Film Premier - Voices From Mariel at the Polk Theater May 30 7:00 PM

     Documentary film, Voices From Mariel, tells the stories of Cuban-Americans who risked their lives to come to America during the "Mariel Boatlift" thirty years ago, and those others who stayed in Cuba. Dr, Jose Garcia, associate professor and department chair of the Modern Languages Department at Florida Southern College, was one of the nearly 125,000 Cubans who came here in 1980. He had less than an hour to pack, and was unable to say goodbye to his friends. Last year he risked returning to Cuba to reconnect with friends and loved ones and to discover their stories during this time. He took with him a crew from NFocus Pictures.

     This group has succeeded in portraying a powerful message about the human side of this historic event. In a recent interview, Jose Garcia said that he goal of the documentary was to tell the human and personal side of the Mariel Boatlift, leaving politics out of the equation. He also said that the "American Dream" had become exaggerated and glamorized over time to portray immigrants who come to this country with nothing and very quickly become rich and famous. "Voices from Mariel" tells the stories of people who have come here, worked hard, and have done well. Garcia said that he was touched by the Americans who have seen this film and clearly were moved by these stories. Also, he said that he couldn't describe in words the emotional experience of returning to Cuba, reconnecting with his friends and family, and returning to the home where he grew up.

     Tonight's event at the Polk Theater will be a special event with an After Party in the mezzanine with hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar. After party tickets including general admission to the film are $20.   

Florida Southern Graphic Design Senior Thesis Exhibition

            To my way of thinking, Contemporary Art is compelling because of the ideas that get expressed through the art and the subsequent communication that takes place between the artist and the viewer.  Artists, trained in an academic program like the one at Florida Southern College, are fortunate to be exposed to the critique process that requires them to explain and defend their ideas and artistic process to their professors and peers.

             On Thursday April 14 the graduating Graphic Design students had their critique which is a command performance for the entire Art Department.  During this process, students were reminded of several of life’s lessons, including the importance of staying on track and not getting distracted by small issues. Additionally, one student artist pointed out the benefits of seeking advice during every stage of the artistic process, both from professors and from other students. There was a universal message to consider these design projects as works in progress to be taken to yet another level of excellence and developed for portfolios.

            The reception for this exhibition will begin at 7:00 PM Friday April 15 in the Melvin Gallery at Florida Southern College and will be up in the gallery through the end of April.

Child of the Sun Jazz Festival Returns to Lakeland Saturday April 16, 2011

     For the past several years the Lakeland community was missing the sounds of jazz coming from the Florida Southern campus during their signature Child of the Sun Jazz Festival. Jazz enthusiasts can rejoice in the Rotary Club’s decision to bring this event back. Those in charge have enhanced the original festival by adding an Urban Triathlon and they have added a real sense of purpose by making the day a charitable event. The primary beneficiaries for 2011 will be Central Florida Speech and Hearing Center and the Learning Resource Center.

     Local vendors will be on hand to sell an exciting array of food and drinks, and the proceeds from these sales will be the source of revenue to support the local charities, so no coolers are allowed. Check out the web site for this event to get all of the details for both the Jazz Festival and the Triathlon: http://www.cotslakeland.com/wp/

WELCOME TO MY BLOG!

  SENIOR Thesis Exhibition at Florida Southern

    I often say that writing is my way of connecting to the world and for me, writing about the arts is one of my favorite avenues for connecting. This first post to my blog is a soft beginning with  reminders about two events at Florida Southern that are almost over. First, is the senior thesis exhibition at the Melvin Gallery for the visual artists KeTia S. Harris, Amy Inglis, and Cori Rainer.
     This exhibition will be dismantled on Monday April 11. Adam Justice, the curator for the Polk Museum of Art, was the judge and in my opinion, he had a real challenge. KeTia Harris was awarded top honors for her body of work, Alter Ego. As the title suggests, this is a self-reflective oeuvre. Amy Inglis undertook an ambitious thesis titled The Authority of Sound, based on Cymatics. She explains in her artist's statement that, "In the realm of Cymatics, form is created by submission to the authority of sound." Cori Rainer explored moments in time through he work titled Escape. These large pieces could be read as abstract landscapes, or not. As we discovered during the critique, when these works are hung vertically rather than horizontally, they express an entirely different visual vocabulary.

THEATER ARTS DEPARTMENT PLAY at FLORIDA SOUTHERN

     The last play of the season at FSC is Daddy's Dyin' Who's got the will? There only are three more performances; Friday April 8, Saturday April 9, and a Sunday matinee April 10. Curtain times for Friday and Saturday are 7:30 PM, and for the matinee on Sunday, 2:30 PM. As the Director Mary T. says in her program notes, this is the story of a dysfunctional family with a capital  "D." The compelling thing about this theme is that it is one almost all of us can identify with. In fact I was reminded of a time several years ago when author Pat Conroy was doing a reading and book signing for Beach Music. He started off by saying, "My name is Pat Conroy, and I come from a dysfunctional family." I knew that from that moment on, he had the audience in his camp!
     Another theme in this play is the power of music to bring us all together. I can think of two moments when characters who are resolved to let their differences interfere with relationships, are overcome by the music and join with the others in song.