lode

on.org

Jan

uar

y 2

00

8S

M

T

W

T

F

S

6

13

20

27

7

14

21

28

1 8

15

22

29

2 9

16

23

30

3

10

17

24

31

4

11

18

25

5

12

19

26

Tuesday

, Jan

uary 1 - Sunday

, April 13

Pape

r Plea

sures: High

light

s from

the

Collection

Columbia Mus

eum of Ar

t | 80

3.79

9.28

10High

light

s old

mas

ters - 19th

cent

ury pr

ints, featur

-ing artis

ts suc

h as

Albrech

t Du

rer, Pierre A

ugus

teRe

noir, Jea

n-Ba

ptiste-Cam

ille Co

rot an

d Od

ilon

Redo

n. Ad

mission

is $5

for adu

lts, $4

for sen

iors

and

$2 for stu

dent

s. | w

ww.colum

biam

useu

m.org

Wed

nesday

, Jan

uary 2-M

onday

, Jan

uary 7

Before The

Dev

il Kn

ows Yo

ur D

ead

Nicke

lode

on The

ater | 803

.254

.823

4Nee

ding

extra cas

h, two brothe

rs con

spire to p

ull

off th

e pe

rfec

t, victim

less

crime.

www.nicke

lode

on.org

Tuesday

, Jan

uary 1

“Sno

wville

”Ed

Vent

ure Ch

ildren’s Mus

eum | 803

.779

.310

0Co

me se

e ho

w m

uch

bigg

er and

better it

is this

winter! Free

with

mus

eum adm

ission

.www.edv

entu

re.org

Saturd

ay, Jan

uary 5

Doyle La

wso

n an

d Qu

icks

ilver

New

berry Op

era Ho

use | 80

3.27

6.62

64Do

yle La

wso

n an

d Qu

icks

ilver’s caree

r of b

rillian

treco

rdings

and

ent

ertaining liv

e pe

rforman

ces ha

smad

e th

em one

of th

e be

st-lo

ved

acts in

blue

gras

san

d th

e pe

rfec

t pe

rson

ifica

tion

of b

lueg

rass

gos

pel.

Tick

ets are $3

5. | w

ww.new

berryo

peraho

use.co

m

Mon

day

, Jan

uary 7 - M

onday

, Jan

uary 28

Brea

king

Groun

d: Th

e Ar

t of W

illie Eva

nsMcC

rory G

alleri | 803

.400

.120

5Co

me view

the

paint

ing ex

hibitio

n of W

illie Eva

ns.

Admission

is free

, bu

t su

gges

ted

cont

ribu

tions

are

$5 p

er adu

lt, $3 pe

r ch

ild. | www.m

ccroryga

lleri.com

Tuesday

, Jan

uary 8 - Friday

, Jan

uary 25

Galle

ry Exh

ibit: Lee

A. Br

euer

Bass

ett Ga

llery, Fine

Arts Ce

nter of Ke

rsha

w C

ount

y80

3.42

5.76

76 | Lee

is a Co

lumbia artis

t who

se w

ork

has ap

peared

in

juried

exh

ibition

s ac

ross

the

state.

His pa

intin

gs w

ith b

road

lay

ers of vibrant

color

evok

e a se

nse of m

ovem

ent, tim

e, and

place

.Ad

mission

is free

. | www.fine

artsce

nter.org

Tuesda

y, Jan

uary 8 - Thursda

y, Jan

uary 10

CONT

ROL

Nicke

lode

on The

ater | 803

.254

.823

4A

profile

of Ian

Curtis, th

e en

igmatic singe

r of Joy

Division

who

se p

erso

nal,

profes

sion

al, an

d roman

tictrou

bles

led

him

to co

mmit

suicide at 23.

www.nicke

lode

on.org

Friday

, Jan

uary 18 - Sunday

, Jan

uary 20

Lars and

the

Rea

l Girl

Nicke

lode

on The

ater | 803

.254

.823

4Ry

an G

oslin

g play

s th

e tit

le cha

racter in

this odd

-ba

ll co

med

y ab

out a de

lusion

al you

ng m

an w

hobu

ys a life

-size se

x do

ll ov

er the

Int

erne

t -- and

then

falls in

love

with

her. | www.nicke

lode

on.org

Friday

, Jan

uary 18

Danc

e Th

eater of C

olum

bia Pr

esen

ts:

Alice in W

onde

rland

The Ko

ger Ce

nter | 803

.788

.751

7He

alth

y Le

arne

rs to be

nefit

from a p

ortio

n of the

proc

eeds

. R

eserve

d se

ating. Ticke

ts are $25

; ch

il-dr

en are $20

. | www.kog

er.sc.ed

u

The Ar

ts A

t Sh

ando

n “B

ig B

and

Danc

e an

d So

cial”

Shan

don

Pres

byterian

Chu

rch

| 80

3.77

1.44

08Th

e Clev

e Ed

wards

Ban

d play

s all styles

of da

nce

mus

ic. Gr

eat lis

tening

and

great d

ancing

. Sh

owbe

gins

at 7:30

p.m

. A

dmission

is free

.www.sha

ndon

pres

.org

Saturd

ay, Jan

uary 19

Salzbu

rg Ens

emble

New

berry Op

era Ho

use | 80

3.27

6.51

79www.new

berryo

peraho

use.co

m

Mas

ter Se

ries

4Ko

ger Ce

nter for the

Arts | 80

3.25

4.74

45Th

e SC

P’s mus

ic d

irec

tor se

arch

sea

son

cont

inue

sas

finalist Sa

rah

Hatsuk

o Hick

s take

s he

r tu

rn on

the po

dium

. Tick

ets are $1

3-$4

0.

www.SCP

Hilharmon

ic.com

Sunday

, Jan

uary 20

Pres

erva

tion

Hall Jazz

Ban

dNew

berry Op

era Ho

use | 80

3.27

6.51

79www.new

berryo

peraho

use.co

m

Mon

day

, Jan

uary 21

Caba

ret Ev

ening with

Del R

aeNicke

lode

on The

ater | 803

.254

.823

4Sing

er/k

eybo

ardist D

el R

ae p

rese

nts he

r on

ewom

an cab

aret sho

w w

here you

will h

ear he

r sing

and

play

jaz

z an

d blue

s. Ticke

ts are $15

.www.nicke

lode

on.org

Tuesda

y, Jan

uary 22 - Thursda

y Jan

uary 24

Darfur

Now

Nicke

lode

on The

ater | 803

.254

.823

4A

gripping

ins

ight

int

o th

e trag

ic gen

ocide in D

arfur,

this d

ocum

entary h

ighlight

s th

e work of six ind

ivid-

uals w

ho h

ave take

n a role in

trying

to stop

the

killing

s an

d he

lp the

millions

of su

ffering reside

nts

of the

reg

ion. | w

ww.nicke

lode

on.org

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

M

ake

it y

ours

.

Wed

nesday

, Jan

uary 23

USC

Cello

Cho

irTrinity

Episc

opal C

athe

dral | 803

.771

.730

0Ea

ch h

alf-ho

ur con

cert tak

es p

lace

in

the Ca

thed

ral

and

begins

at 12

:30 p.m. Lun

ch is av

ailable in

Satterlee Ha

ll from

12:00

– 12:30

and

from 1 – 1:30.

Lunc

h is $5. Ad

mission

is free

.www.trinityep

isco

palcathe

dral.org

Thursda

y, Jan

uary 24 - Sunda

y, Jan

uary 27

Dadd

y’s Dy

in, Who

’s G

ot the

Will?

Woo

d Au

ditorium

Fine Ar

ts C

enter of Kersh

awCo

unty | 803

.425

.767

6Ca

mde

n Co

mmun

ity The

atre p

rese

nts th

is sou

thern

comed

y ab

out a dy

sfun

ctiona

l family

gathe

ring

arou

nd the

ir d

ying

patriarch

in

a sm

all Texa

s town.

Tick

ets are $1

5 for ad

ults and

$10

for stu

dent

s an

dse

niors. | w

ww.fine

artsce

nter.org

Thursday

, Jan

uary 24

“How

to He

lp the

ADH

D Ch

ild”

Sand

hills

Sch

ool | 80

3.69

5.14

00Co

mes

hea

r Dr. Joel Sus

sman

’s d

iscu

ssion

of “Ho

wto H

elp

the AD

HD C

hild.” A

dmission

is free

.www.san

dhillss

chol.org

Friday

, Jan

uary 25 - Tuesday

, Feb

ruary 5

Ches

ley, W

illiams, W

imbe

rly, Ya

ghjia

n An

nual

Exhibitio

nGa

llery 808

08/V

ista Stu

dios

| 803

.254

.084

2www.gallery80

808.co

m

Friday

, Jan

uary 25 - M

onday

Jan

uary 28

The Da

rjeeling Limite

dNicke

lode

on The

ater | 803

.254

.823

4Fo

llowing th

e de

ath

of the

ir fathe

r, th

ree brothe

rs(A

drien

Brod

y, O

wen

Wils

on and

Jas

onSc

hwartzman

) em

bark on

a jour

ney on

the

cross

-India train

the Da

rjee

ling Limite

d an

d attempt to

reco

nnec

t after ye

ars of p

hysica

l an

d em

otiona

l dis-

tanc

e. | w

ww.nicke

lode

on.org

Saturd

ay, Jan

uary 26 - Saturd

ay, April 26

“Grand

eur Sa

ved: Pho

tograp

hs o

f th

e Aike

n-Rh

ett

Hous

e” b

y Micha

el Eas

tman

. McK

issick

Mus

eum | 803

.777

.725

1“G

rand

eur Sa

ved”

fea

tures 16

-large-sc

ale, color p

ho-

tograp

hs of Ch

arleston

’s h

istoric Aike

n-Rh

ett Ho

use,

built in

1818

by reno

wne

d co

ntem

porary p

hotogra-

pher M

icha

el Eas

tman

. Ad

mission

is free

.www.cas

.sc.ed

u/MCK

S/

Saturd

ay, Jan

uary 26

“Int

erna

tiona

l Ga

la o

f th

e Starts” Silent

Auc

tion,

LifeCh

ance

200

8Ko

ger Ce

nter for the

Arts | 80

3.25

2.91

12After th

e elec

trify

ing ga

la of 20

07, Ra

denk

oPa

vlov

ich

cont

inue

s to raise

the

bar on

danc

e.

the ag

es of 17

and

25 who

perform

a rep

ertoire of

works

by so

me of the

nation’s mos

t pr

omising

youn

g ch

oreo

grap

hers. Sho

w is at 8 p

.m. Tick

ets

are $3

0 for ad

ults and

$15

for stu

dent

s.www.new

berryo

peraho

use.co

m

Appa

rition

of the

Etern

al C

hurch

by P

aul Fe

sta

Nicke

lode

on The

ater | 803

.254

.823

4Th

irty-one

artists d

escribe wha

t th

ey h

ear while lis-

tening

on

head

phon

es to Olivier Mes

siae

n's mon

u-men

tal orga

n work of the

sam

e na

me.

www.nicke

lode

on.org

Feb

ruary 2008

Friday

, Feb

ruary 1 - Saturd

ay, Feb

ruary 2

Cleo

patra – WOR

LD P

REMIERE

Koge

r Ce

nter for the

Arts | 80

3.79

9.76

05William Starret’s origina

l ba

llet, C

leop

atra, follo

ws

the might

y lege

nd of th

e Eg

yptia

n Qu

een.

www.colum

biac

ityba

llet.co

m

Friday

, Feb

ruary 1 - Thursday

, Feb

ruary 7

I’m N

ot The

reNicke

lode

on The

ater | 803

.254

.823

4Six ac

tors p

ortray

six p

erso

nas of m

usic leg

end

Bob

Dylan

in sce

nes de

picting va

riou

s stag

es in

the

mus

ician's life. | w

ww.nicke

lode

on.org

Friday

, Feb

ruary 1

Ronn

ie M

cDow

ell

New

berry Op

era Ho

use | 80

3.27

6.62

64Ro

nnie M

cDow

ell ha

s an

amaz

ing string

of hit

song

s th

at h

e ha

s am

asse

d ov

er the

yea

rs, bu

t it

ishis rive

ting stag

e pr

esen

ce and

gen

uine

warmth

that fills th

e se

ats ag

ain

and

again. See

it at 8 p

.m.

Tick

ets are $3

0. | w

ww.new

berryo

peraho

use.co

m

Saturd

ay, Feb

ruary 2

Bake

r & B

aker C

once

rt Series

Columbia Mus

eum of Ar

t | 80

3.79

9.28

10Flut

ist Wen

dy C

ohen

and

Cyn

thia H

opkins

. Sea

ting

is lim

ited. Tick

ets are free

with

mus

eum adm

ission

or m

embe

rship. | w

ww.colum

biam

usue

m.org

James

Grego

ry, Th

e Fu

nniest M

an in

America

New

berry Op

era Ho

use | 80

3.27

6.62

64Le

ave yo

ur w

orries

beh

ind

and

sink

int

o th

e hilari-

ous, w

himsica

l refle

ctions

on

ordina

ry life

from

comed

ian, Jam

es G

rego

ry. Sho

wing at 5 &

7 p

.m.

Tick

ets are $2

9.50

in

adva

nce an

d $3

1.50

day

of.

www.new

berryo

peraho

use.co

m

The Pitchfor

ks o

f Du

ke U

nive

rsity

Woo

d Au

ditorium

, of Fine Ar

ts C

enter of Kersh

awCo

unty | 803

.425

.767

6Th

is award-winning

male a ca

ppella group

of Du

keUnive

rsity

stu

dent

s is w

ell kn

own

for th

eir high

-sp

irite

d pe

rforman

ces th

at b

oast a rep

ertoire of

Aplac

ewher

ead

ults

canplay

likech

ildre

n.

Apar

tyloca

tion

forallag

es.

211

Ger

vais

Stre

et|

Colu

mbi

a,SC

Visit

ourw

ebsit

e:w

ww

.edv

entu

re.o

rgBo

okyo

urne

xtpa

rty:8

03-4

00-1

161

Feb

ruar

y 2

00

8S

M

T

W

T

F

S

3

10

17

24

4

11

18

25

5

12

19

26

6

13

20

27

7

14

21

28

1 8

15

22

29

2 9

16

23

World m

edalist retu

rn from abroa

d as

Rick

McC

ulloug

h ch

oreo

grap

hs a w

orld p

remiere. The

Rona

ld M

cDon

ald

Hous

e will b

e th

e be

nefic

iary for

LifeCh

ance

200

8. | w

ww.colum

biac

lass

icalba

llet.org

Sunday

, Jan

uary 27 - Sunday

, June 8

Exca

vatin

g Eg

ypt: Gr

eat Disc

overies from

the

Petrie

Mus

eum of Eg

yptia

n Arch

aeolog

yCo

lumbia Mus

eum of Ar

t | 80

3.79

9.28

10Th

is exh

ibition

offers a view

int

o th

e liv

es of bo

throya

l an

d av

erag

e Eg

yptia

ns w

ith anc

ient

objec

tsan

d artw

ork from

the

earlie

st p

eriods

of Eg

yptia

nhistory to the

late Ro

man

period. A

dmission

is free

with

mus

eum adm

ission

.www.colum

biam

useu

m.org

Sunday

, Jan

uary 27

Bake

r & B

aker C

once

rt Series

Columbia Mus

eum of Ar

t | 80

3.79

9.28

10Ca

rolin

a Pro Mus

ica (Edw

ard

Ferrell on

rec

orde

r an

dfla

uto trav

erse

, so

pran

o Re

becca Miller Sau

nders,

Holly

Mau

rer on

viola d

a ga

mba

, co

ntinuo

and

flau-

to trave

rso/

reco

rder and

harps

icho

rdist Ka

ren

Hite

Jaco

b). Sea

ting is lim

ited. Sh

ow is at 3 p

.m.

Tick

ets are free

with

mus

eum adm

ission

or mem

-be

rship. | w

ww.colum

biam

useu

m.org

“The

Bes

t of B

road

way

,” A

Gersh

win C

eleb

ratio

n!New

berry Op

era Ho

use | 80

3.27

6.62

64Fe

atur

es G

ersh

win’s u

niqu

e blen

d of jaz

z, b

lues

and

clas

sica

l mus

ic. Sho

w is at 3 p

.m. Ticke

ts are $25

.www.new

berryo

peraho

use.co

m

Tuesda

y, Jan

uary 29

- Wednesda

y Jan

uary 30

The Ra

pe o

f Eu

ropa

Nicke

lode

on The

ater | 803

.254

.823

4On

the

sho

rt list for Be

st D

ocum

entary for this

year's O

scar, Joan

Alle

n na

rrates

this do

cumen

tary

that chr

onicles 12

yea

rs of th

e Naz

is' p

illag

ing

works

of art th

roug

hout

Eur

ope an

d th

e intern

ation-

al effort to loc

ate, p

rotect and

retur

n millions

of

valuab

le treas

ures

. | www.nicke

lode

on.org

Wed

nesday

, Jan

uary 30

Marina Lo

maz

ov, pian

oTrinity

Episc

opal C

athe

dral | 803

.771

.730

0An

half-ho

ur con

cert in

the Ca

thed

ra. B

egins at

12:30 p.m. Lun

ch is av

ailable in Satterlee

Hall from

12:00 – 12

:30 an

d from

1 – 1:30. Lu

nch

is $5.

Admission

is free

.|www.trinityep

isco

palcathe

dral.org

Thursday

, Jan

uary 31

Hartsv

ille Co

ncert

Palm

etto M

astersinge

rs | 803

.765

.077

7www.palmettomas

tersinge

rs.org

Hubb

ard

Street 2

New

berry Op

era Ho

use | 80

3.27

6.62

64Th

e co

mpa

ny is co

mpo

sed

of six d

ance

rs b

etwee

n

mod

ern

and

clas

sic hits. Sho

w starts at 7 p

.m.

Tick

ets are $1

5 for ad

ults and

$10

for stu

dent

s an

dse

niors. | w

ww.fine

artsce

nter.org

Sunday

, Feb

ruary 3

Clas

sic Cine

ma Su

nday

s: 3rd

Ann

ual S

idne

y Po

itier

Maratho

nMcC

rory G

alleri | 803

.400

.120

5McC

rory G

alleri p

rese

nts Clas

sic Cine

ma Su

nday

s.Th

is Sun

day featur

es a m

aratho

n of M

r. Sidn

eyPo

itier’s m

ost po

igna

nt and

brillian

t films du

ring

his

long

and

suc

cess

ful ca

reer. A

dmission

is free

.www.m

ccroryga

lleri.com

Tuesday

, Feb

ruary 5

Charles Wad

sworth

& Frie

nds Ch

ambe

r Mus

ic Series

Woo

d Au

ditorium

, Fine

Arts Ce

nter of Ke

rsha

wCo

unty | 803

.425

.767

6Fa

med

pianist C

harles

Wad

sworth

retur

ns w

ithpian

ist Wen

dy C

hen, violin

ist Ch

ee-Yun

, an

d ce

llist

Edward

Arron, p

erform

ing Stravins

ky, Villa

-Lob

os,

Scho

enfie

ld, an

d Men

delsso

hn. Ad

vanc

e tic

kets $30

;Da

y of ticke

ts $35

; Stud

ents $15

.www.fine

artsce

nter.org

Tuesday

, Feb

ruary 5 - Friday

, Feb

ruary 29

Galle

ry Exh

ibit: R

obert Urban

Bass

ett Ga

llery, Fine

Arts Ce

nter of Ke

rsha

w C

ount

y80

3.42

5.76

76 | A

non

-traditio

nal land

scap

e pa

inter,

Urban

’s w

ork refle

cts th

e on

going stru

ggle to co

ex-

ist be

twee

n na

ture and

hum

ankind

. Ad

mission

is

free

. | www.fine

artsce

nter.org

Thursday

, Feb

ruary 7 - Sunday

, March

23

Unforge

ttab

le: Th

e Ph

otog

raph

y of C

ecil J.

Williams

McC

rory G

alleri | 803

.400

.120

5View

the

pho

tograp

hy exh

ibition

of Ce

cil J.

Williams.

Admission

is free

. | www.m

ccroryga

lleri.com

Thursday

, Feb

ruary 7

Wen

dy C

hen, p

i ano

; Ch

eeYu

n, violin

: Ed

ward

Arro

n,ce

llo; Ch

arles Wad

sworth

, ho

stDu

Bose

Pos

ton

Rece

ption

Hall, C

olum

bia Mus

eum of

Art | 80

3.34

3.04

82Ch

arles Wad

sworth

of Sp

oleto Fe

stival fam

e an

dreno

wne

d yo

ung mus

icians

prese

nt m

emorab

leco

ncerts thr

ough

out th

e ye

ar. Sh

ow b

egins at 7

p.m. N

on-M

embe

r Sing

le Ticke

ts are $33

, Mem

ber

Sing

le Ticke

ts are $28

. www.colum

biam

useu

m.org

Friday

, Feb

ruary 8

Junior B

rown

New

berry Op

era Ho

use | 80

3.27

6.62

64Fo

ur-tim

e Gr

ammy co

untry rock

er n

ominee

Jun

ior

Brow

n is an

expe

rt at th

e instru

men

t he

inv

ented

calle

d th

e “g

uit-stee

l” a com

bina

tion

of electric &

stee

l gu

itar. See

him

at 8 p.m. Ticke

ts are $30

.www.new

berryo

peraho

use.co

m

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

M

ake

it y

ours

.

Saturd

ay, Feb

ruary 9-Sunday

Feb

ruary 10

“Han

sel & G

retel”

The To

wns

hip

Auditorium

| 803

.771

.630

3Sh

owing at 10 a.m. on

Satur

day an

d 3 p.m. & 7

p.m. on

Sun

day. Tick

ets are $1

0 for ad

ults and

$5

for stud

ents. | www.carolinab

allet.ne

t

Saturd

ay, Feb

ruary 9

Mas

ter Se

ries 5

Koge

r Ce

nter for the

Arts | 80

3.25

4.74

45Th

e SC

P’s mus

ic d

irec

tor se

arch

con

tinue

s as

final-

ist Da

vid

Comman

day take

s his tu

rn on

the po

di-

um. Tick

ets are $1

3-$4

0. | w

ww.SCP

Hilharmon

ic.com

Saturd

ay, Feb

ruary 9

Gosp

el Fes

tPh

elps

Aud

itorium

, Ca

mde

n Middle Sc

hool

803.42

5.76

76 | A

n ev

ent of the

Fine Ar

ts C

enter of

Kersha

w C

ount

y’s Multi-

Cultu

ral.

A spe

cial eve

ning

of com

mun

ity u

nity, with

loc

al gos

pel ch

oirs sha

r-ing th

eir glorious

voice

s in son

g. Sho

w b

egins at 7

p.m. A

dmission

is $5

. | www.fine

artsce

nter.org

Friday

, Feb

ruary 8 - Sunday

, Feb

ruary 10

Margo

t At

the

Wed

ding

Nicke

lode

on The

ater | 803

.254

.823

4Margo

t an

d he

r so

n Clau

de d

ecide to visit

her sister

Pauline after sh

e an

noun

ces th

at she

is ge

tting

married

to less

-tha

n-im

pres

sive

Malco

lm. Th

e storm

the sisters crea

te lea

ves be

hind

a a m

ess of

thrash

ed relations

hips

and

exp

osed

fam

ily sec

rets.

www.nicke

lode

on.org

Friday

, Feb

ruary 15

Columbia Co

mmun

ity C

once

rt B

and

Union

United

Metho

dist C

hurch

| 80

3.78

1.30

13Sh

ow b

egins at 7:30 p.m. A

dmission

is free

.www.ccc

b.ba

nklin

k.org

Frida

y, Febru

ary 15 - Thursda

y, Febru

ary 21

Jimmy Ca

rter M

an from Plains

Nicke

lode

on The

ater | 803

.254

.823

4'Jimmy Ca

rter M

an From Plains" is an

int

imate, sur

-pr

ising en

coun

ter with

Preside

nt Jim

my Ca

rter.

www.nicke

lode

on.org

Thursday

, Feb

ruary 21

“Growing Up

Dys

lexic”

Sand

hills

Sch

ool | 80

3.69

5.14

00He

ar C

raig C

rawford

’s d

iscu

ssion

of G

rowing Up

Dyslex

ic. Free

adm

ission

. | www.sas

ndhills

scho

l.org

Friday

, Feb

ruary 22 - Sunday

Feb

ruary 24

Sout

h Ca

rolin

a Bo

ok Fes

tival

Nea

rly 60

nationa

lly-kno

wn

auth

ors for read

ings

and

sign

ings

; bo

okse

llers and

exh

ibito

rs; Free

admission

. | www.scb

ookfes

tival.org

Thursday

, March

6 - Sunday

, March

9Pe

ter Pa

nWoo

d Au

ditorium

, Fine

Arts Ce

nter of Ke

rsha

wCo

unty | 803

.425

.767

6Ca

st of yo

ung th

espian

s from

thr

ough

out Ke

rsha

wCo

unty, rang

ing in age

from elemen

tary to high

scho

ol. Directed

by Jerry Stev

enso

n of C

olum

bia

Child

ren’s Th

eatre. Sho

w is 7 p.m. ea

ch n

ight

with

a3 p.m. matinee

on

Sund

ay. A

dmission

is $6

.www.fine

artsce

nter.org

Thursday

, March

6“E

xecu

tive Fu

nctio

ning

”Sa

ndhills

Sch

ool | 80

3.69

5.14

00Co

mes

hea

r Dr. Be

tsy Gr

ier’s

discu

ssion

of Exe

cutiv

eFu

nctio

ning

. Free

adm

ission

. www.san

dhillssch

ool.o

rg

Erika Nickren

z, p

iano

; Jess

e Mills, violin

; Ke

nji

Bunc

h, viola; Ed

ward

Arron, cell;

Charles

Wad

swor

th, pian

o an

d ho

stDu

Bose

Pos

ton

Rece

ption

Hall, C

olum

bia Mus

eum of

Art | 80

3.34

3.04

82Ad

mission

: Non

-Mem

ber Sing

le Ticke

t: $33

Mem

ber

Sing

le Ticke

t: $28

| w

ww.colum

biam

useu

m.org

Friday

, March

7 &

Saturd

ay M

arch

, 8

“Sum

ptuo

us Swing”

Sand

lapp

er Singe

rs | 803

.381

5481

www.san

dlap

persinge

rs.org

Tuesday

, March

11 &

Friday

, March

28

Galle

ry Exh

ibit: You

Gotta H

ave Ar

t, You

th A

rts

Mon

th Exh

ibit

Bass

ett Ga

llery, Fine

Arts Ce

nter of Ke

rsha

w C

ount

y80

3.42

5.76

76 | R

eprese

nts th

e be

st stu

dent

artwork

from

sch

ools thr

ough

out Ke

rsha

w C

ount

y.Ad

mission

is free

. | www.fine

artsce

nter.org

Tuesday

, March

11

“A Salut

e to Ella

Fitz

gerald,” Freda

Pay

neNew

berry Op

era Ho

use | 80

3.27

6.51

79www.new

berryo

peraho

use.co

m

Friday

, March

14

Robin

Hood

Koge

r Ce

nter for the

Arts, C

olum

bia Clas

sica

l Ba

llet |

803.25

2.91

12 | C

ome se

e Ra

denk

o Pa

vlov

ich’s world

prem

iere of Ro

bin

Hood

, ch

oreo

grap

hed

by award

winning

Sim

one Cu

ttino. Sho

w b

eing

s at 7:30 p.m.

www.colum

biac

lass

icalba

llet.org

Spring

er o

n To

ur p

rese

nts Th

e Ta

ffetas

Woo

d Au

ditorium

, Fine

Arts Ce

nter of Ke

rsha

wCo

unty | 803

.425

.767

6It’s 19

50-som

ething

and

fou

r sing

ing sisters from

Mun

cie, Indian

a are mak

ing th

eir na

tiona

l televi-

sion

deb

ut. Tick

ets are $3

0 for ad

ults and

$20

for

stud

ents and

sen

iors. | www.fine

artsce

nter.org

Mar

ch 2

00

8S

M

T

W

T

F

S

2 9

16

23

30

3

10

17

24

31

4

11

18

25

5

12

19

26

6

13

20

27

7

14

21

28

1 8

15

22

29

Friday

, Feb

ruary 22 - Sunday

, Feb

ruary 24

Daug

hters of the

Dus

tNicke

lode

on The

ater | 803

.254

.823

4Julie

Das

h's film follows a large Africa

n-Am

erican

family

mov

ing no

rth

in the

early 20th

cent

ury,

bringing

to life th

e co

nflic

ts and

strug

gles

tha

t co

n-fron

t families

lea

ving

the

ir h

omelan

d for th

e ho

peof a b

etter futu

re. | www.nicke

lode

on.org

Saturd

ay, Feb

ruary 23

Harambe

e Fe

stival

Antis

del Ch

apel, Be

nedict G

ospe

l Ch

oir

803.70

5.44

09 | A

n ev

ent for th

e en

tire family

with

food

, mus

ic, fun

and

art. Live stag

e pe

rforman

ces

are sc

hedu

led

throug

hout

the

day

. Ad

mission

is

free

. | www.ben

edict.ed

u

Slee

ping

Bea

uty

Woo

d Au

ditorium

, Fine

Arts Ce

nter of Ke

rsha

wCo

unty | 803

.425

.767

6Co

lumbia Ch

ildren’s Th

eatre pr

esen

tatio

n.Ad

mission

is $6

. | www.fine

artsce

nter.org

Sunday

, Feb

ruary 24

Nick

’s A

nnua

l Os

car Pa

rty

Nicke

lode

on The

ater | 803

.254

.823

4Ba

ck b

y po

pular de

man

d, C

olum

bia's pa

rty girl Patti

O'Fu

rnitu

re h

osts the

Nick's An

nual O

scar Party.

Beer, Wine an

d Fo

od. Re

d ca

rpet com

men

tary starts

at 7:30 p.m. Tick

ets are $2

5.00

. 77

sea

ts ava

ilable.

www.nicke

lode

on.org

Mon

day

, Feb

ruary 25 - Sunday

March

2Th

e Walke

rNicke

lode

on The

ater | 803

.254

.823

4Op

enly gay

Carter Pa

ge III (W

oody

Harrelson

) often

esco

rts middle-ag

ed W

ashing

ton, D

.C.,

wives

to

high

-soc

iety eve

nts th

eir hu

sban

ds can

't attend

. Bu

twhe

n th

e love

r of one

of his wom

en frien

ds is

kille

d, Pag

e is d

rawn

into a tan

gled

mur

der inve

sti-

gatio

n. | w

ww.nicke

lode

on.org

Mon

day

, Feb

ruary 25

Myu

ng Soo

k Stou

denm

ire, pian

oCo

ncert Ha

ll, Spe

ars Mus

ic/A

rt C

enter, Co

lumbia

Colle

ge | 786

-381

0Pe

rforman

ce b

egins at 7:30 p.m.

www.colum

biac

ollege

sc.edu

March

2008

Sunday

, March

2Ca

mde

n Co

mmun

ity C

once

rt B

and

Winter Co

ncert

Woo

d Au

ditorium

Fine Ar

ts C

enter of Kersh

awCo

unty | 803

.425

.767

6Und

er the

direc

tion

of W

. Pa

trick Wylie, th

e Co

ncert

Band

perform

s th

eir Winter co

ncert. B

egins at 3 p.m

.Ad

mission

is free

. | www.fine

artsce

nter.org

Saturd

ay M

arch

15

Mas

ter Se

ries 6

Koge

r Ce

nter for the

Arts | 80

3.25

4.74

45Th

e SC

P’s mus

ic d

irec

tor se

arch

sea

son

cont

inue

sas

finalist Ad

am Flatt tak

es h

is tur

n on

the

pod

ium.

Tick

ets: $13

-$40

. | www.SCP

Hilharmon

ic.com

Friday

, March

28 - Saturd

ay, May

3“S

pring for Ar

t!”McK

issick

Mus

eum | 803

.777

.725

1An

inv

itatio

nal ex

hibit an

d sa

le of works

by artis

tson

the

mes

reflecting th

e So

uth

Carolin

a Midland

s. It

is spo

nsored

by th

e McK

issick

Mus

eum A

dvisory

Coun

cil. Ad

mission

is free

. | www.cas

.sc.ed

u/MCK

S/

Friday

, March

28

“Spr

ing for Ar

t!”McK

issick

Mus

eum | 803

.777

.725

1McK

issick

Mus

eum’s ann

ual ga

la eve

nt and

art sale.

This ann

ual ev

ent featur

es art for sale, m

usic, fes-

tive food

and

drink

. Sp

onso

red

by the

Mus

eum

Adviso

ry C

ounc

il, p

roce

eds be

nefit

the

mus

eum’s

colle

ction

and

exhibitio

n pr

ograms. Ticke

ts are $55

per pe

rson

or $1

00 a cou

ple. w

ww.cas

.sc.ed

u/MCK

S/

Fina

lly Frida

y Free

Con

cert Series

Fine

Arts Ce

nter of Ke

rsha

w C

ount

yTh

e po

pular ou

tdoo

r co

ncert se

ries

con

tinue

s with

loca

l mus

ician

Kevin

Taylor. Co

me ou

t for an

even

ing of fun

fam

ily ent

ertainmen

t. Foo

d an

ddr

inks

will b

e av

ailable. C

once

rt from 6 – 8:30 p.m.

Free

adm

ission

. | www.fine

artsce

nter.org

Glen

n Miller O

rche

stra

New

berry Op

era Ho

use | 80

3.27

6.51

79www.new

berryo

peraho

use.co

m

Mon

day

, March

31

“Gofer in

the

Hole”

Golf To

urna

men

tHidd

en Valley Co

untry Club

| 803

.791

.972

9Th

e 3rd

annu

al fun

draise

r for th

e Dick

erso

n Ce

nter

for Ch

ildren. | w

ww.dicke

rson

cent

er.org

24 H

our C

risis

Lin

e: 8

03.7

65.9

428

24 H

our C

risis

Lin

e: 8

03.7

65.9

428

15th

ann

ual s

ilent

au

ctio

n an

d re

cept

ion

Bene

fitin

g Si

ster

care

of th

e M

idla

nds

Save

the

Dat

e

Rece

ptio

n is

May

13,

200

8fro

m 5

- 8

p.m

.Co

lum

bia

Conf

eren

ce C

ente

r

If in

tere

sted

in s

pons

orin

g th

is ev

ent,

cont

act S

abrin

a at

803

.926

.050

5

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_

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____

____

____

_

____

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____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_

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_

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_

M

ake

it y

ours

.


opinion

Columbia is home to two worlds, coexisting and inter-mingling on a daily basis. One world consists of themundane and the other comprises the extraordinary.

One world offers the predictability of the humdrum, whilethe other provides thought-provoking and exciting uncer-tainty. One world rewards you with the comfort of theordinary and the other challenges you with the unknown.

We make the decision to stick to the well-trodden pathor veer off for some adventure several times throughoutany given day. While wasting away the years, mindlesslyadrift in the routine of 9 to 5, safe in your familiar has itsadvantages, taking an occasional left turn into unchartedterritory helps put things in a fresh perspective. Think ofthis magazine as your guide to the unfamiliar, a placewhere you can go for advice from eyes, ears and minds thatyou can trust.

For those of you that are usually disappointed, you aregoing to be challenged by what you find on these pages.Columbia has long since ceased to be a boring town. Artand industry are taking hold here. Growth is undeniable.Do you want to be an active participant? If so, then takeheed. If you’ve been to some of the bigger cities in thesoutheast or even in the northeast, you’ll note similaritiesin the quality of music offered in several of our venues. Check out the Columbia Jazz Orchestra at Delaney’sSpeakeasy on a Monday night. The experience of top-notch big band music in such a cozy setting will affect youfor days to come.

Those of you that are eternally optimistic will be chal-lenged as well. You will be asked what you are doing tocontribute to our community, either by directly involving

yourself or supporting those that are the lifeblood of theColumbia scene. For instance, have you taken the stepsdown to The Whig, a destination for the more curiousamong you? Not that any should avoid it, but this club islike any quality beverage: it’s not for everyone. You are justas likely to see free-form exploratory space/jazz-rockdirectly from the New York underground psych movementas you are to hear a DJ spinning the soundtrack to yourevening. Either way, it’s in your face, inescapable and sub-terranean. Oh, and don’t forget the killer jukebox!

Jazz, bluegrass, rock, folk, blues and various combina-tions thereof are living and breathing in this area. Theplaces that host these living, breathing art forms employgreat staffs and deserve not only your support but also therecognition of being on par with some of the bestvenues/clubs in the country…that’s right…the country. Iwill make it my business to share all of my discoveries withyou. Feel free to enlighten me as well, or take me to taskif that’s more appropriate.

Much like this magazine will hope to shed muchdeserved light on the art and culture thriving in this city,you can tap into this “quiet revolution” by visiting eitherthe mainstream venues or the more cutting edge placeswhere people meet.

Be your own judge, but don’t just sit there. Look at theworld from a different perspective. Be a part of what’s hap-pening. Don’t wait for people to tell you about it. Look forthe extraordinary. I’ll see you out there.

mundane orextraordinary?

text: Tony Lee

text: Tony Lee

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