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ETROPOLITAN VOLUME
15,
ISSUE
28
APRIL
9, 1993
DENVER, COLORADO
Festival of cultural art comes to life Mike Perreten The Metropolitan
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Grupo Folklorico Sabor Latino dance troupe performs In the Tlvoll Aprll 6.
A pugnacious poodle with red ribbons on her ears stands brandishing a machine gun. A pit bull has "News 4" and "NBC" written on its body and a Channel 4. microphone dangling from the tip of its tail. A videotape is attached to the base of the tail. These sculptures by artist Dede Larue are on display in the Library as part of Art Daze, in conjunction with the Festival of Cultural Arts, celebrated April 5 and 6 at Auraria. Although the skies were cloudy both days, it did not stop the celebration. Incorporating dance, music, art, poetry and much more, the festiva stretched from the Tivoli Student Union to the Emmanuel Gallery, South Classroom, St. Cajetan's Center and the present Student Union. T h e Emmanuel Gallery hosted the MSCD student art show, and director Carol Keller was excited by the students' enthusiasm. Competition to get work displayed in the gallery was fierce, she said. "We had a huge amount of entries, and we chose 50 to display. There were a couple hundred entries," Keller said. One of the paintings on display was "Mona and Bart," an acrylic by Don McClimans. It shows the television cartoon character, Bart Simpson, resting in the cradled arms of the Mona Lisa. An untitled painting by Michelle Libby depicts the face of what looks like a sinister, leering clown in dark, ghostly blues and greens.
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Agressive students in classes Cultural Arts Festival
The art show at the Tivoli featured art by students from five schools: MSCD, UCO, CCD, Regis University and Denver University. The most elaborate exhibit of the Tivoli art show was a piece called "Installation" by UCO student Bonnie Ferrill. A wooden post was in a small, darkened room. A circle of votive lights surrounded the post and broken glass was scattered at the base of it. Taped to the post were cutouts of a woman's form. The cutouts were from bible pages. After looking at art, people listen to the many bands that played in the Tivoli. On April 6, the Metro Jazz Ensemble played in the Tivoli Turnhalle. Their extended jams were a fusion of r-0llicking keyboards, energetic drums, thumping bass and soulful trombones. _ Many merchants took advantage of the festival to hawk their merchandise. Michael ~mmons, who owns Akente Express, a store that sells African products, sold African hats, dolls, clothes, oils and lotions on the second floor of the Tivoli. ."It would be nice if we could be outside," Simmons said. While some people looked at art and listened to music, others took in poetry at St. Cajetan's. Poem topics were diverse. Catherine O'Neill, an MSCD student, read a poem called "Me Mommy," relating the travails of being a full-time student, having a full-time job and taking care of kids at the same time. A person who juggles these commitments has to be "mommy" but has no "mommy" he~lf. When lunch time rolled around on April 6, people avoided the usual fare and head over to the South Classroom to sample exotic cuisine. People tried food native to Vietnam, Egypt and Peru. On April 5, films w路ere shown in the conference rooms in the Student Union. One of the films, "Black History Museum," by Divon E. Johnson, is a documentary about the Black History Museum on California Street in downtown Denver. "Black History Museum" talked about famous African Americans in Colorado history, such as Justina L. Ford, the first black woman doctor in Colorado. For younger folks, Elizabeth Ousley gave puppet shows in the south amphitheater. Although the weather was chilly, parents and their little kids showed up to watch the antics of monkeys, bears and other cuddly stuffed animals as they sang and danced to recorded music. The kids danced around also, often in puddles of water on the amphitheater steps.
pages pages 14,15 :1 I