An Afternoon with Marie Arnold

Arnold during her exhibition in the Calapooia center.

This past Thursday saw an art exhibition from Marie Arnold in the Calapooia center. In addition to her contributions, Arnold has been making a pitch for graphic design in her studies.

Her preferred subjects are simple but engaging in nature of art. "Basically, I chose floral as the center;" said Arnold when she spoke at her exhibition.

Arnold also uses a sort of hybrid style for drawing figures, not being bound by the conventions of what she does. "What I did was I started drawing her face," she said of her work. While she claimed that she pieced things together like Frankenstein (monster) body-wise; the group that viewed her work said it was anything but.

Arnold had this to say about her work with florals: "The reason I did florals, with these flowers, I chose to express the vibration of the afterlife; that's what energy looks like. It's also symbolic for beauty."

The way Arnold uses color in her work is also part of a dynamic visual style utilizing a simple but stylish array of colors. "Blue represents chakra, how I'm speaking through art. Orange represents creativity infused with energy. Green represents nature and backgrounds. She concluded by saying that "Gold is the color of divine light."

Above all, Arnold's portrayal of art works in a multitude of styles that suit her styles and can appeal to a wide variety of people. She concluded her speech by saying "That art is a way of therapy and healing. I aim to create art to help humanity and feel loved."

Profile-Matt Usner

Usner in his office at LBCC on this past Valentine's Day.

As one of many English teachers on campus here at LBCC, Matt Usner displays a great sense of enthusiasm towards his work; and makes every effort to instill that feelings in his students.

The inspiration for this line of work stemmed from his own experiences in the past. “I was fortunate enough in high school that I had really good English teachers,” said Usner in a recent interview with him. “I don’t think it was my favorite subject initially, I was sort of drawn into the field and the discipline. Once I began teaching part time, I realized this was the right place for me.”

Usner currently teaches a class in difference, power and discrimination in film. One subject matter that came up was the current environment for certain groups, based on recent controversies such as the live-action remake of Ghost in the Shell. He replied “It’s a big question, I think things are better historically than they’ve ever been, it’s really filled voices and roles that have been largely excluded from mainstream cinema. I think you see more diversity these days in some streaming shows on Amazon and Netflix than in mainstream movies.” Usner also added that “Things are better, but we’re still not seeing a balanced representation.”

A related note discussed was where opportunities will be for other groups in the coming years; based on how popular series such as “Star Wars” and the Marvel Cinematic Universe have cast roles in their new and future installments. Here is what Usner had to say on the matter: “ I think it’s going to continue to get better because the issue is more widely recognized as something that needs to be addressed.” Usner stated that while independent films have been able to catch on quicker in this regards, he added that “The true litmus test will be in mega blockbusters with Marvel such as “Black Panther.”

In regards to where Usner finds potential material to include in his class, he responded to this question as follows: “I’m looking to that class to start a conversation, any material I see can be useful. If we’re looking at material, I think that’s something to start a conversation about.”

He describes the class as “an opportunity to critically reflect on what they’re seeing and what they’re not.” Usner takes what is given to him as an opportunity to motivate his students, saying that “I really want to push them into seeing something they wouldn’t on their own.”

Lastly, there was the topic of why Usner considered film such a fascinating subject matter. “It’s an art form, art is interesting to me. It’s an art form that’s popular on the mass level. For good or bad, we live in a visual culture inundated with images every day and see a reflection of our larger society.” Usner concluded by saying “Its history compared to other art forms is shorter, that history feels manageable; we’re essentially looking at the 20th century.”

TV Show Review-Legion

Courtesy: Marvel Television/FX

Starring Dan Stevens, Rachel Keller, Aubrey Plaza, and Jeremie Harris
Created by Noah Hawley (Based on the Marvel Comic by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz)
Wednesdays at 10PM on FX
Rated TV-MA-LV
My Rating: *****/5

In this day and age, the comic book TV series has become every bit as prevalent and well-made as the comic book movie, and FX has continued that level of quality with the series “Legion.” While adapting this Marvel series is a lot to live up to based on the comic’s legacy, Noah Hawley has crafted one of the best series on FX since his adaptation of the Coen brothers’ classic “Fargo.”

The series follows David Haller (Stevens) as he is being contained in the Clockworks Psychiatric Hospital. While many believe Haller has been schizophrenic since childhood, his experiences while committed instead show the awakenings of his mutant powers. With the help of fellow patients Sydney “Syd” Barrett (Keller) and Lenny “Cornflakes” Busker (Plaza), Haller escapes from the compound and goes on a journey to master his growing powers in a dark and mind bending experience that makes it one of the best shows on FX right now.

Although the comic book of the same name by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz is one of the more cultish spinoffs of the “X-Men” universe, Hawley’s approach to the material captures the feeling of dealing with mental illness far better than many other works of fiction that are explicitly about these conditions.

The series also boasts a highly distinct visual style that compliments Haller’s role as an “unreliable narrator.” The production design combines elements of period styles from the 1960s  with modern flourishes. “Syd” Barrett is named for the late guitarist of Pink Floyd, and the facility at Clockworks has a new HDTV despite the patients all being dressed in ‘60s-style clothing and hairstyles. Haller’s journey is also shown in a haunting opening from infancy to adulthood set to “Happy Jack” by The Who.

While the series could go in any direction from the pilot, “Legion” has already established itself as one of the most promising shows of 2017 from the word go. Be sure to keep an eye on where the journey goes over the course of this year, since Hawley has easily done the lineage of the comic justice with this series.

Nintendo Switch Update: Big Game Spot Keeps Hype Train Rolling

Courtesy: Nintendo

During Super Bowl LI, many advertisers once again used the game as a platform to position their goods and services in one of the biggest TV events of the year. The game had many firsts, which included a spot for the highly-anticipated new video game console from Nintendo; the Switch.

Airing during the fourth quarter, the 30-second spot showed off more footage of both the console and the highly-anticipated title of “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild;” both of which will launch on March 3.

Additionally, an extended version of the advertisement was released on Nintendo's official YouTube channel. This version, which also contains footage of games such as "Splatoon 2," "Ultra Street Fighter II," and fellow launch title "1-2 Switch" has been viewed over 3.6 million times since it was uploaded ahead of the game as well as made available on the 3DS and Wii U eShop.

The commercial further demonstrated how much potential the concept of the Switch has. As both a portable and home console, there are many scenarios where the system can be used for gaming. From playing an updated port of "Mario Kart 8" in your living room to "Super Bomberman R" while doing your laundry, the possibilities the for new gaming experiences are endless.

With a platform such as Super Bowl LI to advertise the console, Nintendo has furthered their aim to make the Switch their next big hit. As a company that has a massive legacy at their disposal since the North American launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985 and the Game Boy in 1989, this kind of promotion aims to not only appeal to longtime fans of the company; but take advantage of a new generation of fans as well.

As the launch date of March 3 draws closer than ever, the big game spot for the Switch ended up being one of the biggest surprises of the evening. Along with a pull-from-behind victory from the Patriots over the Falcons, Nintendo's advert was one of many firsts this year's Super Bowl brought us. The success of the ad is furthered by the fact that the first wave of preorders for the console sold out within moments of them going live on January 13. Let's hope that the Switch can start the ninth generation of video games in a way that lives up to all the hype. For now, this commercial has landed with a major touchdown in a sea of many standout ads the big game had. Now let's Switch to more anticipation for the console's launch on March 3!