The Hoya: The Guide: October 20, 2017

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ARTWORK BY CLIFFORD CHIEFFO, ILLUSTRATION BY VALERIE MA AND GRACE CHUNG/THE HOYA

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friDAY, October 20, 2017

Celebrating 50 Years of Art at Georgetown Meghan DeCourcey Hoya Staff Writer

Patrick Ewing. “The Exorcist.” Booth 133 at The Tombs. They all have one thing in common: Emeritus art department professor Clifford Chieffo. Chieffo taught Ewing painting, served as a liaison and location scout to Warner Bros. when the company filmed on campus and has been to The Tombs so many times that the restaurant dedicated a booth to him and his wife.

Chieffo’s influence spreads far beyond Georgetown. He has shared ideas with distinguished artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Josef Albers and Andy Warhol. He even served as a personal assistant for Naum Gabo, a prominent Russian sculptor of the constructivism movement, in the ’60s.

For students at Georgetown, particularly art students, Chieffo has served an even more significant role. In 1967, he spearheaded the establishment of the department of art, music and theater. It has since evolved into the department of art and art history and department of performing arts, which together instruct 300 undergraduates each semester. As the art department celebrates its bicentennial this year, it also pays tribute to the artist who created it.

CARY VISUAL ARTS, GEROGETOWN UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF ART AND ART HISTORY

Clifford Chieffo was brought to the university in 1966 by Fr. Royden Davis, S.J., then-dean of Georgetown College, with the purpose of improving the arts program.

Origins of the Art Department In 1966, at just 29 years of age, Chieffo was recruited by Fr. Royden Davis, S.J., the dean of Georgetown College from 1966 to 1989, to set up an academic department for art, art history, music history and theater. Chieffo left his job at the University of Maryland to come to Georgetown with the goal of improving the university’s arts programs.

“I show up in September. No classrooms. No faculty. Nothing. No curriculum,” Chieffo said. “And I go on like, ‘Where is everybody? You don’t have anybody.’”

Besides a few clubs — the Mask and Bauble Dramatic Society and the Georgetown Glee Club — as well as a few adjunct professors, Chieffo had to start from scratch. Three years later, the department of art, music and theater was graduating majors.

Initially, Chieffo taught a variety of classes in painting and drawing, but he needed assistance, as the arts program was understaffed.

“I went through all of the Smithsonian curators for all different art history periods, and it took off,” Chieffo said. “I like to say, ‘The students here were multitasking before the word.’ That meant that there were enough students out there with what I call ‘green hair’ that found a home that was nonjudgmental and all based on creativity.”

All of this learning took place in Riggs Library, where there were studio classes, faculty offices and even concerts. The open space allowed for unrestricted expression.

It was not all smooth sailing. In 1973, approximately 50 percent of the Georgetown student body took part in a “lemonstration,” and placed around 6,000 lemons against the door to the suite of offices, while the board of directors met inside. The purpose of the protest was to argue against the university’s proposed increases in tuition and rising enrollments.

“

I show up in September. No classrooms. No faculty.

Nothing. No curriculum.

And I go on like, ‘Where is everybody? You don’t have anybody.’”

CLIFFORD CHIEFFO Emeritus Professor, Art Department

Chieffo and his students took part in the protests to argue that there needed to be more accessibility to course enrollment, as well as spaces for artistic expression on campus and recognition for the arts community. He and his students held signs reading, “Equal Rights for the Arts.”

The students then leaned the lemons up against the door of the president’s office, and when it opened the fruits fell at the feet of the board members. Although the board failed to listen to the student’s protests against rising tuition, Chieffo and his students’ message on artistic expression was clear; within the next week, Chieffo was offered a tenured position.

Chieffo: The Master of his Craft Chieffo’s creativity extends beyond activism and the classroom: He himself is a successful artist.

One of the most frequently painted subjects in his art is his wife, Patricia Chieffo, whom Chieffo calls his muse.

The two met as college students at Southern Connecticut State University and went on to work together at Georgetown.

When Chieffo served as the art curator for Georgetown from 1967 to 1999, she was the associate curator. The couple celebrated 58 years of marriage this year.

Their positions in the Office of Curator included inspecting restorations of buildings and statues on campus.

It was Patricia who encouraged Chieffo to publish his book on silk-screen printing in 1967. Silk-screen printing is an artistic technique that involves printing ink through stencils that are supported by a stretched fabric mesh, or screen. In 1967, Chieffo published a book explaining this technique, “Silk-Screen as a Fine Art: A

friday, October 20, 2017 Handbook of Contemporary Silk-Screen Printing.” It was for artists by an artist, and it was the first book of its kind on the subject. The book ended up being adopted in various institutions across the country.

Chieffo’s own artistic work can be described as the product of a stream of consciousness.

“I start with an idea, like if it is just a regular painting,” Chieffo said. “I have something on the canvas that I have to put something else to balance. For printmaking, it was just filling the space, and it is all linked.”

What ends up on Chieffo’s canvas is a variety of objects and people that are all connected in some way to tell a story.

One of his abstract screenprints, “A Head in the Hand Is Worth Two,” has been purchased by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, though it is not currently on display.

Leaving Behind a Legacy After 32 years, Chieffo retired as curator in 1999, and LuLen Walker took his place.

She remains there today, and she works with the university’s art collection held in the Booth Family Center for Special Collections on the fifth floor of Lauinger Library, which reopened in 2015 after renovations and contains three scholarly collections in addition to artwork: archives,

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rare books and manuscripts. Walker said she looks to emulate Chieffo’s commitment to faculty and students.

“We are very committed to working with the faculty,” Walker said. “We help students who are doing research papers on artworks in the collection. When we get requests from professors, we always have them come in and bring their students. The collection is totally here for the students.”

Part of the celebration of the art department’s 50th anniversary and Chieffo includes an exhibition located in the Fairchild Gallery on the fifth floor of Lau. Curated by Chieffo himself, the exhibit includes memorabilia, photographs of students and faculty over the years and his own artwork.

The 50 years captured within the exhibit tell the story of a man who is dedicated to the arts, his students and his family. It runs from Oct. 6, 2017, to Jan. 21, 2018.

Chieffo has taught students as diverse as Walter Egan (COL ’70) and Ewing (COL ’85), and he continues to teach painting and drawing as an emeritus professor.

Most importantly, he created a space that, over the past 50 years, has given thousands of students the tools and space necessary to create and express themselves.

FILE PHOTO: ALLIE FREI FOR THE HOYA

The art galleries of the department of art and art history are located in the Edmund A. Walsh Building and in various other locations across campus. The Booth Family Center for Special Collections, on the fifth floor of Lauinger Library, contains art collections, in addition to archives, rare books and manuscripts.

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THE HOYA

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2017

CHRONICLES FROM COPENHAGEN

New Perspectives on the European Union Grant Olson

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ast week, I journeyed to Brussels with my European politics course to study the European Union by touring the various institutions headquartered in Brussels and interviewing key players within the system. Although I already had an understanding of the importance of the European Union from my previous studies, my personal experiences in Brussels cemented my belief that the EU is an essential political system and perhaps the best deterrent against the rising tide of nationalism and populism upending Europe today.

The modern European Union has its basis in the European Coal and Steel Community established in 1951 in an effort to unite Europe following World War II. Robert Schuman, the French foreign minister at the time, posited that the ECSC would “make war not only unthinkable but materially impossible,”

echoing Immanuel Kant’s liberalist belief that nations that were economically dependent on each other would not readily war with each other.

The modern EU as we know it evolved from this initial community of six nations — France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg — to comprise the 28 member states within the political system today.

And while nationalism and populism continue to make inroads in the modern political environment — most recently center-right and far-right parties’ success in the Austrian parliamentary elections Sunday and, of course, Brexit, the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the EU — my visit to Brussels demonstrated the necessity to me for Europe to continue on the path of supranationalism.

The modern EU has struggled to balance the interests of individual member states with the need to unite to better survive as a union in an unpredictable world. Through its almost 70-year history, the EU has managed to develop a complex yet fair political system that seeks to create lasting prosperity of the member states through the promotion of the overall EU. The success of the EU is one of the most important factors in the continued

prosperity of Western civilization during a time of rising terrorism, an ascendant Russia eager to assert itself globally and the promotion of peace worldwide.

The main institutions of the EU are the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Council and the European Commission, perhaps the most important body within the system. The Commission has the authority to create legislation, and the current Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, is the closest thing Europe has to an executive leader.

The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union work with the European Commission to pass legislation and set medium-term policy goals for the EU. All together, these three bodies perhaps most mirror — in theory — the United States’ system in which the president works with the bicameral legislature of the House of Representatives and the Senate to pass legislation and create laws.

The rise of the Commission’s influence within the EU in recent years signals that the majority of member states want increased integration to assure Europe’s prominence globally.

While the EU has an inherently differ-

ent structure from any other political entity on the planet, during my time in Brussels I learned that many of its institutions do share commonalities with the American political system and other individual governments with which people are more familiar.

Furthermore, the EU’s general movement toward increased integration and the advancement of the Economic and Monetary Union and the eurozone indicate that, with the exception of the U.K., the European member states understand that overall success for Europe — peace, economic preeminence and military security — can only be achieved together.

Europe’s inherently complex political situation — European nations that are often fiercely independent and immensely proud of their histories and culture — makes continued integration a difficult task. And yet after my visit to the EU’s capital, I have never been surer of its future success. To me, the EU represents a political example of humanity’s tug of war between a desire to isolate oneself for one’s own benefit and the individual sacrifice necessary to work together for the betterment of everyone’s lives.

Grant Olson is a junior in the College.

CHRONICLES FROM COPENHAGEN appears online every other Tuesday.

POR OTRO LADO

Affirming Identity Through La Virgen

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Grace Laria

a Virgen de Guadalupe, or the Virgin of Guadalupe, first appeared to an indigenous man named Juan Diego in 1531, speaking to him in his native Nahuatl language and asking him to build a chapel in her name. When Juan Diego reported the request of La Virgen to a Catholic bishop, he demanded proof of her apparition. Per La Virgen’s instructions, Juan Diego gathered roses he found on the hilltop in his tilma, a cloak made of cactus fiber, and returned to the bishop. Upon opening the fabric, they discovered the beautiful image of La Virgen imprinted on the tilma exactly as Juan Diego had described her.

The tilma, which hangs in the Basilica de Santa María de Guadalupe today, has been the subject of scientific research, debate and religious devotion since the 16th century. Scientists have found no evidence of brush strokes on the tilma, declaring that coloration of the fabric does not contain any known animal or

mineral elements. In 1921, when an anti-clerical radical set off a bomb in the basilica, the tilma remained unscathed, reinforcing the miraculous narrative of La Virgen.

“Guadalupe has been used alternatively, and sometimes simultaneously, as a symbol of liberation as well as one of accommodation and control,” writes expert on Marian imagery Jeanette Favrot Peterson in “The Virgin of Guadalupe: Symbol of Conquest or Liberation?” published by the College Art Association.

The similarities between La Virgen and native mother goddesses as well as her depiction as a dark-skinned woman facilitated the massive conversion of indigenous communities to Catholicism, serving as a key element in the spread of a hegemonic religion and maintaining the established colonial hierarchy dependent on the subordination of native populations. Even the usage of La Virgen’s image by creole insurgents such as Fr. Miguel Hidalgo during the war for Mexican independence in 1810 represents an attempt to manipulate the popular masses in the fight against Spanish colonialism.

It would not be until the social reform movements of the 20th century, such as those led by Emiliano Zapata in Mexico or César Chávez and Dolores Huerta in the American Southwest, that La Virgen would be more actively used as an inclusive symbol of liberation

in solidarity with oppressed communities.

Many emphasize the pre-Columbian roots of La Virgen as a source of subversion within sometimes-suffocating community norms or religious doctrine.

In her book “Borderlands, La Frontera,” Chicana writer Gloria Anzaldúa writes, “Guadalupe has been used by the church to mete out institutionalized oppression: to placate the Indians and mexicanos and Chicanos,” even “de-sexing” Guadalupe by erasing her indigenous origins in the Mexica mother goddesses Tonantzin and Coatlalopeuh.

According to Sandra Cisneros, author of “The House on Mango Street,” “She is a face for a god without a face, an indigena for a god without ethnicity, a female deity for a god who is genderless, but I also understand that for her to approach me, for me to finally open the door and accept her, she had to be a woman like me,” reflecting the manner in which Chicanas in particular have reclaimed and reinterpreted La Virgen as an act of self-affirmation.

As a white woman, I have not lived the experiences of people of Latinx, Chicanx and indigenous backgrounds, whom La Virgen has often aided in their struggles against oppression or for self-identification. But as I stared up at the tilma during my visit to the Basilica de Santa María de Guadalupe and processed the immense power of La Virgen, I cried, deep-

ly moved by her ability to provide marginalized individuals with a revolutionary, loving space both within and beyond the walls of the Catholic Church.

Raised in an interreligious household but more familiar with the tenets of Catholic doctrine, I am frustrated by the patriarchal structure of the Church and the whiteness of Georgetown’s mainstream Catholic community, which fails to magnify the voices of communities of color or engage with the historically oppressive relationship between Latinx individuals and the Catholic faith that began with the violent conquest of the Americas. As an indigenous woman venerated by millions, La Virgen’s existence disrupts traditional Catholic spaces.

In my experience with Catholicism, a faith I have grown to love deeply despite my frustration with the Church, I have never focused on the Virgin as a liberating figure. But my brief glimpse of the tilma has provided me with a new interpretation of the Marian figure — one that “binds, contradicts and explores intersectionality at its core,” as Salvadoran congressional candidate Wendy Carrillo said, in a celebration of duality and “the divine that exists within.”

Grace Laria is a junior in the School of Foreign Service. POR OTRO LADO appears online every other Tuesday.

the guide

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2017

MUSIC

THE HOYA

THIS WEEK’S TOP FIVE

NEW RELEASES

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Doughnut Shops in DC MAMA’S DONUT BITES

Mama’s Donut Bites’ food truck has some of the best doughnut bites in the D.C. -MarylandVirginia area. The doughnuts are made fresh and hot to order. The food truck offers simple, no-frills doughnuts that stand up on their own without fancy flavors or gimmicks. With humble beginnings as a stand at Northern Virginia farmers markets, Mama’s Donut Bites has come a long way since its founding in 2011.

TONY LANEZ

P!NK

TORY LANEZ FT. FUTURE ‘REAL THING’

P!NK FT. EMINEM ‘REVENGE’

Tory Lanez teams up with Atlanta hip-hop legend Future for this new track, believed to be the first single off of his upcoming sophomore album. The duo show an excellent sense of melody over rapid piano keys and a sharp drum beat, flexing their successes and placing pointed jabs at their enemies. “Real Thing” possesses a polished energy that makes it a radioready hit.

The title track of P!nk’s recently released album is equal parts powerful and vulnerable. In the hook, she sings tenderly over soft piano about slashing her husband’s tires in a fight. Her trademark booming vocals guide her tales of rock bottom and relationship troubles on the song. On the remainder of the album, P!nk stays true to form but also displays a wide of stylistic range with poise.

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Astro Doughnuts provides two delectable options for visitors: savory fried chicken and a delicious take on cake doughnuts. In addition to the classic glazed, patrons can find doughnuts in an assortment of flavors, including maple bacon, peanut butter and jelly and creme brulee. The easiest location to visit is located downtown, but Astro Doughnuts has several sites across D.C.

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LOUIS TOMLINSON ‘JUST LIKE YOU’

RUSSELL DICKERSON ‘TWENTYSOMETHING’

The former One Direction star has officially launched his own solo career with this track, “Just Like You,” which dropped Oct. 12. He dropped two singles with featured artists earlier this year but tackles this one on his own, crooning to listeners, “I’m just like you, even though my problems look nothing like yours do.” With the sounds of faint steel drums punctuating his verses and a brief electronic flair in the middle of the track, Tomlinson shows his intentions to expand artistically.

Dickerson’s debut album, titled “Yours” after the song that gave him his big break last year, features “twentysomething” as its third track. The song, like the rest of the project, is unapologetically wistful and centered on love. Dickerson said in an interview with Billboard that it “doesn’t cover every emotion. … I’m ecstatically married and right now we’re stoked on life.” With a quick beat and a touch of twang, the track is fun to listen to and showcases Dickerson’s developing vocal abilities.

DUCK DONUTS

D.C.-DONUTS

D.C.-Donuts offers both doughnuts and robust coffee at its food stand on Capitol Hill.

Patrons can enjoy doughnuts topped with chocolate or cinnamon syrup, freshly made in the fryer and ornamented with toppings. Unfortunately, this stand is only open Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., but its doughnuts are well worth the inconvenient times.

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ASTRO DOUGHNUTS

DUCK DONUTS

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RUSSELL DICKERSON

MAMA’S DONUT BITES

ASTRO DOUGHNUTS AND FRIED CHICKEN

For a modern and scrumptious doughnut, visit Duck Donuts. This family-run establishment based in Virginia features traditional donuts and hipster confections, including bacon-infused flavors. Duck Donuts’ powdered sugar doughnut is a strong contender for the best doughnut the DMV can muster; it is a traditional treat at its best. This regional chain has a shop in Arlington.

LOUIS TOMLINSON

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D.C.-DONUTS

SUGAR SHACK DONUTS AND COFFEE

Sugar Shack Donuts offers fun and exciting options for the more adventurous doughnut-lovers out there, including caramel macchiato, pineapple serrano and cucumber melon. The shop also regularly rotates flavors to add more diversity into its doughnut selection. Its apple-flavored doughnuts pair well with coffee for a perfect sugary fall treat.

SUGAR SHACK DONUTS AND COFFEE

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friDAY, October 20, 2017

FEATURE

AISHA MALHAS FOR THE HOYA, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE

The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery celebrated their grand reopenings last weekend with “IlluminAsia: A Festival of Asian Art, Food and Cultures,” a two-day festival highlighting the museums’ exciting new and returning exhibits. The museums’ technological improvements and renovations enable visitors to better interact with some collections.

Freer and Sackler Reopen With Asian Art Celebration Liddy Kasraian Special to The Hoya

Patterned paper lanterns, a vast maze of Asian food stalls and the sounds of traditional Middle Eastern songs greeted visitors of the Smithsonian Institution’s Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery during their grand reopening celebration last weekend. The two-day celebration, “IlluminAsia: A Festival of Asian Art, Food and Cultures,” featured interactive programming throughout the galleries in addition to highlighting a number of new and updated exhibitions in the remodeled space.

The Freer Gallery welcomed visitors for the first time since January 2016, when the gallery closed for what was the museum’s second large-scale renovation in its 94-year history. Some highlights of the renovations include improved gallery lighting and updated media and technology systems that allow for more interactive exhibits. Updated climate control systems were installed to better protect the collections housed in the galleries.

The adjacent Sackler Gallery, which first opened in 1987, also celebrated its reopening during “IlluminAsia.” After closing for a series of minor renovations in July, the Sackler Gallery welcomed guests to a number of new exhibits as well as updated permanent collections.

The Freer and Sackler Galleries are home

to the Smithsonian’s premier collection of Asian art, featuring works from East Asia, South Asia and the Middle East. The galleries also house a number of American works, and the renovated space seeks to showcase the connection between Asian and American art.

The renovations will allow the galleries to more effectively incorporate media and collaboration between various artists into the exhibits, said J. Keith Wilson, associate director and curator of Ancient Chinese art at the Freer and Sackler Galleries. Wilson said that these technological updates will allow visitors to better interact with certain collections, including a new exhibition entitled “Resound: Bells of Ancient China.” The exhibition features several touchpads that guests can use to hear digitally remastered contemporary interpretations of ancient Chinese songs.

“We have this amazing collection of Chinese bells that span almost 2000 years.

I thought that by developing an interactive exhibition using these Bronze Age objects in a kind of performance, it might be more interesting,” Wilson said. “I wanted to bring the whole idea into the 21st century, and since we don’t know what ancient Chinese music actually sounded like, I thought, ‘why not ask some contemporary composers to imagine what they could have sounded like?’, and that’s the idea of this soundscape.”

Another new exhibition is entitled “En-

countering the Buddha: Art and Practice Across Asia.” This exhibition, which features a collection of Buddhist artworks from Afghanistan, India, Nepal, China and Japan, recreates a Tibetan Buddhist shrine and a Sri Lankan meditation stupa, a religious monument that holds sacred relics.

Rebecca Bloom, a current fellow in the Freer and Sackler Galleries and one of the curators of this new exhibition, said that the renovation has allowed the gallery to recreate these traditional places of worship.

“There are really nice juxtapositions between the objects and these immersive spaces. We have a section dedicated to cross-cultural connections and pilgrimage.

This is a space that restores context to objects that are typically isolated in history.

We have organized them in a way that is reflective of Tibetan Buddhist hierarchies, restoring the traditional relationships between object and practitioner,” Bloom said.

One of the most anticipated additions to the galleries is the installation “Terminal,” by contemporary Indian artist Subodh Gupta. According to the Smithsonian Institute’s press release about “Terminal,” this particular installation celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Sackler Gallery’s opening while also welcoming visitors to the grand reopening of both the Freer and Sackler Galleries.

“Terminal,” which is located in one of the Sackler Gallery’s main foyers, is the

first exhibit that greets many visitors as they enter the gallery. The installation draws inspiration from the spires often seen atop places of worship in Indian cities. In “Terminal,” these spires, which Gupta recreates without any allusions to specific religions, range from 1 to 15 feet tall and are staggered throughout the exhibition space, connected by white threads to give the overall impression of a complex web.

The “IlluminAsia” grand reopening also marked the reopening of several permanent and returning exhibitions. Some of these updated exhibitions, including “Divine Felines: Cats of Ancient Egypt,” also benefitted from the gallery renovations and feature redesigned lighting and a new layout. Other returning exhibitions to the Freer and Sackler Galleries include “The Glazed Elephant: Ceramic Traditions in Cambodia” and “Feast Your Eyes: A Taste for Luxury in Ancient Iran.”

Though visitors have had to wait several months before stepping foot inside, the redesigned Freer and Sackler Galleries and new exhibits are well worth the wait. A short walk through the foyer of the Sackler Gallery is enough to show visitors the beauty and rich complexity of Asian art.

The Freer and Sackler Galleries are located at 1050 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, D.C. Admission to both galleries is free.

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AISHA MALHAS FOR THE HOYA

Subodh Gupta’s new exhibit, “Terminal,” will be open to the public at the Freer and Sackler Galleries until June, interrogating identity, history and religion in a series of monumental and interconnected brass towers, which symbolize the shared meaning and tropes that disparate religions share across the world, especially in the artist’s native India.

Exploring Interfaith Dialogue With ‘Terminal’

alia kawar

Special to The Hoya

Subodh Gupta’s monumental installation “Terminal,” is currently on display at the Sackler Pavilion of the Smithsonian Institution’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery to celebrate the reopenings of the Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery of Art. Featuring 30 gleaming brass towers, the exhibit by the internationally renowned Indian artist also marks the 30th anniversary of the Smithsonian’s Sackler Gallery.

The Sackler Gallery presents artwork from contemporary Asian artists through several exhibitions and public programs.

Gupta’s installation reflects the gallery’s goal: “to share the rich diversity of Asian art across time and space.”

Gupta’s work is heavily influenced by Indian culture. He is known for using readymade everyday objects found in India, from bicycle parts to milk pails, and reconfiguring them into new abstract shapes.

“I do try to create an abstract form to the point where even I cannot recognize it, but still can feel something from it,” Gupta said of his artistic style. In “Terminal,” Gupta created an installation that draws inspiration from the horizon of Indian cities.

In an artist talk on Sunday, Carol Huh, an associate curator of contemporary Asian art at the Freer and Sackler Galler-

ies, spoke with Subodh Gupta about “Terminal” and his artistic career.

Gupta began by talking about how he incorporates his personal history into his creative practice.

“I grew up in the eastern part of India and came from the middle-class family.

I lived in a place called Konkan that was very close to the railway. So 99 percent of those who lived there worked in the railway,” Gupta said. “Basically, I am the ‘Railway Boy.’ Juggling with family and just growing at any pace, I somehow ended up in the art world without knowing that art colleges even existed.”

Gupta studied at the College of Art in Patna, India. Upon his graduation, he struggled to gain recognition in New Delhi. However, in the following years, he slowly gained success outside of India while working in casting and sculpture.

Gupta now has showcases in exhibits across the world, from the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, to the Museum of Modern Art in Frankfurt, Germany.

Conceptualizing ‘Terminal’ Delving more into his practice and work on “Terminal,” Gupta explained the inspiration behind the title of his work. According to Gupta, two things are most important to his country: politics and religion. “‘Terminal’ came from those aspects

when I was in the process of making this work. Given the title, ‘Terminal’ is a space where your journey either starts or where your journey ends,” he said.

Walking into the space of the 15-foottall installation, composed of tall spires comprised of golden brass vessels interconnected by white threads, viewers will note that there is no obvious beginning or end to the piece.

Gupta intentionally has the viewer decide how to interpret the terminal.

With “Terminal,” he also transforms the concept of the vessel as a means to express spirituality. He focuses on the symbolic references to mobility and spirituality in the act of worship across cultures and civilizations.

The artist pointed out architectural similarities between different faiths, noting the pinnacles used in Hindu temples, Muslim mosques and Sikh gurdwaras.

“It is really interesting to see how religions have different symbols but all have the same design through their pinnacles. That is how I decided to portray pinnacles as the base of my installation to convey one uniting religion,” Gupta said.

Gupta also describes his particular reason for using white in the thread between spires.

“Unlike in Hinduism where people wear the color amber, the white color of the cotton does not emphasize any par-

ticular religion like Hinduism or Islam.

Therefore, I chose the white trait because it is a natural trait that belongs to everyone,” Gupta said.

Even Gupta’s process for conceptualizing and finding materials for “Terminal” carried specific intent.

“Whenever I think of the artwork, I also think of its sustainability of the material and how I will be able to create something that is not available in the market,” he said.

Ultimately, “Terminal” is a powerful installation that reflects the importance of interfaith dialogue. The delicate threads between brass vessels act as an inspiration that will encourage viewers to think critically about coexistence and accept others regardless of their backgrounds.

As the Sackler Gallery celebrates its 30th anniversary, “Terminal” visitors will be reminded of the gallery’s legacy of cultivating beautiful, meaningful works of Asian art. Gupta has produced a stunning, thought-provoking installation, which, as Huh said in a Smithsonian press release, “recontextualizes a familiar shape to encourage reflection on the idea of community, especially in a world increasingly challenged by religious differences.”

The exhibition is on display at the Sackler Gallery until June 24, 2018.

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THE HOYA

friDAY, october 20, 2017

Movie review

Goodbye Christopher Robin

Starring: Domhnall Gleason, Margot Robbie Directed by: Simon Curtis NOAH LEVESQUE Special to The Hoya

While “Goodbye Christopher Robin” provides a meticulous history of A.A. Milne’s popular children’s series “Winnie-the-Pooh,” it also leaves the audience with much more than knowledge of the book’s publication history. Hidden beneath the trappings of high production value and a nationwide release, Simon Curtis’ latest film offers a refreshing perspective on family, success and war, one that may irreversibly change how members of the audience think about their favorite children’s series. The film’s surprising plot, emotional performances and skillful direction make it incredibly rewarding to watch.

After witnessing the horrors of World War I, Milne, played by Domhnall Gleeson, returns home to find that life in London’s West End seems ideal for his family, his success as a playwright and his budding social life.

One problem, however, haunts Milne. Because he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, every popped balloon and opened champagne bottle drags him back in time to the horrors of the trenches he fought in during the war. Compelled by a desire for quiet, Milne, his wife Daphne, played by Margot Robbie, and his son Christopher Robin, played by Will Tilston, move to a house in Sussex, a county in the countryside of England.

At their home in the country, Milne is thrust into a more active role in his son’s upbringing. The father-son relationship that develops out of this situation is heartwarming and, as Milne soon learns, very lucrative when written in prose.

After writing the first volumes of “Winniethe-Pooh,” based on Christopher Robin’s inventive games and stuffed animals, the Milnes’ lives are consumed by media attention and international fame.

The 8-year-old Christopher Robin must travel, give interviews and sign autographs to keep

up with his father’s growing profits.

The books, rather than the time spent with his father, come to define the boy’s childhood, tragically estranging him from his family and peers. This dynamic becomes the central issue of the film and drives the plot until the very end.

The success of “Goodbye Christopher Robin” rests largely on the impressive collective performance by the cast.

Each character in the film is given a distinct personality through nuanced acting performances. Milne, at first reserved and uptight, bottles up his visceral flashbacks and shows little emotion. The changing circumstances of his life are reflected clearly in his character development and played with great aplomb

by Gleeson, as he eventually transforms into a sensitive and proud father.

Despite being given some distinctly adult lines, the 10-year-old Tilston successfully depicts the young Christopher Robin as a curious, witty and innocent child affected by the damaging events that surround him.

When the film flashes forward 10 years, the devastating effects of these events are elucidated in Alex Lawther’s commanding performance as the older Christopher. Despite these successes, there are moments of stiffness throughout the film, especially between Gleeson and Lawther, whose relationship frequently fluctuates throughout the second half.

Curtis’ directorial style is polished and wellsuited to the historical nature of the film.

The cinematography is dynamic, constantly developing on its style to accommodate different kinds of scenes. Dramatic conversations are marked by quick, clinical cuts and close-ups, whereas the natural freedom of Robin’s forest games is conveyed through long, high-angle shots. Milne’s flashbacks are dark and stormy, whereas almost every other scene plays out under bright light, natural or otherwise.

The scoring is serene and timely, never con-

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FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

“Goodbye Christopher Robin” provides a refreshing perspective on family, success and war by following the family of the author of “Winnie-the-Pooh.” spicuous but instead serving as an emotional compass, guiding the audience through the film’s turbulent atmosphere. Stylistically, this film somewhat resembles Tom Hooper’s “The King’s Speech,” as both films share the mission of depicting the uniquities of historical figures in an accurate yet compelling way.

The narrative structure is cyclical, beginning with a moment from 1941 that is only given context near the end of the film. This structure lends itself to one of the film’s principal concerns — important historical details, like the fact that the creation of Winnie-the-Pooh is connected to the misery of a young boy’s childhood, are lost over time.

“Goodbye Christopher Robin” is remarkably rich in thematic elements. The depiction of Milne’s mental illness highlights the utility of art in overcoming traumatic experiences, for it is only after his son inspires

the stories of “Winnie-the-Pooh” that Milne’s flashbacks begin to fade.

By placing so much emphasis on the scenes surrounding the Milnes’ collaborative storytelling, Curtis demonstrates that great art comes from a melding of childlike creativity with adult skill. The film treats the commercialization of art in an ambivalent way, demonstrating its potential to both inhibit creativity and provide widely available relief from war’s trauma.

Above all, “Goodbye Christopher Robin” is concerned with the unnatural dangers of fame, represented by intrusive reporters and social estrangement. This fame, the film seems to suggest, can compromise families, childhood and entire lives. Thus, the story of Christopher Robin must be interpreted as a warning to artists as well: Never let fame get in the way of what really matters.

Check out the guide’s other movie reviews at thehoya.com “Happy Death Day”

BLUMHOUSE PRODUCTions

“Marshall”

“Dina”

“Breathe”

CHESNUT RIDGE PRODUCTIONS

IMAGINARIUM PRODUCTIONS

THE ORCHARD

the guide

friday, October 20, 2017

THE HOYA

B9

restaurant review

Curb Your Ramen Cravings With Warm, Flavorful Dishes oki bowl AT georgetown

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1608 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20007 | Cuisine: Japanese | $ emily greffenius Special to The Hoya

The patrons of Oki Bowl at Georgetown are as charmingly eclectic as the decorations surrounding them. Walking into the restaurant is like travelling to a new world. Leaving behind the bustling traffic of Wisconsin Avenue, visitors of the restaurant sit beneath the warm glow of decorative, muted lamps and twinkling lights, talking and laughing over steaming bowls of ramen.

Oki Bowl, sister restaurant of Oki Bowl and Sake Bar, opened this past July and continues to whet customers’ appetites for Asian cuisine.

Metinee “May” Lieppert entered the restaurant business when she opened Oki Bowl and Sake Bar in October 2014. Originally hailing from Thailand, Lieppert has embraced ramen’s variable flavor profiles while putting a new spin on the Japanese dish, introducing flavors and ingredients from her youth.

Not only does each item come with loads of noodles in mouthwatering broth, but irresistible toppings also rest on the surface.

Nestled just a block away from Simply Banh Mi, which serves Vietnamese dishes, and Zannchi, which serves Korean dishes, Oki Bowl caters to Georgetown’s residents who have a penchant for different Asian cuisines. A 15-minute walk from campus, its location makes it a convenient place for students to curb their ramen cravings.

When seated at one of Oki Bowl’s tables, it is something of a challenge to draw one’s eyes away from the restaurant’s decor to pore over the menu. The walls and ceilings are covered with intricately crafted replicas of trees and flowers — elements of nature with a youthful flair. These natural elements are accompanied by other abstract accents, but they all adhere to the same bright color scheme.

Although some might find this decorative choice overwhelming for a small, one-room ramen joint, the restaurant maintains a consistent aesthetic; even the bathroom walls sport vines, black lights and fake fish tanks.

These lively decorative touches enhance the casual atmosphere of the restaurant. It is more than a sit-down establishment — it is a relaxed place to hang out and enjoy a hearty meal.

The exciting embellishments may be fun

to look at, but the menu is certainly the main attraction, reading easily with vivid photographs accompanying each item. In addition to traditional appetizers, like edamame and pot-stickers, Oki Bowl offers two main types of entrees: rice bowls and ramen.

Embracing familiarity and simplicity, the rice bowls combine nourishing ingredients with warm flavors. The Mushroom Bowl ($13), for example, features three different types of mushrooms doused in a delicious sauce. Served on top of rice, this dish is an uncomplicated and safe choice for those who may be less accustomed to traditional Japanese flavors.

The ramen, however, shines in comparison to these simple flavors. Although they adhere to the traditional foundations of Japanese ramen — long, curly, wheat-based noodles swimming in a flavorful meat or vegetable broth — the chefs of Oki Bowl combine these traditions with other more nuanced Asian flavors, ultimately producing inspired dishes that demonstrate their creativity.

For example, the Galanga ramen ($12), the only vegetarian ramen dish on the menu, combines a vegetable broth with steamed coconut milk, an ingredient often used in Thai dishes. The creaminess of the milk and subtle taste of coconut coat the tongue and awaken the taste buds to the other marvelous flavors.

The Kimchi ramen ($12) incorporates the pickled cabbage normally found in Korean cooking, creating a tangier and spicier soup that offsets the earthy flavors of Japanese cuisine. The chili peppers strengthen the flavors and complement the less flavorful tofu that accompanies the dish, helping to create a balanced entree.

The soups are delicious, but it is difficult to finish an entire bowl. Not only does each item come with loads of noodles in mouthwatering broth, but irresistible toppings also rest on the surface. From chicken and fried crab meat to tofu and kale tempura, these flavorful additions are hard to resist.

Oki Bowl fosters a sense of community throughout the entire dining experience.

Not only do the restaurant’s innovative dishes and flavors bring different cultures together, but the restaurant has also arranged its tables to encourage conversation and shared experiences with friends or family.

The restaurant itself is small, but each table can seat at least four people; each customer sits on a bench rather than on a separate chair. The friendly wait staff, happy to take questions and give opinions of dishes, helps encourage this laid-back atmosphere. Rather than trying to promote a certain menu item, the service seems only to want to provide the fruitful experience of a fantastic meal.

CAROLINE PAPAS FOR THE HOYA

This new Georgetown spot offers scrumptious Japanese cuisine for an affordable price, serving flavorful ramen, soups and rice bowls.

B10

the guide

THE HOYA

friDAY, october 20, 2017

Concert review

MAX CRISPIN FOR THE HOYA

Melbourne singer Tash Sultana took the stage at the 9:30 Club on Oct. 6, amazing audiences with her emotional and electrifying performance. Sultana first rose to fame in 2016 with her indie-rock anthem “Jungle.” Sultana’s opening act, the Pierce Brothers, above, amped up the crowd with its passionate folk songs.

Tash Sultana 9:30 Club Max crispin

Special to The Hoya

At around 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 6, Tash Sultana, donning an oversized black T-shirt, plaid pants and a black beanie, stepped barefoot onstage at the 9:30 Club to receive her thundering crowd.

“Was anyone at my last show in D.C.?” Sultana asked to thunderous applause. “Well, you obviously told your f- -king friends, cause they’re all here, aren’t they?” Sultana’s nonchalant humor and effortless apparel set the tone for the evening, which was memorable due to Sultana’s raw emotion, electrifying guitar skills and enamoring vocals.

At just 22 years old, Sultana defies genres and the norms of instrumentation. In just one year, she has gone from being a self-identified drug addict to touring sold-out crowds both in the United States and abroad.

The Melbourne native broke into the mainstream in 2016 with her hit single “Jungle,” an indie alt-rock anthem that she recorded in her parents’ basement. Riding the tides of her viral success, Sultana signed a record deal with Lonely Lands Records before releasing her six-track EP “Notion” in 2016 and garnering almost three million monthly listeners on Spotify.

The Pierce Brothers, a Melbourne-based folk duo that consists of two passionate,

skilled multi-instrumentalists, opened for Sultana. The frenzied crowd was caught in the middle of the enchanting sounds of Jack Pierce’s drumming and the furious acoustic guitar-playing of his brother, Patrick Pierce.

At one point, the brothers even played the one guitar simultaneously.

After some final blows on the didgeridoo, which reverberated across the venue with a deep, resonant sound, the brothers received a riotous ovation from the largest audience for which they had ever performed.

“Travelling in America, my brother and I never would have gotten the opportunity to go to the places we have on this tour, supporting Tash,” the drummer said in an interview with the Hoya. “No one knows who we are; they have no reason to know who we are. But getting this exposure is an incredible opportunity. And for that, I couldn’t be more grateful.”

After lighting and backdrop changes, as well as set alterations to account for the 10 different instruments that would be played that night, Sultana stepped on stage ready to perform.

Illuminated entirely by hues of dark blue and a dim, unfiltered yellow, Sultana let out a few sonorous and echoing high-pitched riffs from her electric guitar — an improvised opening for her 21-minute song entitled “Big Smoke.” Featuring looping tracks of similarly polished guitar melodies, bass lines,

beatboxing and drum sets all performed by Sultana, “Big Smoke” showcased the intonations of her seemingly fragile yet resonant voice, ranging from tense higher pitches to softer crooning.

In sharp contrast with the near silence of the crowd, Sultana sang with piercing volume, “When the big smoke comes I know the way / I want to sail my way home,” reflecting on her nine-month battle with druginduced psychosis at age 17.

Notable in Sultana’s performance was her ability to blend multiple songs together to create fluidity between performances. As the stage lighting gradually changed from shades of blue to purple and then red, so too did the intensity of Sultana’s set. Building slightly upon the mellow lulls of “Big Smoke, Pt. 2,” the merging of songs like “Gemini” and “Murder to the Mind” created a distinctive blend of sounds and emotions.

For her next song, Sultana transitioned to “Synergy,” released on the long-play “Notion.”

The performance was a heavy, anthemic riff reminiscent of The White Stripes, alternating between softer and fiercer, raspy vocals. Sultana also demonstrated her instrumental prowess with a raw and violent solo as she switched between electric guitar and mandolin partway through her rendition, following it up afterwards with a pan flute beatbox.

Before moving on to “Notion” and “Harvest

Love,” two songs dealing with heartbreak and the struggle for self-acceptance, Sultana spoke to the crowd about her battle with depression and her attempts to work under her demanding tour schedule, making this the most vulnerable moment of the concert.

“That’s the scariest point of your life that you can get to: when your perception of reality is so distorted that it doesn’t matter if it’s the sunniest day, you’re f- -king dying inside,” she said. “Being is the most important part because we’re always doing all this f- -king s- - -t that we don’t really need to do, and we forget how to be. This song is about that.”

Sultana closed off her performance with her biggest hit and most personal song to date, the hard-hitting microcosm of everything Tash Sultana: “Jungle.”

“A little while ago, I was in my bedroom in my parents’ house; when I used to live there, I wrote a song that changed my whole life,” Sultana said regarding the origins of the song, before thanking the crowd.

Finally, Sultana improvised a 10-minute acoustic guitar solo encore. With stylistic flair, the encore was, at once, beautiful, rapturous and virtuosic, simultaneously providing the perfect conclusion to a soulful show and marking the beginning of a predictably successful career for Sultana in the United States.

the guide

friday, october 20, 2017

THE HOYA

B11

concert review

Mura Masa 9:30 Club meghan mandi Special to The Hoya

Alex Crossan, better known as Mura Masa, may only be 21 years old, but he has already built quite a name for himself as an electronic musician. Emerging into the industry at age 17, Mura Masa used SoundCloud as a means of dispersing his music to wider audiences.

After his song “Lotus Eater” was streamed on multiple BBC radio shows, it was not long before the Guernsey, Britain, native began collaborating with other artists to produce new music to be released in the United Kingdom and North America under his own label, Anchor Point Records.

Within a year of dropping his tracks on SoundCloud, Mura Masa garnered the world’s attention with “Firefly,” a joint effort with Dublin artist Bonzai.

His eponymous debut studio album, which was released in July, features collaborations with some of the world’s most popular hip-hop and pop artists, including A$AP Rocky and Charli XCX, for sensational hit tracks “Love$ick” and “1 Night,” respectively.

Of the 13 songs featured on the album, only two do not feature another artist: “Messy Love” and “give me The ground.”

This would seemingly make it difficult for Mura Masa to tour and promote his new album, but his performance at the 9:30 Club on Oct. 11 challenged that notion entirely.

Doors opened at 7 p.m., where the initially sparse crowd awaited opening act Joey Purp.

Purp may not be a household name yet, but his riveting dynamism communicated through politically charged raps about his hometown, Chicago, did not fail to enthrall his audience.

Through unapologetically raw lyrics like, “I done witness both sides of the murder” and “Tell me how you feel / I’ll show you how it feel to see a homicide,”

Purp communicated the realities of living in the South Side of Chicago to his audience. He managed to electrify the audience into a state of keen anticipation for Mura Masa’s set.

Mura Masa’s stage set up was minimalistic, consisting of a sizable black banner displaying his name in large white block letters, a collection of instruments and DJ equipment in the center of the stage and an assortment of colored lights, which would do most of the work to create the ambience for the night.

The general mood at the beginning of Mura Masa’s set was characterized by tremendous excitement and energy. Unfortunately, this quickly perished when Mura Masa began to play a purely instrumental portion of slower electronic tracks, to which the audience was unable to dance along.

The quiet mood changed when collaborator Bonzai strode upon the stage for the performances of “Nuggets” and “What If I Go,” two songs that immediately transformed the audience from a relatively quiet mass of people into a raving mosh pit.

Mura Masa’s ability to mesh together a random combination of electronic sounds, percussion and vocals into flawless compositions of electronic dance pop songs are evident in recordings of his music. Miraculously, he was able to reproduce the same rich music live as he does in a studio, thanks to up-andcoming singer Fliss. Mura Masa brought Fliss along in order to perform the songs on his album that featured a number of artists who could not appear on the tour.

Fliss’ wide range of vocals and unparalleled dance moves allowed even those who were not very familiar with Mura Masa’s music to enjoy every second of the concert. She was able to mimic NAO’s breathy and high-pitched voice in “Firefly,” while still executing a stunning rendition of “helpline” with a low-

MEGHAN MANDI FOR THE HOYA

Despite his youth and reserved nature, Mura Masa made a strong showing at the 9:30 Club with guest singer Fliss providing plenty of energy. er and more upbeat cantor for the rap.

Mura Masa’s evident introversion and reserved nature did not harm the overall experience as Fliss more than made up for him by often joining the crowd and getting into two dance battles with random audience members, further turning the bottom floor of the 9:30 Club into a dancing mob. Between Mura Masa’s calm, collect composure and impressive live performance, the audience quickly forgot his youth and relative inexperi-

ence.

Although Mura Masa may not currently possess the largest fan base in the U.S., the audience at his concert surely walked out of the 9:30 Club with a newfound appreciation for the Guernsey artist and his distinctive style of electronic music. Although Mura Masa should work to improve his showmanship and energy level for future shows, this concert certainly did not disappoint.

Check out the guide’s other concert reviews at thehoya.com Ron Pope at the 9:30 Club

ALEXANDRA BRUNJES FOR THE HOYA

RAC at the Black Cat

Maddy FORBESS FOR THE HOYA

LANY at the Fillmore Silver Spring

TARINA TOURET FOR THE HOYA

ARTWORK (COUNTERCLOCKWISE) BY RALPH WICKISER, JONATHAN MONAGHAN, COLETTE FU, SANGRAM MAJUMDAR, ERIC DYER Illustration by angela perez and mina lee/the hoya