The Truth Comes Out
So for many of you who settled in with popcorn and the television tuned to the Oscars, you might not have noticed the five-minute time delay. So much for uncensored; comedian/actor Robin Williams was supposed to do a monologue making fun of those who criticized Spongebob Squarepants but when ABC raised questions, the writer of the skit pulled his lines. Controversy.

Number One
Malcolm Gladwell’s new book Blink is the number one nonfiction book in the country. Finally, it’s so refreshing to hear a new title.

1 CHRIS STAMEY EXPERIENCE
A Question Of Temperature

2 LCD SOUNDSYSTEM
LCD Soundsystem

3 L’ALTRA
Different Days

4 M. WARD
Transistor Radio

5 M83
Before The Dawn Heals Us

6 AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD
Worlds Apart

7 BRIGHT EYES
I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning

8 IRON AND WINE
Woman King [EP]

9 BRIGHT EYES
Digital Ash In A Digital Urn

10 KINGS OF LEON
Aha Shake Heartbreak

A debonair look compliments the strong mature voice of Michael Bubl

Some 60 pictures-old advertisements from the magazines Our World, Sepia and Ebony-are in horizontal lines, framed on a white wall, and they are art.

Contemporary art seems to be something already made by prior artists, or in this case, advertisers-just changed, manipulated-and it’s called in publicity statements, “transformation.” Although this could just be laziness or a lack of creativity on the part of the artist, it’s effective in Ellen Gallagher’s work, Murmur and Deluxe, showcased in the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami, from Feb. 12 to March 27.

The changes Gallagher makes to these 1930s to1970s advertisements exaggerate the inflated claims that advertisements so often make, i.e. “lose thirty pounds in thirty days!”, “maybe it’s Maybelline” that made that model so beautiful (or, sad to say, maybe it’s just good genes). The meanings and statements she makes about society and women are comically intelligent.

Gallagher seems to have some sort of obsession with the vanity women ascribe to themselves based upon the quality of their hair. We’ve all witnessed, or in my case, have been the one to cry, as we watch those locks come shimmying down the seat to lay useless on the floor of the hairdresser until the teenage employee sweeps it away.

In “Wish-Whish, Whisk,” three framed paper cutouts of an iguana like creature (but without legs) on paper circumscribe three different portraits which use a similar technique of black-faced women with different hair styles ranging from grotesque (the hair encircling their face) to the beautiful (it flows in the wind dramatically).

Gallagher is also interested in the other ways in which women frantically attempt to improve their appearance; she confronts the question, “why do we believe ads which claim to, with the help of their products, improve our appearance, help us get great looking friends to match our great looking selves, and improve basically at life all with one measly eight-dollar bottle of face wash?”

In the Bad Skin advertisement, the advertisers claim that their cream is “Advice for Bad Skin-externally caused.” The faces in the advertisement have been covered by Gallagher in a blue paint with their lips highlighted in bright red pout. The blurb below the outlandish claim which explains how the cream works has all the words whited out except for the letter o, then 00,000 women is shown until at the end it states a “money back guarantee”, ensured if the customer is unhappy with the results of the product.

Gallagher’s exhibit is a useful implementation of the common theme throughout contemporary artists of modifying existing media. Through her changes, the exaggerated claims of the advertisements appear absurd. She effectively makes a comment on the unbalanced priorities of society that endorse the marketing of products that will tell a customer that they will lose 100 pounds, just a pill a day.

By modifying the advertisements, Gallagher makes the viewer see the absurdity of such claims, or why we even think that thinness or beautiful, blonde hair is so important or so much better than what we have already, which is natural and complementary to who we are.

Melanie Klesse can be contacted at m.klesse@umiami.edu

Sixteen starlets stormed the stage of Storer Auditorium Monday and Tuesday night in Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues. According to the show’s program, the production was part of the V-Day campaign, “a global movement [to generate] broader attention for the fight to stop worldwide violence against women.”

The actresses, dressed in red and black ensembles that could be best described as a mix between class and sass, burst onto the stage from the back entrance of the packed auditorium, repeatedly whispering “Vagina!” to the audience.

In the dramatic introduction, all 16 women of the cast turned their backs to the stage as they disco-pointed their fingers in Vs, riveting the audience’s attention. Each actress also clutched her script decorated in red and black with assorted Vs, hearts, phrases and the like for the entirety of the play. However, there was little to no reading; the book-bound scripts served as props more than cheat sheets.

The directors, sophomore Megan Schulte and junior Melissalynn Lauron, precociously led the show, down to the careful orchestration of the actresses’ motions and movements on- and off-stage. Both directors alternated narrating the context at the beginning of each scene in their calm voices, which lent brevity to even the most hysterical scenes.

The first half of the show was generally on the lighter side, beginning with the artfully funny Silia Sagre, who acted out “Hair,” an account of a woman’s shaving of her vagina for her husband. Sagre spurted her words with a perfect Latina accent, pronouncing vagina as “bayina,” and drew laughs with her wild hair tosses and lines like, “Even Calamine lotion would help it-no!”

‘down there’

Starr Smith of “The Flood” delivered one of the most humorous monologues of the evening, which perfectly incorporated her Alabama twang. As Smith enacted an elderly woman’s account of uterine cancer and the rediscovery of her clitoris after seven decades of orgasm-free life, she delivered arguably one of the most touching monologues of the evening. The end of Smith’s monologue was especially poignant, as she said, “You finally got me to talk about ‘down there’… but you know what? I feel pretty good about it.”

Victoria Schwartz and Sola Bamishigbin brought the first half to an end with a bang with “My Angry Vagina,” a profanity-laced tirade on tampons, thong underwear and other annoyances. Schwartz and Bamishgbin were hysterical as they expressed their attitude with their head-swings, hand-on-the-hip poses and scrunched facial expressions to deliver the best act of the night.

not for the skittish

The second half of The Vagina Monologues focused more on sex, whether it was the Jessica Ellis’s account of a moving, graphic rape or the orgasm-like screams of Laura Perrino in “Reclaiming Cunt,” which ended with a nod to the post-coital cigarette. Also amazing was the coming-of-age memories in “The Little Coochi Snorcher That Could” acted by LarSharVeA Bennett, who captured childlike petulance, the anguish of rape and the joy of self-discovery within one monologue.

The entire cast strutted onstage in their high heels for the last two monologues. The latter half of “The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy,” told the story of a sex worker and showcased the cast’s versatile moaning ability.

All around, the performances in this year’s Vagina Monologues were outstanding. This show is not for the squeamish, skittish or prudish; it is an eye-opening, often uncomfortable look that seeks to help its audience realize the social attitudes toward one of the most taboo parts of the female physique. The talented cast members’ diversity, which ranged from nationality to age, size and shape, helped the audience identify with the words of Ensler’s play. Each actress lit up the bare stage, proving that you don’t need a showy set to put on an utterly remarkable show.

Hannah Bae can be contacted at h.bae@umiami.edu.

He has been in the game for 12 years and is still going strong. With the release of his new album, Awake is the New Sleep, and his tour kickoff on Feb. 22, musician Ben Lee proves his strength and redefines himself after a string of defeats.

“[Feb. 22] will be like my prom for me. My friend and fellow band member Lara is taking my manager and me out for a special breakfast and then maybe I’ll go buy my record. Maybe I’ll buy 50,000 copies so I can get onto the top 10 albums for the week,” he says.

With more albums than he can remember, 26-year-old Lee has embraced and defined the mellow, indie-pop style that fellow artists John Mayer and Howie Day have recently adopted.

“I think life is most exciting and music is most exciting when it is full of joy. It comes from being connected with people and the world. I saw an opportunity to connect and a responsibility to help,” he says.

Although a solo artist at heart, as a teenager, Lee was a member of the Australian band Noise Addict, and more recently he has created an album and toured with Ben Folds and Ben Kweller in The Bens. He has also created his own record label, Ten Fingers, to help give new artists a start.

“[The Bens] are all friends and the idea came to Folds one day in the shower,” he says. “Next thing we were all on a plane to Nashville, wrote some songs and went on tour.”

Born in Australia, Lee is a “nomad of the world” and finds his creativity and inspiration from people: “Everyone is a teacher; they teach you what to do and what not to do.”

Although Lee claims he doesn’t follow fashions and trends and doesn’t live the rock ‘n’ roll star lifestyle, he dated actress Claire Danes for seven years, has his own online blog (which can be found on his official website www.ben-lee.com) and loves Jay Z.

“I find him very inspiring,” Lee says as he holds an impromptu tribute to Jay Z’s lyrics and spits some of his rhymes in his Australian accent.

Awake is the New Sleep has a seemingly upbeat vibe throughout the 14 songs and is the quintessential falling-in-and-out-of-love-but-surviving-through-it all album. The hypnotic lyrics about relationships, life, helplessness and hope-and the sedative music-allow Lee’s charm and laid back demeanor to shine through.

“I love to sleep, when I just wake up from a nap is my best time to write a song,” he says. “The album is more of a metaphor for coming out of the slumber of selfishness.”

Although Lee doesn’t have any scheduled Florida tour dates, he will be performing on Late Night with Conan O’Brien on March 2. But between his melodious voice, humble attitude, sense of self and soothing Australian accent, what about Ben Lee is there not to love?

Bari Lieberman can be contacted at b.lieberman@umiami.edu.