'Quotidian' makes the ordinary extraordinary
Closing reception to be held Friday for exhibit
By Allison Reitz
Walking into the small, dramatically lit room that comprises Gallery 244 of the Star Store is like entering a surreal dream -- or nightmare, for clumsier individuals. The floor is literally covered with daintily balanced ceramic dishes. To one side, there is a wooden pedestal, presenting a larger ceramic bowl.
The installation is part of CVPA graduate student Heather Sancomb’s “Quotidian” exhibition. Meaning “commonplace” or “recurring daily,” the exhibit’s name is aptly chosen. The hundreds of hand-sized dishes give a sense of repetition and habit, making a grand artistic statement out of something so often overlooked as merely utilitarian.
In her artist’s statement, Sancomb writes, “Balance is something we strive to achieve between challenge and satisfaction.... The peace that accompanies balance can sometimes be found through created order of individual small moments; other times it can only be found through that which rises up from within us, powerful and raw.”
Sancomb continues, “When we embrace both of these aspects of life, we can begin to set a pace that is livable and take comfort in its entirety. I believe that this is enhanced when we take elements out of the context in which we see them every day, thus enabling them to be something greater than themselves.”
Clearly, Sancomb put a great amount of thought into this exhibit and its presentation. Her statement fits with the ideas and feelings that surface while viewing “Quotidian” and translates itself through its arrangement.
The balance of which she speaks is carried across not only in the balancing of dishes, but also the balance between the two installations: the stacks of ceramics cross the floor and the large ceramic bowl on the pedestal. It seems strange at first that a single work could compete with something so expansive in space and numbers, but Sancomb’s exhibition works in just that way.
It is difficult to view the installment as anything but a cohesive whole. However, the individual dishes arranged across the floor are just as beautiful and thoughtful as the collective to which they contribute. Perfectly formed, the off-white and pale green dishes have pools of cracked glaze coating the inside and supplying added visual interest to the pieces.
The larger bowl is just as visually intriguing, especially given its strange appearance. In contrast with the smaller dishes, the bowl is not as neatly formed and, in fact, looks charred and crushed from the heat of the kiln. Those blatant imperfections (however intended they may have been) are what make the piece the work of art that it is.
Stop by Gallery 244 at the Star Store to see ‘Quotidian’ before its closing on Saturday, February 17. A special closing reception with artist Heather Sancomb will be held tomorrow night, Friday, February 16, from 6 to 8 p.m. The Star Store is located on 715 Purchase St., Downtown New Bedford. The exhibit and reception are free and open to all.
Images: (Top) Artist Heather Sancomb stands betweem the two installations in her exhibit, “Quotidian,” now on display in Gallery 244 of the Star Store.
(Mid) A close-up of Sancomb’s work, above, shows the variances in the individual pieces that make up the whole work.
(Bottom) The exhibition’s main installation, shown below, is comprised of hundreds of tiny dishes, carefully balanced and arranged across the gallery floor.
Zeiterion provides year-round date alternative
By Will Dane
The New Bedford Symphony Orchestra delivered a sumptuous Valentine’s concert on Saturday night at the Zeiterion Theater. The evening’s itinerary covered a lot of ground, with Parisian ballet music, an Argentinean tango and a wonderful Italian-inspired symphony.
The first piece told the story of the creation of the world, from “Creation of trees, plants, insects, birds and beasts,” to “Desire between man and woman.” The performance started out quietly and gradually built in intensity, with fast, jazzy interludes handled by a drummer and two horn players.
The composer of “The Creation of the World,” Darius Milhoud, lived in Paris in the 1920s. Conductor David MacKenzie called the piece “one of the rowdier compositions in the orchestral repertoire,” but even given that description, the NBSO played it a bit safely. The jazz elements felt a little stiff, lacking the ragged expression of improvisation. Still, the orchestra did manage to evoke dim images of the freewheeling Paris of long ago.
In the second performance of the night, Daniel Binelli, backed by a large string orchestra, took the stage with an accordion-like instrument called a bandonean, and played Astor Piazzolla’s “Concierto para bandonean.” Binelli, said to be the top bandonean player in the world, proved what a surprisingly versatile instrument it can be. Balancing the middle of the bandonean on his knee as he stretched the two halves of the instrument apart, the bandonean let out a wide range of sounds, from mournful wails to laughter.
After an intermission, the full orchestra closed out the night with Mendelssohn’s fourth symphony, which is a brief, big piece known as the “Italian” symphony because it is said to evoke all the passion and sunlight of Italy. The orchestra shined in this piece, filling the Zeiterion with sweeping arpeggios and a furious finale that inspired images of Ferraris racing along sinuous roads in the Tuscan countryside.
The NBSO’s next performance, their annual Spring Concert, will be held on March 31 at the Zeiterion Theatre. The Zeiterion is located at 684 Purchase Street, Downtown New Bedford. Student tickets are available at a steep discount ($13), offering an artistic and romantic alternative to other date options year-round.
EAT A DUCK I MUST
Just say 'No' to sweaty goats' balls
By Wan Yan Ling
You can always tell when someone can’t cook. And I don’t mean the trophy wives who burn water, or the well-meaning grandmas whose loving spoonfuls lovingly induce the runs.
Instead, I’m looking politely at all the Jamie Oliver-wannabes, trying to impress the dodgy girls they picked up in dodgy bars the night before. The ones who painstakingly measure out a teaspoon of salt in a dish, a tablespoon of corn flour in another, two inches of cilantro in yet a third.
The girls swoon and bat their lashes, make timely gasps of excitement and ooh-and-aah over how their metrosexual catch masterfully separates egg yolk from white. Meanwhile, the bits of this and bobs of that pile up. Before you know it, the entire bench top is colonized with pantry upchuck and every vessel known to mankind.
And then (rant not done), he starts to cook. BAM! Watch me jazz this up with a little microplaned umhfoufou! BAM! See me flip this with my awesome headless-chicken-flapping technique and ninja levitation skills. Look, Ma, no hands!
At the end of the performance, there’s egg curdled on the stovetop, flour motes in the air and there’s enough pig grease on the floor to power a Hummer.
He -- let’s call him Chad, shall we? -- buys herbal tea in gauze sachets (because ordinary tea bags are so pedestrian) and makes sure there’s at least one exotic-sounding ingredient that the girls haven’t heard of...like wild Tibetan goji berries or dehydrated, ground, sweaty goat’s balls.
He also makes sure there’s pretty china to serve it with -- one of those fancy, French glass pots from Mariage Freres (or the Holiday Inn) -- and just adds hot water.
Nookie is cheap.
One wonders how much action can be attributed to the punk-rocker chefs on TV. The ones who come up with revolutionary new products like the $35 “Flavor Shaker,” a plastic bottle housing a ceramic marble which will “crush, grind, mix, purée, blend” like a modern-day pestle and mortar.
It’s a great idea and carpal tunnel-inducer all at once. You just (suavely) throw everything into the bottle and (suavely) shake, making gastronomical greatness look (suavely) effortless the whole time. Looks real smooth, and really gets the blood pumping. Especially when it doesn’t work.
But seriously, how many men have figured out that being able to cook (or at least assemble...suavely) is a real ladies’ draw? Doesn’t matter if the only thing he can throw together is whatever’s-leftover-in-the-fridge chili. If he’s got the All-Clad pans and the Microplane grater, the Miele stove and the Kasumi knife, and he can emulate the Emeril “BAM!” just so, he’s set.
It used to be men who danced who got all the attention -- the ones who were sufficiently assured of their own masculinity to thrust and gyrate in public. Now it’s the ones who are savvy enough to don the gingham apron and temper chocolate, to idolize Julia Child rather than Jennifer Aniston, who’ve got girls beating a path to their door.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m grateful that being in the kitchen is no longer stereotyped as “women’s work,” that getting dinner on the table is not just her responsibility any more. I just resent the guys who milk it, who call perfect strangers “darling” in faux British accents and latch (much like they would a slippery, sweaty, goat’s teat) on to terms like “terroir” -- not having a clue what it means.
Being able to cook is the new leather jacket-and-dirt bike ensemble, the 21st Century John Wayne/Patrick Swayze/Fabio accessory.
But sieve the Chads from the heap, girls. Don’t stand for sweaty goats’ balls.
Light bulbs, brickbats or roses? E-mail eataduckimust@gmail.com.
RECOMMENDING RHONDA
Rhonda says: Eat at this restaurant!
By Recommending Rhonda
For those of you that are looking for somewhere new to eat out besides the greasy, calorie-infested creations of Taco Bell and Wendy’s, I’ve got a place for you.
Healthy Grille, a locally owned, one of a kind cafe, is committed to catering to its customers with nutritional yet delicious cuisine. Healthy Grille is not a chain, and we are extremely lucky to have them located a hop, jump and skip away (on Route 6, towards Westport).
What kind of food does the Grille offer?
You name it, they have it! Mexican, seafood, steaks, burgers, sandwiches, tofu, pasta, salad, soup and — a recent addition to the menu (for those of you who are 21 or older) — a page worth of wine and beer choices.
The menu is astoundingly large and consists of about 10 pages of mouth-watering delights. I always have a hard time choosing what I want because everything sounds so darn good!
And the prices are almost as satisfying as the food. Being the poor, penny-pinching students that we are (unless it comes to alcohol and video games), we can’t afford to ditch Res quite as often as we’d like. The prices are generally between $5 and $11, and the most expensive item on the menu is only $15 (and that’s for steak tenderloins, which won’t be cheaper anywhere else).
Still not convinced?
Let me take you on a walk through the wonders of a meal.
For an appetizer, I would highly recommend the Vegetable and Dip. It is described as a “bread bowl filled with spinach vegetable dip, surrounded with baby carrots and broccoli florets,” which costs only $6. The bread is fresh and warm, and the dip is out of this world. My friends and I have tried to reproduce the dip, but we can’t perfect the recipe, so we have to keep going back there for more. Not that we mind...
For my next course, I usually order a Roasted Veggie Salad, which costs only $4.99 and consists of mesclun greens, summer squash, red onion, roasted zucchini and eggplant. For the main course, I normally lean toward the Sante Fe Wrap, which is stuffed with peppers, onions, fajita seasoning, chicken, Spanish rice, lite sour cream and homemade salsa (which is quite fantastic!). The wrap is served with a side of baked tortilla strips, which have absolutely no grease. All together, this main course costs $7. I almost always have leftovers, which means that a measly $7 will pay for two delectable meals.
The Grilled Vegetable Ravioli is another favorite of mine. As a veggie lover, I am absolutely crazy about the ravioli, which are stuffed with grilled portabella mushrooms, onions, carrots, asparagus and peppers in a blend of ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, fontina and romano cheeses. Tossed with tomato oregano sauce and topped with shredded parmesan cheese, this savory dinner is well worth my $12.
I always have to satisfy my sweet tooth after a large meal, and at Healthy Grille, I can do so without feeling guilty. One of my personal favorite desserts is the Baked Apple, which is stuffed with raisins, flavored with cinnamon and brown sugar, and topped with homemade whipped cream. The Chocolate Mousse Pudding is also quite delicious, and both desserts cost only $4 each.
So, let’s add up the bill, shall we?
If I get the Bread Bowl, the Roasted Veggie Salad, the Sante Fe Wrap and a dessert, my total bill will only add up to $22, which is a great deal for so much good, healthy food.
Healthy Grille is located on 634 State Road (Route 6) in Dartmouth, just after Walmart. To get there from campus, take a right out of campus, a right onto Cross Rd, a left at the light, and a right into the Healthy Grille plaza.
The Grille is open Monday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and on Sunday, from noon to 7 p.m. Eat, repeat, enjoy!
For more information on Healthy Grille, visit www.healthygrillerestaurant.com.
