5. Elvis Costello as Artist in Residence
“In 2001, he found himself with a residency at UCLA, where he
performed several concerts and was instrumental in teaching music
during the year””“ so says All Music Guide. If we change
“2001” to “2001-2002,”
“several” to “two,” and
“instrumental” to “less instrumental to UCLA than
Alvin and the Chipmunks,” then sure.
4. Campus Events rock concerts
Despite being able to get hip-hop artists like Blackalicious and
up-and-coming soul man Cody Chestnutt, it seems Westwood Plaza is
destined to never get a great rock show. But, maybe not. With some
intriguing smaller bands playing at the Coop and a newly acquired
bigger budget from the student fee hike, maybe they can get some
acts better than Phantom Planet and The Ataris in 2003.
3. The multitude of Honore Daumier exhibits at the
Hammer
Honore who? Exactly. While many learned academicians may know who
this 19th-century French artist-activist is, many do not, or just
couldn’t give a flying fromage. The pencil drawings and
lithographs of political cartoons and various drawings might be
more interesting if the explainers offered more insight into the
history behind these obscure political references, but even so, it
would still be a far cry from exciting. The real problem is the
UCLA Hammer Museum keeps packaging and repackaging this same boring
part of its permanent collection into “new” exhibits.
Summer-fall 2002’s “Bon Anniversaire, Victor
Hugo,” was just the same drab Honore Daumier drawings that
had very little to do with Hugo at all ““ some birthday
party.
2. Lack of student interest
Free movies are screened in Melnitz Hall and Ackerman Union, but
you don’t go. Great shows are put on in Royce Hall, but you
stay in your dorm. You can join groups that dance, act, sing and
organize, but that requires energy better spent on The Sims.
Right?
1. Number of student tickets released
For a program continuously evolving toward the progressive and
cutting edge, Performing Arts’ mentality toward student
involvement is trailing far behind. The rock-bottom prices look
fantastic on paper, but in reality the system is more exclusionary
than it appears, making the program’s evolution rather
paradoxical. If getting more students into events means raising
student ticket prices, then so be it. Maybe then we won’t see
so many empty seats in the balconies of Royce, sold at
“non-student” prices but potentially filled by kids
willing to spare a few more dollars.