Arts & Entertainment
Jan-Ru Wan's "Observing the Inner Voice"
By Nikki Wertz, Staff Writer
On Feb. 7, guest artist
Jan-Ru Wan will be presenting
her artwork at the opening recep
tion of her exhibition “Observing
the Inner Voice.” Born in Taiwan
and educated in the United States,
Wan has created large-scale three-
dimensional garment and fabric
sculptures that have won her a
number of awards and fellowships
in a span of 20 years. These sculp
tures almost appear to be literal
shells of the human soul if not the
human body. Her pieces often
explore the influence of culture on
an individual’s beliefs and values
despite the eonsistent similarities
in desires and needs shared by all
human beings.
“Observing the Inner
Voice” is no different, as it will ex
amine the connections between art.
l^omen
Warriors
Essay Contest
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Sponsored by the Colton
Engtoh Club and the School
religion and spirituality. The recep
tion will take place in the Gaddy-
Hamrick Art Center’s Weems Gal
lery at 5:15 p.m. There will be two
opportunities to hear Jan-Ru Wan
discuss her artwork: the Artist Lec
ture and the Gallery Talk. The Art
ist Lecture will take place in room
137 in Gaddy-Hamrick from 4:30
p.m. to 5:15 p.m. The Gallery Talk
will take place during the opening
reception and will be at 5:30 p.m.
These events count as Academic/
Cultural events.
If you are unable to attend
any of these events, don’t worry!
Jan-Ru Wan’s work will be exhib
ited in the gallery from Jan. 24 to
Mar. 5. The Gaddy-Hamrick Art
Center is located behind Carlyle
Campbell Library across the big.
parking lot, the Weems Gallery be-
Write an academic
essay on the theme
of women warriors.
For more Info atui to
submit, visit:
bit.If/aAbUDWO'
ing open to the public from
9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, and from 2
p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays
and Sundays.
For non-art enthusi
asts or those intimidated by
art, be assured that the show
is worthwhile. The attention ■
to detail and craftsman
ship was obvious and was
evidence of Jan-Ru Wans
20 years of experience as an
artist. I visited the exhibition
before the opening recep
tion with little information
on the artist and her work
and found exhibition to be
completely compelling. As
an artist, I find Jan-Ru Wan’s
work awe-inspiring.
Continued from page 2
your home, there are still
plenty of other ways you
can help these animals.
Summer Langdon, a student
at Meredith, has been
volunteering at the Raleigh
SPCA for about a month, and
says that she wanted to start
volunteering because she
has “always loved animals
and...wanted to help make a
difference and find abandoned
or homeless animals caring
owners, while making sure that
they have the proper care they
need before adoption.” In her
work at the SPCA, Summer
grooms cats and cleans up their
kennels and is also currently
working toward completing
dog care training. About her
Photo by Laney Flaugher
. #
work at the shelter. Summer said,
“I definitely feel like I am making
a difference when helping at the
SPCA! It is a great feeling when
you know you have helped one of
the animals by providing them the
care and support they need to get
adopted into a loving home.”
According to the Raleigh
SPCA’s website, where a lot of
detailed information can be found
about volunteering requirements,
as long as you’re over i8-years-old
and can commit to volunteering
for at least one shift per month,
you can be eligible to volunteer.
They offer a variety of tasks
for volunteers, including pet
matchmakers, dog walkers, kennel
keepers and more. For more
information on how to volunteer,
visit spcawake.org.
Another Magical Mary Poppins:
By Ashleigh Murr, Staff Writer
A Review of Mary Poppins Returns
Disney’s 2019 Mary
Poppins Returns is a brilliant
performance that sparks childlike
joy, imagination and hope. The
movie is a refreshing continuation
of a classical story with a hopeful
message. As a nanny myself
and with knowing the history
behind the story from Disney’s
2013 Saving Mr. Banks, this movie
encourages me by highlighting
the difference one nanny can
make in children’s lives. The light
and airy feel of this film protests
the world’s common lack of
imagination. Daily, society bears
heavy, serious topics including'
sharp political disagreements,
outrageous crimes, and
environmental travesties, but the
film prompts its viewers to the
freedom of imagination and joy,
even if for only two hours.
It is cute and whimsical
overall; however, even as a
children’s movie, parts seemed
overly cheesy, such as the very last
scene when first Michael Banks,
followed by many others, is lifted
up by balloons high into the sky.
Despite this light tone, the film’s
climax is somewhat suspenseful
as the Banks family tries to save
their home by “turning back time”
on Big Ben as Jack, a London
street worker, attempts to climb to
the top and physically move back
the clock hand.
Due to the changing times
, and technology, the imagery and
imaginative scenes were portrayed
more clearly and cleverly than in
the original 1964 Mary Poppins;
even so, the film stayed true to
the mix of reality and animation
of the first. In a particular scene
in which Mary Poppins, Jack, and
the three Banks children enter
into a china bowl, the filni has
an animated background with
live-action characters amidst.
A similar mix of media occurs
in the first Mary Poppins movie;
however, the newer portrayal of
this strikes me as much more
advanced which made the scenes
with animation more engaging
than the ones in the original film
due to the smoothness of the live-
action characters against their
background, as much as possible
given the scenario. The
scenes still carry the nostalgic
feel that brings viewers back to
memories of the original film.
The acting within this movie
is impressive. Emily Blunt's
performance of Mary Poppins
is extraordinary and, in my
opinion, outdoes Julie Andrews’
original Poppins character. She
appears refined and strict in her
demeanor, but her character’s
sweet, helpful and imaginative
qualities shine through Blunt’s
smile: However, though Blunt’s
musical talent is decent, it does
not live up to Andrews’ by a long
shot. On the other hand, from the
opening scene the viewers get the
pleasure of hearing the extremely
popular Lin-Manuel Miranda from
the hit Broadway show Hamilton.
His acting and musical abilities
did not disappoint. According to
an interview with USA Today, he
was drawn to take the part by the
stunt of climbing up Big Ben at the
climax of the movie, as he wanted
to be a stunt man when he was
younger.
If you’re looking for a
happy, fun and childlike musical
evening, I highly recommend Mary
Poppins Returns, but be prepared
for moments that may make you
chuckle at the cheesiness.