ArtScene (The)

              The Worldly
Voices of
Joseph and
Violette Meyers
by John Morris
For many faculty
members, summer means it's
time to put up the hammock,
make a pitcher of lemonade,
relax and catch up on all the
reading that couldn't be done
during the school year. Not
for Joseph and Violette
Meyers. For this dynamic
duo, summer means it's time
to pack the suitcases, get the
passports in order and head
for the airport. All around the
world, students are waiting
for the Master Classes and
workshops they teach.
'We were in Tiananmen
Square two days before the
massacre," Violette Meyers
recalls in her channing
French accent, "and we didn't
know anything about it until
the following day, when, in
Hong Kong, we read about it
in the papers and saw it on
CNN-that 1400 students
had been killed, and another
100,000 injured. But in China,
there was no news."
Yet the couple returned
the following summer, for
they never felt unsafe-in
fact, when in China, they are
treated like visiting
dignitaries, where the "creme
de Ia creme" of professional
opera singers are hungry for
instruction in German,
French and Italian
repertoires. "Especially
Italian," Joseph Meyers notes,
''They love Verdi and Puccini.
We saw an excellent
production of Turandot­sung
in Chinese!" Operas are
also performed in the original
languages. "The refreshing
thing is how these
professional opera singers,
the best from a population of
800 million, are so eager for
our criticism and feedback,"
Meyers chuckles. "Can you
imagine the reaction of the
stars at the Met or LaScala if
we offered suggestions on
how their performances
could be improved?"
The vocal traditions of
Chinese Folk Opera, which
also includes acrobatics,
dance and high drama, are
very different from western
opera. "The Chinese style of
singing is very strident, very
piercing," observes Violette
Meyers, "it seems they shoot
the air just in one little part of
your skull." Her husband
concurs: "The Chinese curl
the tongue upward, and the
throat is constricted. We try to
teach them to do the
opposite, to push the tongue
far forward, and to have the
throat open and relaxed."
Long-established western
techniques that promote this
relaxation are new concepts
to the Chinese, such as using
a mirror, or the Alexander
technique- -bending at the
waist to relax muscles.
''There's also a dearth of tools
western students take for
granted-tape recorders and
phonographs."
After China, the couple's
favorite country in which to
teach is Thailand. ''The
students are not so advanced,
but the people are so
friendly," remarks Joseph
Meyers. ''Everywhere you go,
they smile and say Welcome
to Thailand."' In Bangkok,
the couple stays at the home
of a leading architect who is
prominent in music circles.
''The food is wonderful,"
notes Violette Meyers, who
also has the reputation of an
excellent cook, "and we have
our own guesthouse, and the
use of our own chauffeur. It's
easy to get spoiled. Egypt is
also fascinating, very exotic,
chaotic. The people are poor,
yet they seem happy with
very little. Along the Nile, it's
lush and green, then three
miles from the river, it
abruptly changes to desert.
We had hoped to return to
Egypt this summer, but now
the political situation could
be dangerous. We'd like to try
Russia."
Singapore, the Meyerses
say, is like a clean, modern
American city. ''Everybody is
very efficient and hard­working,
but they seldom
smile." Japan was the culture
that required the most
adjustment. Observes Joseph
Joseph and Violette Meyers on the Great Wall of China
Meyers: ''It's very modern
and luxurious, but the people
are distant and reserved.
After a schedule is set, they
tend to be inflexible, and
caste distinctions are
important. And they have
this crazy thing about their
honor. The wife of a Japanese
colleague volunteered to find
us a city map, and after an
unsuccessful, day-long
search, we said 'Don't worry
about it, we'll find one
tomorrow.' Well, she flew into
a rage. 'Why do you
interfere?' she demanded.
Apparently we had offended
her sense of honor. She had
set this goal and was
determined to meet it, even if
it took weeks. They seem
unable to roll with the
punches."
While their summer
travels expose them to
students who are very serious
about operatic careers, Joseph
and Violette Meyers meet a
different set of challenges
among their students at
IPFW. "Although some of our
students have beautiful
voices," points out Joseph
Meyers, "vocal performance
isn't the emphasis at the Fort
Wayne campus-most
students planning an opera
career are at Bloomington.
Many of our students major
in music therapy or music
education. So when we
instruct or critique a music
education student, we then
explain our rationale-for
having them repeat a certain
exercise, for instance-so that
(continued on page nine)
School of Fine and Performing Arts
Indiana University-Purdue University
at Fort Wayne
2101 Coliseum Boulevard East
Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499
Volume 2, Number 2
IPFW School of Fine and
Performing Arts
November 1990
What's Inside?
SF&PA Calendar 2
Comments From the
Community 3
Audition Information 4
OnStage 6
OnScreen 8
Exhibits 10
Alumni News 11
Faculty Activities 11
School of Fine
and
Performing
Arts
481-6977
Abe J. Bassett, Dean
John M. Morris
Assistant to the Dean
ArtScene Editor
Suzanne Echtenkamp
Administrative Secretary
481-6714
James D. Ator, Chair
Department of Music
481-6705
Leslie P. Motz, Acting Chair
Department of Fine Arts
481-6551
Steven T. Sarratore,
Chair
Department of Theatre
481-6880 FAX
481-6555 PIT Box Office
NONPROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PERMIT NO. 92
FORT WAYNE, IN
46805
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Fine and
Performing Arts
Calendar
November
11-30 Warp & Weft Weavers Guild
exhibit. Fine Arts Aud.,
1 026 W. Berry st.
30 Dickens Dinner. Walb
Memorial Union Ballroom.
?p.m.
December
1-4 Warp & Weft Weavers Guild
exhibit, Fine Arts Aud.,
1 026 W. Berry st.
1 Dickens Dinner. Walb
Memorial Union Ballroom.
?p.m.
1 Speed-the-Plow by
David Mamet. PfT. 8 p.m.
8.9 Student. Faculty & Alumni
Art Sale, Fine Arts Auditorium.
1 026 W. Berry st.
15 Uffle Women. PfT/Youtheatre
Production. PfT. 11 a .m., 2 p.m.
16 Uffle Women. 2 p .m .. 4 p .m .
January 1991
7-31 Fine Arts Faculty Show,
Fort Wayne Museum of
Art. 311 E. Main st.
20 Faculty Artist Series.
James and Irene Ator.
saxophone & piano. Neff
Recital Hall. 2:30p.m.
30 Tennessee in the SUmmer by
Joe Besecker. PIT. 8 p.m.
31 Tennessee in the SUmmer.
8p.m.
Student Directed Plays, Midwest Premiere
Highlight PIT Season
Purdue-Indiana Theatre
successfully launched its
1990-91 season with David
Rabe' s In the Boom Boom
Room, directed by Larry Life,
which played to good houses
and garnered favorable
reviews. Next on the playbill
are two student-directed
plays, Speed-the-Plow and
Baby With the Bath water.
Scott Diaz will direct
David Mamet's Speed-the­Plow,
Nov. 17, 23, and
December 1. lhis biting view
of the show business world
and its ambitious denizens
afforded rocker Madonna her
Broadway debut. Kendra
Clauser will direct
Christopher Durang's Baby
With the Bathwater, with
performances Nov. 16, 24 and
30. The irreverent Durang
also penned Sister Mary
Ignatius Explains it All For You.
A breath of fresh southern
air blows through the Indiana
winter when Joe Besecker's
Tennessee in the Summer
has its Mid west premiere,
directed by Life. Protagonist
Tennessee Williams' character
is split into two personas­one
female, representing the
physical; the other male,
representing the intellectual.
See it Jan. 30, 31, Feb. 1 or 2.
A Rose is a
Rose is a Page
Turner
by Julie Herman
All her life, Carolyn Hey
read stories set in exotic or
metropolitan locales such as
New York, Paris, and San
Francisco. She wanted to
write a story that showed that
exciting things-and even
murder- happen right here
in northeastern Indiana.
A Rose By Any Other Name
is that story.
Hey approached several
major publishers before her
manuscript was accepted by
Carl ton Press. "They were
willing to take a chance on an
unpublished author," she
said.
Hey, who teaches English
composition at IPFW and has
been a writer in various
capacities, set out to do what
writers are often told: ''Write
what you know."
The story is based on a
dream she had and takes
place in LaGrange county.
Locales echo the
surroundings of the Witmer
Lake cottage she shares with
her husband, Byard, and two
of seven children.
Sometimes, when driving
along Route 3, "I half expect
to see my characters because
they became so real to me,"
she said.
The novel's prologue is a
dream sequence based on her
nocturnal musings, which
sets the stage for the mystery
that unfolds. Jennifer
Sorenson returns to LaGrange
county to attend her aunt's
funeral and discovers that the
body to be buried belongs to
someone else. A search for
her Aunt Rosemary leads her
to a private mental hospital,
where Aunt Rose is living
under another name and
"receiving almost lethal
doses" of the wrong
medication. After Jen takes
her home to nurse her back to
health, a life-threatening
encounter leaves the heroine
defending herself in a murder
trial.
Hey began the two-year
project five years ago, and
spent six months to revise it
to a first-person account that
takes place in the present.
She said she wrote the
kind of story she likes to
read-a mystery with
psychological twists. Readers
can only see other characters
through the heroine's eyes.
Hence, readers "don't know
who are friends and who are
enemies" until the very end.
In keeping with writing
"what she knows," her
heroine is a nurse (Hey
studied nursing), and is tried
for murder (Heys father was
a trial attorney).
Hey found researching the
complexities of murder trials
most difficult.
'1t isn't as easy as it looks
on TV," she said. She
interviewed psychologists,
medical professionals, and
attorneys as well as
conducting library research.
She even had herself locked
2
"Master Harold' and the
Boys, South African Athol
Fugard's play about a young
white man's progression from
innocence to bigotry, will be
directed by Lorraine E.
Sauter, visiting assistant
professor in theatre and
staged Feb. 22, 23,28 and
March 1, 2, and 7-9. Ruth
Laurion Bowman, visiting
instructor in theatre is the
director of The Tragical
History of Doctor Faustus,
Christopher Marlowe's
cautionary story of a scholar
who sells his soul to the devil
for knowledge of the
in the LaGrange County
Jail-for 15 minutes-just so
she could know what it
would feel like. She wanted
her heroine's emotions to be
authentic.
'1 needed to breathe the
same air, see the same sights,
and feel the same seclusion of
a padded cell," she said.
Emotions are very
important to her writing.
Hey uses emotion
to draw the reader
in for vicarious
thrill. Despite the
fascinating twists
and turns in events,
her story is
character- and
emotion- focused, not
plot driven.
She is a remarkably
self-disciplined writer.
She always carries a
notebook in her purse,
prepared to write down
observations or
thoughts that she can
use later. She also speaks
ideas and dialogue into a
tape recorder, because
dialogue composed on the
typewriter can "sound too
dry and dull."
She has an IBM Selectric
typewriter and last summer
she bought an IBM computer,
but admits: "The equipment
doesn't make it any easier,"
and as if sensing the next
question, ''Writing isn't any
easier for an English
composition teacher, either."
In August, Carlton Press
published 3,500 copies. B.
Dalton Booksellers and
Reader's World, Glenbrook
Square; Waldenbooks,
Southtown Mall; and Follett's
Bookstore at IPFW all carry
the book. Cover price is
$12.75. Hey also distributed
some copies to gift shops in
Kendallville and
Shipshewana. Book sales are
quite healthy in LaGrange
county, probably due to the
story's setting in Amish
country.
'1t isn't an Amish story,
but that is part of the
background," Hey said.
''There is one Amish
character."
unknown, on stage April12,
13, 18-20 and 25-27.
Single general admission
tickets are $8; senior citizen
and student tickets are $7;
IPFW students with activity
cards may purchase tickets
for $5. The box office, (219)
481-6555, is open during
weeks of performances,
Monday-Saturday, 1:30-5:30
p.m., and one hour before
curtain. Reserved tickets must
be picked up 15 minutes
before curtain.
She has another book, too,
a collection of somewhat
autobiographical writings
about merging two families
into one. It is called
"Stepfamily." She plans to go
back now and rework those
pieces, possibly developing
them into a collection of short
stories.
A native of Van
Wert, Ohio, Hey is president
of Tri Kappa sorority in Fort
Wayne and a member of the
American Association of
University Women. She
teaches three English
composition classes at IPFW.
Her husband calls her
"The Two-Week Jessica," after
Angela Lansbury' s TV
character, Jessica Fletcher, and
in reference to her brush with
fame during two weeks of
book signing parties.
"He's always been the
celebrity," Hey said of her
husband, a retired Fort
Wayne Community Schools
teacher who coached high
school basketball for 38 years,
primarily at North Side.
''Now it's my turn," she said.
Preservation
Triumphs
Recognized
An October 10 dinner at Washington Boulevard and
Midtowne Place was the Wayne, Harrison and
occasion for presentation of Calhoun Streets. The winner
the ARCHIE awards for in a new award category,
successful restoration efforts. Allen County outside the
Hosted by ARCH, Fort Fort Wayne city limits, went
Wayne's organization that to the Christian Salomon
promotes the preservation of farmstead in Washington
architecturally significant Township for a sympathetic
properties, the event featured restoration and addition.
after-dinner remarks by Mr. The residential category
Randy Shepard, Chief Justice winner was a dwelling at
of the Indiana Supreme 1124 West Jefferson
Court. He stressed the Boulevard owned and
importance of revitalizing restored by Scott and Tammy
American cities, particularly Stauffer (pictured). Erected in
in light of reduced Federal 1855, the brick, one- and one-funding,
stating that "the half-story workingman's
most important issues facing cottage was showcased in the
the country-the economy, recent West Central
education, drugs-are neighborhood house tour.
directly related to the health While the classic Greek
of cities." Revival and Italianate
Four ARCHIE awards elements of the exterior have
were distributed, including a been retained and enhanced,
special ARCHIE award to the interior features modern
Kennedy Development and conveniences such as an
the City of Fort Wayne for additional half-bath and
Midtowne Crossing, the central air conditioning.
retail and residential In the commercial
condominium project on the ca_tegory, ARCH cited the
downtown block bounded by structure at 734 West
Washington
Boulevard
owned and
restored by
Terry Slane.
Originally a
dwelling, the
1895 building
now houses
Slane Design
Associates and
will be open to
the public
during the
ARCH Holiday
Open House
Dec. 7-9. For
more
information on
this event, call
426-5117.
3
The stauffer House. Archie Award winner in the residential category
Photo by Don Orban
Auditions
CIVIC Theatre
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Late December: Call 422-8641
for more information.
First Presbyterian Theatre
Death of a Salesman
Dec. 4-5, 7 p.m.
Pygmalion
Jan. 20, 2 p .m .. and
Jan. 22,7 p.m.
Fort Wayne Youtheatre
Klmchl Kid
Nov. 26-27,4 p.m.
Purdue-Indiana Theatre
Tennessee In the SUmmer
November 18, 1 p.m .. PIT
'Master Harold' and the Boys
December 4, 7:30 p .m.
Kettler Hall, Room G38
The Towns of Harmony Chorus
A four-part harmony singing
group for women holds open
auditions every Monday. 6:30
to 9:30p.m .• at the
Tillman Road Church of God.
3710 Tillman Rd. (436-3479)
Fort Wayne Community Band
Auditions can be arranged by
contacting Dr. G. Cavanagh.
conductor, at 481-6727 or
481-6714.
Real Purdy Stained Glass
by John Morris
''Indiana has been very
good to me," states stained
glass artist Steve Purdy,
~~especially Fort Wayne. It's
very easy to live here, there's
very little B.S."
A response to a question
posed as to why this
nationally recognized
craftsman, one of only about
20 in the United States who
paint stained glass, has
chosen Fort Wayne when he
could live anywhere he likes.
11I love living in the West
Central neighborhood-l've
always wanted to own a big
Victorian house. You can't
find houses like these just
anywhere, and nowhere at
these prices."
At a time when many
young Hoosiers were
heading for the West Coast,
this Californian bucked the
trend and emigrated to the
Summit City. "City Glass
flew me out in '79, and I
worked for them until1988.
They were very good to me,
very nice people to work for."
Upon entering Purdy's
West Central studio, in a
restored carriage house at the
back of his lot, one is
reminded of the workshops
of medieval Europe, when
craftsmen like Purdy
designed and built windows
for the great cathedrals. Here,
and the whole mood of this
glass mosaic changes, giving
it almost a supernatural life
of its own. The distance from
which a window will be
viewed, and its location, are
also very important. Blues
are best for north-facing
windows, and south- facing
While in their employ, he Stained glass painter Steve Purdy in his studio
designed stained glass Photo by Elmer Denman
installations for the St. Joseph
Medical Center chapel,
Trinity Episcopal Church,
and the mausoleum at
Concordia Gardens
Cemetery. During this time,
Purdy also took drawing
classes at IPFW' s Berry Street
campus. 11Then, in my mid­thirties,
I reached a point
when I wanted to be self­employed-
to have a flexible
schedule and to choose my
own projects." Some of those
projects included windows
for local restaurants: Henry's,
Ernie's, and Harlequins.
Informally apprenticed at
the age of 14 with the Hogan
Stained Glass Company is
Los Gatos, Calif., Purdy
considers himself lucky
because "I knew at a very
young age what I wanted to
do for the rest of my
life-and I've done just that, .
except for two weeks in a
record store and one week in
an antique shop."
Before coming to Fort
Wayne, he worked on
projects at St. John's Lutheran
Church in Rochester, Mich.
and at the Colorado State
Capitol, and also attended
the Swansea College of Art in
southern Wales. In addition
to being an artist/ designer
member in the Stained Glass
Association of America, he is
certified by the City Guilds of
London Institute and the
British Society of Master
Glass Painters.
the floor is strewn with
''cartoons" -schematics--of
current projects, such as ten
4' x 15' windows for the First
Christian Church in Madison,
Ind., and a display panel for
Fox Studios at Indianapolis'
Meridian Design Center.
Although "the selection of
colored glass from which to
choose is greater than at any
other time in history," the
techniques Purdy uses are
much the same as they were
in the Middle Ages. He no
longer performs the
'benchwork,' or journeyman
duties- -glass cutting,
leading, soldering-as he did
earlier in his career, but now
focuses on design and glass
painting. While color is
supplied by the glass panes,
the paint is always the same
brown vitreous enamel,
providing contour and
shading, with different effects
achieved by brushstrokes or
stippling. The painted panes
are then baked in a kiln for
permanence.
110ptics is the name of the
game," states Purdy. ~~For me,
the magic is in handling the
modulation of hundreds of
colored lights. That's how a
stained glass window can
achieve depth and
dimension, almost like a
hologram: by shading these
colored lights. Of course,
other factors come into play,
as when the sun outside the
window goes behind a cloud,
4
windows can handle the
strong, vivid colors."
Like his techniques,
Purdy's philosophy about his
craft are in harmony with
those of his medieval
predecessors. "The stained
glass craft reached its zenith
in the 12th century. What
made medieval windows
great was the craftsmen's
affinity for the medium.
Their design method
accentuated the patterning of
little pieces of glass, creating
a two-dimensional wall of
colored lights-a practical
approach in line with the 'age
of reason.' The 16th century
-the renaissance -was the
'age of fancy,' and also the
time when the 'artist' was
invented. The concept of 'fine
art' was the downfall of
stained glass. Suddenly, it
was 'How can we take this
painting and tum it into a
stained glass window?' They
used larger pieces of glass
and attempted to hide the
lead lines." The legacy of this
approach, posits Purdy,
remains today.
''Viewers of a modem
piece of stained glass art will
say 'Wonderful! You'd never
know it was stained glass.'
Then I say, 'Why bother?'
Why deny the medium?
Stained glass is an
architectural artform, not a
gallery piece. I believe that by
utilizing the limitations of the
medium, you will find your
ultimate freedom."
11Many so-called stained
glass artists today are really
mixed-media artists. I call it
'suicidal art.' They mix
plexiglass in. It may look
great. But they'd better get
famous fast! Because who
knows how soon it will all
crash apart?" And although
he uses time- tested
techniques that conform to
the laws of gravity, Purdy
admits that "I don't know
how long it will last. I see my
windows as 'notes in a
bottle'-! can only hope
they'll be around after I'm
gone." To try to ensure this,
Purdy ritually blesses his
finished work with a 'magic
wand.'
Although Purdy admits
he was a Tiffany devotee in
the early 1970s, he has since
come to appreciate the
various styles of stained glass
painting. He currently favors
the English style over the
German style, which is an
outgrowth of the Bauhaus
movement.
"The German style is very
linear, tending to be abstract.
The English style relies more
on modulating tones in a
single pane through
brushstrokes, with an
emphasis on optics. I hope
I'm carrying on a tradition
that re-emerged in the 1920s
and 1930s, when English
craftsmen rediscovered the
optic advances of the Middle
Ages. To me it's more soulful
than movements in Germany
that reflect a perception of art
as a well-oiled machine."
"Of course, because my
pieces are commissioned, the
style in which they are
executed depends quite a bit
on the tastes of the church
board, or whoever-and
then, after the glass-cutting
stage is reached, there really
can't be any design changes.
That's because the volume of
material is so great, and the
work is so time- intensive."
Purdy adds that because of
the time and material
involved, he generally
accepts no commissions less
than $1,000.
"But I will make an
exception to that rule if the
client is someone with a
house in West Central. It's
very gratifying to me to see
these old houses restored,
and because I live here, I
have a vested interest in this
neighborhood."
An "easy" A? No way I
by Niki Wilkin
Students involved in the
music department at
Northrop High School strive
for excellence in all their
performances; it means
plenty of work without much
reward. Some trophies and
the feeling of accomplishment
can't compete with the hours
of rehearsals and home
practice needed.
With an enrollment of
2,100, participation in the
vocal or instructional
divisions number more than
600, so Northrop can be
proud of its music
department. Adding the 150
or more students involved in
drama, it becomes evident
that fine and performing arts
are alive and well in this
school.
"Our department is strong
because there are no
beginning teachers here,"
said Barry A. Ashton, music
department chair and head
band director. "If you totaled
the number of years of
experience among us it
would number close to 135
years." (The "us" refers to
Ashton, William R. Heins,
head choir director; Scott R.
Brown, assistant band and
choir director; and Richard
Seeger, head orchestra
director.)
From the first day of class,
all music groups work
independently. Marching
band music, for instance, is
reserved for marching band
practice and concert band
music remains in concert
class. The bands, orchestra,
and choirs enter state
(ISSMA-Indiana State School
Music Association)
competitions and rarely bring
back scores of less than a
"superior" rating. Students
are encouraged to participate
in the solo I ensemble
competitions in January
and February. The music
department sponsors
seven vocal/ instrumental
concerts throughout the
year.
If instrumental music is
your choice, you have a
wide variety from which to
choose. There are three
large classroom bands:
freshman, varsity, and
concert. Freshman band has
an enrollment of
approximately 100 students.
The varsity band consists of
sophomores and a sprinkling
of juniors and seniors. The
concert band comprises
juniors and seniors, with
some underclassmen.
Students are encouraged to
stretch themselves musically
by sight- reading a variety of
music and new music is
introduced frequently.
Jazz from three jazz bands
often fills the halls after
school. "The jazz program at
Northrop is one of the best in
the state of Indiana," Ashton
proudly admits. Placement in
Jazz I and II are by audition
only; with membership in the
marching band an additional
requirement for Jazz I.
Participation in Jazz III is
open to anyone who
auditions for either of the
other bands and shows and
interest in the subject. All
three bands perform at
various functions, although
Jazz I travels more
extensively through the
winter months. In 1988, Jazz I
was invited to perform for
the National Band
Association meeting in
Chicago. As a recognition of
his work with this group, the
association named Ashton
Outstanding Jazz Educator of
the Year.
Bill Heins has five
performing choirs: treble,
tenor-bass, advanced treble,
concert, and swing choir. The
choirs perform for school
events, local business
dinners, fraternal
organizations, nursing
homes, and other community
functions. The tenor-bass and
treble choirs meet daily and
are preparatory for the
concert choir. The advanced
treble choir is composed of
sophomore through senior
girls with backgrounds in
choral singing. The swing
choir (Charisma) competes in
midwestern and national
competitions. A lot of time is
spent completing a
performance that includes
vocal, instrumental, and
dance elements. The music is
pop style. The ensemble
consists of singers/ dancers, a
small band, and a technical
crew.
The Northrop orchestra is
a growing one. It comprises
about 75 members, with 45
strings. It is an encouraging
5
Competition means concentration for Big Orange Pride members.
Photos by Joel Grove, Northrop High School yearbook staff.
and promising sign that
students are looking for
exposure to all kinds of
music. Every spring the
orchestra works with Delmar
Proctor and the drama
department to produce a
musical. The productions use
Broadway scores and scripts,
resulting is high-scale
productions with a growing
audience each year.
In the Big Orange Pride
(BOP), pride is the key
word-pride in themselves
as a unit and pride in what
they can accomplish. The
marching band was 225
strong this year, the most­encompassing
group of
students in Northrop High
School. Throughout the
summer, daily practices after
school, and endless Saturday
practices and contests, these
kids drilled, rehearsed, and
performed.
Three are no auditions for
the marching band, just the
will to work. Ashton thinks
that one of the best things
about it is that the kids learn
how to win and not win; how
to deal with either
alternative. They learn
discipline-how to take it
and how to live with it. They
work with all kinds of people
and learn how to deal with
problems arising from
different personalities.
Ashton's philosophy includes
proper conduct and respect
for others at all times by
running his BOP with a strict
but firm hand. He instills a
sense of worth and class; the
BOP not only performs with
it, but acts with it.
The BOP has competed in
the state finals each of the 18
years Barry Ashton has been
director, bringing home a
state championship in 1983.
Charisma members wish "Happy Holidays· at the 1989 Yuletide Concert.
On Stage
November
23 Speed-the-Pfow. PIT. 481-6555.
24.30 Baby With the Bathwater.
PIT. 481-6555.
30 1940s Radio Hour. through
Dec. 15. Arena Dinner
Theatre. box office 493-1384.
December
1 Speed-the-Plow. PIT. 481-6555
14-30 It's a Wonderful Ute. Fort
Wayne Civic Theatre. box
office: 424-5220.
15.16 Uttle Women. Fort Wayne
Youtheatre. box office:
422-6900 or 481-6555.
January
18 Death of a Salesman. through
Feb. 2. First Presbyterian
Theatre. box office: 422-6329.
30 Tennessee in the Summer. PIT.
through Feb. 2. 481-6555.
Life wins Ulmer Award
Larry L. Life, associate
professor of theatre, received
the first Jack Ulmer Memorial
Fund for Service to
Minorities and/ or the
Disabled Award
at the annual IPFW Honors
Convocation, Oct. 7. Debra
Ulmer-Kolkman made the
presentation.
Ulmer-Kolkman praised
Life's commitment to social
issues, minority theatre
artists, and his role in the
development of Purdue­Indiana
Theatre's non­traditional
casting policy.
He spends most of his
time helping his students-­and
his audiences-sec much
more.
Since coming to IPFW in
1971, Life has directed a host
of "issue" plays, the type that
often are considered
controversial. That's an
adjective that Life has been
stamped with for years and
which he enjoys.
theatre as a medium of
education and affirmative
action, but in this instance it
is true."
Life believes casting
capable actors regardless of
race or sex at the very
least
produces a good play; and at
the most, can raise interesting
new questions.
'1 should see a black
Hamlet on stage or a
black Lear," he said in
an April1988 News­Sentinel
interview.
"I'd like to do more
gender-bending," Life
says when asked what
new areas he will
explore in future
productions.
Part of the reason is
the lack of good roles
for women. "We
simply do not have
enough good women
writers writing for the
theatre," he said.
play in its time for making
the public aware of
homosexuality as a lifestyle.
Bent (Nov. 1981) presented
the "forgotten Holocaust":
the Nazi torture of
homosexuals.
For Colored Girls Who Have
Considered Suicide/When the
Rainbow is Enuf (July 1985)
packed summer houses with
its powerful choreopoem
about the female African­American
experience.
Tobacco Road (Nov. 1985)
cast a black woman in the
role of Pearl, the most
funds from the Purdue
University Affirmative
Action Award.
The Elephant Man (Nov.
1988) told the story of
disfigured John Merrick, and
the shining spirit within him.
Actor Blake Steury used no
special makeup; instead, he
interpreted the role by
contorting his body.
Sister Mary Ignatius
Explains It All For You
(Nov. 1989) cast an African­American
woman in the title
role of didactic, overbearing
nun. The actress, Wanda
Getsug, competed at the
regional level for the
prestigious Irene Ryan
National Acting Scholarships.
In addition, Life has
sought plays that express
problems of women and the
way society deals with them.
"I like to raise questions with
the plays I do," he said. "I
think that good playwrights
- and good directors--don't
give answers. They ask
questions. It's up to the
audience to determine an
answer."
"I don't think anyone ever
walks out of the theatre after
one of my shows, saying 'ho­hum,"'
Life said. "I think
that's important. I can't stand
complacency; I can't abide
the 'middle of the road,'
particularly when it comes to
human rights."
Issues Life has
explored-and for
which he won the
Ulmer award­include
homosexuality,
For Colored Girls: Six African-American actresses formed the strong ensemble cast
in Ntozake Shange's choreopoem.
In 1987, Purdue
University awarded the
prestigious Affirmative
Action Award to PIT for its
religion, treatment of
women, racism, child abuse,
and handicaps.
In the 20 years that Life
has directed plays at Purdue­Indiana
Theatre, he can name
only "about six" that haven't
dealt strongly with some
beautiful daughter in a poor,
racist Southern white family.
The Normal Heart (Sept.
1986) challenged audiences to
view victims of AIDS with
compassion as the disease
was hitting epidemic
proportions. A public forum
at IPFW, "The
Hoosier Heart:
AIDS in Indiana,"
helped audiences
deal with the issues
raised in the play.
Blake Steury contorts his body to suggest the deformities of The Elephant Man.
The Diary of
Anne Frank (Oct.
1986) blasted
religious
discrimination in
its story of the
persecution of
Jews, as told
through the
observations of a
sensitive 13-year­old
girl, hiding
from the Nazis as
the Holocaust
exploded around
her.
commitment to training
African-American theatre
artists and technicians.
Said Purdue President
Steven C. Beering at the time,
'We don't often think of the
kind of social issue.
The brief list below
illustrates the volume and
scope of Life's projects.
The Boys in the Band (Oct.
1972) was a ground-breaking
6
The Great White
Hope (April1988) assembled
the largest interracial cast
ever in Fort Wayne. It was
produced with an African­American
guest artist in the
starring role, supported with
Feb. 1990
Oct. 1990
Room
Jan. 1991 Tennessee in the
Summer
Art and Censorship
Issues Explored
by John Morris
"Art is not about like and
dislike. Art is about looking
through the eyes of someone
else at a world we may not
know, a world we can learn
something about."
Robert Bush, President of
Arts United of Greater Fort
Wayne, expressed these
sentiments at the first of a
four-part lecture series on art
and censorship at the Fort
Wayne Museum of Art,
sponsored by the Museum
Alliance. Christopher Guerin,
General Manager of the Fort
Wayne Philharmonic, and
Emily Kass, the museum's
Director, were the second and
third speakers, respectively.
At press time, the fourth
lecture was scheduled to be
given by a representative of
the Indiana Arts
Commission.
For the most part, the
controversies that spurred
the autumn lecture series
have since been resolved. A
Cincinnati jury acquitted
museum curator Dennis
Barrie, who exhibited the
Robert Mapplethorpe
photography show, of
obscenity charges. In
Congress, both the House
and Senate voted to continue
federal funding for the
National Endowment for the
Arts, and also declined to
assume responsibility for
determining which artists
and what types of art would
be funded. The task of
determining what is obscene
will continue to fall to the
courts, but any artist whose
work is judged obscene, or
any gallery convicted of
exhibiting obscene material,
will be required to return the
funded amount to the NEA,
and also be prohibited from
applying for further NEA
funds for three years.
Bush pointed out that
censorship and NEA funding
are really two separate issues,
and provided historical
background on both. The
urge to censor, he noted, has
a long history in the United
States, "from the 1818 Family
Shakespeare to modern books
such as Joyce's Ulysses. And
groups who promote
censorship have always been
diverse--recently,
Huckleberry Finn has been
removed from reading lists
because racial stereotypes
were offensive to minorities."
Like the other speakers, Bush
pointed out that works of art
or literature should be
evaluated within the context
of a given time and culture;
merely because they depict
elements of a culture does not
necessarily mean they intend
to promote a certain lifestyle
or way of thinking. "The
Civil War photos of Matthew
Brady, considered shocking
at the time, dispassionately
depicted war. It didn't glorify
war; it was tangible evidence
of the horrors of war for
people who had never been
exposed to it."
The NEA was established
during Eisenhower's
administration in 1955.
Ironically, many artists were
then opposed to the NEA.
because they feared it would
have the role of a 'cultural
watchdog'; memories of
McCarthyism were fresh. But
such fears were unfounded,
for the NEA's charter stated
from the start that ''No
department, agency, office or
employee of the U.S.
government shall interfere
with NEA decision-making."
In the last thirty-five years,
thousands of arts
organizations have received
millions of dollars, spurring
unprecedented growth in
local symphonies, operas,
dance troupes, and art
musPums.
As Guerin pointed out,
"The Fort Wayne
Philharmonic has received
$45,000 in NEA grants, which
in part made possible the
hiring of 18 professional
musicians. And only 6% of
NEA grant money has ever
gone to private artists." The
NEA, it has generally been
agreed, was unique among
government agencies. It
accomplished what it set out
to do, doing so with
efficiency and with few
wrinkles.
Then came Robert
Mapplethorpe. And Jesse
Helms.
Jesse Helms is a
Republican Senator from
North Carolina.
Robert Mapplethorpe was
a photographer whose career
began in the fashion industry,
then progressed to
portraiture and stilllifes. His
photos, exhibited in
international art galleries,
brought high prices. He was
a homosexual. He died from
AIDS in 1988. During his life,
he never accepted a dime of
NEA funding.
Some of the photographs
Mapplethorpe took reflected
the world and times he lived
in; the subcultures he moved
through; even his sexual
proclivities.
Shortly before his death, a
retrospective of his career
was planned, and he helped
to select the hundreds of
photographs it was to
contain. Mter his death,
persons coordinating the
exhibit decided to include
certain photographs that
Mapplethorpe had not
intended for the
retrospective, but these
coordinators deemed them
important representations of
a certain phase of the
photographer's artistic
development.
These were the
photographs Jesse Helms
found obscene. The seven
images showed partially
undressed children, male
genitalia and non­mainstream
sexual acts.
Senator Helms objected to the
use of tax dollars to fund an
exhibition containing images
that most voters would find
patently offensive. He then
introduced legislation to
block NEA funding.
The Corcoran Gallery in
Washington cancelled its
exhibition of the
retrospective. The show went
on in Cincinnati, but the
seven photographs in
question were sequestered in
a separate room from the
more than 100 other photos,
visible only to those who
made a special effort to view
them (and each of those
photos had been intended to
be part of a sequence-a
subcontext-within the larger
exhibit). Curator Dennis
Barrie was charged with
obscenity.
Those are some facts.
Now, some opinions from
speakers and members of the
audience at the lectures:
"What's the big deal?
Nobody forces you to go into
a museum and look at
something."
"An artist does not have
an untenable right to public
funding."
"It's not what you've
created, but who you are."
"Certain ideas are at war
with taste and good
judgment."
"By separating those
photographs, they mutilated
a single work of art."
Guerin: "Art is the
Research and Development
of the soul, of the collective
spirit."
Obviously, art (or what
may be considered as art) can
7
be a very emotional issue. As
far as the recent NEA debate
is concerned, it's important to
remember that censorship
was never the issue, at least
not the overt issue. The issue
was how government funds
could be used. As a
proponent for restrictions on
NEA funding recently said
on the MacNeil-Lehrer
Newshour, "It's unfortunate
that artists want to denigrate
and attack religion, but we
recognize that there is no
legal penalty for sacrilege.
We are not trying to take
away anyone's First
Amendment rights-an artist
can paint whatever he
chooses. But we do feel that
when tax dollars are
involved, higher standards
should be met." On the same
broadcast, this opposing
view was expressed: "The
new NEA penalties will have
a chilling effect on art and
freedom of expression­setting
precedents that give
oppression the green light."
Emily Kass, Director of
the Fort Wayne Museum of
Art and the series' third
lecturer, recently returned
from Poland and was able to
offer insights on the
relationship between
government and the arts in
repressive societies. Much of
her presentation focused on
Hitler's Germany, where
artists were persecuted,
blacklisted as "traitors," even
sent to Nazi concentration
camps. Van Gogh, Max
Beckmann, even Mies van
der Rohe were labeled
"degenerates." Flat- roofed
Bauhaus structures were
improved by adding pitched
roofs. The Nazis cultivated a
slate of official artists whose
posterish styles stressed
'family' values. And, as Kass
pointed out, "This didn't
happen overnight-it was a
gradual, insidious process."
When she related the
events of the Mapplethorpe
controversy to a Polish
curator, she found that he
couldn't grasp what she was
talking about, indeed, had
trouble understanding the
concept of censorship. ''In
those countries, they have no
tradition of freedom of
expression. What goes in an
art museum is decided by a
state central committee­period."
Kass has professional
experience with community
pressure to dictate what a
museum may exhibit. When
the Smorgan Family
Collection was exhibited at
the Fort Wayne Museum of
Art in 1986, a piece that
incorporated a 9' x 13'
American flag became a
cause celebre. While special
interest groups demanded it
be removed, the museum
held its ground, and kept the
piece on display. "Actually,
the whole ordeal turned out
to be a positive experience.
The board supported our
decision, and for the most
part, so did the community.
Even people who disliked the
painting for aesthetic reasons
said "Don't give in. Don't
take it down."-
Yet Kass admits that a
certain amount of censorship
is necessary. "To a certain
extent, institutions practice
self-censorship, a priori
censorship. We become the
institutions our funders want
us to be, the communities we
serve want us to be. We have
to use our judgment about
what is appropriate,
interesting, and also what is
simply not good art."
On Screen
IPFW Student Activities Board
481-6590. Classroom-Med ical
Building. Room 159. 7:30 p.m.
November
28· Heart Condition
December
5 The Hunt for Red October
12 We're No Angels
Fort Wayne Cinema Center
745-3456
Museum of Art Auditorium.
311 E. Main street.
November
23.24 Walt Disney's Bambi
2and4p.m.
30 Wild at Heart. 7:30 and
9:30p.m.
December
Wild at Heart. 7:30 and
9:30p.m .. continues Dec. 2.
4:30 and 7:30p.m.
8 The Handmaid's Tale. 8 p.m.;
and Dec. 9. 4:30p.m.
15.16 Mickey's Christmas Carol.
Miracle on 34th street
2 and 4 p .m. both days
Embassy Theatre
424-5665
December
22 Those Magnificent Men in
Their Rying Machines. 8 p.m.;
and Dec. 23. 2 p .m.
January
4 42nd street. 8 p.m.; and
Jan. 6. 2 p.m.
PRINTMAKING!
PRESS
BEGINNING
DESIGN
Art. Sport. or Both?
Can sport be art? The 18th
annual meeting of the
Philosophic Society for the
Study of Sport, sponsored by
the IPFW Department of
Philosophy, provided an
unexpected forum for
addressing this question on
Oct. 12 when Dr. Peter
Arnold, head of the
Department of Physical
Education at Dunfermline
College in Scotland,
presented his paper "Further
Reflections on Art and ·
Aesthetics." Sheila Bruerung
of IPFW' s philosophy
department was moderator
for the session, in which Dr.
Spencer Wertz of the
Department of Philosophy at
Texas Christian University
was given an opportunity to
respond to Arnold's thesis.
Arnold, at one point,
came close to defining art: "A
work of art is a unique
presentation of embodied
meaning," yet allowed that
what exactly constitutes art
remains open to debate.
While an artifact may be
evaluated by aesthetic
criteria, and the disinterested
and sympathetic
contemplation of an object or
situation may evoke an
aesthetic perception, that in
itself does not qualify the
object or situation as "art."
Even the intention to create a
work of art is no guarantee
that a work of art will result;
if the attempt unsuccessful,
the product is not art.
Arnold then surveyed
which sports might be
considered art. Football,
basketball, rugby, tennis,
hockey and soccer were
disqualified, for the sole
object of these activities is to
win a match; any aesthetic
properties are a bonus.
Artforms such as dance and
mime are closest to sport,
because proficiency depends
on athletic prowess. The
sports that might also be art
were identified: gymnastics,
ski jumping, synchronized
swimming, figure skating,
and ice dancing. Here the
aesthetic is intrinsic, defining
the nature and character of
the activity.
Four philosophic
approaches to establish sport
as art were then refuted by
Arnold. The aesthetic
8
approach conflates "Art" and
"aesthetics," arguing that
objects or activities that can
be perceived in aesthetic
terms qualify as art. No, says
Arnold. A sunset can be
perceived in aesthetic terms,
but that does not make it art.
The analogous approach
relies on the value of
similarities and
resemblances: sport is art
because both are creative and
observable. Wrong again.
"It is necessary to be clear
about what art is in its
evaluative sense before
making a case-pointing out
similarities isn't enough."
Proponents of the
intentionalist approach say
"an artistic intention is
enough to qualify an effort as
art." The intention, Arnold
reminds, is not the work.
What is produced is what
counts.
The fourth approach, the
institutional approach,
represents the belief that an
expert or authority, by calling
something an art object, or
"conferring" it with the
status of art, can make it art.
Subjectivitity and ulterior
motives nullify this
argument. So many elements
are astir-tradition, self­interest,
taste, profit,
convention, promotion-that
the issue is only muddled,
and we remain bereft of a
viable definition of art.
It may indeed be
impossible to say whether
sport is art until a universal
definition of art has been
established. When we reach
that point, we might use
certain concepts Arnold
supplied for the argument
that certain forms of sport are
art. In figure skating, as in
ballet, the goal is to create an
aesthetic situation, a
"vignette" affording the
opportunity for a creative,
freestyle performance. The
performer must have musical
ability and training, must
meld emotion and technique,
and the whole is further
enhanced when the
performer is attractive and
well-proportioned. The
costume is an additional
aesthetic factor. The music,
and the performer's
interpretation thereof, may be
concerned with symbolism or
exploration of '1ife issues,"
both frequent considerations
in art.
Quite possibly, what
distinguishes ballet and
figure skating as art or sport
are accidental, defacto
cultural traditions: the forum
where these activities are
performed (concert hall or
arena) and the parties who
are authorized to evaluate
them.
Plan Now for
Holiday Arts
Events
For those interested in the
arts, the winter holiday
season in Fort Wayne
provides festive events to
meet nearly every taste, and a
bit of planning can help to
avoid conflicts in one's
engagement calendar. Music
lovers may choose from
favorite traditions such as the
Fort Wayne Ballet and Fort
Wayne Philhannonic' s annual
presentation of The
Nutcracker (Nov. 30- Dec. 9,
484-9646) or the IPFW music
department's Dickens Dinner
(Nov. 30- Dec. 1, 481- 6714)
that will be reprised at the
Auburn Cord-Duesenberg
Museum on Dec. 2 (925-1444).
The Fort Wayne Philharmonic
Pops Series features Holiday
Pops at the Embassy Theatre
(Dec. 8, 2:30 and 8 p.m., 424-
5665), and the Philharmonic's
Spectrum Series stages
Christmas at Sl Paul's
Lutheran Church Dec. 15-16
(424-5665). The Fort Wayne
Community Band presents its
Chrisbnas Concert at the
Scottish Rite Auditorium at
7:30p.m. on Dec. 18 (481-
6714).
From Dec. 14 to Dec. 30,
The Civic Theatre stages It's a
Wonderful Life, based on the
heartwarming Frank Capra
film classic. Call424-5220 for
specific performance times
and ticket information. The
Fort Wayne Cinema Center
screens two children's
favorites, Mickey's Christmas
Carol and Miracle on 34th
Street, Dec. 15-16 (745-3456).
Also for children, the Dec.
8 Party for Saint Nicholas,
from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the
City Hall Historical Museum,
will feature storytelling and
refreshments (426-2882).
November 25 is Family
Holiday Open House day at
the Fort Wayne Museum of
Art. Sponsored by the
Museum Alliance and WMEE
radio, the Mad Hatter's Tea
Party is designed to
complement the Museum's
exhibit, "Alice (and Look Who
Else) Through the Looking
Glass," and features the New
World Theatre Group, a
cakewalk, storytelling,
candlemaking and other
crafts. The event, from 1 to 4
p.m., is free to those bringing
a canned good for the needy
(422-6467).
Fascinating for the whole
family, the City Hall Historical
Museum's Festival of
Gingerbread, on most days
from Nov. 21 - Dec. 16,
showcases a competition of
more than 100 houses made
from gingerbread and other
edible materials, in four
categories: children,
teenagers, adults, and
professionals. At the same
museum, from Dec. 22-30, see
antique Christmas Toys &
Gingerbread (426- 2882). All
day Dec. 1-2, the clock is
turned back to an 1816
Christmas at Historic Fort
Wayne (424-3476).
Adults will enjoy the
ARCH Holiday Open House,
Dec. 7-9, at the Slane Design
Studio at 734 W. Washington
Blvd., where antiques,
artworksbylocalartists,
Christmas decorations and
floral arrangements will be
sold. December 14 provides
an opportunity to hobnob
with the creative when the
Fort Wayne Artists Guild
holds its annual Christmas
Party at Lambro' s Steak
House (745-9602 or 424-4306).
Voices
(continued from page one)
they will know what to do
when they are teaching. So
you're really teaching two
different things at the same
time. You can't give someone
an excellent voice, but you can
make them into an excellent
teacher."
"When students give really
lovely senior recitals, that's
very rewarding," adds Violette
Meyers, "especially when
you've helped them reach
their full potential. They don't
have to be fantastically
talented, but a certain amount
of raw material must be
there-something to work
with. And you can correct
flaws, like too much vibrato,
or too little."
''But I don't do voice
therapy-that's for doctors.
With a diseased voice-nodes
or ulcers on vocal chords-!
can't do anything. I had a
voice student who was also a
cheerleader. I told her 'You
have to choose; you can't do
both.' After she cheered at a
weekend game, it took me all
week to smooth out her voice,
to get the hoarseness out. Then
she would go out the next
weekend and do the damage
all over again."
''What we do is nitty gritty
vocal instruction," her
husband adds, ''because
unlike Madame Losthervoice
-she was a big star at the
Met, then she lost her voice,
and now teaches only the most
promising students-we have
to be prepared to teach
students of all levels of talent
and accomplishment. If you're
not fabulously talented,
Madame Losthervoice will tell
you, 'I'm sorry dear, but my
schedule is too full.' Really
she's a coach, not a teacher.
Her students are already
accomplished. She'll say:
'More emotion! when I sang
that at LaScala I was very
emotional.' But unlike
Madame Losthervoice, we
have to start from scratch with
many students. Actually, we're
luckier than she, for we've had
to learn all facets of vocal
instruction, from the
elementary to the advanced."
The route that brought
Joseph and Violette Meyers to
Fort Wayne was circuitous.
Both studied under Elisabeth
Rado at the Vienna Academy
and went on to careers singing
on the concert stages in
Vienna, Rome, Milan, Geneva,
Bonn, Salzburg, Innsbruck,
Graz, Florence- the major
venues of Europe. A native of
Kansas City, Joseph Meyers
recalls a certain amount of
resentment from German and
Austrian colleagues when, as a
lyric tenor, he was offered
plum roles, "roles that
normally would have gone to
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singers of those nationalities, if
their training hadn't been
interrupted by the war."
''Yes, and they could be
very nasty with their
jealousy," Violette recalls, "like
the time they put sneezing
powder in your hat before you
went onstage." Both laugh at
the memory, then Violette
adds: ''Let's face it, show
business is a hard
life-pressure, competition,
physical exhaustion. After a
while, it wears you do.~wn."
With two young daughters,
the couple welcomed an
opportunity for change when
Joseph Meyers was offered a
teaching position at Avila
College in Missouri, which in
tum led to a university
position in illinois.
How does this
sophisticated native of France
feel about living in Fort
Wayne? "Our 17 years here
have been very happy. I'm
naturally curious, so I'm
happy in whatever culture I
find myself. But I must say
that America is a very
generous country-there is so
much room for diversity,
flexibility."
Clearly, the curiosity and
sense of wonder that both
Joseph and Violette Meyers
share will serve them well as
they continue to teach, and
learn from, the people of the
world.
Exhibits
November
Nov.-Jan. 6, 1991
Ceramics and Weavings. First
Presbyterian Church Gallery,
300 West Wayne st .• weekdays
9 ci.m.-4:30 p.m.; weekends
9 a.m.-11 :30 p.m.
10 Reaching. to Jan. 27. Fort
Wayne Museum of Art. 311 East
Main st.
11 Warp & Weft Weavers Guild,
to Dec. 4, IPFW Fine Arts
Auditorium.
1 026 West Berry st.
17 Allee (And Look Who Else)
Through the Looking-Glass. to Jan.
20. Fort Wayne Museum of Art.
311 East Main st.
December
1 Bizarre Art Bazaar at Arttink,
ceramics; paintings; quilts;
glass; sculpture; paper. wood,
and mixed media by Arttink artists;
1030 BroadWay, 9 a .m.-5 p .m.
7 Painting Now II, to Jan. 18.
Arttink. 1030 BroadWay.
January
8-Feb. 3 IPFW Fine Arts faculty
show, Fort Wayne Museum of Art.
311E. Mainst.
The Fort Wayne Artists Guild
members have exhibits at various
locations throughout the city; call
745-9602 for details
P,.helps
Mag!!fl!!IJl!mpany
Thank You, Donors!
The staff, faculty, and
students of the School of Fine
and Performing Arts extend a
public thank you and sincere
appreciation for the
donations we have received
this year. You are helping us
make our dreams a reality.
Chancellor's Society ($1,000
and above)
Fort Wayne Fine Arts
Foundation
Golden, Eleanor
Olive B. Cole Foundation
Plogsterth Foundation
(Margaret Plogsterth)
Dean's Society ($500-$999)
Fort Wayne Alumnae
Chapter Sigma Alpha Iota
Kenworthy, Gay W.
Rolland, Mimi and Ian
Century Group ($1Q0-$499)
Barrett & McNagny
Central Soya
Citizens National Bank of
Whitley County
Dickerson, Grace Leslie
Coopers & Lybrand
Fort Wayne National Bank
Fort Wayne Philharmonic
Fort Wayne Women's Club
Haverhill Elementary School
Hofer, Alan K.
Iaquinta, Leonard
Indiana & Michigan Power Co.
Jones Engineering
Kuhne, Jean
Laker, Marcia J.
LeBlanc, Annmarie
Lincoln National Bank
Lincoln National Corporation
Lydy, Max W. Jr.
Macke, Mr. & Mrs. E. H.
McCullough, George
National Serv-all
North American Philips
Corp.
North American Van Lines
Penney, J.C. Company
Phelps Dodge
Physician's Health Plan
Pi Chapter Psi Iota Xi
Robinson, Thomas
Rogers Markets
Sarra tore, Steve & Jan
Stein, Mr. & Mrs. James
St. Joseph Central Elementary
School PTA
Towne House Retirement
Community
Wilder, Michael J.
Wolohan Lumber
Benefactors ($1-$99)
Adams Center Chemical
Waste Mgt.
Allied Van Lines
Cafe Johnell
Cardiology Consultants
Central Supply-Fort Wayne
Corbett, Charles
Chris Stauffer Homes
Cottrell, David & Linda
Cox, David J.
Cummings-Bridge, Ann
D.O. McComb & Sons
Data Processing Management
Association, Northeastern
Indiana Chapter
Don Ayres Auto Mall
Don Hall's Guesthouse
Drees, Perugini & Company
Ensley, David
Fagan Whitmore Myers
Koehlinger
Folson, Charles
Fort Wayne Civic Theatre
Fort Wayne Hilton
Fort Wayne Museum of Art
Fort Wayne Occupational
Health Center
Fort Wayne Printing
Francis M. Price School
Garvey, Eileen M.
GeorgeS. Olive &
Company
Goeglein's
Graham-Lantz
Grueninger Travel
Gutman, Mr. & Mrs. Phillip
Hahn, Carol
Hellinger, Kimberly
Holdeman, John
Holiday Inn Downtown
Home Loan Savings Bank
Honak, Mary
HWI
Indiana Construction Corp.
INB Banking Centers
Internal Medicine Associates,
Inc.
Jacquay, Gerald
Jiffy Lube
Johnson, Kenneth & Martha
K-Mart Corporation
Karns, Donna C.
Karst, Deena
Kelly Box & Packaging Corp.
Kirby, J. Randolph
Koenig, Mr. & Mrs. Edward
Krouse, Kam & Company
Landau & Heyman
Leadbetter, Susan J.
Lingenfelter, Linda
Litchen, Tina
Lutheran Hospital
Manpower Temporary
Services
McCrory, Dick & Cynthia
Midland Incorporated
Milnar, Virginia
Motsinger, Greg
M ullinex Packages,
Incorporated
National Association for
Music Therapy
Northeast Orthopaedics, Inc.
Nowak Supply Co., Inc.
Orthodontic Specialty
Services
Park Center, Inc.
Professional Federal Credit
Union
Salinger, Charlotte D.
Schneider, Gregory
Scott's Foods
Shambaugh, Kast, Beck and
Williams
Smith, Robert C.
Sowers, Betty
Stewart, Marjorie
Summit Coaches
Tom Kelley Buick
Toepfer, Dr. & Mrs. Orion
Tuggle, Nelson
Uniroyal Goodrich
Vollmer, Robert
Waterfield, Anne
Wayne Home Equipment
WBNIRadio
Weigand Construction
Weisser Park School
Winchell, Beth Lynn
WKJG Channel 33
WPTA 21 Alive
YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne
Special thanks to the
Percussion Center and
Roethele Lumber for time
and materials donated.
Dickens Dinner,
Recitals Make
Music Season
Noteworthy
Sponsored by the
Department of Music, the
annual Dickens Dinner
spreads holiday cheer on
Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, and at
press time a limited number
of tickets were still available.
In the tradition of Charles
Dickens, a luscious English
banquet begins with the
wassail bowl. During and
after the meal, guests will be
entertained with vocal and
instrumental music as well as
verse. Proceeds from the
event go to music department
scholarships. For more
information on this event,
and those that follow, call
Music at (219) 481- 6714.
The Faculty Artist Series
continues with the Jan. 20
recital of James D. Ator, chair
of Music, on saxophone, and
Irene Ator, director of music
at the First Wayne Street
United Methodist Church, on
keyboard. All series
performances are at 2:30p.m.
in Neff Recital Hall on the
IPFW campus.
Artist-in-residence
Masson Robertson, who
specializes in piano music of
the Roman tic era, performs
on Feb. 17. On March 17,
featured artists are clarinetist
Cynthia S. Greider and
bassoonist Michael J.
Trentacosti. Cellist Margery
Viswat performs on April 7,
accompanied by Masson
Robertson; duo pianists
J oyanne J. Outland and
Mary R. Rich round out the
series on April21.
Spring music department
concerts include the IPFW
Wind Ensemble together
with the IPFW Community
Band, Feb. 26 at 7:30p.m.; the
University Singers, April 7 at
8 p.m.; the University
Orchestra, April 10 at 8 p.m.;
the Symphonic Winds, April
14 at 2:30p.m.; the music
therapy clinic concert, April
19 at 7 p.m.; and the Jazz
Ensemble, April 25 at 8 p .m.
The ArtScene is made possible by these sponsors. Thanks!
Jl CardioloQV:='-- -
~ CENTRALSOYA (HWI) ,p--./~
ConsultantS •
Roben E. Swint, M.D., Mark A. Jones, M.D .. Lincoln National Bank David A. Kaminskas. M.D .. Gary A. Hambrel, M.D .•
Mary H. Heintz, M.D .. RaviN. Ba!hina. M.D .• the friendly ones® Gregory C. Tomlinson. M.D., BrianT. Lew, M.D.,
t\ Mcmbcrri Lincdn Fmancial(~~· ?eter C. Hanley. M.D., Christopher Zee-Cheng, M.D .•
Steven W. Ortew, M.D.
10
Faculty
Activities
Norman W. Bradley, Fine
Arts, had two entries
accepted in the Indiana Arts
Competition, a juried show
conducted in July in
Indianapolis. His two entries
were among 64 accepted
from a field of 351.
Hector Garcia, Fine Arts,
designed the medal used by
the League of American
Wheelman for its annual
Dudley White Award. White,
an avid cyclist and President
Eisenhower's personal
physician, promoted cycling
as a means to physical well­being.
Cycling champ Greg
LeMond is the 1989 recipient
of the Dudley White Award,
and Garcia, a cycling
enthusiast, is especially proud
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that LeMond will be wearing
one of his works of art.
Larry L. Life, Theatre, has
been named the first recipient
of the Jack Ulmer Memorial
fund for Service to the
Minorities and/or the
Disabled Award (see related
story).
Nancy E. McCroskey,
Fine Arts, received the Arts
United Master of Ceramics
Award in June 1990. Her
work will be featured in an
upcoming book,
Architectural Ceramics, by
James Watlans.
Audrey A. Ushenko, Fine
Arts, received a second place
award in the Indiana Arts
Competition in July in
Indianapolis. She also had
one- woman shows of her
paintings in July at the
Yvonne Rapp Gallery in
Louisville, and in October at
the Nicholas Roerich Gallery
in New York City.
Linda M. Wright, Music,
presented "Organizing and
Structuring Music Therapy
and Creative Arts Affeetive
Education Activities for At­Risk
Adolescents" on Oct. 25
at a joint state conference of
the Indiana Therapeutic
Recreation Society, Indiana
Occupational Therapy
Association, The Indiana
Department of Mental Health,
and the Indiana Music
Therapists. Wright also
participated in workshops at
the National Coalition of Arts
Therapy Association Joint
Conference Nov. 1 in
Washington, D.C., where she
presented her paper "Future
Trends in Music Therapy
Oinical Supervision:
Competencies, Mentoring,
and Models."
Alumni News
Bedwell, Margo W., B.
Music Ed. '76, teaches
elementary school music and
directs the 6th grade choir in
the Eastern Howard School
Corporation in Greentown.
Her school recently received
the National Recognition
Award.
Borgstrom, Neil E., B.S.
Music '80, is the associate
editor for music on the GIA
Quarterly in Chicago, and
also serves as accompanist at
Holy Rosary Parish in
Chicago.
Caston, Francis B., B.F.A.
'88, is an intake and referral
counselor for the Northeast
Area III Council on Aging.
Dickes, Susan D.,
B.Mus.Ed. '85, is the music
and band director for Arcola
and Huntertown elementary
schools in Northwest Allen
County.
Erndt, Carole, B.A.
Theatre '82, is an
administrative assistant at
the Medical University of
South Carolina in Charleston.
Garvey, Eileen B., B.F.A.
180, is president of the
Creative Arts Council of
Wells County in Bluffton,
where her duties include
coordinating art exhibits and
art receptions.
Glazebrook, I.S., B.A.
Theatre '73, is a member of
A.F. T.R.A. and the Screen
Actors Guild, a teacher for
the Los Angeles Unified
School District, and is acting
in Los Angeles-area
productions.
Grush, Amaryllis A.,
B.Mus.Ed. '87, is a freelance
instrumental music teacher in
the Chicago area.
Harrington, Sherry L.
(Haenftling), B.Mus.Ed. '87,
is a general music teacher at
La Ville Elementary School in
Lakeville, Ind. She is the
mother of Kerry, 7, and
Melody, 1.
Holmes, Colby J., A.S.
Commercial Art '88, is a
product designer for Colwell
Merchandising in Fort
Wayne, where design
products include books,
containers, display kits,
industrial fabrics and
window treatment materials.
Kistler, Kerry L., A.S.
Commercial Art '83, is an art
director for Campbell
Publishing & Advertising in
Watertown, N.Y., and
remarks that "Professor
Dennis Krist did the most of
any teacher to prepare me for
real-world commercial art
situations."
Miller, Valerie E., B.F.A.
'90, is a self-employed artist
and a member of the Fort
The ArtScene is made possible by these sponsors. Thanks!
Tom~ 33~'- ~Buic ·nLINCOLN
GMCrRUCK NATIONAL
1819 S. Calhoun CORPORATION Glenbrook Square Fort Wayne, Indiana 46801 WKJG·TV
456-1211
1 1
Wayne Artists Guild and
Artlink. She exhibited her
work recently at Artlink, the
Allen County Public Library
and Chiron' s restaurant in
Waynedale. She's currently
traveling through England,
France, Germany,
Switzerland and Italy, and
may be contacted c/o Eric
Stasak, An der Marr 28A,
Dansweiler-Pulheim,
Germany.
Piekarski, Peter T.,
A.S.'87; B.F.A.'89, is Senior
Art Director at Nitecki, Smith
& Walker, Inc .. He has been
responsible for· the art
direction on three projects
that won the Addy-Award in
1988, and on seven projects
that won the Addy Award in
1989.
Reiff, Kim M., B.F.A. '89,
is a freelance designer and
illustrator with her own
business, the Kim M. Reiff
Studio in South Whitley.
Rhoades, Lisa M., B.S. Music
Therapy '89, is an expressive
therapist in music for Green
River Comprehensive Care in
Henderson, Ken.
'Iracey, James B., B.S.
Music '90, is a third-year law
student at the Indiana
University Law School.
Wannemaker, Dodie M.,
B.F.A. '81, is an independent
insurance agent and owner of
the Dodie Wannemaker
Insurance Agency in
Delphos, Ohio.
Winchell, Beth L., A.S.
Commercial Art '80, is the
advertising art director for
the Naples Daily News in
Naples, Fla.
Where are
you?
We've lost track of the
following alumni. If any of
these graduates would like to
receive the ArtScene, please
contact us at (219) 481-6025;
or write to IPFW School of
Fine and Performing Arts,
Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499.
Jean Allen, Music '77
Francis Brown, Fine Arts, '82
Bonnie Cameron, Music, '86
Carol Dailey, Theatre, '71
Charles Easter, Fine Arts, '81
Timothy Johnson, Fine Arts, '85
Deborah Keiser, Music, '78
Sandra Krand, Fine Arts, '82
Mary Maloney, Fme Arts, '81
Daniel Olson, Music, '89
Scott Pawlowski, Fine Arts, '85
James Sweetland, Theatre, '83
Pamela Voight, Fine Arts, '88
c·o· -. .... a,.
northAmerican.
VAN LINES
IPFW Campus Map
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Walb
Memorial
Union
Classroom
Medical
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Resource
Center
u.s. 30
Coliseum Blvd. East
String Scholarship
Program, Rock Music
History Class
Announced by Music
In cooperation with the
Fort Wayne Philharmonic,
IPFW's music department is
initiating a unique
cooperative program for
talented string players.
Beginning in the fall semester
of 1991, a select number of
outstanding string players
will have the opportunity to
perform with the
Philharmonic while working
toward their music degrees at
IPFW. Chosen students will
be awarded an annual,
renewable $1,000 music
scholarship and also have the
opportunity to earn $3,200
while performing with the
Philharmonic. Applications
will be accepted until Jan. 31,
1991; please contact music
department chair James D.
Ator for further information
at (219) 481-6714.
Mark Leach, coordinator
of musicology, has announced
he will be teaching a new
class for non-music majors,
The History of Rock 'n' Roll, in
Spring Semester 1991. The
class, covering the
development of rock from its
beginnings in the 1950s to the
present with a special focus
on the period from 1965 to
1974, fulfills the same
academic requirements as
Music for the Listener, the
traditional music appreciation
course.
School of Fine and
Performing Arts
Enrollment Increases
Enrollment in all three
departments of the School of
Fine and Performing Arts is
on the rise, reports Dr. Abe J.
Bassett, dean.
The music department is
at its highest enrollment level
since the 1984-85 academic
year; up 13.7% from one year
ago and 15.6% from two years
ago. In Theatre, Fall 1990
enrollments are up 30.8% over
the 1987-88 academic year.
The Department of Fine
Arts Fall Semester
enrollments are up 8.3% over
one year ago, and 20.9% over
the 1987-88 academic year.
Enrollments are at the highest
level since 1982-83.
Dean Bassett attributes the
rise to several factors. "First,
and perhaps the most
important, was the formation
of a School of Fine and
Performing Arts, which has
given a greater visibility to
the three departments.
Second, each department has
strengthened its curriculum
and made its programs more
attractive to students. Third,
the departments are doing a
better job of student
recruitment. And fourth, the
two new buildings, for Fine
Arts and Theatre, have
stimulated greater awareness
and interest in the arts at
IPFW."
Bassett also is pleased that
the increase in quantity of
students has occurred with an
increase in quality as well;
SAT scores of incoming
students are also on the rise.
"The quality of education that
is taking place in the arts at ·
IPFW is exciting, superb and
choice," notes Bassett, "and
we are pleased that more
students are making this
discovery."
The ArtScene is made possible by these sponsors. Thanks!
The ArtScene is funded in
part by Arts United of
Greater Fort Wayne FORTWAYNE
NATIONAL
BANK
.. E .. BfRFDOC
~ THE liffHERAN HosPITAL
OF INDIANA, INC.
12
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14 12 llE LAWAKE AVL
FORT WAYN E, IND. ~6MIIS