OILY CONTROVERSY AT CITY ARTS GALLERY

BY MICHAEL MORGAN
EDITOR

Painter Guy Colwell displays his new oil paintings, including "Litter Beach" (above), at the Ocean campus City Art Gallery. ANNE-MARIE STARK / GUARDSMAN

The City Arts Gallery at the Ocean campus hosted a reception on Aug. 29 for respected Bay Area artist Guy Colwell. The event marked the opening of a collection of his recent oil paintings.  The show began on Aug. 14 and continues through Sept. 21. 

Colwell's painting can be described as social realism presented through vibrant depictions of people and animals, often in surrealistic situations.  He is a multitalented artist who is well known for his work in the "Comix" movement of the 1970s, illustrations and even courtroom sketches.  His work deals with societal ills by presenting his figures in strange and sometimes violent situations. 

This is evident in a series of paintings depicting people and wild animals in contemporary urban settings. These paintings depict people looking uncomfortably at the animals and highlight man's desire to control the environment. Colwell said, "Maybe it was just an animal I wanted to paint.  We humans have become detached from the natural world.  There is a distance between humans and animals."           

The artist's background springs from a childhood in Oakland and Berkeley. His artistic mother fostered a creative environment that lead to a solid artistic training in public school and the California College of Arts. His time at the college directly lead to his showing at City College by a recent reunion of Colwell and City College painting instructor Fred Kling, a former classmate.            

"One of the painting teachers here (Kling) came to one of my openings in Oakland at the Sabar Gallery and said, 'Lets see if we could get a show at the College.'  It's about who you know," said Colwell.           

During the Vietnam War, Colwell took a year off from college and was drafted. In 1968, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison for refusing military service. His dedication to pacifism has a profound impact on his artwork and fuels the social commentary in his art.          

The centerpiece of the show was the huge piece titled "Litter Beach."  A sprawling beach scene covers the massive canvas where crowds of people lather sunscreen on each other and drink cold beverages. However, the beach has no sand on the shoreline, only mountains of candy wrappers, soda cans and other trash. The ocean, empty of swimmers, is too polluted.            

Also on display is his controversial work "Abuse," which depicts malicious American soldiers torturing Abu Ghraib prisoners in Iraq.            

This show is rich in color and texture and every work requires the viewer to read the story depicted and think about its message.  Repeated viewing is recommended because of its depth and scope. 

Colwell's future holds an ongoing relationship with the Sabar Gallery and a possible lecture at City College in late September.      

e-mail: a_e@theguardsman.com

ENTERTAINMENT

STATE YOUR FASHION CITY COLLEGE

BY MICHAEL MORGAN
EDITOR

She supports her favorite bookstore with her bag. COURTESY OF FERNANDA TYSSEN

Art student Jenny Tang likes to keep her look styling by shopping cheap and supporting her local bookstore.

"Green Apple is my favorite bookstore in the city," said Jenny about her canvas bag bought from the Richmond District store.  Most of her wardrobe comes from Goodwill, but on the day The Guardsman met her, she was sporting clothes she got while in Hong Kong.   

Jenny's gray hoodie and simple, striped shirt with dark jeans and thin black boots worked well for this hip "muse," as her friend Alivia calls her.

To make sure his fellow classmates couldn't tell if he was reading or zoning out, Alex Happ wore some bright teal sunglasses to school.  While chilling on campus with his iPod plugged in and his notebook open, The Guardsman staff noticed his dark, grungy look.

Getting ready in the morning is an interesting process. “What's clean has to do with it a lot.  Weather factors in…(my) mood.  What I'm going to do that day," said Alex.

His simple hoodie, skinny jeans look is achieved by shopping at thrift outlets such as Clothes Contact on Valencia Street where his friends work.  He likes to keep it cheap by getting his pants for about $25. 

When asked what he would call his style, Alex responded "unicorn."  His style is definitely magical.  

THE O'LEARY ESTATE by Charles O'Leary

REVIEWS

Movie:

As HBO's new series “Flight of the Conchords”, New Zealand's quasi-answer to “The Monkees,” winds down its first season, we can prepare for a second season which has recently been contracted.

“New Zealand's fourth most popular parody duo,” Jermaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, along with their spectacularly mild manager Frank and gung-ho friend Dave, go through the doldrums of New York life while trying to make it as a rock band. Every episode is punctuated with well-constructed parody songs. And, when romance heats up, our deadpan kiwi folk rockers are on thin ice, but manage to skate away with a catchy tune.

“Flight of the Conchords” is already hailed as a cult classic. Watch a clip on YouTube.

- Alex Mullaney

Book:

Waugh’s classic 1937 satiric jab at journalism seems as fresh today as ever. In a case of mistaken identity, William Boot, a nature writer for London’s Beast newspaper, is assigned to cover a civil war in an East African nation. However, when he reports to the country, there is no war.

Boot enjoys living on the Beast’s unlimited expense account until his anxious editor cables him for “victory” reports. Boot seeks what little exotic news he can find and accidentally stumbles upon a revolution and a quick counter-revolution. Back at the Beast, Boot is a hero. A newly hired journalism graduate asks him if “it’s a good way of training oneself – inventing imaginary news?”

“None better,” Boot wryly replies in this riotously funny book.

- Jim Patterson

e-mail: a_e@theguardsman.com