2008

APPLETON, WIS. — Everyone should have such successful first tries.

Lynn Gilge had never shot a video before getting an assignment for one for her digital processes class at Lawrence University. Not only did her videography debut earn Gilge an ‘A’ for the assignment, it wound up being selected for the exhibition “Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes” at Minneapolis’ prestigious Walker Art Center.

The four-minute video titled “Continuous Fence” features a dizzying series of fence styles, including traditional white picket, decorative wrought-iron and industrial chain link. Gilge, a sophomore at Lawrence from Phillips, shot the video in one day while walking around Appleton. Some thoughtful observation turned into spontaneous inspiration.

“Back home, I live out in the country, but as I thought about people living in suburbia and started looking at how close the houses are and how many of them have fences around their yards, I was struck with the notion of ‘Are they trying to keep things in, or are they trying to keep things out?,'” said Gilge.

“It’s incredible that Lynn was able to communicate her artistic vision so poetically and that the Walker recognized its hypnotic beauty,” said Julie Lindemann, assistant professor of art at Lawrence, who co-teaches the digital processes class.

“Continuous Fence” was one of 12 videos selected by the Walker Art Center from a nation-wide call for submissions through the popular Internet site YouTube. All of the videos are being shown on a television set in a faux 1970’s suburban basement rec room — complete with paneling, shag carpet and bean bag chairs — the art center constructed specifically for the exhibition, which runs through Aug. 17.

“I couldn’t believe it when I received the email saying my video had been selected for the exhibition,” said Gilge, who is pursuing a major in both studio art and English at Lawrence. “I started calling everyone I knew. It was really kind of surreal. The work of some very famous artists are on display at the Walker, folks like Jasper Johns, Mark Rothko, even Yoko Ono, so to have something I did featured in the same art museum with artists of that stature is beyond description.”

While heartily endorsing the video-making experience as “a lot of fun,” Gilge said it wasn’t without its anxious moments.

“I was a little nervous walking in front of all these people’s houses with a video camera,” Gilge said. “I was worried someone would be suspicious of my intentions and report me to the police.”

During her filming, she did draw the attention of one excited homeowner, who came out to question what she was up to. But Gilge’s explanation of a class assignment quickly defused the situation.

That Gilge’s video debut wound up being part of an exhibition at a major art museum is even more remarkable given the fact she was initially “wait-listed” for the digital art class due to enrollment limitations. It took someone else dropping out for her to get in.

“There was a whole lot of luck involved in all of this,” Gilge said with a laugh.

APPLETON, WIS. — William Shakespeare’s farcical whirlwind of love, lust and jealousy gets a musical treatment in four performances of Lawrence University’s production of Otto von Nicolai’s comic opera “The Merry Wives of Windsor.”

The opera will be performed March 6-8 at 8 p.m. and March 9 at 3 p.m. in Stansbury Theatre of the Lawrence Music-Drama Center, 420 E. College Ave., Appleton. Tickets, at $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and students, are available at the Lawrence University Box Office, 920-832-6749.

Through masterfully rich orchestration and beautifully sweeping melodies, Nicolai’s setting of Shakespeare’s farce of the same name follows the amorous antics of Sir John Falstaff and his struggle with the battle of the sexes. The aging and prodigiously portly Falstaff attempts to simultaneously court two married women, who quickly become aware of his plot and plan their revenge.

Visiting Professor of Music John T. Gates, who is directing the production, notes that audiences may be more familiar with “Falstaff,” Verdi’s operatic adaptation of the same story, but he considers “The Merry Wives of Windsor” to be “a more successful wedding of music and drama.”

“The mythological personification of Love randomly afflicts unsuspecting human beings with uncontrollable passions and then sits back to watch its spectacles unfold, be they tragic, comic or sublime,” said Gates. “For me this human vulnerability to the whims of Love is at the core of Shakespeare’s ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor.'”

The production features a double cast of singers with one performing Thursday and Saturday nights and the other taking the stage Friday and Sunday. Gates said audiences will be treated to “two excellent casts of students singing this fantastical story of love gone right and love gone wrong.”

Gates is a veteran of the opera world, with a resume featuring more than 1,000 performances covering 80 roles in many of Germany’s most important opera houses and concert halls. David Becker, who directs orchestral studies at Lawrence, is the musical conductor for the production. Bonnie Koestner, Brian DeMaris and Tad Hardin are the production’s vocal coaches.

APPLETON, WIS. — Lawrence University has been awarded a core set of resources by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) designed to enhance the preservation of valuable artifacts and historical records housed in its archives. As part of the IMLS’s “Connecting to Collections Bookshelf” program, Lawrence will receive conservation books, DVDs and online resources that provide guidance on preservation procedures.

Located in the Seeley G. Mudd Library, the Lawrence University Archives is the repository of historical records of both Lawrence and Milwaukee-Downer College, which consolidated with Lawrence in 1964.

“Maintaining an institution’s heritage and history is at the heart of all collections efforts,” said Lawrence archivist Julia Stringfellow. “The Bookshelf award is a wonderful resource that will greatly support the preservation of, and access to, the collections housed in our archives.”

The IMLS is the primary source of federal funding for the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Its Bookshelf program focuses on collections typically found in art or history museums and in libraries’ special collections.

Based on an application detailing the needs and plans for care of its collections, Lawrence was among the first recipients of a 2008 IMLS Bookshelf, which addresses such topics as collections management and planning, emergency preparedness and culturally specific conservation issues. Lawrence, UW-Madison and UW-Eau Claire were the only colleges or universities in Wisconsin awarded an IMLS Bookshelf in the initial round of grants.

“A recent national study tells a sobering story about the state of America’s library and museum collections,” said Anne Radice, director of the IMLS. “Without immediate action, we stand to lose important collections that are at the heart of the American story.”

According to the IMLS report “Public Trust at Risk: The Heritage Health Index Report on the State of America’s Collections,” 190 million objects need conservation treatment, 65 percent of collecting institutions have damaged collections due to improper storage and 40 percent of institutions have no funds allocated in their annual budget for preservation and conservation.

APPLETON, WIS. — A Taiwanese initiative to join the United Nations that caused China to declare a “period of high danger” and drew criticism from the United States could have serious foreign policy ramifications says a leading scholar on relations between the three countries.

Richard Bush, a senior fellow and director of the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., presents “The Taiwan Strait Issue and U.S.-China Relations” in the final installment of Lawrence University’s 2008 Povolny International Studies Lecture Series, Monday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. in Science Hall Room 102. The event is free and open to the public.

A 1969 Lawrence graduate, Bush will examine the “Taiwan muddle,” including implications of a proposed referendum on the question of whether the island should become a member of the United Nations. The current plan calls for the referendum to be held in connection with Taiwan’s March 22 presidential election. He also will discuss the causes of political tensions between China and Taiwan despite their growing economic cooperation, among them poor communication, a conflict of goals and a mix of politics and external policies.

During a distinguished public service career spanning more than 20 years, Bush spent 1997-2002 as the chairman and managing director of the American Institute in Taiwan and also served on the House Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. He is the author of three books, including 2007’s “A War Like No Other: The Truth About China’s Challenge to America.”

In addition to a bachelor’s degree in political science from Lawrence, Bush earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. from Columbia University. In June 1998, he was awarded the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal.

The “U.S.-China Relations” lecture series is sponsored by the Mojmir Povolny Lectureship in International Studies. Named in honor of long-time Lawrence government professor Mojmir Povolny, the lectureship promotes interest and discussion on issues of moral significance and ethical dimensions.

APPLETON, WIS. — More than 300 voices will join forces in tribute to some of America’s greatest composers Sunday, Feb. 24 for the EXPERIENCE American Choral Masterpieces concert at 2 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel, 510 E. College Ave., Appleton. The concert is free and open to the public.

In a pre-concert lecture begining at 1:15 p.m., Lawrence music historian Julie McQuinn will explore the concept of “American” music, examine the history of America’s quest to define itself musically and discuss the music and attitudes of some of the diverse group of composers featured on the concert program.

The two-hour concert will showcase Lawrence’s own Concert Choir, Cantala (women’s choir) and Viking Chorale as well as a special “Festival Choir” of 140 exceptional high school singers nominated by their respective choral directors.

Members of the Festival Choir were drawn from 20 high schools in six states, including as far away as Oregon and Vermont. The choir will have a strong local flavor, with singers from Appleton East, Appleton West, Xavier, Ashwaubenon, Green Bay Southwest and Oshkosh West high schools performing with the Lawrence choirs. The entire Appleton North High School choir also will perform.

The concert, supported by a $50,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, will be performed under the direction of noted guest conductor Charles Bruffy, artistic director of the Phoenix Bach Choir and the Kansas City Chorale. Praised by many as the next great American choral conductor, The New York Times named Bruffy a potential heir apparent to the late great Robert Shaw and Fanfare magazine has hailed him as “one of the next big things in American choral music.”

Focusing exclusively on works by noted American composers, among them Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland and Eric Whitacre, the program will include the world premiere of “Careless Carols,” a commissioned work written specifically for this concert by award-winning composer Andrew Rindfleisch.

Considered among the leading composers of his generation, Rindfleisch is the director of music composition studies at Cleveland State University. His work has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, among them the Aaron Copland Award, the Koussevitzky Foundation Commission from the Library of Congress and the 1997-98 Rome Prize.

APPLETON — The nine-member, all-male vocal ensemble Cantus brings its impeccable technique to the stage of the Lawrence Memorial Chapel, 510 E. College Ave., Appleton, Saturday, Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. as part of the 2007-08 Lawrence University Artist Series.

Tickets for the concert, at $22-20 for adults, $19-17 for seniors, and $17-15 for students, are available through the Lawrence University Box Office, 920-832-6749.

Hailed by Gramophone Magazine for its “astonishing perfection of tone and diction,” Cantus sings in the bel canto tradition, presenting music freely and colorfully, with repertoire spanning a broad range of periods and genres, including Renaissance, world music and pop. The Lawrence concert program will include an Indian raga, an African-American spiritual, a Japanese folk song and a piece by Bobby McFerrin.

Founded in 1995 by four St. Olaf College students, Cantus has earned praise as one of the nation’s finest professional male vocal ensembles through national tours and more than 400 concerts, including performances at the Kennedy Center and the Library of Congress. Shahzore Shah, a 1999 Lawrence graduate, performs as a member of Cantus.

Cantus has released eight CDs, including last year’s self-titled disc that NPR named one of the Top Ten recordings of 2007. It showcases their varied style through a 20th-century Russian sacred music work, a Smokey Robinson tune and an amusing faux-Finnish piece.

Lawrence gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts in sponsorship of this concert.

APPLETON, WIS. — A poetic tale of love, passion and betrayal in Spain’s tumultuous 1920s is retold in four performances of Lawrence University’s production of “Blood Wedding,” a tragedy by Spanish playwright Federico Garcia Lorca.

The play will be performed Feb. 21-23 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 24 at 3 p.m. in Cloak Theatre of the Lawrence Music-Drama Center, 420 E. College Ave., Appleton. Tickets, at $10 for adults, $5 for students and senior citizens, are available at the Lawrence University Box Office, 920-832-6749.

Rich with symbolism, “Blood Wedding” weaves together music, dance and storytelling to reveal a marriage ceremony filled with jealousy and romance. Set in rural Andalusia just before the Spanish Civil War, the play examines themes of individualism vs. society, a woman’s role in society and death.

Lawrence’s production is only the second time the play will be performed using the new translation by Caridad Svich, an award-winning Latina playwright and translator whose works have been staged throughout the United States and abroad.

“Blood Wedding,” directed by Annette Thornton, postdoctoral fellow in theatre arts, is the second of three productions in the theatre department’s celebration of Spanish playwrights during the 2007-08 season.

APPLETON, WIS. — As the presidential primary season rolls on, how well do voters know the candidate for whom they intend to vote? Perhaps not as well as they think says a Lawrence University researcher who helped create a Web site to help voters identify the candidate that best aligns with their own views on the issues.

Since making its debut, MyElectionDecision.org has attracted more than 7,500 users from 27 countries — China, India, Iraq, Nigeria and Thailand among them — who have taken advantage of its interactive questionnaires to help match their views with candidates’ statements.

“People using this Web site have reported being surprised by the candidates they seem to support based on the issues alone,” said Lawrence University’s Rob Beck, a member of the team that created the site. “Many users have seen that their original choice of candidate was based more on personal characteristics and less on ideas.”

Launched in mid-October, and created by a team of Lawrence faculty and staff, in partnership with researchers from the University of California-Irvine, MyElectionDecision.org was aimed primarily at the Internet-obsessed Millennium Generation, but users have spanned all generations. It allows users to take a blind test without knowing which candidate said what, evaluate which issue statements they support, and then, with computer assistance weighing the preferences, find out which candidate most closely supports their own views.

“In an age of sound bites, we’re asking people to think more deeply about this election and what the candidates positions are on the issues,” said Beck. “What makes MyElectionDecision.org different is that it offers, and requires, a more thoughtful reading of the issues.”

Among five issues the Web site asks users to rank in importance on a one to five scale, the war in Iraq, energy, health care and the economy are all in a virtual dead heat for the lead, with the fifth, immigration, trailing only slightly.

The candidate statements used by MyElectionDecision.org are drawn largely from the official web sites of the various presidential candidates or in some cases from recent speeches to ensure they are both current and accurately capture what the candidate wishes to communicate to the public.

“As the primary races tighten,” Beck said, “I hope voters will finally see that there are substantive differences among the candidates’ positions.”

MyElectionDecision.org is one of several initiatives launched last fall in response to a challenge issued by President Jill Beck to the members of the Lawrence community to increase their political awareness and become more involved in participatory democracy.

Among them is a special seminar on political engagement and student activism that is being team-taught by President Beck, Rob Beck and William Skinner, director of institutional research.

Students in the class have surveyed more than 500 of their classmates to determine what issues are most important to college-age voters. Preliminary results indicate environmental issues, funding for K-12 education and arts, the war on terror, reproductive rights and civil liberties were among the most important to the students from a list of 15 issues.

The completed surveys will be analyzed and the most popular issues will be added to the MyElectionDecision.org questionnaires.

Lawrence senior Nathan Litt, 22, a government major from Sheboygan, was one of the students who conducted the on-campus survey. He said the experience of talking politics with his fellow students exposed him to much of the excitement that is building for the election.

“Young voters are becoming more engaged and turning out at the polls and candidates have to recognize the impact we’re having on the election,” said Litt, who was surprised to discover after taking the MyElectionDecision.org survey that the candidate who best matched his answers wasn’t the same one he planned to vote for. “I like the fact that the role of the young voter has increased.”