Conrad Bakker's Lifejackets/Hoserack and Exercise Bike are on display through Nov. 5 at the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery.

Bakker's 'Spatial Fictions' Exhibited at Sheldon

Beginning Sept. 20, The Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden will present Conrad Bakker: Art and Objecthood, an exhibition featuring six installations or, as Bakker calls them, "spatial fictions" that engage many of the most important aesthetic and cultural issues in the contemporary art world. The exhibition runs to Nov. 5.

This exhibition's subtitle, "Art and Objecthood," alludes to several important aesthetic themes. First, it refers to the title of an influential written by Michael Fried in 1967. Second, Art and Objecthood refers to a problem that interested Marcel Duchamp throughout his career, namely, what separates an "art" object from a non-art object? Third, Art and Objecthoodrefers to the "objecthood" of art.

Born in Clinton, Ontario, in 1970 to first-generation Dutch immigrants, Bakker and his family moved to Florida when he was six years old. He attended Calvin College, a liberal arts college supported by the Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Mich. After graduating with a B.F.A. in 1992, Bakker studied painting and sculpture at the School of Art at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. With his M.F.A. in 1996, Bakker returned to Calvin College as assistant professor of Art.

In Art and Objecthood Bakker focuses particular attention on objects that refer in one way or another to American "success," objects that connote both "convenience" (blessing) and "excess" (curse). Bakker carves and paints common objects found in suburban homes and a host of other objects that make up our taken-for-granted visual and material environments but carry significant symbolic value. Bakker is not concerned merely to reproduce the mass-produced objects.

Like Robert Gober, Bakker intentionally distorts these objects, which serves to "break down" the illusion in order to gradually shift the viewer's attention from the artist's technical ability to reproduce a mass-produced object, to the conceptual ideas and challenges, both cultural and aesthetic, he is posing.

Bakker's installation explores the aesthetic, symbolic, and iconographic meaning and significance of the "cul-de-sac," an artificially-designed neighborhood that draws people together as well as isolates them. For Bakker, the cul-de-sac becomes a visual metaphor for both suburban success and desperation, a "dead end" masquerading as the "American dream." Bakker's art and the "spatial fictions" he constructs offer opportunities for us to reflect positively and negatively on the multitude of objects that constitute our material culture, the institutional rituals that sustain them, and what they say about us.

Folk Legend Joan Baez at Lied Oct. 5

Music legend Joan Baez will perform her celebrated brand of folk music at the Lied Center for Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 5. Her special guest will be singer/songwriter Stacey Earle.

One of the most accomplished folksingers of the 1960s, Baez has influenced nearly every aspect of popular music in a career still going strong after more than 35 years. Baez, possessing an exquisite soprano, has put her energies into folk and popular music as well as numerous political causes. Her 1992 album Play Me Backwards was nominated for the Best Contemporary Folk Recording Grammy, while her latest release, Gone From Danger, features the songs of up-and-coming young songwriters.

With Simple Gearle, her 1998 debut, Stacey Earle introduced herself to the world as an expressive singer and heartfelt songwriter. Those traits are also evident in her follow-up release Dancin' With Them That Brung Me, produced by Gearle Records, the label she co-owns with her husband Mark Stuart.

L. Kent Wolgamott, arts reporter for the Lincoln Journal Star, will deliver a pre-performance talk in the Lied's Steinhart Room 30 minutes prior to curtain. Tickets are $38, $34 and $30, half-price for students, and are available at the Lied Box Office.

McMullen Performance Oct. 3

The School of Music presents faculty artist William McMullen, oboe, at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Kimball Recital Hall. Admission is free.

Joining McMullen will be Catherine Herbener, harpsichord, piano; Clark Potter, viola; and Charles (Chip) Smith, narrator. The program will feature J.S. Bach's "Sonata in E-flat Major," Schumann's "Three Romances," Britten's "Two Insect Pieces," and "Six Metamorphoses after Ovid," and Loeffler's "Deux Rhapsodies for oboe, viola, and piano."

McMullen, associate professor of oboe, is a member of the Moran Woodwind Quintet, and is principal oboe with the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra. From 1981-1986 he was a regular substitute English horn player with the New York Philharmonic. He is a frequent recitalist with pianist Catherine Herbener. Their recording of the Oboe Sonata by Randall Snyder was released in 1996 on compact disc by Vienna Modern Masters. His bachelors degree was earned at Baldwin-Wallace College as a student of Galan Kral, and his masters and doctorate degrees at The Juilliard School of Music as a student of Thomas Stacy. During the summer, McMullen is on the faculty of Rocky Ridge Music Center in Colorado.

Nebraska Brass Quintet Performs Oct. 10

The School of Music presents the University of Nebraska Brass Quintet in concert at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 10 in Kimball Recital Hall. Admission is free.

The University of Nebraska Brass Quintet is composed of Darryl White, trumpet; Tom Kelly, trumpet Allen French, horn; Scott Anderson, trombone; and Craig Fuller, tuba. The Quintet will be assisted in this concert by The Plymouth Brass.

For their program they will perform John Stevens' "Seasons for Brass Quintet;" three works by Puccini, "Che gilida manina from La Boheme," "Elucevan le stelle from Tosca," "Nessun Dorma from Turandot;" Eugene Bozza's "Sonatine;" and Giovanni Gabrieli's "Canzon Duodecimi Toni."

UNL Symphony Orchestra Concert Oct. 6 at Kimball

The UNL Symphony Orchestra will perform a concert, "A Russian Spectacular" at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 6 in Kimball Recital Hall. Tickets are $5 general admission and $3 for students and are available at the door beginning one hour before the performance.

The program will include Glinka's "Overture to 'Ruslan and Ludmilak,'" Prokofiev's "Suite No. 2 from 'Romeo and Juliet,'" and Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor" featuring NU professor of piano, Paul Barnes. The orchestra will be directed by Tyler White.

Founded in 1884, the 70-member University Symphony Orchestra is the oldest continuously operating orchestra in Nebraska; its alumni hold positions in major professional symphony orchestras, college and university music schools and departments, and on public school music faculties throughout the country. Made up of students from across the university, the University Symphony Orchestra and its related ensembles, the Chamber Orchestra, Opera Orchestra, and Music Theatre Ensemble, present approximately six concert programs each year. In addition, the NU Symphony regularly tours in the region.

A passionate champion of the music of many of America's most important composers, Barnes was featured at the 2000 Music Teachers National Association Convention in Minneapolis where he performed the music of Joan Tower, David Ott, Philip Glass, and Victoria Bond.

Barnes is co-chair of piano at the School of Music. He teaches each summer at the Bösendorfer International Piano Academy in Vienna where he will take four UNL pianists to study this summer with Vienna's top teachers. Barnes regularly teaches the students of Menahem Pressler, Barnes' own teacher, at Indiana University and has had his own students distinguished themselves in many ways including placing in national and international competitions and performing for NPR's From the Top. Barnes is a Bösendorfer Artist.

Tyler White, associate professor of music and director of Orchestral Activities at the School of Music, is active as a guest conductor, orchestral clinician, composer, scholar, and teacher of conducting, composition, and strings. He received his doctoral and master's degrees in composition from Cornell University (where he studied with composers Steven Stucky and Karel Husa) and his bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He has also studied at the University of Copenhagen, the Conservatoire Américain de Fontainebleau, and the Herbert Blomstedt Institute of Conducting.

Before coming to UNL, White was orchestra director at Trinity University (San Antonio) and at Cornell University. His work as a composer has been recognized by commissions from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, and other ensembles, as well as by awards and grants from BMI, Vienna Modern Masters, the Conservatoire Américain de Fontainebleau (Prix Maurice Ravel), Tulane University, the Southeastern Composers League, and The MacDowell Colony. In 1996, White won the Omaha Symphony Guild International Composition Competition.

Giving Up the Ghost Opens Theatrix Season

Theatrix will open the 2000-2001 season by staging Giving Up the Ghost by Cherrie Moraga at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 5, 6 and 7 in the Studio Theatre in the Temple Building. Admission is $4 and tickets are available only the door. The audience may receive information by calling 472-2072. Adult lanugage and situations may be depicted.

Giving Up the Ghost is the modern story of love and loss. "The piece explores the inter-relations between race, faith, sexuality and the process of healing, " according to Moraga. Set in present day Los Angeles, Moraga has delicately woven both the English and Spanish languages in her portrayal of passions.

A professor at Stanford University in the Spanish and Portuguese Department, Moraga is a renowned playwright. Her work has been anthologized and studied around the world, especially by Chicano Literature and Women's Studies students.

Sonali Zooey Kumar, the director of the three-woman cast, returns to Theatrix after directing last season's Dionysus in 99. Kumar, a graduating senior at UNL with a University Studies major, has teamed up with Mandi Jefferis, Julie Kinkenon, and Amy J. Black to create the performance.

"As a director I'm most interested in the universal appeal of storytelling and the power of the stage," said Kumar.

Theatrix is a producing organization of the Department of Theatre Arts. The mission is to encourage theatrical artists to explore and experiment with contemporary, classical, and new material. Through a broad diversity in material and artistic expression, Theatrix hopes to help culturally enrich the lives of members of the university and community.

University Theatre Announces Individual Ticket Sales

The Department of Theatre Arts announces the sale of individual tickets to its 100th Anniversary season beginning Oct. 2. Individual prices, for shows other than A Christmas Carol, are $12 patrons, $10 faculty/staff/senior citizens, and $7 student/youth. A Christmas Carol tickets are: Section 1: $28/regular and $14/student/ youth, Section 2: $24/regular and $12/student/youth, and Section 3: $20/regular and $10/student/youth.

University Theatre 100th Anniversary season tickets, which include one admission to each of the five productions, are on sale now at the Lied Center Box Office. Season ticket prices are $60 patrons, $50 faculty/staff/senior citizens, and $30.00 student/youth. The Lied Center Box Office is open from 11:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and one hour prior to performances. The Box Office phone number is 472-4747 or 800-432-3231 toll free.

The season begins with Shakespeare's comedy All's Well That Ends Well, opening Oct. 19 in Howell Theatre. The holiday classic A Christmas Carol opens Dec. 7 at the Lied Center. The spring semester opens with The Philadelphia Story beginning Feb. 15 in Howell Theatre, followed by a collaboration with the Nebraska Repertory Theatre, The Last Train To Nibroc in the Studio Theatre opening March 8. The season concludes with the University Theatre/Nebraska Repertory Theatre/School of Music production of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown opening April 19 in Howell Theatre.

Vote On Egg Artistry Contest Entries

Fourteen Nebraska artists have submitted entries in the 7th annual egg artistry contest sponsored by the Poultry and Egg Division of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. The eggs are on display at the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery until Oct. 10 and the public can vote on which egg best depicts Nebraska.

The winning egg will be taken by the American Egg Board, along with other state submissions, to Washington, D.C., for display at the White House during Easter, 2001. A Nebraska artist will have his or her work viewed by the president of the United States and White House visitors.

Those competing in the Nebraska egg artistry contest are: Becky Piek, Wayne; Bonnie Dorner, West Point; Cynthia Colean, Big Springs; Kay Clesson, McCook; Alyson Steele, Norfolk; Rebecca Dutcher, Culbertson; Penny Deeds, Tilden; Veronica Kiuntke, Columbus; Sara Poellor, Osmond; Kari Brown, Wayne; Brigitta Meyer, Garland; Roger Maller, Oakland; Derek Spence, Norfolk; and Sharon Krumland, Creston.

For more information about the egg artistry contest, contact Mary Torell at the Poultry and Egg Division, 472-0752.