Mt. Angel Abbey shows rare art to students
By Doris I. Hatcher
a guided tour.
Of The Print
Where would you expect
to find a group of artists, who
are studying art history,
caligraphy and sculpture, but at
a historical site such as Mt.
Angel Abbey, St. Benedict,
Oregon.
Last Thursday, Micki
Templeton, caligraphy teacher
and Norm Bursheim, head of
the art department and art
history teacher at Clackamas
Community College took a
group of students on a tour of
-the Abbey where they were
able to study first-hand rare ob
jects of art.
Eighty-year-old Father
Martin, a Benedictine Monk,
who celebrated the golden
jubilee of his priesthood on Ju
ly 10 of this year, met them at
the library and took the class on
Alvar Aato of Helsinki,
Finland, one of the most
renowned architects of the
20th century, constructed the
library which was dedicated in
1970.
In the rare book collection
is one of the two known copies
in Oregon of the Book of Kells
in the editio princeps; the first
American reprint of the Guten-
burg Bible of 1476, by
Sensenschmidt and Loefler.
Sensenschmidt was the first
printer of Nuremburg, the
greatest printing center of the
medievel Germany.
Also included in the library
is a collection of 18 Catholic
Ladders, a visual aid in
teaching of Catholic doctrine to
the Northwest Indians.
Father Martin spoke to the
students and showed them
slides of art in the Abbey. They
were allowed to enter the rare
book vault which has control
led temperature and humidity.
Many of these books are bound
in animal skins or wood, and
were printed by hand, by the
Benedictine Monks who lived
in those days. In the
auditorium is a tapestry by
Mark Adam of Abeegnone
France valued at $3,500.
The church has among
other works, a mosaic of
Young Benedict at Subiaco in
the foyer and a statue of St.
Joseph by Frances Rich. There
are 14 stations of the cross
done in mosaic by Louisa
Jenkins who took 6 months
studying and sketching before
she undertook the actual work.
The stations of the cross are
substitutes for the holy land
and are scenes of the passion
and the death of Christ.
Bush’s “The Dreaming”highlights neglected career
Ediorial By F. T. Morris
For The Print
sounds, as Lene Lovitch does,
she sings in that high voice).
Let’s start with a blunt
What made me go back for a
question: Do you know who
second listen was the fact that
Kate Bush is?
although her voice was strange
If you answered no, then
(but wonderful), her songs
chances are her new album
were not. With a voice born to
isn’t for you; if you said yes,
sing new wave, Bush’s decision
then “The Dreaming” is just
to sing “normal” songs was, I
what you’ve been waiting for
thought, quite courageous.
(provided you like her music,
That first album, “The Kick In
of course).
side,” was good enough to
The first time I heard a
garner more attention than it
Kate Bush song, I mistakenly did. Sales were dismal despite
thought the album was playing the album being issued three
at 78, though it was not; she
can hit incredible high notes times, and her next two
that don’t seem to belong to a albums, “Lionheart” and
human being (she does not “Never For Ever,” were not
simply make strange high released in this country at all
(both are availa’be-for a high
price—as imports). “Lionheart”
was interesting, mainstream
rock, but “Never For Ever” is a
classic, the indispensible Kate
Bush record. As an import, it
made her semi-famous in this
country as a cult favorite.
“Never” was marginally new
wave in execution, with lots of
sound effects and electronic
released. This is good because
more people will have a chance
to hear her (she’s my idol), but
bad because this is not the
album for people hearing her
for the first time; we need the
earlier imports to prepare us.
“The Dreaming” is far
more experimental than
anything she has ever attemp
ted, and, though quite
each song is, in its way, ex
tremely effective). The multi
dimensional layering of voices,
instruments and overall sound
demands special attention, but
it pays off.
As an import, it made her semi-famous in this country as a cult favorite.
✓
gadgetry (it is also the only
albut I’ve ever heard where all
the sound effects were
necessary artistic choices, and
that includes Pink Floyd’s “The
Wall”). Bush once and for all
proved herself to be a for
midable singer/songwriter,
capable of jolting unexpected
nerves in the listener’s psyche.
Had it been released in the
U. S. I don’t see how it could
have failed.
Now for the good news
and bad news: “The
Dreaming” has been nationally
marvelous, it is not completely
successful. Her songwriting is
still fresh and evocative and her
singing is first-rate, but as pro
ducer she has made some un
fortunate choices, re the ar
rangements, that even fans
may have a hard time handl
ing. For example, the title
track, a funny song about
smashing Aborigines with a van
on a lonely Australian
highway, is sung in an inten
tionally (but why?) ultra-nasal
voice that is nifty but just plain
weird. And a good tune,
“There Goes a Tenner,” is bog
ged down in a maddeningly
slow arrangement that doesn’t
work. She also insists on
screaming some of the lines in
“Houdini,” an otherwise
gorgeous song, and in one
song brays like a mule.
But . . . I’m drawn to this
album, and I like it very much.
When I first heard it, despite
my reservations, I was over
come with the feeling that it
was somehow very right, the
next logical step in her career.
Each song is like a little mini
page 6
opera, relying little on tune
fullness to reach its full poten
tial (and even when there are
serious lapses in judgment,
“Sat In Your Lap,” “Night
of the Swallow” and “Get Out
of My House” are terrific songs
-the last is perhaps the angriest
feminist anthem ever written.
“Suspended in Gaffa” is infec
tious and captures one’s heart
with its simplicity and carnival
air; this is among the most
outstanding cuts ever put on a
Kate Bush LP, though it can’t
quite come close to “The Infant
Kiss” or “Egypt,” both from
“Never For Ever,” or the title
track of “Lionheart.”
So . . .1 guess I recom
mend “The Dreaming.” Sort
of. It is an album that absolutely
demands the listener to catch
its wavelength and go with it. If
the two previous import alhums
were readily available, this
wouldn’t be such a big risk for
the average consumer. As it
stands now, those unfamiliar
with her work (unless they are
the daring sort) will probably
never hear this record, let
alone buy it. For this reason,)
Kate Bush will most likely con
tinue to be (unfortunately)
unknown to the American
public at large.
Clackamas Community College