PAGE 2 - N.C. ESSAY
Commentary And Perspective
Review
Photo by Dreyer
Dylan: Back Home
is essential to the crucial nature
of its time. Rock, as art, has been
shrouded in gloom for over a
year. New Morning is a rein
forcement of Bob Dylan, the
artist. The songs, brilliantly
written and performed, are
simple and basic; they deal with
small issues rather than large
concepts. Therein lies their
success - they are songs that
affirm the individual’s ex
perience of finding those things of
essential value in these most
harrowing hours. Regardless of
what else is released here in the
waning days of 1970, a petrified
year, Dylan’s New Morning is the
best and most significant rockLP.
Side One opens with “If Not For
You,” a pure and gentle love
song, light country guitar, fine A1
Kooper organ and - My God! -
that soulf^ Dylan harmonica.
“Day of toe Locusts” follows,
concerning Dylan’s experience at
Princeton this summer, where he
received an honorary degree:
“Outside the weather was hot,
nearly 90 degrees-The man
standing next to me-his head was
exploding-I was praying that the
pieces wouldn’t fsdl on me.”
Humor and pathos mixed in
expert fashion.
“Time Passes Slow” sounds
like the Band, although this song,
in comparison, might sound only
half-realized. Dylan plays piano
and sings lustily. Heavy rock
organ and guitar, with kicking
drums, back “Went to See The
Gypsy,” strange tale about a
meeting in a “big hotel”. Apretty
dancing girl appears, then
vanishes, and the singer is left
alone, waiting for dawn with
music ringing in his ears.
“Winterlude” would have been a
boon to Self Portrait. A swaying
% waltz, Dylan crooning, tinl^g
piano, and the charming line:
“Winterlude, this dude thinks
you’re fine.”
Bob Dylan, folk singer, rock
singer . . . jazz singer? “If Dogs
Run Free” has great shadowy
piano, spoken verses, and superb
scat singing ( by Marethea
Stewart). It all works, without
pretension or coyness and even
succeeds in conjuring misty
images of Lambert, Hendricks &
Ross.
“New Morning” starts Side
Two, good old rock’n’roll, joyful
and opptimistic. Unrequited love
is the theme of “Sign in the
(Continued on Page 4)
N.C. ESSAY STAFF, 1970:
Michael J. Ferguson
Kathy Fitzgerald
Tom Cavano
Becky Slifkin
Sam Barcelona
Alexander Marsh
Alan Zlngale, Cortlandt Jones, Rick Hall,
Byron Tidwell, Jon Thompson, Mary Beth Zablotny
Advisor Donna Jean Dreyer
Business Manager Tom Kovaleski
Hovering Guru Buzbee
Publisher N.C. School of the Arts
Editor
Managing Editor
Copy Editor
Feature Editor
Photographer
Arts
Reporters
by mary beth MOOII ReSpOnds
by mjf
Bob Dylan, folk-rock singer-
poet-proi^et, was the main ar
tistic influence on the youth
culture which emerged in the
1960’s. Throughout that turbulent
decade he understood, explained
and very often directed (at least
artistic^y) the motivations of a
generation aspiring to confront a
decadent American society.
Dylan was the primary seer, a
visionary sage who com
prehended the complexities of
change and \rtio, with keen
perception, delt with the shifting
of consciousness.
His work, even in moving from
the direct political social
statement to the obscurely
personal, accurately recorded
the process of metamorjAosis not
only with journalistic
[X'eciseness, but also with poetic
awareness. Despite his sometime
incredible naivete (“The answer,
my friend, is blowing in the
wind ”) and clumsy phraseology
(“The times they are a
changin’”), Dylan also wrote
songs of intense power and im
pact. From The Freewhelin’ Bob
Dylan through John Wesley
Harding, whether blatantly
political or surrealistic and
deeply personal, wliether ethnic
folk or hard rock, his work
exhibited a complege sense of
artistic integrity and a hawk’s
eye on America.
Even Nashville Skyline, his
first departure from the political
or introspective, was an honest, if
airy and light, representation of
his music^ growth. And on its
own terms, SKYLINE depit-
ced the American con
sciousness as it drifted moodily
from Chicago to Nixon-Agnew,
that uncertain lull in time when
we recollected the growing years«
and prepared for wliat was
certain to be the apocopypse.
Which is why Self Portrait, with
its Nashville-redneck preten
sions, its crooner-smoking jacket
vocals, its absolute lack of guts or
identity, was a bastardization of
everything Dylan had previously
done. That was an indifferent LP,
vapid and without purpose, with
great hollow spaces between
mood and content. As America
moved into the 70’s and faced its
greatest crisis, Dylan’s vision
was blurred and moribound.
Now it is time to eat those
words.
As he has so often in the past,
Dylan returns with a new LP that
I am alone. Has this thought
ever occured to you? Com
paratively speaking,the school of
the Arts has a rather small
student body yet, somehow by its
very nature, every student here
is almost encouraged to remain
autonomous.
This is understandable. The
School in itself is unique, quite
unlike the average “rah-rah sis
boom bah” colleges and
universities one usually finds.
The students are geared towards
professional careers in the
creative arts and naturally are
goal-oriented. Unfortunately,
however, this drive for personal
achievement can at times
obliterate the art form itself and
certainly any chance for in
terplay. Feelings of alienation
and acts of petty vandalism can
also be attributed to this
egocentric subculture. It is this
lack of respect for fellow artists
or for the art itself that
frequently distinguishes the
brilliant performance from the
mediocre. It is becoming more
obvious in all the arts that the
“star system” is dead. The up-
and-coming word for today is
“ensemble”. Taken from the
French, the word literally
means: together. If it were to be
described in Christian terms, one
might call it the community
spirit. Certainly there is a great
basis for community here
already but if we are a growing
community there must be room
for expansion. Hopefully,
members of every department
can . help each other to ap
preciate or create a thing of
beauty. There is no set in the
creation of an ensemble. It does
take concentrated effort. When
an actor learns to give and take
from a fellow actor, vi^en a
dancer recognizes the im
portance of every other dancer on
the stage, when the very heart
beats of the orchestra seem in
rtiythm, then the moment has
come. We are an ensemble and
we have created not a patchwork
quilt but a tapestry because
we’ve come together.
by cortlandt
“For the 17th consecutive year,
sales of books in 1969 rose sub
stantially, according to the
results of annual surveys
released by the association of
American Publishers, Inc.” says
Winston-Salem’s Journal and
Sentinel of October 18, 1970.
This means that the public is
slowly but surely getting back to
the great old habit of reading,
instead of wasting imaginative
time watching the “boob tube”
and going to the movies.
Today, television and movies
do not have much to offer the
paying public. On the other hand,
book stores do. And, you have a
choice. That alone is something
the other media, can not claim.
Why waste today’s precious
dollar on something intangible as
a movie. Buying a book, to keep,
makes sense. It is a lot cheaper
than the electricity used for TV.
READ ON!
w *x
I Photographers I
I WANTED! I
Jim Moon, formerly a faculty member at NCSA who was to have
taught the newly formed Visual Arts Program and who resigned at the
beginning of this school year has asked the Essay to print new in
formation concerning the circumstances of his resignation.
Moon, who contacted the Essay last week in reference to a story
which appeared in the October 2 issue, referred to President Ward’s
statement that the resignation came as a result of Moon’s wanting a
change in contract that did not coincide with the school’s budget as “a
fable.”
Concerning the statement that materials for the course had been
ordered late because the “school could not reasonably order until it
was known how many students would enroll in the course,” Moon
stated that Ward should have known, since it was he (Ward), Ron
Pollock and Dirk Dawson who evaluated the students’ work and ad
mitted them to the school.
Moon also related that he had recommended several local artists to
Ward who would have assisted in the selection process, none of whom
was contacted.
Futhermore, Moon said that he received a letter from the President,
dated July 17,1970, which affirmed the ordering of materials for the
course. A portion of the letter read:
“I am at present going ahead with the ordering of a major part of the
equipment and supplies which Jim Moon has recommended.” Tlie
letter was signed, “Robert Ward, President.”
Moon claimed that the materials were, in fact, not ordered until late
August.
Concerning his resignation. Moon showed the Essay a letter which
was sent to £>r. Semans, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the
School of the Arts, Mr. &eden, Head of the Design and Production
school Dr. Baskin, the school’s academic dean. Dr. Gramley of Salem
College (where Moon now teaches), and President Ward. It read as
follows:
“When a teacher loses confidence in the President of his school he
should leave. I, therefore, submit my resignation from the Norto
Carolina School of the Arts, effective at the end of this semester, 22
January, 1971 (Moon left the school, however, as the first semester
began). It was signed “Jim Moon.”
by mary beth
It seems as if the number of
talented new playwrights has
dwindled considerably in the past
few years. No one wants to risk a
flop on Broadway and so they
revert to “old reliables”. Simply
observe the great number of
revivals on Broadway this past
season (“Private lives”. “Slow
dance on the Killing Ground” and
“Harvey” to name but a few).
In answer to the past season,
this season’s offerings could
hardly be considered earth
shattering. Yet somehow
sandwiched in between these
rather dreary seasons was a
strangely touching little play by
Paul Sndel with an equally
strong title: “The Effect of
Gamma Rays on Man-In-the
Moon Marigolds.” Mr. 2indel
may happen to be just the
panacea New York Qty theatre
goers have been looking for. Yet
the play can hardly be considered
new though it just moved to a
near-Broadway location this
summer. It had done previously
on NET television and at two
regional theatres, the Alley
Theatre in Houston, and the
Cleveland Play House (vi^ich
makes you take a second look at
regionsd theatre).
At times the settings seem
reminiscent of Tennessee
Williams yet the characters and
situations are andel’s own and
he writes about each of them with
tender understanding one can
easily see why his play was
awarded the Critic’s Circle
Award for 1969-70. In short, the
play deals with the relationship
between an empty frustated
woman and her two teen aged
daughters. But the story is
andel’s as told by two especially
competent actresses. Soda
Thompson and Pamela Payton-
Wright. It will leave you in
lau^ter and tears.
Mr. Alexander Marsh would like to inform his N.C. ESSAY i:*::
readers that he has recently completed a one-act play that
has just entered into production for an evening of ex-
perimental theatre. The play, entitled THE GOTHIC
AGENTS is a work of perhaps esoteric appeal, although Mr.
Marsh hopes each member of the audience will enjoy the %
droll diversions which he specializes in. Plans for the
workshop presentation have not yet been jelled formal «
announcements are impending and will appear as a sub-
stantial article in a future edition of the ESSAY.
J/ oojx*'t lnoL^f>c.n Ztere
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