Arts & Culture

Peter Max is an art icon. He literally painted the backdrop for the psychedelic 60s. His work has inspired a couple of generations of artists and that same work is perhaps the most imitated style since that time. His artwork now hangs in 1,123 museums around the world. He has painted and rubbed shoulders with presidents and rock stars. And on Tuesday his latest book, The Universe of Peter Max (published by Harper/Collins), was released to the public. The Free Press was given an advance copy of the book and HarperCollins arranged an interview with Max on the day it was officially released. With a forward written by famed astronomer Neil DeGrasse Tyson, one might expect The Universe of Peter Max to soar into the cosmos. It does not disappoint. Stunning both visually and in its anecdotal revelations, Max's latest work contains a treasure on every page. Think that's hyperboly? Well, I started my conversation with Max explaining the Free Press and the artist shared an interest in environmental issues. Many here in Ohio may recall the 2002 incident in which a cow escaped a slaughter house near Cincinnati and remained on the lam for several days.

When playwright Arthur Miller directed Death of a Salesman in Beijing some 30 years ago, the tragedy was a hit with Chinese audiences. That surprised some: How could citizens of a socialist country relate to a play about the victim of a capitalist system? But Miller’s 1949 work is more than an attack on economic injustice. It’s also the story of a self-deluded man and his dysfunctional family. Most centrally, it’s about the strained relationship between Willy Loman and his favorite son, Biff, an ex-high school jock who’s never been able to get his life together. The scene in which the tension between them finally explodes is the most powerful moment of SRO’s current production, and probably of most productions. Willy, the titular traveling salesman, is a man of 60-plus years who’s been reduced to working for commissions on ever-shrinking sales. Not only has he been unable to pay his bills—a fact he’s hidden from his wife, Linda—but it’s become increasingly clear that he can’t count on his less-than-successful sons for support. Compounding his problems, he’s begun “talking” to people from his past as he tries to figure out where his life took a wrong turn.

Eye is Adam Smith from Dead Sea, Matt Bailey of Teeth of the Hydra, ex-Pretty Weapons members Brandon Smith and Matt Auxier. From this roster one could probably ascertain Eye is probably a well-executed, heavy and deep journey into the intersection of psych, space, stoner, progg, metal and the avant-garde with Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath as touchstones. Like any good space-rock band, Eye draws influence from science fiction, fantasy, altered consciousness, nature and life in general. I queried Eye’s vocalist, Moogist, Mellotronist and guitarist Auxier on what science fiction style-problem is looming in reality. His response: “Space migration. Are we ever going to be able ever to venture somewhere else to start a colony? Because we are ruining our planet! We have to figure something out in the next 50-100 years.” He views saving the earth as better described as saving ourselves. “The earth will destroy us all if we don’t figure something out. It’s probably too late. The Earth may still be here, it may just wipe us out on the way.

Allen Ginsberg. Jack Kerouac. William Burroughs. Lucien Carr. Lucien Carr? Carr may be less familiar than the others—all icons of the Beat Generation—but he apparently played an important role in the literary movement’s birth. That role is explained in the based-on-fact flick Kill Your Darlings. This stylish first feature by director/co-writer John Krokidas is a murder mystery of sorts, but the crime doesn’t materialize until late in the proceedings. For the most part, the focus is on Ginsberg (Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe) and the quest he undertakes after becoming a student at Columbia University in 1943. While World War II grinds on, Ginsberg and other rebellious young writers basically declare war on literary conformity. And how does Carr (Dane DeHaan) figure in? He’s a student who has no writing ability of his own, but he appears to be an expert at inspiring writers—particularly writers who, like Ginsberg, are attracted to his caution-to-the-wind attitude and blond good looks. Though Ginsberg arrives on campus determined to buckle down and study, he eagerly sets aside his books when Carr invites him to a party in a bohemian part of town.

I was in the second grade at Highland Avenue Elementary School in Columbus when President Kennedy was assassinated. The principal made the announcement over the loud speaker, and school was dismissed. I walked the short distance home and found my mother glued to the television set; she had been interrupted by the horrible news while watching the soap opera, As the World Turns. The television in my parent’s bedroom remained on for the next several days. One would think there could be little left to say about JFK, Jacqueline Kennedy or the rest of the Kennedys of that fabled generation. However, since this year is the fiftieth anniversary of his assassination, the book world has been inundated with books about Camelot. Even the Kennedys were swept up in the misty memories; Jean Kennedy Smith, JFK’s only surviving sibling, Caroline Kennedy, his only surviving child, and a host of Kennedys from the third generation made a sentimental journey to Ireland, the land of Kennedy–and Fitzgerald–ancestors to retrace the steps of his famous 1963 visit there. Many do not know that, as a young man, Kennedy had aspired to be either a journalist or a professor.

As I was leaving Sunday Night’s Slayer show at the LC, I saw a group of disheveled, rotund men wearing matching shirts that said “Cleveland 216 Juggalos.” I chuckled at the idea of a group of dudes putting on the same outfit and driving two hours so they could represent their local chapter of Insane Clown Posse Fans. I also thanked Allah, God, Jesus, Richard Dawkins, Jah, Jehovah, Clarence 13x and Lucifer that when I was young and rebellious ICP was not an outlet for my adolescent desire to identify with the ugly and appalling because of youthful, Holden Caulfield-style cynicism. I will admit to wearing a Slayer “South of Heaven” shirt to church and catechism in middle school and might be coming from a slightly similar place, but at the end of the day Slayer has made music that most anyone will admit to being classic, and legendary. Sunday at the LC was another classic night performed by the legendary Thrash metal band. Slayer played an “old school” set. Their longtime guitarist and songwriter Jeff Hanneman died in May of liver failure at the age of 49.

Tony “Doctah X” Harrington is a Reggae-rooted musician, singer and deejay who explores dub and dubstep often with Eastern and African Sounds. Doctah X recently released “Bangkok Chili” on North Carolina-based Boom One Records. This was a follow-up to his 2011 album “Agent of Kabul.” He hosts and deejays a radio show on WCRS called “Perscriptions” which airs Fridays from 9-10pm. He is one of those Columbus gems with a rich history. In the 70s and 80s, as a blues guitarist, Doctah X recorded and toured in Europe with Cream drummer Ginger Baker and played with blues legends John Lee Hooker, Albert Collins and Lele Gaudi. He also recorded with Umar Bin Hassan of the Last Poets. FP: Put together your fantasy band, dead or alive DoctahX: Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Hazel-guitars, Bernie Worrel, Jimmy Smith-keys and organ, Jaco Patorious -bass, Sly Dunbar-drums, Dr.

The Columbus International Film & Video Festival closes out this weekend with an array of award winning films from around the world. The Festival, the longest running in the US, started last Thursday and continues through Sunday. Today (Thursday, November 14) the Festival features award winning student shorts. Local high school filmmaker Brian Ferenchik’s short “Wake Up” will be screened as well as OSU alumni Ryan Moody’s short “Last Call.” The screening is at the Canzani Center on the Columbus College Of Art & Design campus at 60 Cleveland Ave and admission is free for students and CIF&VF members, all others just $5. Parking is free in CCAD lots. On Friday, the Festival screens the Silver Chris (Best in Division) film “Heart Of Sky, Heart Of Earth.” The film has also been awarded the Central Ohio Green Education Fund Award. Directed by Frauke Sandig and Eric Black (who is originally from the Columbus area) the film is a look at Mayan culture today and their spiritual connection to the environment.

The early heroes of the AIDS epidemic were honored in How to Survive a Plague, a 2012 documentary that focused on efforts to pressure health officials to devote more resources to fighting the disease. Dallas Buyers Club dramatizes the self-serving but equally gutsy struggles of an AIDS hero who didn’t fit the usual mold: a hard-drinking, rodeo-loving electrician named Ron Woodroof. As played by the increasingly surprising Matthew McConaughey, Ron is not only straight but homophobic. When a doctor tells the Texan, one day in 1986, that he’s HIV-positive and has only 30 days to live, he greets the news with angry skepticism. “There ain’t nothing out there that can kill Ron Woodroof in 30 days,” he declares before storming out of the office. But as the weeks go by and he finds himself growing weaker and weaker, Ron begins looking for help. When a local hospital starts testing the new drug AZT, he bribes an orderly to sneak him samples. It’s only after the supply runs out that Ron finds his way to a Mexican clinic run by a renegade doctor named Voss (Griffin Dunne) who’s experimenting with more-holistic treatment options.

The usual areas of distinction in central Ohio are the realm of sports – Buckeye football and, less often, basketball. Angela Perley and The Howlin’ Moons are blazing a new path of distinction for central Ohio in music. I heard them the first time this past summer at a free Sunday concert at the Gazebo in Goodale Park. My reaction was simply, wow! these guys are from Columbus? Led by singer-songwriter Angela Perley, a 27-year-old from Hilliard and graduate of Ohio University, she and the Howlin’ Moons have an original, captivating and exciting sound that is unforgettable. Rather than try to describe Angela and the Moons myself. I will cite other recent reviews: "Angela is a total original, thoroughly unique; Cross between Michelle Shocked and Lucinda Williams and that’s a heavy compliment in itself." - Jon Peterson, Shakin It Radio (Dec 03, 2011) This was the first band I have heard in decades that made me smile. Perley wears 1950s shades behind a knowing smile as she sings out her warm, captivating lyrics and she plays – a saw - yes, a woodcutting handsaw – like nothing you've ever seen before. The Howlin’ Moons are more than competent musical backup for Perley.