Gallery Critiques

Student 15 Spring 2000

I. Please summarize the content and theme of the event you attended. If you attended a play, please summarize the plot and main characters. If a recital, please list the pieces and any relevant information you learned about them from the program notes. If a gallery exhibit, please list some sample works included there and some information from the display notes.

Thursday I was able to attend the spring jazz concert. The evening opened with the Trojan Marching Band of Peach County High School playing "Blue Rondo Ala Turk" and "Vehicle". They did a better job than I thought they would; I was impressed. Then the GC&SU Jazz Band played a series of nine pieces, several of which were played in dedication and memory to the veterans of WWII. After intermission, Byron Stripling, a guest artist, was introduced. Mr. Stripling made a very impressive performance on trumpet. He also sang and directed many of the songs himself. All together this was the most unique preformance the jazz band has done in two years. They incorporated dancing and costumes for some of the pieces as well as the guest band and guest trumpet. I quite enjoyed the evening; it was a 2 hour delight!

II. Please ANALYZE the materials presented in terms of how they relate to our class materials. Consider the following points in your analysis and respond to as many of them as are relevant: What uses of color, line, shape, texture or rhythm were evident in the work(s)? Do any aspects of the performance or works in the exhibit illustrate functionalism? Realism? Idealism? Art and the Ordered Cosmos? Art as Self-Expression? If so, in what ways does the material illustrate these aesthetic schools of thought? Please list specific features of the performance which support your points.

The most ovvious use of color, line, and shape were the costumes and dances that were part of the evening. Rythnm, also, is obviously an important aspect of all music. I think that music, especially the swinging jazz from the jazz band, exhibits functionalism in that it can be played to dance to of for the purpose of honoring someone (like the veterans). The music exhibits realism because it mirrors back to us stories and themes that real people wrote to express real feelings about life. It can also very easily exhibit idealism; some writers may not compose pieces that protray real life, but what they wish could happen or think should happen "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" is a piece that they played in dedication to the veterans (functionalism), it expressed life back in past time period (realism), and it reveals some of the ideals too (idealism). I think that most art is, in some form, self-expression, but ______________________because Mr. Stripling used a lot of impre______ into it!

III. Finally, please list any other significant features of the performance that may not have been covered above. Were there any special themes or topics that were emphasized in the work(s)?

I thought that the evening was unlike any of the other shows they have done in the last 2 years. They were able to incorporate a high school band, and they were greatly added to by Mr. Byron Stripling's preformance. One of the things I thought was particularly interesting was that this time they had a couple that did a bit of swing dancing during one of the songs it added to the mood to see a couple, in 50's costumes, dancing to music that was modern at the time, but classic now! Also during one of the songs one of the singers had on a real uniform from WWII (I believe). That was neat to see too because it really felt like we were seeing a slice of life from days past.

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