Newspaper Page Text
Student goes bananas for art
By BRITTANY KRAFT
For The Red & Black
If 25-year-old Joe Havasy
hadn't been forced to wear
glasses in the second grade,
he might never have become
an artist.
Havasy attributes his
proclivity for drawing and
painting to the fact he was
the kid with glasses —and
he spent most of his child
hood indoors.
"My parents were pretty
protective. I spent most of
my time reading encyclope
dias," said Havasy, who grew
up in Marietta.
Though protective, his
parents were also supportive
of Havasy’s endeavors in art.
Reading encyclopedias lead
to his fascination of drawing
animals, but his later inter
est in comic books influ
enced his artistic style.
Guitarist returns to Athens ready to rock
By LAYTON SMITH
lsmith#randb.com
His sound has been
dubbed lounge punk, psy
cho-billy and even slacker
swing.
"People say a lot of
strange things,” said gui
tarist Dexter Romweber, for
mer front man of Flat Duo
Jets. "We just play rock and
roll."
The rocker returns to
Athens Friday for a perform
ance at the Melting Point.
He'll be joined by Jason
Ringenberg, formerly of
Jason and the Scorchers,
whose unique blend of coun
try and punk rock sensibili
ties presaged the alt-coun
try movement of the
early 1990s
Workshops hope to instruct ‘The Entrepreneurial Artist’
By WHITNEY KESSLER
wkessleK# randb.com
Most people think with
either the right? side of their
brain or the left They are
either good at English or
good at math
Likewise, it would follow
to say the art students and
the business students at the
University are on opposite
wavelengths.
However, the owner and
art consultant of The Point
of Art gallery, Lee Nelson,
said the two fields really
have a lot do with each
other in the real world
"Students come out very
well prepared in the arts
side, but don’t necessarily
know how to run the busi
ness side,” Nelson said.
He said the workshop
he's teaching at his gallery
called "The Entrepreneurial
Artist” was created to help
students and other artists
looking to sell their art to
bridge the gap. After work
ing many years in finance
and marketing, Nelson said
he saw a need for helping
artists through the issues of
m mWK ||f
which Havasy describes as
"very cartoony, very cute,
and severely disturbed.”
Bright colors mixed with
animals, dinosaurs and even
babies make Havasys paint
ings appear at first glance as
cheery cartoons —but they
are not as they may seem.
Havasy's paintings com
bine brilliant Images with
morbid undertones. One
painting illustrates a bright
yellow banana screaming in
agony with a portion of its
head bitten off. Another
work called “No one wants
to hug a cactus" features an
Intensely green cactus
standing alone in the lumi
nous desert sky with a single
arm raised and big, heart
breaking eyes.
Havasy said he looks up
to artists like Cezanne and
Matisse, who influence the
use of color in his paintings.
Based out of Chapel Hill,
N.C., Flat Duo Jets gained
national exposure early, first
appearing on MTV’s “The
Cutting Edge" in 1985.
Barely out of high school
but already rising stars in
the underground musical
counterculture, Romweber
and drummer Chris “Crow"
Smith spent a year living
and gigging in Athens, star
ring alongside local icons
R.E.M. and the B-52s in the
offbeat music documentary,
“Athens, Ga.. Inside Out.”
Released in 1987, the doc
umentary showcased the
totally stripped down,
grungy sound of the guitar
and drums duo, later cited
as an influence on many
contemporary performers,
including White Stripes'
ENTREPRENEURIAL
ARTIST
When: 9 a m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday; Wednesday, March
14 and Saturday March 17
Where: The Point of Art in
Union Point
Price: $75 per person
More Information: Visit
virww.thepointofart.net.
profit and margin.
“I saw the struggling that
(his wife’s) colleagues had,
and I just thought that it
made sense,” he said. “And
nobody does it, which really
surprises me.”
Anne, Nelson's wife, is an
artist and the co-owner of
the gallery in Union Point,
which is about 30-40 min
utes southeast of Athens.
The couple relocated to the
area after evacuating New
Orleans during Hurricane
Katrina
The workshop is time to
learn about advertising,
marketing and strategies,
Nelson said.
"This is more like a
JOE HAVASY
Wat) site: www JoeHavaaycom
Shows: Paintings currently on
display at DePalma s down
town.
Upcoming show at
Transmetropolitan in May
“I try to use pure color. I
usually mix no more than
two colors so they are really
bright and vibrant," he said.
front man. Jack White.
“We didn’t have a bass
player simply because we
couldn’t find one,” he said.
“We were the only two peo
ple around who wanted to
play rock 'n' roll like that.”
Although based in
Nashville, Tenn., between
partying and playing with
fellow indie rockers R.E.M.,
Jason and the Scorchers
found a niche for its unique
sound in the early 1980s
Athens music culture.
“I have a wealth of fantas
tic memories from that town
and that time period,”
Ringenberg said. “It was a
magical time all over the
South, but particularly in
Athens where ... all the
musical elements of the
South converge."
Chinese buffet —a smorgas
bord because we don’t go
into detail,” Nelson said. “It
is not a 10-step program. It
is much more of a tool-giv
ing workshop.”
He said becoming rich
depends on the art, not the
ability to sell, which makes
the workshop more interest
ing than a business class.
“Coming will validate
what students are already
doing, and they pick up
things they didn’t know
about,” he said.
Nelson said the attendees
range from full-time stu
dents to retirees to profes
sional artists.
"Sometimes other artists
know the good galleries and
the bad galleries, the good
festivals and the bad ones,”
he said. "That is the reason I
keep the workshop in small
numbers.”
University alumna and
ceramic artist Monica Jones
said she agreed another
opinion is always helpful.
She said the couple tries to
reach out to artists and give
them encouragement.
“I think they’re awe-
VARIETY
But Havasy only began
painting when he came to
the University. His first love
was drawing, which he still
practices.
Havasy's comics run
every other week in Flagpole
magazine. His comics usual
ly depict day to day events,
mixing relationship humor
with self-depreciating
themes.
“The easiest person to
pick on is yourself," said
Havasy. One comic shows
how Havasy chipped his
front tooth by biting his
fingernails.
“The goal of my art is to
make someone smile,” he
said.
Whether exploding birds
and floating sheep make you
smile or not, Havasy's art
gives people something to
ponder without taking life
too seriously.
DEXTER ROMWEBER
Playing with Jason Ringenberg (of
Jason & the Scorchers)
When: 8:30 p.m. Friday (doors
open at 6 p m.)
Where: Melting Point
Price: $11.50 In advance.
sl2 at door
More Information: Visit
www meltmgpomtathens.com
some,” she said. “I would
recommend it Just to get a
different view. And a view
like Lee Nelson’s is very
valuable.”
Managing the money part
of the field is difficult when
trying to be immersed in the
art side, she said.
“I really have Just learned
by the skin of my teeth,”
Jones said. “Now I have to
think about profit and creat
ing what the average person
wants to buy, and try not to
spend as much money as
I’m making.”
While at the University,
she said the program really
encouraged the students to
place their attention on the
art only.
"It's tricky when you’re
going through arts school,
because they don’t want you
to focus on the money part,”
she said
The workshop takes
place in two parts at the art
gallery and then at the
Lyndon House. Attendees
will be invited to eat lunch
in the town and ei\Joy the
company of local artists,
Nelson said.
©2007 Target Storm Tbe Dongn is fademar* o Targe? dranda toe A A njprts reserved C27TQ6
goJabuy
BJi deodorant. 4{34
*
Tarflot.com/Bpringßreako7
The Rsd a Black | Wednesday, Feseuaev 28, 3007
Aegis of Athena
to bring ‘onslaught’
By SCOTT REID
(reid<Frandb.com
Following a successful
Hollywood movie, a classic
love story featuring royal
lovers endlessly making out
was not something Athens
metal hardcore band Tristan
and Isolde wanted to be
associated with anymore.
Having recently changed
their name, the newly minted
Aegis of Athena will be laying
down brutality tonight at 40
Watt Club.
“We definitely wanted a
name nobody had,” said
singer Robert Schmidlein, a
graduate student studying
kenesiology. “We had a big
list we had to go through and
find an unused name.”
Greek goddess Athena's
aegis was a breastplate she
wore in battle that bore the
head of Medusa.
Tonight’s show is organ
ized by Aegis of Athena’s
friends, metal band
Lazer/Wulf, also playing
tonight.
Even with the name
change, the band has not
played in town much recent
ly.
“We’ve been waiting for
our CD to come back from
High-flying dancers stay
committed to their work
By TESSA JOHNSON
For The Red & Black
Members of CORE
Concert Dance Company
would have you believe they
are Just regular human
beings, but these dedicated,
hard-working and talented
dancers possess at least one
ability most will only dream
about: they can fly.
CORE is a contemporary
dance group composed of six
main company members, two
apprentices, five guest per
formers and is led by Bala
Sarasvati, University profes
sor and modem dance pro
gram coordinator. One of
their most exciting tech
niques Involves aerial per
formance.
Sarasvati choreographs
the majority of the work and
features aerial dances that
employ the use of lyra (aerial
hoops) and silks, which
allows contemporary dance
to come to life in CORE’S
performances.
"Bala brings in someone
to train us [in aerial perform
ance],” said Claire Molla, a
third-year student in the
dance department and sec
ond-year CORE member.
“There’s a lot of technique
to learn that you don't
already know from dancing.”
Instead of teaching com
pany members lots of various
aerial skills, CORE members
concentrate on honing and
perfecting one or two skills,
such as swinging and spin-
AEGIS OF ATHENA
Playing with Lazur/Wulf
When: 9 tonight
Where: 40 Watt
Price: $5
our producer, so we’ve been
in a holding pattern,” said
Schmidlein, a Yonkers, N.Y.,
native.
“We let it calm down for a
bit, to build up some things,”
he said.
According to Schmidlein,
there are not many other
bands playing hardcore In
Athens but plenty playing
metal.
“There is a lot of great
metal, but the only bands
playing hardcore seem to be
us and a band called Of
Legend,” said Schmidlein.
Among the metal bands
playing, Schmidlein Includes
Lazer/Wulf and First Master,
a side project of members of
Aegis of Athena.
For a loud guitar assault
fronted by what Aegis of
Athena’s MySpace page
accurately calls “a double
vocal onslaught ranging from
Cookie Monster to Grover,”
go to 40 Watt tonight.
CORE CONCERT
DANCE COMPANY
Presents Spring Collection
2007
When: 8 tonight-Saturday
Where: New Dance Theater,
located on Sanford Drive
Price: $8 for students
nlng, and then creatively
expand on those skills, said
Sarasvati.
Since the program’s incep
tion in 1901, CORE has per
formed countless times.
However, the program
remains fresh and diverse.
This week’s performance
is no different. The audience
can expect a show Including
pieces premiered in New
York, an Irish section
that features aerial perform
ance and a trampoline
dance, said Catherine
Herrmann, a fourth-year stu
dent and first-year member
of CORE
The hardest part for
Herrmann is making sure
schoolwork is done while also
working as a village commu
nity assistant in East
Campus Village. Although
there is always work to be
done, she thrives with the
challenges.
“The only thing I want to
be thinking about, especially
three weeks before the show,
is CORE,” she said. “I would
n’t be satisfied if it weren’t
for a group like CORE.”
0
Ewecrr Mont Moeaa*
7