Harry Bertoia at Rosemont College

Know who did that? Harry

Harry Bertoia, an artist primarily known for his sculpture and design, created a significant body of graphic work that, if not ultimately of the very first rank, nonetheless deserves an honored place in mid-20th Century American art. The small but choice show of his drawings at the Lawrence Gallery of Rosemont College was one of the pleasures of the late summer season.

Robert Zaller

Sep 25, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

"What a Wonderful World': The drummer's difference

A great song dissected: The drummer made the difference

Louis Armstrong draws us in with a voice that makes the sentimentality real. The drummer Grady Tate keeps us honest. That's why “What a Wonderful World” is something other than just a pretty song. And that's why it's unsettling.

Kile Smith

Sep 25, 2011 · Articles · 5 minute read

Art Anti-Gallery at the Fringe Festival

Why not touch the paintings? And what's Botticelli's Venus doing in Monet's pond?

In a zany spoof, Homeskooled Gallery did to conventional art exhibits what should be done to conventional art exhibits. It was the most fun I had at the Fringe Festival, even if it failed to answer its own questions: Who owns art? And how should we interact with it?

Alaina Johns

Sep 20, 2011 · Articles · 5 minute read

"Drive': Beyond casual violence

A protagonist who's seen too many movies

The hero of Nicholas Winding Refn's Drive is a psychopath, but we don't discover that until we've grown to empathize with him. That's what sets it above the usual run of gangster/action films.

Jake Blumgart

Sep 20, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

Chamber Orchestra at the Perelman

Do you see the landscape? Do you feel the war?

Disparate works by Mendelssohn and Dirk Brossé beg a question: Should we insist that the music must stand by itself, without any reference to the subject matter?

Tom Purdom

Sep 20, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read

Vox Renaissance Consort"s "Angelus'

Island of peace

Valentin Radu exercised his talent for pace and variety, astutely adapting Renaissance church music to the demands of a modern concert format.

Tom Purdom

Sep 20, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

Xavier Le Roy's "More Mouvements für Lachenmann'

Hearing and seeing music

The French choreographer Xavier Le Roy joins forces with the German avant-garde composer Helmut Lachenmann to produce captivating theater that renders music visually and sonically.

Jonathan M. Stein

Sep 20, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

Pig Iron's "Twelfth Night' (2nd review)

Excessive? Yes. Genuine acting? Also yes.

I've never before heard a Twelfth Night audience so quickly drawn in emotionally as well as intellectually. Pig Iron had us in its grip and never let go, in the process demonstrating what makes a drama dramatic.

Marshall A. Ledger

Sep 18, 2011 · Articles · 5 minute read

"Lady M' at Live Arts Festival

The misunderstood Lady Macbeth

What made Lady Macbeth such a murderous bitch? Shakespeare never told us, but this ingenious interpretation ties her hunger for power to the insecurity of medieval women.

Steve Cohen

Sep 18, 2011 · Articles · 3 minute read

"The Oresteia Project' at the Fringe Festival

Aeschylus lives!

Some theatergoers think of Greek tragedy as simplistic and heavy-handed. What we saw here was subtle and nuanced. In this 2,500-year-old trilogy, Aeschylus tried to show how equitable, intelligent government could overcome generations of vengeful slaughter.

Steve Cohen

Sep 17, 2011 · Articles · 4 minute read