Arts & Entertainment

COURTESY OF NICK BOSWELL Dylan Kwang is a junior studying biomedical engineering and visual arts.

Artist Spotlight: Dylan Kwang, an artistic satirist

By JAE CHOI | December 6, 2019

From a young age, Hopkins junior, Dylan Kwang has immersed himself in the arts. Having taken painting and illustration classes all throughout elementary, middle and high school, art is something that has always been an influence in his life. 

For a history on etching, visit the Met in New York

By BINYAMIN NOVETSKY | December 5, 2019

Over Thanksgiving break, I had the privilege of visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Unfortunately, their collection of European painting from the years 1200-1800 are mostly not on display due to ongoing renovations. There was, however, a new and different exhibit I had the opportunity to see, and it was absolutely fascinating. 

Freer Gallery honors Hokusai’s enduring artistry

By KAYLEE ZOU | December 4, 2019

Located in the heart of the National Mall is the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the two galleries are adjacent and attached to one another, forming a joint museum that focuses on Asian art. Currently on display at the Freer Gallery for the next year is the exhibit “Hokusai: Mad about Painting,” which I went to view over this Thanksgiving break. 

The Broad revisits the work of Shirin Neshat

By ELIZA ZIMMERMAN | December 4, 2019

I first became familiar with Shirin Neshat during my senior year of high school. Her piece “Rebellious Silence,” a black and white photograph of a woman’s face bisected by a gun barrel and written over with Farsi poetry from her “Women of Allah” series, was a standout work in the Global Contemporary section of the AP Art History exam’s 250 works. 

Manfred Werner/CC By-S.A 3.0 Shirin Neshat is an artist who explores themes relating to womanhood.
Frank Schwichtenberg/CC BY-S.A 4.0 Coldplay’s decision to not promote their new album on tour was a surprise.

Coldplay’s new album takes a political stance

By SEAN GLAISTER | December 4, 2019

We’ve all grown up with Coldplay. From their saddest songs like “The Scientist” or “Yellow,” to their jubilant hit, “Hymn For the Weekend,” their artistic and instrumental style of music has an almost universal appeal. Not to mention that from their seven studio albums released between 2000 and 2017, they’ve managed to rack up 29 Grammy nominations and six wins.

Knives Out is a fresh and riveting murder mystery

By COLE DOUGLASS | December 4, 2019

I’ll just start off this review by saying that there was very little possibility that I was not going to enjoy Knives Out. I’ve been in love with the murder mysteries ever since I stayed up all night reading Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None in sixth grade, so a film based around the key motifs of her style — an eccentric detective, an ornate mansion, a web of lies and an overly-complicated murder plot — was almost certainly going to be a hit in my eyes.

Gage Skidmore/CC By-S.A-2.0 Jamie Lee Curtis plays successful businesswoman who protects her family.
The Come Up Show/CC By-S.A-2.0 Drake was boo’ed off stage at Tyler, The Creator’s Camp Flog Naw festival by Frank Ocean fans.

Fandoms can be like family. They can also be toxic.

By BRANDT MATTHEWS | December 4, 2019

Thanksgiving Day was marked by a rare occurrence this year — a Lil Uzi Vert tweet storm. Addressing his long delayed sophomore album Eternal Atake, Uzi began: “I wanna let My Family know… and I say Family because all the fans left a long time ago. Only Family Stays so if you stayed I’m Thankful for U.” 

His Dark Materials TV adaptation starts off strong

By ELIZA ZIMMERMAN | November 20, 2019

If you’re like me, vague memories of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass and its cinematic iteration wove themselves intermittently throughout your childhood. Although they were less beloved than Harry Potter, less modern than Percy Jackson & the Olympians and less classic than The Chronicles of Narnia, they are perhaps the most timeless and successfully constructed stories of them all (although the 2007 movie adaptation garnered a fair amount of criticism). 

GAGE SKIDMORE/CC BY-S.A 2.0 Lin-Manuel Miranda plays Lee Scoresby in the newly released adaptation.
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New Disney+ service offers impressive collection

By SEAN GLAISTER | November 25, 2019

Disney was a big part of my childhood. And over time, after releasing sequels to my favorite movies and acquiring film production companies such as Pixar in 2006 and Lucasfilms in 2012, Disney managed to become an even bigger part of my childhood. But building up to the Nov. 12 release of Disney+, a new streaming service for Disney-owned content, I wasn’t that excited.

Jazz legends visit and perform at Peabody

By EUNICE PARK | December 4, 2019

This past weekend, in conjunction with the two-day jazz symposium at Hopkins, An Die Musik LIVE! presented two jazz luminaries on Saturday night who were pivotal to the free jazz scene in France at the turn of the 1970s.

COURTESY OF KATY OH Dave Burrell opened with an incredible sequence of his original pieces. 
COURTESY OF COLE DOUGLASS Students from many diverse communities performed at the Culture Show.

32nd Annual Culture Show showcases student talent

By COLE DOUGLASS | November 21, 2019

The Office of Multicultural Affairs hosted the 32nd Annual Culture Show on Friday, Nov. 15. The event featured performances by 14 student groups — from the Gospel Choir’s heavenly harmonies to the Ladybirds’ sharp, graceful dance routines — all of which were centered around the event’s themes of resilience and strength, succinctly summarized by the event’s tag line: “We Rise.” 

Historical figures in avant-garde jazz reunite at symposium

By KAYLEE ZOU | November 21, 2019

The University held a free two-day symposium, “Paris/Algiers 1969: Declarations of Freedom by the Black American Avant-Garde,” on Friday, Nov. 15 and Saturday, Nov. 16. The Centre Louis Marin for Interdisciplinary French Studies organized the event with the support of the French Embassy in the United States, and the symposium director was none other than Hopkins Professor and Chair of German and Romance Languages and Literatures, Professor Derek Schilling. 

COURTESY OF PROFESSOR SCHILLING  Legendary avant-garde saxophonist Archie Shepp attended the symposium.
COURTESY OF KANAK GUPTA DIETANIUM emerged victorious against defending champion Stormsketch.

Artists rumble at Super Art Fight 2019

By KANAK GUPTA | November 21, 2019

As the crowd chanted “Taco Bell! Taco Bell!” five minutes into “Super Art Fight: Thanksgiving Thrashing,” I knew this night was going to be wild. This Thanksgiving edition of the strange collision between wrestling and live art, or “the greatest live art competition in the known universe,” as it calls itself, took place at Ottobar on Friday, Nov. 15. 

Not a Film Fest sparks conversations on resistance

By KAYLEE ZOU | November 14, 2019

This past Sunday, Nov. 10, “Not a Film Fest: Anticolonial Conversations in Baltimore” wrapped up with its third and final day. Baltimore-Palestine Solidarity (BPS) presented the event, which began on Oct. 20 at the Baltimore American Indian Center and continued its second day on Oct. 27 at the 2640 Space before concluding this Sunday at the Creative Alliance in Patterson Park. 

COURTESY OF DANYA QATO The final event opened with a performance from the band Conjunto Bruja.
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FKA twigs’ sophomore album Magdalene defies genre

By YOOSOO YEO | November 15, 2019

I find myself listening to music all the time, whether it’s while working out or just sitting on my bed, but once I get hooked on one song, I will continuously play it on loop until someone begs me to stop humming the earworm-triggering tune. 

King Princess delivers intimate performance in D.C.

By ELIZA ZIMMERMAN | November 13, 2019

Before coming to Hopkins, I had already started laying out extravagant plans for concert-viewing in D.C. The fall lineup is always ripe, no matter what part of the country you’re in, and I even had an app that scanned my Spotify music library to track who was passing through and where they were playing. 

COURTESY OF ELIZA ZIMMERMAN King Princess’ intimate show at the 9:30 Club in D.C. featured inventive makeup, props and sets.
COURTESY OF EUNICE PARK  Sarah Aroeste performed in Ladino, the language of the Sephardim.

Multimedia performance honors Sephardic Jews

By EUNICE PARK | December 4, 2019

Present day commemorations, whether in the form of service, art or expression, are irreplaceable markers of historical narratives that must not be forgotten. The Greek Chamber Music Project (GCMP), is an arts presenter and record label devoted to performing the eccentric music of Greek composers. On Tuesday, Nov. 5, GCMP presented an emotionally-charged and impactful program at the Peabody Institute in memory of the Holocaust, called Remembering the Jews of Greece: A Musical Journey.