Entertainm
Wednesday,
Jan. 21, 1998
5
Sculptor brings metal to life at campus art show
JARED BEZZANT
A&E Editor
Copper, brass and bronze are not the most common media of art.
This is one of the reasons C. Greg Wilbur finds being a metalsmith
and sculptor so rewarding.
“I’m filling a niche in the art world,” said Wilbur of his work that
is now on display in the Pauling Gallery through Feb. 5. Wilbur’s
solo art show is simply entitled “C. Greg Wilbur—Metal."
For twenty years Wilbur has made an impression in various muse
ums across the country, including thè Smithsonian Institution. Many
of his displays are of raised metal urns and bowls in organic shapes
and colors.
Wilbur said the organic structure comes from a deep inspiration
from nature. He also stated that his art is an expression of liberation
from the likes of the Vietnam War, in which Wilbur served.
The shaping comes from an ancient metalsmithing process that
includes stretched sheets of malleable metals hammered into the
desired shape.
“I hammer really hard for four hours a day,” said Wilbur. “Any
more and I would injure myself.”
Injury doesn’t only come through hammering, though, as a large
bum on Wilbur’s forearm attests. For each color that is created there
is a unique method. A shade of green requires a spray of four differ
ent acids that Wilbur applies to create chemical reactions in the color.
The red vessels are heated in extreme temperatures and afterwards
plunged into boiling water and held down, until the desired tint of
red is reached.
Art in this medium requires a lot of time. Wilbur spends approxi
mately a month on some of his pieces. Wilbur, who has been an art
instructor, now makes a living from his metal works.
“This is more than a hobby,” said Wilbur.
The pieces sell for a fair price, considering all the sweat that goes
into them. “Two Red Leaves," a brown vase shaped vessel with two
leaves above the rim, is valued at $1,600. “Bat Lick” is set at $ 1,300.
Wilbur seems happy to have found his niche with his glossy im
ages, twisted and smoothed into delicate natural beauty that comes
from such hard materials as copper and brass. This art is truly de
ceiving, appearing so easy and soft, when in reality it is very diffi
cult to create.
Two bats peek their heads from a fruit vessel of raised brass in Wilbur's "Bat Lick."
Low-budget movie leaves audience wagging for more
Movie: Wag the
ALEX MAHAN
A&E Editor
Dog
Director:Barry
Ix-vinson
Starring: Dustin
Hoffman,Robe tt
DeNiro. Anne
Heche, Denis
I tarv Woody.
Harrelson, and
Willie Nelson
Alex's opinion: A
well-written and
acted movie.
It is rare in this era of big-bud
get movies when a film made in
29 days and for a paltry $15 mil
lion can become a nationwide hit.
But “Wag the Dog,” directed by
Barry Levinson, definitely has
the potential.
Dustin Hoffman and Robert
DeNiro both star in this hilarious
political satire in which the Presi
dent is accused of molesting a Girl
Scout only 11 days before the
election. DeNiro masterminds a plot
to divert attention away from the in
cident by “creating” a war with Al
bania. Hoffman plays the Hollywood
producer hired by DeNiro to invent
and produce the phony war.
The scenario created is great: Al
banian terrorists have captured a
nuclear device and are holding it
somewhere near the U.S.-Canada
border. The media devotes all of their
attention to this crisis, and the heat
is off of the President at least for
awhile. But when the CIA finds out
that there is no nuclear device, the
two peddlers of deception have to
come up with a new tactic.
These antics continue through
out the movie, until the ending,
which has a few unexpected sur
prises. Woody Harrelson also
makes a cameo towards the end,
playing quite an interesting char
acter.
The quality of the acting and
the quirky plot are both things
that make this film enjoyable. But
the cinematography is also excel
lent. Different kinds of shots and
angles occur frequently, and vari
able zooms also make the camera
work stand out.
Overall, “Wag the Dog” is one
of the best movies currently on the
silver screen. It is funny, well-acted,
and well-written Hoffman and
DeNiro work extremely well to
gether in their parts, which is es
sential to a good movie-watching
experience.
The small price tag and high en
tertainment value of “Wag the
Dog” show that you don’t have to
spend $200 million to make a qual
ity film in the late 1990’s.
Robert DeNiro gives Dustin Hoffman some sound advice on mingling politics with filmmaking.
Wednesday, January 21,1998