Page 8
f News/Features
Art and the
Oak Ridge Man
Friday, November 5, 1982
by Karl Miller
Special columnist
An exhibit of almost thirty re
cent oil paintings by Hoy Nydorf
is on display through November 7
iin the Gallery in Founders Hall.
With a few exceptions, all of the
paintings have either figures or
still lifes as their subject matter,
and all have the vivid colors
characteristic of Expressionism.
Upon entering the Gallery, one
is struck by the expressive
orange and red hues which jump
from the walls. Nydorf's inten
tion is to create what he describes
as "a charged situation," and he
does this partly by varying the
opacity and the brilliance of the
paint. In "Street Scene with
Pries," for example, the
woman's shirt and the buildings
in the background are left with a
transparent wash of half-tones,
while the priest's robe and other
areas are given a more opaque
treatment of pure, brilliant color.
The result is a dynamic composi
tion which moves the viewer
through the painting.
Nydorf considers the figure
paintings his major works
because of their capacity for
psychological impact. They show
a marvelously personal approach
to humanity, an approach which
is tinged with daydream and fan
tasy although still anchored in
Are You Animal
or Vegetable?
by David Nash
Staff Writer
By now, everyone on campus
has developed habits particular
to him. Yet many people have
assumed the traits of a favorite
animal (Especially at Guilford
would such a diverse beastiary be
possible.)
THE MOLE. This creature
studies the most. He is most evi
dent on Friday and Saturday
nights in the library stacks He
has a hunched back because he
always carries all his books on
his shoulder to that special
remote desk deep within the
labyrinth of the stacks. He can
easily be identified by his pale
skin and constant blinking in
bright sunlight.
THE SPONGE This animal is
immune to considerable blasts of
sounds He sits at his desk amid
castles of beer cans with both
speakers emitting dangerous
levels of noise. The waves either
bounce off or sink in the animal
(That isn't all he might absorb.)
He has an infallible logic system:
"Today is Thursday. Tomorrow
is Friday-that means weekend.
So why not begin tonight?"
THE NIGHT OWL. These
creatures begin anything when
the dorms close around one
o'clock. They constantly have
books to read or papers due They
tend to cling together in groups
somewhat similar to Western
campouts with such standard
fare as coffee and Domino's piz
the naturalistic tradition. It is in
teresting to see that Nydorf
paints dogs, cats, and birds with
the same conviction and
psychological intensity that he
applies to his paintings of people.
The large painting of swimming
ducks is a beautifully dramatic
portrait.
Although they are smaller and
less complex, the stillifes in the
show are no less exciting By vir
tue of their small scale and
simplified subject matter they
are more experimental and
sometimes more light-hearted
than the large works.
A visit to the Nydorf exhibit can
be an inspiring experience even
for those unfamiliar with Nydorf
or his work. One student describ
ed his experience as "a setting of
anxiety." Those more familiar
with Nydorf's work will ap
preciate his increased use of a
more Expressionistic treatment
of space and form With a couple
exceptions, all of the paintings in
the show were done in the last one
and a half years. "Oak Ridge
Man" is aptly titled, it being the
first painting Nydorf completed
at his new studio in Oak Ridge,
North Carolina.
THE RABBIT. This creature is
seasonal. He is now seen along
the roads of the campus or the
trails of the woods This fast, frail
fuzzball has an energy level too
high for most students. The rab
bit runs nine or ten miles, does
two hundred push-ups to relax his
body before bedtime at ten, and
then complains of soreness This
creature is occasionally accom
panied by the moose - a beast
whose shoulders are as broad as
your nearest door and whose
neck is as thick as your nearest
oak tree. This partnership is most
evident on Saturday afternoon
rituals when a line of moose pro
tect a backfield of rabbits.
In addition to possessing these
animal qualities, everyone has a
pet: the cop-out. As winter ap
proaches, maybe some rarer
animals will come out of hiberna
tion.
■ ■ ' . .-. '• • • •.:,,
Thinking
Capsule
by John Cox
Staff Writer
West Germany
The most tumoltuous events of recent West
German history began on September 17th when
then-Chancellor Helmut Schmidt's ruling
coalition dissolved. The moderately leftist
association of the Social Democrats (SLDP)
and Free Democrats (FDP) broke up, leaving
the much-respected but embattled Schmidt in
dire straits. On October Ist Schmidt failed a
vote of confidence in the Bundestag (German
Parliament) by a vote of 256-235.
The new chancellor is Helmut Kohl, leader of
theconservativeChristian Democrats-Christian
Social Union coalition. Many internatinal
observers are wondering whether the relative
ly inexperienced Kohl, who speaks no foreign
languages, can fill the gap left by the ousting of
the brilliant and energetic Schmidt.
Although Kohl has already appointed a new
cabinet and made connections with other world
leaders, his position is far from secure. In re
cent regional elections the SPD and the en
vironmental parties did much better than ex
pected, and the powerful German trade unions
and anti-nuclear groups have promised strong
opposition to Kohl's conservative plans.
Politically, Kohl fits in nicely along-side Presi
dent Reagan and English Prime Misister
Margaret Thatcher Supply-side economics
and a tougher anti-Soviet stand-or at least talk
of them- can be expected in the future from
Germany. But Kohl has promised elections for
this March, and the question remains as to
whether he can maintain his current populari
ty
Lsa
President Reagan has been traipsing
across the land trying to boost GOP congres
sional campaigns and at the same time defen-
Clay Runs Around
by Joe I'ardington
News Kditor
About a month ago, during the
City Stage Festival weekend of
October 1-3, Guilford sophomore
Clay Tyson finished third in his
age group and 19th overall in the
"I.H. Caffey's Run for the Arts"
race. Starting early on Saturday
morning, the 10 kilometer (6.2
mile) race attracted 450 entrants.
The winning time was a brisk
30.04. Clay, running without
training, finished with a time of
37 minutes, 50 seconds. Though
he did not do any preparatory
running for the race, Clay resign
ed himself to swimming some
laps in the College's pool, for
which he is now lifeguarding.
Asked how he felt during the
race, Clay responded - "After the
first mile, it's pain from there on
out." He recommends knowing
your limits as a runner, and
therefore attempting "any race
that is a little farther than you're
used to, every day." The best
primer for a race, he says, is
training for at least two weeks
prior to the race and talking to so
meone knowledgable about runn
ing. Clay warns that if you don't
prepare by training, "you'll cer
tainly spend weeks patching
yourself together, like 1 did."
Clay is planning on running in a
race this weekend. With a couple
weeks of training and a half of a
semester swimming to get him
into better shape, Clay stands a
good chance on improving his
time for the upcoming race. If
he's lucky a few people from
Guilford will join him for the next
meet; the competition could
make for an intense contest.
ding his heavily-criticized economic policies.
Reagan visited Raleigh, NC, on Tuesday, Oc
tober 26th. Last week he announced that a
voluntary agreement limiting European steel
exports to the US had been reached with West
Germany and several other European nations.
Although Reagan has reduced the inflation
rate drastically to 4.8%, unemployment has
reached a post-Depression high of 10.1%. And
in 1982, the first full fiscal year of Reagan's
presidency, lthe budget deficit hit an all-time
high of 110.7 billion dollars.
Israel
In response to profuse and angry public out
cry in Israel and to worldwide statements of
concern, Israeli Prime Minister Begin has
launched and official investigation into the
Israeli role in the September massacres of
Palestinian civilians.
The recently withdrawn 1200 US Marines
have again landed in Beirut and will remain
there, according to the Pentagon, "as long as
necessary. There is growing public confusion
in the US as to what type of precise and just
role our troops have in the peace-keeping ef
forts. And the summer's brutality in Lebanon
has claimed four more victims: and Israeli ex
plosive detonated last week at the Beirut air
port, killing one US Marine and injuring three
others.
Spain
Conservative rule of Spain, unimpaired since
1939, could very well be broken by elections
held in late October. Socialist leader Felipe
Gonzalez, for from being a feared radical, has
very strong support among Spanish voters.
The deeply troubled Spanish economy is a ma
jor contributor to the growing leftist movement
in Spain Predictions of a Socialist victory,
while proving the soundness of nascent Spanish
democracy, raise fears of violent right-wing
reprisals in this nation only five years free
from autocratic military rule.