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r VOLUME 15, ISSUE 22
FEBRUARY 27, 2014
Bull City Summer Durham’s favorite pastime at NCMA
Adult World Recess reviews, pg. 6
The Makery Once online, now downtown, pg. 3
ALEC SOTH
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editor’s note ss recess r
R recess editors ideal brunch...
As a biology major who sometimes really wishes she could be an English major, a Shakespeare course is a rare treat. I registered for Shakespeare Now and Then: Versions of The Winter’s Tale not knowing quite what to expect, as its premise is to explore versions of one of Shakespeare’s late plays, “The Winter’s Tale,” which I had heard of maybe once before and definitely not read. Other readings have included “Persuasion,” “Daniel Deronda,” “King Lear,” Pandosto’s “A Triumph of Time” and “All’s Well That Ends Well.” I’m thinking a lot about this class at the moment because I have an essay due in a week, and rather than write that, I’m writing about writing it. I know, I’m pretty meta that way. Many of the plays and novels we read are products of a later period in the author’s working life, and their maturity in both style and theme tends to be obvious. Consider “Persuasion,” a short but deeply subtle tale focused on a mature heroine confronting and reconciling a past mistake, in which meaning comes most strongly through silence, compared with “Pride and Prejudice,” a jubilant romance brimming with sensory stimulation, which relies on conversation and passionate words to drive the plot forward to resolution. Each time we read a new work in this class, I struggle to determine how it could
Lauren Feilich [editor]................................................................................. runny yolks Eliza Strong [managing].............................................................. maple pecan schmear MC Bousquette.[music].............................................................................. LMo’s diner Megan Rise [film]........................................................................ bacon wrapped bacon Kathy Zhou [arts].................................................................................. kitty’s kreations Eliza Bray.[photo].................................................... birthday cake oreos and hula hoops Prashanth Kamalakanthan [online]........................................................ whack rappers
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possibly be construed as a “version” of “The Winter’s Tale,” but common themes come out of the woodwork with time. Each story is a tale of winter in its own way, signified by changes brought on by long passages of time and periods of stagnation, broken by some glimmer of warmth or hope. Why is a theme like winter, so bleak and dead, such a pervasive commonality in late work? Winter weighs heavily on people; it drives them indoors and blankets everything in cold and monochrome. (I don’t like the cold. Can you tell? I’m sorry, New England roots.) Winter is neither cheerful nor especially hopeful, but something to be gotten through. Here, then, is the stickingpoint—there’s always something better on the other side: spring. In these stories, lengthy periods of time yield transformations for the better. This is not to say that the whims of youth and spontaneity always come to naught, but rather that it is the passage of time that allows these things to come to fruition, and that they fuel the survival of a long freeze. Whether the “winter” in the story lasts for a few months, eight and a half years, or 16, the blooming promise of renewed life and hope comes with the denouement. By no means am I in the winter of my life, but I am certainly in the winter of my Duke career. If freshman year is summer, when everything is golden and full of opportunity, and sophomore year is autumn, when things are beginning to seem more serious and winter ought to be thought of, prepared for, but colorful leaves and blue skies still dazzle—junior year is certainly winter. Night after night of endless work, days a cycle of library-class-library-internship applicationslibrary with no clear line between sleep and wakefulness, it has begun to seem as endless as the season itself. I’ve never seen my classmates as stressed as they all are now, caught in the rip-tide of a collective quarter-life cri-
The Chronicle sis and perpetually on the verge of a full-on meltdown. I am consistently frustrated by my own inability to look past this stage of my college career. When I should be thanking my lucky stars that I have a full year left at Duke (sorry, seniors) and enjoying every day of it, what I mostly have running through my head is a list of everything I have to check off for the day and how, impossibly, I can fit it all in. Every day I wonder if I’m doing the right major, if the career I’m aiming for will make me happy in the end, and why I feel so behind every other person in this school of hyper-achievers—and how to catch up. What I’m gaining from the tales I’m reading for this class is the reminder that this semester is preparation for the start of my adult life, not its zenith. Focus and wherewithal now will only benefit me in the future, and that’s comforting. The snow will melt, leaf buds and daffodils will make their brave way through as they do every year and something—who knows what—will come of all this work. It’s more exciting than frightening not to know what that will mean or when it’ll come. This is a shared human experience, not only among my fellow classmates but, clearly, one that has transcended centuries of little individual lives. Winter is a blessing. Without it, spring and summer wouldn’t feel as magnificently freeing and gorgeously alive, and autumn would lose its poetic charm. Everything pauses and sleeps, and a chance appears to reflect, mature and appreciate what has passed and to look eagerly to the future. So, instead of grumbling at freezing mornings, I will cherish the feeling of clutching a piping hot coffee and speed-walking to class with the knowledge that a cozy coffee shop or random warm day is somewhere right around the corner. --Eliza Strong
the Chronicle
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Local craft start-up finds a home on Geer Street for NC artists By Kathy Zhou THE CHrONICLE
A few aspects stand out in particular when we look at Durham today. There’s the homegrown, DIY aesthetic; the arts scene, which we never fail to laud for its vibrant and collaborative nature; the creative entrepreneurship (which demands some oomph); and the community to tie it all together. The Makery has successfully navigated its way through all of these. Its permanent space, shared with Mercury Studio and in the same building as Motorco, opened February 8. It’s versatile, serving as a place to foster ideas, creations and business. There’s a section for artists to work or lead workshops, a display area, and a spot left open for concerts or culinary tastings in the future. It’s a curated space, designed to increase Durham’s collaborative creativity. When North Carolina native Krista Anne Nordgren was in college in Illinois, she realized that her sister, as well as several of her friends, were “making cool things but struggling to get sales.” Assured that the problem was not in the artwork itself, and observing the success of the then-new Groupon, Nordgren, along with her two sisters, began thinking about how the flash model, as well as the economic principle of buying locally, could be useful for handmade products. She and her sisters went on to win The Smoffice competition (The World’s Smallest Office, a charming getup that was on display along Main Street for a while), which worked to encourage entrepreneurs to bring their projects to Durham. “Downtown Durham is changing really rapidly right now. There’s a huge influx of interest from businesses that aren’t local to Durham and also businesspeople local to North Carolina,” Nordgren said. With the winnings, which included a free
apartment, Nordgren moved back to Durham to spearhead The Makery. The virtual store has operated as an online business since September 2012, and it has had a far-enough reach to garner orders from all over the states, as well as Canada and even England. The focus was solely on the North Carolinian handmade: each week, there’s a different profile on a North Carolina maker and the creations that the Nordgrens curate for sale. Eventually, Nordgren grew close with the owners of Mercury Studio, another downtown art and work space that was located on Mangum Street. When the studio decided to move locations, it had a large retail space and nothing specific in mind to fill it, so Mercury and Makery decided to merge forces and share the new location. reminiscent of Berenbaum’s, the food concept that helped put on some pop-up restaurants and eventually bought Ninth Street Bakery, The Makery hosted a pop-up shop over the holidays as an experiment. The ensuing success cemented their decision to open up a physical location. After all, to have this space would only enhance the connections that The Makery hopes to foster: artist-toartist, seller to buyer, community member to community member. “In terms of community building, there’s nothing like having a physical location where people can stop by,” Nordgren said. “It’s important to carve out a space for artists and makers in this kind of artistic community, to have a voice downtown.” Nordgren describes this store as an extension of the website: both elevate North Carolina-made works, and both promote the more conscientious consumer habit to buy locally. The website, light, eye-catching and leaning toward the minimalistic, smooths out the arduous process of finding the specific locally
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
“Increasing Opportunity for America’s Students: Perspectives on College Access Programming” According to the U.S. Department of Education, 90 percent of the fastest-growing jobs today require postsecondary education, yet the U.S. lags behind other nations in young adults enrolled in higher education. Come learn more about this important issue and hear from first generation college students, representatives from college access programs and higher education programs.
Invited Panelists: Dan Kimberg: Moderator, and Executive Director of StudentU and Duke '07 Atrayus Goode: Executive Director of Movement of Youth (Durham-based college access program) Vianey Lemus Martinez: UNC student and participant in the Emily K Center Scholars to College/Scholars on Campus program Ben Adams: Assistant Director, Duke Undergraduate Admissions Tuesday, March 4th and Duke '08 6:30pm – 7:30pm Justin Clapp: Assistant Director, Duke Financial Aid Office Amir Farokhi: COO, National College Advising Corp and Duke '00, Gross Hall – SSRI West Duke Law '04 Room 230E
made work that you want. (Just think about how arduous it can be to search through Etsy, and how overwhelming and infrequent craft fairs are.) The Makery finds unique works made by committed, talented artists, and then curates them to the benefit of both buyer and seller. The new store takes this a step further. They’ve collected some vintage items, all made or found by people who live in North Carolina. More notably, artists who live a few blocks away from the store can now sell their works to someone who might live a couple of minutes in the opposite direction. Nordgren’s father, Carl Nordgren, is a Markets and Management professor at Duke, and his course on creative entrepreneurship focuses on making the most generative and creative version of yourself. He selected a handful of different local organizations for groups of his students to work with, including The Makery. “[The Makery] seemed like a really great way to bring people, and local artists, together,” senior Flora Muglia, who chose to work with The Makery, said. SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Muglia cited Durham’s ranking as the most creative city in the U.S., explaining that nowadays, it pays to be creative and to be able to navigate different mindsets toward improvement and innovation. Start-ups, especially for arts organizations, have grown with time and technology to play a prominent role in society—Durham, and the exciting prospects of The Makery, reflect that trend. Looking forward, Nordgren, satisfied with the new physical space, plans to continue supporting local makers and thriving on community-supported commerce. “Not only can local artists demonstrate or create work [at The Makery], but they can also put themselves out there and to sell their art,” Muglia said. “But I think the idea of having this space where local North Carolinian artists and makers can get together, that’s something I haven’t heard of elsewhere…Oftentimes being an artist or maker can be devalued. This creates a safe and awesome space for people to work together and also to sell together.” The Makery is located at 401 W Geer Street. Their Kickstarter runs until March 1. For more information, visit The Makery’s website.
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The Chronicle
Bull City Summer returns as phot By Katie Fernelius The Chronicle
Durham’s pastime is coming to the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh in a new exhibition. The photography exhibit is one component of Bull City Summer, a project that brought together nine visual artists and eight writers to document all 72 home games at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park during the 2013 season. “The project originated about three and a half years ago at the end of the Jazz Loft Project because I was ready to document something contemporary, something happening now,” Sam Stephenson, North Carolina native and director of the Jazz Loft Project and Bull City Summer, said. “Durham Bull games are one of the few places you can go where you can see all walks of life from a 50-mile radius in a single structure.” The Durham Bulls’ 2013 season was chosen in part because it coincided with the 25th anniversary of the release of the film “Bull Durham.” The movie has been a cornerstone of pop culture and features Durham’s own minor league baseball team and the community that surrounds it. “What I think is really fascinating is that this project is fundamentally about the Durham Bulls, a season of baseball in America, but the photographers and artists involved in this project don’t necessarily have a history with baseball or the team,” Emma Miller (T’12), a contributing organizer and writer for the project, said. “The aim was to break away from traditional sports journalism. Some of our contributors are drawn to the sport,
but others are drawn to the aesthetics of the sport or the culture of the stadium at large.” Despite the Durham Bulls’ longstanding history, the stadium itself is only just creeping up on its 20th year. For many of the artists involved in Bull City Summer, the stadium served as a source of inspiration. Kate Joyce, a Chicago-based photographer who had previously studied at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies, admitted that she went through a lot of trial and error in determining how to document her perspective in the stadium. “I was drawn to the ritual of practice and relating to that as an artist,” Joyce said. “Both my mother and sister were professional dancers and seeing that influence in the ballplayers’ movement was how I developed my perspective. I didn’t know much about baseball, but as a photographer, I identified with the players. We both put in immense amounts of practice, but our work is largely dependent on luck and timing.” In addition to the exhibition at NCMA, the photography and writing contributed to Bull City Summer will also be published in a book later this year. While Adam Sobsey is the main writing contributor on the project, the book also includes writing from Howard L. Craft and Frances O’Roark Dowell, as well as from Miller, Stephenson and guest writers. “There’s something in the exhibition and the book that will strike a chord with anybody, whether you are a sports fan or a fine arts aficionado or someone who identifies with the Durham community,” Miller said. “As other contributors have
alex harris
Leah Sobsey
alec soth
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
MUSIC St. Vincent St. Vincent Republic Records
by Drew Haskins The Chronicle The cover of St. Vincent’s self-titled fourth album depicts the artist sitting atop a pink marble throne in a flashy gown gazing imperiously at the listen-
er. She seems positively regal, and with good reason. “St. Vincent” is a stonecold masterpiece and the best album of the year thus far. St. Vincent, the musical alter-ego of Annie Clark, has always specialized in transforming traditional pop structures into strange yet accessible showcases for her prodigious guitar-playing abilities and her ethereal voice. On “St. Vincent,” she has honed every aspect of her craft to near perfection. The album opener, ‘Rattlesnake,’ foreshadows the rest of the record’s sonic style, with St. Vincent playing a complicated riff in a shifting time-signature while singing about being pursued by the titular serpent in the desert. In a press release, St. Vincent described her new music as “dance music that you could play at a funeral,” and her statement is prescient and accurate. St. Vincent’s last three albums have been uniformly well received, so “St. Vincent” cannot really be considered
a breakout album. However, the way through which St. Vincent’s new album rises above the rest of her discography is her songwriting. Every song on “St. Vincent” functions as a confessional, and she covers a wide range of topics, from the rise of technology to banal love. On the album’s first single, ‘Birth in Reverse,’ St. Vincent attacks America for its moral regression in the age of rampant consumerism, while expressing her guilt for feeling this way about her homeland. The chugging post-punk behind the lyrics enhances the sense of agency with which she sings. Another lyrical highlight of “St. Vincent” is ‘Digital Witness,’ a funky and scathing indictment of social media in which the chorus asks, “If I can’t show it you can’t see me/What’s the point of doing anything?” It is a wickedly funny song that remains scarily accurate amidst the rise of selfie culture—but it’s a critique you can dance to!
The album’s crown jewel and one of the best songs St. Vincent has ever written is ‘Prince Johnny.’ She sings about a self-destructive friend who attempts bold feats in order to “be a son of someone” and escape his emasculating anonymity. It is a deeply resonant song empowered by St. Vincent’s charismatic performance, in which she displays the full technical and emotional capabilities of her voice. Towards the song’s conclusion, she realizes that she cannot really change her friend because she, too, “prays to all/to make her a real girl.” In 40 short minutes and 11 songs, St. Vincent traverses innovative musical territory while taking her audience through an emotional ringer. A lesser artist might have trouble pulling off this feat, but St. Vincent is no ordinary artist. On “St. Vincent,” she stakes her claim as one of the best musicians working today with this absolute knockout of an album.
the Chronicle
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to exhibition at NCMA in Raleigh The Vagina Monologues
VICTOR yE/THE CHRONICLE
Duke presented the award-winning play, The Vagina Monologues, Wednesday February 26th. All proceeds will benefit the Durham Crisis Response Center. The event, hosted by the Duke Student Wellness Center, was in conjunction with the global V-Day campaign.
FRANK HUNTER
HIROSHI WATANAbE
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
MUSIC Beck Morning Phase Capitol Records
by Andrew Karim THE CHrONICLE
Few musicians have spanned as many eras and genres as Beck. They have never reached Miley status, but the 43-yearold’s hits dating back to the mid-80s ring at least a few bells in our pop music archive. His songs tend to evoke varying ex-
noted, there is not really any other place in Durham where there is such a diverse range of people that come to one space as a community.” Though their stadium is relatively new, the team is entrenched in their history. Bull City Summer only follows one season of the Durham Bulls, but the team has existed for over a century; in fact, the team name has shifted from the Durham Tobacconists to the raleigh-Durham Triangles to the currently recognized Durham Bulls. The exhibit and book aim to strike a conversation not only between the images and writing, but also between its historical and contemporary identities. Stephenson hopes that it will inspire reflection about the team and its fans’ own relationships to Durham. “The Durham Bulls connect the past to the present,” said Stephenson. “They have been playing for over 111 years, so the history of Durham is very potent in the team, but they are also very modern, just as Durham is a modern town and the stadium is a modern ballpark. Durham as a community is not burdened by its past, but continues to honor it—the Durham Bulls are an example of that.” Bull City Summer runs at the North Carolina Museum of Art until August 31. For more information, visit the NCMA website.
tents of familiarity among even the most casual listener. After the sugary tempos grab your attention, you can sort of relate to his vague-enough lyrics. Say what you will about the content, but this combination has been definitive of Beck’s music career. All of this said, Beck’s winning streak hits a dead end with his latest record. “Morning Phase” was written as a companion to 2002’s “Sea Change.” The album attempts comparably relaxed guitar melodies and stripped-down vocals that accompany Beck’s self-introspective lyrics, but his take on nuanced departure results in a mess of uninspired writing and misplaced country plucking. Even with (or, maybe because of) its lack of lyrics, the opening track, ‘Cycle,’ is my favorite on the record. Its airy violin could’ve played during the “Tree of Life” opening credits, suggesting a majestic beginning to a solid set of tracks. But the promise ends only 40 seconds in; the song is only an intro to its successor, ‘Morning,’ a lethargic guitar and xylo-
This record brings Beck’s steady track of strong releases to a screeching halt. phone lullaby that sets the tone for the rest of the gloomy album. A sharp and bouncy guitar slices through the opening slow drum in ‘Blue Moon’ before Beck’s downtrodden vocals make their entrance. An ambivalent tribute to loneliness, the song has some redeeming qualities: springy instrumentals smoothly counter the unhappy lyrics (“I’m so tired of being alone, these penitent walls are all I’ve known”) to bypass mawkish ballad territory.
The alluring violin opening in ‘Wave’ is again interrupted by Beck’s lyrical monotony. With its dark orchestral peaks and austere refrains (the word “isolation” is sung slowly and repeatedly in the latter half), this song has the potential to be the dark serenade Beck intends. However, the overly contrived tone makes it a hard sell. I understand where Beck is coming from, but emotion-as-art should be subtler, and intentionality should never read louder than the music itself. With its string of sluggish and loosely assembled country ballads, this record brings Beck’s steady track of strong releases to a screeching halt. For the alt pop star, coping with a waning stock of creativity meant carelessly dropping a banjo into the mix. You might think I’m going too hard on a dude who’s been in the game long enough to be unapologetic about his craft, but Beck’s veteranship is all the more reason “Morning Phase” should have delivered more substance.
the Chronicle
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Inside Joke JULIA DUNN/THE CHRONICLE
FILM
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Adult World IFC Films Directed By Scott Coffey
by Megan Rise THE CHrONICLE
Duke’s live sketch comedy troupe Inside Joke, not DUI, will perform in Scheafer Lab Theater in the Bryan Center Friday at 8 p.m. Admission is free and costs no money. Tickets are available at the box office. Bring your friend.
Curious Commissions Bach Sonata No. 6 for violin and harpsichord with choreography by Helen Simoneau
De Falla Concerto for harpsichord, violin, cello, flute, oboe, and clarinet Menotti The Unicorn, the Gorgon, and the Manticore for chorus and nine instrumentalists
Mallarmé Chamber Players Helen Simoneau Danse Choral Society of Durham Chamber Choir Rodney Wynkoop, conductor 3:00 p.m. Sunday, March 2 Reynolds Auditorium, Bryan Center, Duke University $20 in advance $25 at the door $5 students
Join us for a most unusual & delightful afternoon! Tickets available at the door & from Duke University Box Office: tickets.duke.edu • 919-684-4444 125 Science Drive, Durham NC, 27708 Open Monday through Friday, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. For more information, call the Choral Society office at 919-560-2733 or visit www.choral-society.org
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In “Adult World,” Amy Anderson (Emma roberts) is a caricature of the recent college graduate. She’s an entitled, fame-obsessed former poetry major who legitimately thinks, and repeatedly states, that she is suffering. Undoubtedly, it is her destiny to become the next great American poet, preferably before she hits her mid-20s. Swamped in loan payments for Amy’s college education, her parents ask her to get a job. This assault on her aspirations leads the unpublished young author out into the real “adult” world. Well, kind of. Unable to find another job, Amy, a naïve and oft-judgmental virgin, starts working at a porn shop called (you guessed it!) Adult World, owned by a sexually charged old woman (Cloris Leachman). Amy consoles herself with the knowledge that “Salinger worked in a meat-processing plant.” It’s at the store where she makes two new friends: her manager, Alex (Evan Peters) and a transgender hairdresser rubia (Armando riesco), who challenge her perceptions of life in the real world. Of course, this setting creates a breeding ground for crude jokes about the customers. Apart from that and the self-referential name of the shop, however, writer Andy Cochran could have honestly had Amy start working anywhere. The real interest in the film comes from the world created outside the safety and perpetual immaturity of the sex shop. At a low point in her life, Amy finds solace in “Screams of Abandonment,” a book of angst-ridden, “nearly ancient” poetry from the late 1980s by rat Billings (Jon Cusack). Cusack expertly delivers his lines, which fly right over Amy’s head, with a world-weary carelessness evocative of his fallen status in the literary community. Engaging in some light stalking, Amy relentlessly tails rat, fueled by an unfortunate desire to be just like him. Still, she worries she can’t achieve his greatness since “you can’t be a wunderkind after 22.” Just as soon as rat feeds off of her attention, which is at times idolizing and at others romantic, he is just as quick to reject it outright. Still, he serves as a mentor, if not in the way that either of them intends. There’s something painful about how unaware Amy is of her place in the world. She creates pseudo-hardships for herself, bemoaning cleaning toilets and taking the bus, while she’s blind to the real experience and irony and inspiration, however simple, that are happening all around her. One could criticize roberts for over-the-top acting, but rather than a defect in her talent, it is a result of the way she artfully taps into how Amy makes a production of her life. Amy is constantly in a state of performance, mimicking the greats and searching for material that will make her work haunting and important. The overly cliché dialogue and hyper-tragedizing of everyday obstacles presents a satire of youthful ennui and the way in which we act out our roles; an aspiring poet should act like this, a has-been author should act like this, an activist should act like this. “Adult World” is a smart, clever and intentionally melodramatic film about the desire to reach the finish line without participating in the race. It’s engorged with crap poetry and errors in estimation of self-worth, yet it carries an important message about not taking yourself too seriously. It teaches the invaluable lessons of lowering your expectations and just living your life, while still encouraging the idea that some things you have to do just to please yourself. The film doesn’t fight against the trope that artistic youths are terrible people, but it does suggest they’re better off if they were just self-interested instead of self-obsessed.