This post was written by Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council (WACTAC) member Bre Blaesing.

I went with a group of people to see The Violin last night, directed by Francisco Vargas.

The Violin:

“In the 1970s, a seemingly harmless violin player named Don Plutarco (Don ngel Tavira, winner of the Un Certain Regard best actor award at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival) supports the peasant movement’s armed revolt along with his son and grandson. After their village is attacked by the military in the harrowing first minutes of the film, Plutarco wins over the army captain with his music, which gets him closer to information and supplies that can help the guerrillas counterattack.”

The Violin is the best film I have seen all year, for three reasons:

1. It is apart of a new and exciting film movement. Personally I am very excited for the Nuevo Cine Mexicano movement that is going on in Mexico and other Latin Countries, I am excited that it is beginning to receive some of the attention that it deserves. The film The Violin is a strong example of the anthem of emerging filmmakers from Mexico, the anthem is reflecting on misguided policy structure, economic crisis, rejection of institutions and rights for the people (not only in Mexico). In a time were consumerism and weakened policy structure is common among many countries the artist response to the abuse of power and the corruptions that come along with is a direct response to oppression all over the world.
2. The filmmaking and use of close ups is stunning. Francisco Vargas ability to capture human emotion through high contrast close ups is stunning. The main character Plutarco is the hero of The Violin, throughout the film we are stunned by his wisdom and courage, often we see him reflecting on life, playing music with his grandson and passing on crucial information to the revolutionaries, we see him in high contrast at night in front of a fire the glow of the embers on his face are stunning.
3. The director has positive things to say to youth filmmakers. Francisco Vargas was at the screening of the film, after the film was shown I was able to ask him if he has any words of wisdom for young filmmakers, he described the process of creating The Violin, he discussed how many people did not want him to make the film, people believed that the issues that are discussed, the political edge of it was unimportant,and that no one would care . He searched for 6 months to find the character Plutarco numerous times people told him that the character they wanted did not exist. It took them five years to make this film, and they only had 4 weeks to shot it on a very modest budget. The film has since become a blockbuster and the lead actor Plutarco, who had never acted before, won the Best Actor Award from the Cannes Film Festival. Overall he said that if you have passion no matter what people say to follow your dreams!!!

If you ever have the opportunity to see The Violin or future Francisco Vargas films make a point of doing so you will not be disappointed.

I am Youtube-ing a trailer of the film, there are not English Subtitles, however this can serve as an example of the filmmaking and to get you excited for the Nuevo Cine Mexicano.

Enjoy..

If you are interested in reading more WACTAC reviews check out teens.walkerart.org

This post was written by Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council (WACTAC) member Bre Blaesing.

I went with a group of people to see The Violin last night, directed by Francisco Vargas.

The Violin:

“In the 1970s, a seemingly harmless violin player named Don Plutarco (Don ngel Tavira, winner of the Un Certain Regard best actor award at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival) supports the peasant movement’s armed revolt along with his son and grandson. After their village is attacked by the military in the harrowing first minutes of the film, Plutarco wins over the army captain with his music, which gets him closer to information and supplies that can help the guerrillas counterattack.”

The Violin is the best film I have seen all year, for three reasons:

1. It is apart of a new and exciting film movement. Personally I am very excited for the Nuevo Cine Mexicano movement that is going on in Mexico and other Latin Countries, I am excited that it is beginning to receive some of the attention that it deserves. The film The Violin is a strong example of the anthem of emerging filmmakers from Mexico, the anthem is reflecting on misguided policy structure, economic crisis, rejection of institutions and rights for the people (not only in Mexico). In a time were consumerism and weakened policy structure is common among many countries the artist response to the abuse of power and the corruptions that come along with is a direct response to oppression all over the world.
2. The filmmaking and use of close ups is stunning. Francisco Vargas ability to capture human emotion through high contrast close ups is stunning. The main character Plutarco is the hero of The Violin, throughout the film we are stunned by his wisdom and courage, often we see him reflecting on life, playing music with his grandson and passing on crucial information to the revolutionaries, we see him in high contrast at night in front of a fire the glow of the embers on his face are stunning.
3. The director has positive things to say to youth filmmakers. Francisco Vargas was at the screening of the film, after the film was shown I was able to ask him if he has any words of wisdom for young filmmakers, he described the process of creating The Violin, he discussed how many people did not want him to make the film, people believed that the issues that are discussed, the political edge of it was unimportant,and that no one would care . He searched for 6 months to find the character Plutarco numerous times people told him that the character they wanted did not exist. It took them five years to make this film, and they only had 4 weeks to shot it on a very modest budget. The film has since become a blockbuster and the lead actor Plutarco, who had never acted before, won the Best Actor Award from the Cannes Film Festival. Overall he said that if you have passion no matter what people say to follow your dreams!!!

If you ever have the opportunity to see The Violin or future Francisco Vargas films make a point of doing so you will not be disappointed.

I am Youtube-ing a trailer of the film, there are not English Subtitles, however this can serve as an example of the filmmaking and to get you excited for the Nuevo Cine Mexicano.

Enjoy..

If you are interested in reading more WACTAC reviews check out teens.walkerart.org

Last night was the last Target Free Thursday Night before the Picasso and American Art exhibition closes on Sept 9th and people were coming in droves to see the work of the master. We had decided not to give Picasso tours that night because the galleries were too crowded, but it was clear that the people in the lobby were there to see Picasso, and so we came up with a quick Plan B (or “ Plan P” as it were…). So we gave the 40 or so gathered folks a choice: Go on a tour of contemporary paintings in the permanent collection as a prelude for seeing the Picasso exhibition (about 10 chose that option), or stay for a brief overview of the Picasso show before heading up to the special exhibition galleries.

What to say in five minutes or less to help people make sense of the exhibition, which is really about a handful of avant garde American artists who felt compelled to react to the inventive styles of Picasso? We came up with “ Find the Picasso.” As you enter each section of the galleries, look first for the embedded work by Picasso. Then compare and contrast that work with the works by American artists surrounding it. You remember “ compare and contrast” from your art history 101 course, right? Look for how American artists pulled strategies for abstraction, riffed on subject matter, paid homage to Picasso, and took it to the next level. You will impress those around you with your insights and pithy observations. And who knows? You might wind up being an ad hoc Picasso tour guide on your own.

We began last night’s book club discussion of Louise Erdrich’s The Painted Drum by focusing on the drum itself: its metaphysical qualities, its unique history, its cultural significance, and its power as a literary symbol.

We then talked about the author’s conscious decision to employ a multi-voiced narrative technique, and generally agreed that this strategy served the novel well.

One member of the group then made an interesting connection to the exhibition Picasso and American Art, which we had toured earlier under the guidance of the amazingly enthusiastic Gary White (his passion for the art is surpassed only by his encyclopedic knowledge).

Our fellow reader likened Erdrich’s use of multiple narrative perspectives to Picasso’s cubist approach to multiple visual planes.

I’d never thought of that, and was once again humbled by the wide range of insights provided by the participants of our group. I realized that’s part of what makes viewing art and discussing literature as a group such an incredible social experience: you just never know what’s going to pop up next.

Speaking of popping up next, during August’s edition of The Artist’s Bookshelf we will read and discuss Kiran Desai’s Booker Prize-winning novel, The Inheritance of Loss.

I can hardly wait.

At last night’s meeting of The Artist’s Bookshelf, we tackled what many fans of Mr. Vonnegut consider to be his masterwork, Slaughterhouse-Five. We approached the novel as a contemporary “mythology” and focused most of our discussion on the author’s fragmented narrative technique, which seemed to parallel the subconscious journeys of the loveable but “alienated” protagonist Billy Pilgrim.

As always, the diversity of our group led to a wide range of opinions and observations. We encompassed at least three “war generations” (WWII, Vietnam, and Iraq), ranged in age from 18-85, and broke down into two distinct groups: those who had actually experienced encounters with UFO’s and the 4th dimension, and those who had not.

(For personal reasons, I will refrain from revealing my category.)

Some of us appreciated the dark humor and found portions of the book hilarious, others, not so much. We reached some consensus on the potency of Mr. Vonnegut’s anti-war message, and generally agreed that it had not diminished over time.

And in the end, we took some degree of comfort in the author’s cynical hopefulness, expressed so poignantly in the final chapter:

“If what Billy Pilgrim learned from the Tralfamadorians is true, that we all live forever, no matter how dead we may sometimes seem to be, I am not overjoyed. Still– if I am going to spend eternity visiting this moment and that, I’m grateful that so many of those moments are nice.”

– p.186, Slaughterhouse-Five

I’m at a loss for words trying to describe yesterday’s scavenger hunt. Fun and awesome are two words I could use. Certainly, Michael Gaughan’s scavenger hunts have been some of the most unique in the Twin Cities, and yesterday was no different.

As a participant, I took quite a few photos. And so did a lot of other people. So I uploaded my photos to my Flickr account and created a group with the Walker’s Flickr account. If you took photos and are a Flickr user, add yourself to WACTAC group, then add your photos to the pool. Rather than just creating a group specifically for this event, I’m making it a bit more extensible down the road.

If you’re not a Flickr user, just drop a note in the comments here and I’ll link your photos in this post.

Edit: Now with youtube goodness: