Arts & Entertainment

Big Mouth is a crude and honest view of teen life

By KANAK GUPTA
October 17, 2019

Big Mouth isn’t for everyone. This crude yet reflective comedy about middle-schoolers discovering their sexuality isn’t easy to digest, and, as the show cheekily admits in one of its episodes, it probably wouldn’t be able to get away with it if ...

PETER KUDLACZ/CC BY 2.0 Actor and comedian Nick Kroll helped co-create Neflix’s Big Mouth.

Fells Point celebrates spirited annual festival

By YOOSOO YEO | October 17, 2019

The annual Fells Point Fun Festival took place this past weekend from Oct. 12 to Oct. 13. It was my first year at the festival, but I don’t think it’ll be my last. Over 100 vendors and 17 bands filled up the waterfront in the historic area along Thames Street, including Caroline and Wolfe.

Artist Terry Thompson discusses exhibit

By KAYLEE ZOU | October 17, 2019

Terry Thompson’s exhibition Bianco e Nero premiered at the Y:ART Gallery in Highlandtown’s Art District on Sept. 14. On Saturday, Oct. 12, Thompson presented his personal story, talked about the works on display at his exhibition and discussed the overall trajectory of his career as an artist. 

COURTESY OF ELIZA ZIMMERMAN

BMA exhibit highlights black abstract artists

By ELIZA ZIMMERMAN | October 17, 2019

In the early afternoon haze and post-Sterling Brunch lethargy, I find myself leaning back against the darkness of a Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) side room. Before me rises Kevin Beasley’s immense installation Chair of the Ministers of Defense, a sculptural piece of resin-stiffened hoods made of various clothing materials looming over a single wicker chair. 

Acatoberfest a cappella concert features new faces

By EUNICE PARK | October 17, 2019

Fall has arrived, which means that the annual Acatoberfest is here. On Saturday night, multiple Hopkins a cappella groups gave a lively and stunning performance at the Bloomberg auditorium. Although it takes place every year, the support towards the a cappella groups and popularity of these special a cappella performances never fade away; the entire auditorium was packed. 

COURTESY OF EUNICE PARK

Joker magnifies issues of social stratification and mental health

By YOOSOO YEO | October 10, 2019

I had been talking with a friend who told me she was scared to watch the recently released DC Comics movie, Joker. While I assumed she was scared of the possibly gory and creepy contents of the film, I proceeded to ask her what exactly she found disturbing. Her response startled me.

Diana Ringo/CC BY-SA 4.0 Actor Joaquin Phoenix gives a compelling performance as the Joker in DC Comic’s new film.
COURTESY OF MARVIS GUTIERREZ AVAM’s new exhibit emphasized climate change’s need for advocacy.

American Visionary Art Museum exhibit foregrounds climate crisis

By MARVIS GUTIERREZ | October 10, 2019

Last weekend, the American Visionary Arts Museum (AVAM) premiered this year’s exhibit, “The Secret Life of Earth: Alive! Awake! (and Possibly Really Angry!)”. To those who do not know AVAM, the museum always highlights artists and work that go beyond the norm, using different and innovative mediums of art to reach the end goal of their exhibit: in this case, learning more about the earth in which we live and to love it more. AVAM did not fail to awe and surprise me with their most recent installation. 

Carroll Mansion hosts Poe funeral reenactment

  | October 10, 2019

This past weekend might have just been a normal weekend for you, but for many, it was “Death Weekend.” To commemorate the 170th anniversary of the mysterious death of acclaimed poet Edgar Allan Poe in Baltimore, the Carroll Mansion hosted a funeral reenactment on Saturday morning as a part of many other events hosted during the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards. 

COURTESY OF EUNICE PARK The “seeing room” at the Carroll mansion featured decorations and paintings of Edgar Allan Poe.

Inaugural film festival shows local animation

By BRANDT MATTHEWS | October 10, 2019

This weekend saw the inaugural Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival move into Station North in celebration of animated works of all kinds. Sweaty Eyeballs has taken many different forms since founder Phil Davis began the program in 2012 — fluctuating between annual and monthly screenings at Creative Alliance, the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), and its current home, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Parkway Theatre. 

KRISTIAN BJONARD/CC BY-SA 2.0 The Sweaty Eyeballs Festival has expanded into an international event.
COURTESY OF NICK XITCO  The Barnstormers presented five short plays over the weekend to welcome freshmen.

Barnstormers introduce new students in Freshman One Acts

By COLE DOUGLASS | October 10, 2019

This past weekend the Barnstormers hosted their Freshman One Acts, an annual performance featuring performances by members of the new class.The event — which was comprised of five short plays — put freshmen in the metaphorical and literal spotlight both on stage and behind the curtain and was a promising omen of great performances to come.

Peggy Gou releases break-out new music video

By KATY OH | October 4, 2019

 The first time I was introduced to the world of Peggy Gou was when my sister sent over a humorous Instagram clip of her at the Wilderness Festival at Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire, dressed in an iconic, yellow dress, skipping around in a circle while singing along to the 1995 hit “I Wish” by Skee-lo. Known for her quirky love for giraffes and her branded “Just Gou It” Nike t-shirts, Peggy is someone you cannot not love. Her recent music video for her EP’s A-side track, “Starry Night,” had been released this summer on Apple Music (I watched it through my sister’s phone via FaceTime), but this past week, it was finally published on more accessible platforms for the world to see. 

Jwslubbock/CC BY-SA 4.0

Abominable is cute, but boring and derivative

By YOOSOO YEO | October 4, 2019

From Crazy Rich Asians, the first rom-com to feature an all Asian cast in 25 years, to Farewell, a movie about a Chinese American woman’s trip to her mother country that swept nominations and awards, Hollywood is seeing an ever-increasing portrayal of stories and characters that resonate with Asian Americans. 

What survivor Chanel Miller’s memoir Know My Name means to me

By DIVA PAREKH | October 4, 2019

So I’ve been reading this book lately. It’s called Know My Name, and it’s written by Chanel Miller. Some of you might know who she is, might recognize her name from when she revealed it on Sept. 4. But most of you know who Brock Turner is. Chanel Miller is Emily Doe — she’s “the victim,” she’s the “unconscious woman” that Brock Turner sexually assaulted. And she wrote a book. And I haven’t been able to put it down.

COURTESY OF RUDY MALCOM Parekh ran out of sticky notes while marking her favorite parts of Chanel Miller’s book.

Lia Purpura reads selections from her new book of essays

By COLE DOUGLASS | October 3, 2019

As part of the ongoing “Writers LIVE” reading series, the Enoch Pratt Free Library hosted author Lia Purpura for a reading on Thursday, Sept. 26. Purpura — the writer-in-residence at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) — read excerpts from All the Fierce Tethers, her ninth book and fourth collection of essays.  

DanTD/ CC BY-SA 3.0