September 26, 2012 Vol. XLV, No. 45 November 8, 2012
Performance artists shock and awe AUB students Nadeem Bilani Staff Writer Anyone walking around campus on Thursday may have noticed a number of students doing some very bizarre things. Rest assured, this strange behavior was not the cause of hallucinatory drugs being tested by the chemistry department, as one onlooker speculated aloud that day. It wasn’t the result of a lost bet, either. Actually, what passersby witnessed was a series of performance art pieces for which those students will receive a grade for a fine arts and art history course called “Performance Art.” It’s not the first time such creative outbreaks have happened here at AUB. Whittlesey Visiting Chair Assistant Professor, Cornelia Krafft of the fine arts and art history department, has been known for challenging and vexing her students in innovative ways. Among the performances were two students tearing their way out of garbage bags, a blind woman leading an incarcerated man on a leash and some very violent balloon popping. The events happened in different places on cam-
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Cultural Club of the South hosts annual dinner Ali Kassem Associate Editor
Theatrics as blind women, leading an imprisoned man. Photo Credit: May Adra
pus, including right outside the cafeteria, West Hall and Main Gate. It didn’t take long before a crowd gathered to watch the theatrics. But what did it all mean? Well, the purpose of these performances was to shock the audience. The students had to wear their “performance skins,” outfits designed and fabricated by the students themselves, to encompass the ideas they wanted to put forward. It may have seemed arbitrary to passersby who could not watch long Covere Editorial Outloud
enough to delve into interpretations, but beneath the visual drama, themes of oppression and violence were present. Erica Moukarzel, one of the performers, enjoyed seeing the bystanders’ reactions to the unusual spectacle. “The backstory behind our performances was to break the society’s silence through putting people into the shoes of those who are affected by injustice, violence and oppression.” Attached to the backs of these performers were posters for a pay titled “Salome vs. Bluebeard,” which will be held on 1 2 3
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Dec. 1 and 2. The performances witnessed on campus were an sneak peack into the actual event, choreographed by Krafft herself. The play is a reinterpretation of Oscar Wilde’s “Salome” and Maurice Maeterlinck’s “Ariadne and Bluebeard,” and will be performed at Massrah al Medina. Because this form of art is not staged, it is supposed to strike the audience in a particular way. It breaks norms and attempts to elicit a strong reaction from the audience. 4-5 6-7 8
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Lebanon is a country of multiplicity, and any governance that seeks to exclude others ruins the entire Lebanese formula.” These were the words of parliament chair, Sayyed Nawwaf AlMoussawi, who was addressing AUB students and faculty at the cultural club of the south’s (CCS) annual dinner to explain how studying at AUB partakes in the “preparation of brain power” to change Lebanon into an independent and powerful nation. The speech, delivered at Bridge Restaurant, underlined the current situation in this magnanimous state, affirming that the current struggle is not a struggle for power, but rather a struggle of ideologies. On a different note, the speaker presented a number of moral stories to show AUB students how strength is that of the mind, knowledge and willpower. Next, the speech was followed by an open buffet dinner, after which Hadi Mourad, senior biology student and poet, presented a poem he had written exclusively for the occasion. Afterwards, Mahdi Alloush, CCS cabinet member, spoke as a representative of the club and thanked all the present attendees. He addressed the upcoming AUB elections and spoke of the significance of unity and alliances in Lebanon. He also stressed the importance of cultural and religious diversity. A movie, prepared by CCS's meContinued page 2
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