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September 24, 1979
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The quattrocento banking empire of the de Medici family spawned the
most spectacular collection of art in modern history. To perceive them in a
modern sense though, they were intially a shade mafiosi and acquired and
commissioned work from such notable high Renaissance artists as Michelangelo
Da Vinci, Donatello, Raphael and Botticelli in order to legitimize their crassly
capitalistic fortune. Well, their hearts were in the right place, though with
the exception of Lorenzo the Magnificent and Cosimo III most of them
couldn't tell egg-tempera from a chicken. However, they filled thoir I' -ises,
chapels, and libraries with the most exquisite sculpture, painting, and archi
tecture available, in a boundless nouveau riche fervor.
While neither Asheville's Merrimon Avenue McDonald's can be compared
to the cavalier business practices of the de Medici, nor the artwork housed
in the store's gallery to Florentine Renaissance art, the union of art and com
merce is familiar. Clearly, one would have no reason until now to associate
McDonald's with tastefuiness. It is a frankly huge, commercial franchise cor^
poration based solely on the expedient sale of prefabricated hamburgers, ex
cept for this most commendable Asheville store.
The store has its origins in a stroke of true wit and Humanism. The loca
tion now occupied by McDonald's had been the sight of the UNC-A Art An
nex. By the time McDonald's bought the property and started making plans
to build, the new Art and Management building which is to house the annex
was barely underway. In a brilliant stroke of collective bargaining, Ms. Elma
Johnson of the UNC-A art department and the president of McDonald's cor
poration agreed upon the highly original concept of merging the restaurant
and art annex. The result of this union is, if not sometimes disconcerting,
absolutely delightful.
McDonald's departed from its usual plastic and stainless-steel fantasy world
decor and built a sensitive and restrained restaurant to house the annex gallery
and work space. Located immediately north of the Grace Post Office, the
edifice is a kind of California-chic woodsy design. Inside, the always spotless
and frighteningly efficient counter is gracefully separated from the seating
space and gallery cases.. The exhibits Include wall hangings, pottery, hard
and soft sculpture, and paintings which go far to create a perfect atmosphere
for the hurried Ashevillian munching down the all-American burgerfest.
Here, art is brought into the come and go of life to serve the best aesthetic
and financial interests of viewer and artist. Faculty, students, and commun
ity members who exhibit their work in this unusual gallery have met with
much success in the sale of their work.
This happy coincidence is a lesson and reminder to all of us. Art has al
ways flourished as a result of a healthy economy, and in this case, both fields
have profited. McDonald's has expanded its concept of service, and artists
have benefited from one of the most efficient machines of marketing gen
ius in the country. As for my part, frankly I find nothing quite so delicious
as a quarter-pounder and water-color to go.
Women Take Back the Night
: : Vi^
by V.K. Duckett
"Women take back the night^' was the theme of a march and rally
held in the Asheville City-County Plaza Saturday night. The event was '
sponsored jointly by the Asheville-Buncornber .Women's Center, the Rape
Crisis Center and the newly formed Asheville chapter of Women^ Against ,
Violehce Against Women (WAVAW). This group joins the hundreds of ■
other chapters nalionwide which are working to stop the gratuitous use
of images of physical and sexual.violence against women in the mass ,
media -and the real world violence against women it promotes--through
-[jubiic education, consciousness raising, and.mass consumer action.
WAV AW was born out of the outrage of feminist and other groups- -
ac the sex-violent, racist film SNUFF which appeared in March, 1976!
; As an ad hoc coalition, WAV AW protested both the film itself and the
advertisements for it, which claimed that the murder and mutilation of
■ a v'voman was entertaining. Their action resulted in the film being with
drawn from Southern California! one week after it opened. WAV AW
actions also resulted in the removal of .the Rolling Stones' "Black and
Blue" billboard from Sunset Strip and curtailment of that ad campaign.
The formation of the local chapter of WAVAW has come at a time
vhen local daily news is full of stories about violence against women
'n Asheville and surrounding areas-from the rape-murders of at least
t,70 women by Danny Parton to the as yet unsolved stabbing of a young
Asheville woman last month.
The enthusiasm of the more than ninety participants in Saturday
night's rally and march attests that not only are women tired of the silence
surrounding their role as victims of so much of society's violence, but
that they are willing to actively combat the actual occurance of violence
against women and to publicly denounce those forms of media which
use such images of women for promotional reasons. As Jane Kennedy,
a 'irjokewoman for WAVAW said, "Media violence against women per-
^y^'tuates the myth that women are victims, naturally and happily maso-
cai ,tic. It con-tributes to an atmosphere which trivializes, condones,
anfj encourages acts of violence (such as rape and battering) against women.
Iri>reeds discrimination, dehumanization and the abuse of women.' In
tnesfc and other ways it interferes with the rights and safety of women."
. Other women spoke about specific areas of violence against women
sijch as rape and battering. Heddy Fisher, of the Asheville Rape Crisis
C*intier, spoke about the incidence of rape in the Asheville area, saying
that there has been an 80% increase in the last year. Domestic violence,
tUn battering of women by their spouses, is the most prevalent kind of
crinie in America and the least reported. Veronica Fisher, who is with
the Asheville Task Force on Battered Women, estimates that a woman
is beaten and abused less than every three minutes in this country.
Although these sobering reports were the focus of the rally speakers,
the act of publically confronting these issues in a united way kept the
energy level high and'productive. The rousing grand finale, a group
singing of Holly Nears' "Fight Back," is still echoing in the streets of
Asheville.■ . '•
Like many other universities,
UNC-A recently began an advertising
campaign geared toward attracting more
students of all ages. You may have
noticed a few billboards around town,
as well as several ads in the paper
offering "sign up by mail" services.
Has this paid off? According to Tom
Cochran, Assistant Vice Chancellor
for Academic Affairs, there has
been approximately a five to ten
percent enrollment increase during
the past year, with roughly 1,097
students considered full-time, and
860 part-tirhe.