Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / March 22, 1985, edition 1 / Page 5
Part of Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
It's mice to By VIRGINIA SMITH Staff Writer Marco Polo described Hangchou, the capital city of the Southern Sung kingdom in China, as "... the greatest city which may be found in the world, where so many pleasures may be found that one fancies himself to be in Paradise. The current exhibition at the Ackland Art Museum, Southern Sung Painting and Its Legacy is the first show in the United States devoted solely to revealing the pleasures of the Southern Sung paradise as they are depicted in this extraordinary collection of painted hanging scrolls and album leaves. The reign of the Southern Sung dynasty began in 1 127 and lasted 152 years. Hangchou, on the banks of the misty Western Lake, was surrounded by a lush, hilly landscape that, along with religious allegory, was the main theme for painting of the period. "Full Sail on the Mysty River" is an album leaf painting by Hsia Sheng, who was one of the most influential painters of the Southern Sung period. Done in ink on silk, this painting depicts nature with incredible delicacy. The only color here is the green of the mountaintop trees. The cream-grey tones of the river and mountains indicate the neutralizing effect that fog has on nature's colors, while the sharp detail of the figures in the sailboat makes their journey imme diate to the observer. While album leaves were frequently used by Southern Sung artists, the Ch'an Buddhist priest painters also used the traditional Chinese form of painted hanging scrolls to depict their philosophy. They felt that enlighten ment came in a fleeting burst of insight after long and intense meditation. "Swallows and Lotus" by Mu Ch'i is a direct allegory for the Ch'an Buddhist philosophy. This scroll depicts a split second in the flight of a swallow over a bed of lotus blossoms. The instantaneous quality of the painting is like the flash of spiritual insight that the Buddhists pursued. Bodhidharma, the first Patriarch of the Chinese Ch'an Sect of Buddhism, is a favorite subject for the scroll paintings. According to legend, Bodhid harma, after a fruitless interview with the ruler Wu-ti, crossed the Yangtze River in a reed and went into Northern China to meditate for nine years. Bodhidharma Crossing the Yangtze on a Reed" illustrates the spiritual leader's journey. His nine years of meditation are the subject of "Bodhid harma Meditating Facing a Cliff," which is composed in the style of Southern Sung painter Ma Yuan. Ma Yuan's "Bamboo and Ducks by a Rushing Stream" is one .of the most" delightful works on ' display. Although it does hot" feature any overt religious imagery, this scroll depicts nature with such reverence that the scene of a turbulent stream running through a bamboo grove seems like part of a mythological kingdom where nature is the source of all wisdom. The concentration of action in the lower right corner of the scroll was characteristic of Ma. His style greatly r PUTT J THEATRES I Ult MMIllk tlMIt MI M1 1 BEVERLY HILLS COP 3:00, 5:00, 7:15, 9:30 BABY Secret of Lost Legend 2:45, 4:45, 7:00, 9:15 9m II0JGSB WEI m q fiTCUB- SHOWS NIGHTLY 7:00 & 9:00 SAT & SUN MATINEE 2:00 & 4:00 Jason could bo sitting next to you! paint ML r other Nature til XT Pi 'V 5C X "Bamboo and Ducks by a Rushing art influenced Chinese and Japanese paint ing for the next several hundred years. The Japanese painters were influ enced not only by Southern Sung style but also by Zen Buddhism. Like the Chinese, they liked to use deities as painting subjects. Druing the Muroma chi period, the royal families commis sioned their priests to paint Zen themes in the Chinese monochrome ink style. "Daruma on a Reed," a hanging scroll, depicts the Japanese version of the Bodhidharma. legend. "Hoyo Hotetsu: Priest Sewing Under the Morning Sun" portrays the Zen qual ities of humility and self-sufficiency through the posture, occupation and facial features of a priest. SHOWS 7:05 k 9:00 SA A SU MAT 2:05 A 4:00 l uilfi ' IILl flAlJNI'i AW YfXJHf NniAKM new SHOWS 7:00 ft 9:00 beginning SA ft SU MAT 2:00 ft 4:00 BOX OFFICE OPENS FRI 6:30 SAT ft SUN 1:30, M-TH 6:45 3 : A l ' i J$ If I M Si 7, " SHOWS fennels ssssas Ur,As S MATINEES flfTiprfM 2:00 M:2 C " L rli f i; 'A 'X -j -H , gjA-H in mil in ,.n..t,.i.r,ii..1l4LiM.,ii, II f X jtjb . . r. . . a. ... ... ....... v . W." .-.-.V A 1. , J Mr.-.-. '. 1 j?" V 'j' s 5 4 ' f t - , - r-' -"i v Photo courtesy of the Ackland Art Museum Stream" will exhibited through April 28 The influence of the Southern Sung Ma-Hsia school on Japanese painting is most evident in the work of Tai-Chin. His "Hermit Hsu-Yu Resting by a Stream" features the corner compostion of Ma, although he improves on that style by treating his subject with more drama and vigor than the Southern Sung painters used. Tai painted during the Ming dynasty, which showed that the Southern Sung art was still a viable force in the greatest creative period of Eastern culture. The Ackland exhibition, which includes 31 works and runs through April 28, traces the development of Southern Sung painting and its influ ences on Japanese and Chinese painting, from the 12th-century through 1573. It offers fascinating insight into the Southern Sung-influencd painters' attitudes toward nature and religion. II u I 4 I 4 j-. Ott- ..y-' ILab prodiictnoii McMdles Siarslhi side of Me By DEANNA RUDDOCK Special to the DTH A realistic portrayal of black women dealing with the problems of society is the theme that holds together the brief monologues and narratives that compose For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf. The UNC Lab Theatre production of this Ntozake Shange"choreopoem" will be performed this weekend. The play uses vivid accounts of important events in each of its characters' lives to re-create their world for the viewer. Although the situations the characters must deal with are somewhat depressing, Shange doesn't depict a world only of deprivation. Her characters share the good times as well as the bad. "Through all the pain there exists an underlying strength in all women," said director Sibby Anderson, a sophomore from Winterville. "All of the women are very strong characters characters that are basically very developed." In Colored Girls, each woman shares parts of her past with the audience. The monologues address, for instance, the fun of high school graduation night, the fear of being pregnant and facing an abortion alone, and the terror of watching a father throw his children out a window. Anderson said that despite many grim episodes, the play was ultimately a celebration of being black and being a woman. Shange 's characters, who are named after the colors of the rainbow, symbolize the situations black women encounter and the struggles they endure. While Shanee's focus is black women Anderson said Jazz group 's By MARTHA BOURNE Staff Writer Perhaps the hottest, definitely the youngest group on the jazz circuit, Pieces of a Dream will perform at UNC this weekend under the sponsorship of the Fine Arts Festival and the Carolina Union. Having mastered styles ranging from straight-ahead jazz to contempor ary funk, the trio is currently directing its energies toward the popular music market. "We're now doing some cross-over material pop, R&B, and jazz carts," said drummer Curtis Harmon. "We're now trying a little bit more in regards to our versatility." Native Philadelphians, the group has been playing together since junior high school. "We got together for a talent show and placed third," Harmon said. Harmon's father, Danny, a jazz musi cian himself, then got the guys started. The Danny Harmon Quartet was then playing club dates and hotel circuits. During intermissions, Curtis Harmon and friends Cedric Napoleon, a bass player, and James Lloyd, a keyboardist, all of whom were not quite 14-years old, would play a set. Soon after gaining quality perform ing experience under the wing of Danny Harmon, the young group established its own credibility and began landing a variety of performances and jobs. They were hired as house musicians for the KYW-TV Philadelphia lights series, a nightly editorial-type production, and there they met Grover Washington Jrf, who was appearing as a guest on the show. Impressed with the boys' youthful n bJUii) Uuu The story is a Dream coune true exuberance, Washington produced three albums for them: their, debut, 1981's Pieces of a Dream, We Are One, and Imagine This. The group is cur rently cutting their fourth LP, which will be released soon. A diverse pool of artists has influ enced the young group's sound. "The major influential force in my sound is Oscar Peterson,". Lloyd said. He said in addition to the legendary jazz pianist Peterson, current artists Herbie Han cock, studio drummer Steve Gadd and jazz pianist Chick Corea have contrib uted to the later develorwtc p;,re's 4 V 4. The jazz group Pieces of a Dream : "xm ... ( r" i -, ,1- m i VjuLjLJLnaLJLnJL TfljtXB ZQS(? DQSQs Daily Tar HeelFriday. March 22. 19855 the play inspires all people. She said the end of the play made viewers feel as if they had gone through the same struggles as the women, struggles that might make the average person consider suicide. "Though the average person does not go through the same situations that Shange depicts in this play, it serves as a reference to everyday life for everybody," Anderson said. "1 feel that (the play) is one that anyone could relate to." Directing this play for a Lab production presented Anderson with many problems. Anderson said it was difficult to find a theme to unite the diverse characters and monologues in the absence of a clear storyline in the text. Moreover, coordinating rehearsals for a cast of 1 2 posed many conflicts. Another unique feature of this production is that most of the cast members are not dramatic art majors, a situation arising from the need for an all-black cast. "There are few black drama majors so we didnt have an abundant source in the department," Anderson said. "Auditions were open to everyone and we received a lot of interest." Anderson said it was a challenge to get this play ready. Still, she said, since it was a student production, there was a certain pride in doing it and the cast made the effort needed to put it all together. For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf will be performed in the UNC Lab Theatre at 8 p.m. Sunday and at 4 and 8 p.m. Monday. funky style. The group's youth Napoleon and Harmon are 22 and Lloyd is 20 has created quite a sensation. Their first three albums were released within the incredibly short time span of three years; incredibly short when considering the amount of time involved in produc ing an LP. They're young. They're hot. And they're here Saturday night. Pieces of a Dream will perform Saturday at 9 p.m. in Memorial Hall. Call 962-1449 for ticket information. will perform this weekend ct UIIC ( ;.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 22, 1985, edition 1
5
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75