Latest / Pop of Culture / S03 E09 - We Survive the Wintering

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S03 E09 - We Survive the Wintering · Pop of Culture

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  - This week on "Pop of Culture."
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  How a German illustrator illustrated her reckoning
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  with the atrocities of World War II.
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  - We'll also speak to a poet
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  who turned Captain William Clark's journal entries
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  into a book of poems
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  and trace Lewis and Clark's 8,000-mile journey himself.
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  - And the Academy Awards are next weekend.
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  We get ready with a local expert.
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  - What is this thing?
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  This tiny little organization like,
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  is giving out trophies.
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  - From IPR, this is "Pop of Culture."
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  I'm Michelle Kinsey.
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  - And I'm Jen Blackmer.
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  Our first guest today traveled
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  over 8,000 miles to bring us his work.
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  - Well, kind of.
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  He traced the actual journey
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  that Meriwether Lewis and William Clark took
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  to explore the new western part of the United States
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  at the start of the 18th century.
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  He used that experience and the journals of Captain Clark
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  to write a new book of poetry.
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  - And I'm happy to be here today with writer Mark Hamilton.
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  And Mark has a new book.
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  His book is entitled "1803: The Wintering."
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  And, Mark,
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  we're so happy you can join us here on "Pop of Culture."
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  - Well, thank you.
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  I'm happy to be here.
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  - Amazing.
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  So tell us a little bit about your book.
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  What is your elevator pitch?
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  So if somebody comes up and says, "What is your book about?"
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  What do you tell them?
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  - Yeah.
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  "1803: The Wintering" is a history-based volume
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  of traditional verse.
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  It's based upon the winter journals
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  of Captain William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
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  while the expedition was at Camp Dubois
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  during the winter of 1803.
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  I wrote it as a people's history
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  with the common man perspective in mind
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  to try to connect these historical documents
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  with the personal sensibility.
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  And poetry was probably the only real choice
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  that I had to express these emotions
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  that often accompany historical studies,
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  but often are never communicated.
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  - Absolutely. - So.
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  - Absolutely.
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  And, you know, poetry being,
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  of course, a very personal art form.
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  Well, the book,
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  it's a reminder of the harsh conditions
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  and the journey that Lewis and Clark took.
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  Why interpret this for us?
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  I mean, this is a story we hear in history class, right?
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  So why did you feel
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  that this particular journey was a good source
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  for this kind of work?
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  - To me, it offered a really fine opportunity
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  to explore the transitional intersects that this experience,
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  for the expedition members, represented.
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  Early American values.
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  Native American lands.
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  The high contrast between the environment of then and now.
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  All this seemed to coalesce into a milieu
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  that I could enter into and possibly communicate
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  as kind of a mirror to our current moment
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  as I explored our national identity
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  that was basically represented
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  by these post-revolutionary sons and daughters
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  of the revolution.
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  And it was an enactment of our early thoughts on democracy
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  and how a society should come together.
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  And I surprised myself many times in what I discovered.
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  - Yeah.
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  - Resulting in poems that were beyond my expectation.
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  - So it was almost as though you were journeying
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  into the minds and the emotional states
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  of the folks who are on this journey, right?
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  I love that notion, Mark,
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  of using poetry to communicate across time.
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  And your book is divided into three parts,
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  with the last part being an anon narrator.
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  I'm assuming an anonymous narrator, right?
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  Yeah, a member of the Lewis and Clark crew.
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  Why did you choose to do this?
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  - I thought that,
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  after having worked through the journals themselves,
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  page by page, line by line,
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  as I adapted Captain Clark's journal entries into poetry,
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  that it allowed me a certain sense of reality
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  within the relational exchange of the expedition members
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  that could be expressed somewhat
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  from the inside of those historical documents.
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  And so I allowed myself a little bit
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  of a imaginative stance-
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  - Yeah.
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  - To become momentarily involved
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  in the events of the moment
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  within those historical documents.
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  And the voice that came from that is that anon narrator.
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  And it was a working man.
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  Blue collar.
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  Somewhat sensitive to events.
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  Somewhat interested in observing humanity
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  as the story unfolded there at the Camp Dubois.
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  - Yeah, yeah.
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  One of the things that struck me, Mark,
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  as you were speaking about the work,
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  was this intersection of the past moments
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  of this journey and our present situation.
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  Politically, of course, in,
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  you know, building a new nation.
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  But then also environmentally.
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  Because there's something really marvelous
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  when you think about this journey
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  through this pristine wilderness
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  and how we don't have much of that anymore.
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  - Right.
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  It's always been part of my literary life
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  to study texts as a comparative.
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  And so my training in literature helped me,
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  I think, to kind of transcend the high contrast
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  of 200, 225 years ago and the present moment.
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  What also helped me to do this was
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  that I did trace their entire route
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  on their approximate timetable,
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  traveling as they did by paddle and pack mule.
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  - That's incredible. (laughs)
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  That's really incredible, Mark.
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  - It allowed me, I think,
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  to perceive the journey from the water surface level,
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  as it was mostly voyage on our rivers.
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  So when I look at the journals,
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  and realize that there are vast amounts
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  of wildlife that have disappeared,
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  and realize that even myself
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  could not probably sustain myself
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  with food on this journey,
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  and realize that, at that point in time,
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  1803, 1806,
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  that these 45 or 48 men and women sustain themselves
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  with hunting every day.
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  Eating, sometimes, eight pounds of meat per person.
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  - Wow. (laughs) - Per day.
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  There's a huge lack of wildlife at this point.
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  That's a difficult thing to come to terms with at times.
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  - Absolutely.
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  Yeah, and the fact that, you know,
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  they lived with the land
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  while they were moving through it is really not a mindset
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  that we find too often nowadays, right?
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  - Yes.
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  Yes, we've moved a long ways away from that.
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  - We really have.
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  And how long did that take you, Mark, to do that journey?
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  It's what?
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  8,000 miles?
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  Is that correct?
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  - If you count the river miles
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  on the Ohio from Pittsburgh, yes.
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  About 8,000 miles from Pittsburgh
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  to the Pacific and then back to St. Louis.
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  And it took about three years.
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  - Wow.
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  So this idea that you mentioned earlier
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  about putting yourself into the mind, and the heart,
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  and the thoughts of one of the anonymous men on the journey.
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  I mean, you had that experience already.
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  So you were able to really, I think,
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  transition that boundary a little more easily
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  than anybody else because you were able
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  to bring that into your work.
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  - I think that's somewhat true. Yes.
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  I also think it gave me a little bit
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  of a permission to make some assumptions
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  or perceive something within those documents
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  that I felt was appropriate
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  that might not have been specified exactly.
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  And so I was able to, again,
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  exercise a little bit of latitude
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  without feeling as if I was fictionalizing.
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  - Of course.
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  Of course.
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  What do you hope readers take away from this book?
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  - Well, I really hope they can turn
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  to the journals themselves
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  with a little bit more freedom of sensibility.
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  A lot of times, I think when we read history work,
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  we're setting ourselves apart from it
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  when, actually, history is all around us all the time.
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  And it's coming towards us.
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  And it's drifting silently away.
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  And if we can perceive these historical artifacts
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  in text with a little bit more personal sensibility,
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  I think we can empathize a lot further.
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  And we can possibly perceive a bit more understanding
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  from the events of the past.
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  And that, of course, mirrors our present moment.
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  - Absolutely. - And we're better off for it.
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  - Absolutely.
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  Absolutely. That's beautiful.
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  The notion of history coming towards us, right?
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  It is very much a present experience of time.
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  Mark, what a pleasure it's been to talk with you today.
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  Could you tell us the selection
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  you're gonna close us out with?
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  - I'd like to read a sonnet titled "Hunters."
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  The magic, myth, and mystery are fine.
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  A hunter stays in tune with what is near.
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  The scented space that holds a quiet pine
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  can turn the slightest breeze to tempt a bear.
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  Our heightened senses embrace the soul.
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  The mind is freed by nature's tenderness.
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  As hunters, we enact,
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  but do not control the strength of will
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  that determines success.
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  To snare a rabbit, or track and spot the buck
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  in sheltered apple, oak,
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  or stream they frequent is knowledge gained from them.
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  Not ego or luck.
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  The worthiness is patience mixed with scent.
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  Our palate tastes.
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  Our ears compare.
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  We feel the birthing heart
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  when Earth is made real.
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  - Mark B. Hamilton taught writing, literature,
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  and editing at Ball State University
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  and Missouri Western State University for 20 years,
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  among other experiences,
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  such as tracing Lewis and Clark's journey.
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  His book, "1803: The Wintering" is out
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  from Finishing Line Press.
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  (upbeat music)
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  - It's award season.
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  The Academy Awards are next Sunday, March 8th.
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  Now, sometimes, hundreds of celebrities getting dressed up
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  to pat themselves on the back in Hollywood can feel,
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  I don't know, disconnected from the Midwest.
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  So we asked award season researcher
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  and Professor Monica Sandler
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  to tell us why the Oscars matter.
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  She also brought some Hoosier connections
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  to keep an eye out for on the broadcast.
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  - She spoke with producer Andrew Montavon.
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  - Can you start by describing what Oscars night looks
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  for those who may be unfamiliar
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  or may have never watched the program?
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  - Yeah, so Oscar night
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  is sort of Hollywood's biggest night.
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  And, I mean, there are a lot of award shows between,
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  I guess, since the beginning of the year.
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  They're kind of a constant stream.
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  But the Oscars are like the grand capital of movies.
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  But they're also sort of the culmination
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  and the end of all
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  of the different awards going on every year.
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  But they're put on
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  by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
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  It's sort of this honorary organization,
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  which is itself kind of weird as like a thing.
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  So it's like, the best of the best
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  in Hollywood choosing the best of the best,
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  at least in theory.
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  Though there are, of course,
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  lots of disagreements about
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  whether or not that is actually what happens.
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  But, in theory, that is what Oscar night is all about.
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  - Some listeners may not be movie buffs
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  or might not even plan to watch.
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  But I hear that you might be.
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  Or you are looking into like,
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  local Hoosier connections
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  at the film awards this year.
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  What have you found?
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  - Well, I think one
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  of the really big things to keep in mind,
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  and this also has a Ball State connection,
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  is just how big the Heartland Film Festival is
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  in terms of like,
• 16:31
  the films that played at Heartland Film Festival.
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  You have a number of like, best picture contenders.
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  Like, sentimental value.
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  Foreign language film contenders.
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  It was just an accident.
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  So you've had a really big range of films
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  that are premiered there.
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  And, also, especially if you look at the short subjects,
• 16:46
  the Indie Shorts Festival,
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  where, also, our Radiance Cinema films
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  from Ball State premiered,
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  they heavily feed into the short subjects categories.
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  So a lot of really big Oscar connections
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  that emerge from that.
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  And, I think, you know,
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  really cool connections to Ball State itself.
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  Chase Infiniti, who's from Indianapolis,
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  has been nominated at a lot of the award shows.
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  But she got snubbed in best actress.
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  She's in "One Battle After Another."
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  She's nominated for the SAG award,
• 17:13
  a number of other awards,
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  but that is still a front-runner for best picture.
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  So we'll give her her love here. (laughs)
• 17:20
  - Yeah.
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  And, like you just said, incredible films.
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  "Sinners," like we just mentioned.
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  "One Battle After Another."
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  In the category, who do you think will take home
• 17:29
  that coveted Best Picture Award this year?
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  - So the competition really feels like a race
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  between two films,
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  which is "One Battle After Another."
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  It should be said, in that context,
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  like Paul Thomas Anderson,
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  he has been nominated for so many films.
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  Like "Magnolia," "There Will Be Blood."
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  So many. He has never won an Oscar.
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  Like, that is crazy. - That is crazy.
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  - So it's him, which is a very serious contender.
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  A massively overdue individual.
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  And then the other big front-runner is "Sinners,"
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  which received 16 nominations that like,
• 17:59
  shattered the record that existed for the most nominations.
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  So you have these two kind of really massive films.
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  They're both released by Warner Brothers, interestingly,
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  that are kind of head-to-head.
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  And it really is anyone's game right now.
• 18:11
  - Yeah, I mean, I'm baffled at the fact
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  that Paul Thomas Anderson doesn't have any awards
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  from the Oscars.
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  Like, it's so well deserved for all of these nominations.
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  I mean, as well as "Sinners."
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  Like, both incredible films.
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  I'm excited to see how the Academy picks.
• 18:29
  Do you have any thoughts on the other films
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  that are nominated for that category?
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  Like "Hamnet" or "Marty Supreme."
• 18:34
  - Yeah, I mean, certainly, the films like "Hamnet"
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  and "Marty Supreme" are really big contenders
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  in the acting categories.
• 18:41
  "Marty Supreme" with Timothy Chalamet.
• 18:43
  He is working like, overdrive in terms of going to things.
• 18:47
  Being heavily, heavily publicized for best actor.
• 18:51
  He, of course, was nominated last year
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  and was a major contender, but lost.
• 18:54
  And then "Hamnet", additionally, in the actress category,
• 18:57
  Jessie Buckley seems like she's,
• 19:00
  I wouldn't say the,
• 19:01
  she's a very, very heavy favorite for that category.
• 19:04
  And I think this is like,
• 19:06
  about to be her breakout year just in general
• 19:08
  'cause she has something like,
• 19:10
  called "The Bride!" coming out soon.
• 19:12
  It looks absolutely bonkers.
• 19:13
  So she's like, she might win an Oscar
• 19:15
  and then just do something completely off the wall.
• 19:16
  And I'm pumped for that.
• 19:18
  - I'm here for it. (laughs) - Yeah.
• 19:19
  - Were there any surprises or snubs
• 19:21
  in any category this year?
• 19:23
  Films that you think deserved a nomination.
• 19:25
  - Well, certainly,
• 19:26
  if we're talking about "Hamnet,"
• 19:27
  Paul Mescal in a best supporting actor,
• 19:31
  who was, you know,
• 19:31
  a heavy compliment to Jessie Buckley in the film,
• 19:33
  was snubbed in that particular category.
• 19:37
  That was definitely a surprise.
• 19:38
  Some of the debate about that has been,
• 19:41
  you know, awards campaigns are really heavily,
• 19:43
  like, they're campaigns.
• 19:44
  You go out and you go to events.
• 19:46
  He's been filming the like, "Beatles."
• 19:48
  Four part movie.
• 19:49
  Essentially, he dropped out of campaigning,
• 19:51
  and going to events,
• 19:53
  and introducing himself to voters,
• 19:54
  and attending Q&As,
• 19:56
  and doing the press circuit.
• 19:57
  And, suddenly, he doesn't get the nomination,
• 19:59
  despite being, you know,
• 20:00
  a really a driving force in a movie
• 20:03
  that's really about two people in it overall.
• 20:05
  But I think that also showcases what I was kind of saying
• 20:07
  about how the campaigns are working,
• 20:09
  is that, like, this is an an example of like,
• 20:11
  we can't know for sure why something gets snubbed.
• 20:13
  But it is one of those, like, there is a correlation
• 20:16
  between him not necessarily be pushing the way
• 20:18
  that everybody else is.
• 20:19
  - Do you yourself have any Oscar night traditions?
• 20:22
  Like prediction list.
• 20:23
  Do you have any watch parties or anything?
• 20:26
  - Well, when I was younger,
• 20:27
  like, back at home,
• 20:28
  I used to, we had like, an Oscar pool.
• 20:33
  This was when I was a kid.
• 20:34
  I was forbidden from participating in it
• 20:35
  and sort of ended it because I just kept winning.
• 20:37
  And I apparently was a very smug winner.
• 20:40
  So, in that respect, not so much.
• 20:44
  But, currently, usually, on Oscar night,
• 20:48
  it's just sort of a big kind of viewing experience
• 20:51
  with family and friends.
• 20:52
  Have some type of party.
• 20:54
  I've done occasions in the past where I've had like,
• 20:56
  puns for different types of like, themes.
• 21:00
  Food-themed puns and things like that.
• 21:01
  Some of them with varying degrees of terribleness.
• 21:05
  But, yes, we do that. (laughs)
• 21:07
  - You being banned from making predictions
• 21:09
  and competing with who's gonna win has really proven
• 21:13
  that you clearly know a lot about award season.
• 21:16
  You obviously wrote your book,
• 21:17
  "The Oscar Industry: Creative Labor, Cultural Production,
• 21:20
  and the Awards System in Media Industry."
• 21:23
  How did that come about?
• 21:24
  Like, what was the process
• 21:25
  of researching and writing that project?
• 21:27
  - Yeah, so if you told me in high school,
• 21:30
  someday, you're gonna write a book,
• 21:31
  I know I would've said the Academy Awards.
• 21:33
  'Cause as I kind of just indicated,
• 21:34
  I've been weirdly into them for as long as I can remember.
• 21:38
  I also had, pretty early on,
• 21:39
  like, realized that it wasn't necessarily the films
• 21:41
  that I thought were the best that won,
• 21:43
  but that there was a lot of campaigning going on,
• 21:45
  and that I could study the campaigns,
• 21:47
  and predicting awards, and do really, really well.
• 21:49
  Like, in terms of predicting.
• 21:51
  It comes from a lifelong fascination.
• 21:53
  But this was really the crux of my doctoral research.
• 21:56
  So when I did my PhD in the Los Angeles area,
• 22:00
  I sort of researched at the Academy Archives,
• 22:02
  and just developed the project from there,
• 22:04
  looking at thousands of internal files
• 22:06
  from the Margaret Herrick Library
• 22:08
  that's in the general area that's tied to the academy.
• 22:10
  So it came from that and lifelong fascination.
• 22:15
  - You said you realized in high school
• 22:17
  that you were analyzing the awards more than just like,
• 22:20
  which you like the best.
• 22:21
  What was like, that first moment that you realized like,
• 22:24
  you had this interest in film and interest in award season?
• 22:28
  - So I have a very distinct memory getting
• 22:31
  into a very heated argument
• 22:33
  with my grandmother in a grocery store where I,
• 22:37
  'cause I really loved "Lord of the Rings."
• 22:39
  It was like,
• 22:39
  seeing "The Fellowship of the Ring" was like,
• 22:42
  the best thing I'd ever seen in my entire life.
• 22:44
  So I naturally wanted to see if it was going
• 22:46
  to win all the Oscars that it was nominated for.
• 22:47
  And all of the statistics were like,
• 22:49
  no, it's not going to.
• 22:50
  So I remember getting into a heated argument
• 22:51
  with my grandmother about
• 22:52
  why "A Beautiful Mind" was going
• 22:53
  to win Best Picture, which it did.
• 22:55
  And her being like, "You haven't seen that film."
• 22:58
  Like, "What are you even talking about right now?"
• 23:00
  And I'd be like, no.
• 23:01
  But all of these things indicate.
• 23:05
  So that definitely was a starting point,
• 23:07
  I think, for both of those things. (laughs)
• 23:09
  - Yeah, totally. (laughs)
• 23:11
  Considering all that we've discussed so far,
• 23:13
  if there's anyone listening
• 23:15
  who still needs a reason to watch,
• 23:17
  what do you say to them?
• 23:18
  - The Oscars.
• 23:19
  I mean, they're a time honored tradition.
• 23:22
  But they're a giant spectacle.
• 23:24
  There are a lot of over-the-top things
• 23:25
  that happen on a regular basis.
• 23:26
  And I think they're also really fun communal viewing.
• 23:29
  Like I said, I watch with groups of people.
• 23:32
  So it's a party environment.
• 23:34
  And it's about making it a fun experience. (laughs)
• 23:37
  - You mentioned how it's like,
• 23:38
  glamorous and a coveted time in Hollywood.
• 23:42
  Has it always been like that?
• 23:43
  Has it always been such a big night?
• 23:45
  Such a crazy things can happen type of night.
• 23:50
  - Like, the early Oscars were a banquet format.
• 23:52
  And like, the first event,
• 23:53
  they had to like, push people really hard to get to show up.
• 23:56
  Because they were just like, what is this thing?
• 23:57
  This tiny little organization like, is giving out trophies.
• 23:59
  It's like, fine.
• 24:01
  But, pretty quickly, they started to like,
• 24:03
  they became kind of the hottest party of the year
• 24:05
  in town in the '30s.
• 24:07
  But they really evolved.
• 24:08
  Particularly, in the war period,
• 24:11
  they start doing a full radio broadcast.
• 24:13
  And it's kind of like a USO vibe,
• 24:14
  which is why you have like,
• 24:15
  the performances that you think about at award shows.
• 24:18
  And then that moves it into an auditorium.
• 24:20
  And it sort of becomes this big public spectacle.
• 24:22
  From a private banquet to television, which started in 1953.
• 24:27
  And then Hollywood's biggest night.
• 24:29
  (Andrew laughing)
• 24:30
  I did jazz hands.
• 24:31
  (Andrew and Monica laughing)
• 24:32
  - The jazz hands have to be included.
• 24:33
  - You have to reference that. Yeah.
• 24:35
  - Monica Sandler,
• 24:36
  thank you for letting me nerd out about film with you.
• 24:38
  Thank you for joining us here on "Pop of Culture."
• 24:41
  - It's been a blast. - I'm Andrew Montavon.
• 24:42
  (upbeat jazz music)
• 24:49
  - Nora Krug is a German American author and illustrator.
• 24:52
  An exhibition,
• 24:53
  now open at the David Owsley Museum of Art,
• 24:56
  explores two of her works.
• 24:58
  - I made my way down the street to DOMA to learn more.
• 25:03
  We are sitting at a large wooden table
• 25:06
  in one of the galleries
• 25:08
  at the David Owsley Museum of Art
• 25:10
  on the Ball State University campus.
• 25:12
  And sitting next to me is Robert La France.
• 25:15
  And he is the museum director here.
• 25:18
  And we are here at this table,
• 25:20
  surrounded by books that Bob's gonna tell us more about.
• 25:25
  Bob, tell us about this exhibit
• 25:27
  that we are now sitting in the middle of.
• 25:30
  - Great. I'm happy to.
• 25:32
  The show is called "Nora Krug: Belonging."
• 25:35
  And it runs from February 19th until June 13th, 2026.
• 25:41
  What you're seeing here
• 25:41
  on the table are many of Nora Krug's publications.
• 25:45
  Now, Nora is a contemporary German American artist
• 25:49
  and illustrator.
• 25:50
  Lives and works in New York.
• 25:51
  She's teaching in New York right now.
• 25:53
  And we're very fortunate
• 25:54
  to have this exhibition of her work here on campus.
• 25:58
  - And this is,
• 25:59
  I mean, and correct me if I'm wrong,
• 26:01
  but I know that it's been a little while at least
• 26:04
  since I've seen an exhibit like this one.
• 26:08
  An exhibition like this one at DOMA.
• 26:11
  - Well, actually, it's a fairly new thing for us.
• 26:13
  One of the main points I want people to take away
• 26:15
  from this is it's the real celebration of illustration.
• 26:18
  The art of illustration.
• 26:20
  - So talk a little bit about Nora Krug
• 26:22
  and why she is a little different when it comes to,
• 26:28
  most people would call some of these things,
• 26:29
  "Belonging," her most popular one,
• 26:33
  graphic novels.
• 26:34
  But it's another level, isn't it?
• 26:36
  And you referred to it as a graphic memoir.
• 26:39
  - A graphic memoir.
• 26:40
  This is a book
• 26:41
  in which Nora explores her family and her heritage.
• 26:45
  It's called "Belonging."
• 26:46
  Actually, the German title is "Heimat."
• 26:48
  And Heimat's one of those wonderful German words.
• 26:51
  It doesn't exactly translate into English.
• 26:53
  But many people translate it simply as homeland.
• 26:57
  But, as Nora does, she calls it belonging.
• 27:00
  Because Heimat is really
• 27:02
  that sense of where you come from.
• 27:04
  Maybe culturally.
• 27:05
  Not just physically.
• 27:07
  Or where you feel that you belong.
• 27:09
  And so that's where she got the title from.
• 27:11
  - Okay.
• 27:12
  Well, we've got a lot to see.
• 27:14
  So let's get started.
• 27:15
  - Okay.
• 27:18
  So we began on this level
• 27:19
  with an explanation of "Belonging," the book,
• 27:22
  and what it's about.
• 27:23
  The main themes that go out through the book.
• 27:25
  The beginning of the book starts with a interaction
• 27:28
  between Nora and an older woman she finds
• 27:31
  on a rooftop in New York City.
• 27:33
  And she finds out
• 27:34
  that this older woman was a concentration camp survivor
• 27:37
  and has spotted Nora as a German.
• 27:40
  - Yeah.
• 27:40
  - And this is a kind of guilt that Nora carries with her.
• 27:43
  Even though she had nothing to do with the war,
• 27:45
  she was born decades after the war was over,
• 27:48
  she still carries that with her.
• 27:49
  And she decides to explore that part
• 27:51
  of her German heritage throughout the book, "Belonging."
• 27:54
  - That's a life changing moment.
• 27:56
  - It is.
• 27:57
  - On a rooftop with a stranger.
• 27:58
  - Yeah. - Yeah, that's fine.
• 27:59
  - There's some other images here.
• 28:01
  Another case where Nora,
• 28:03
  as a young woman, traveled to Japan.
• 28:05
  She meets some people there.
• 28:07
  Some Japanese people.
• 28:08
  They say, "Where are you from?"
• 28:09
  When she says Germany, look how they respond.
• 28:12
  - Oh my God.
• 28:12
  - They immediately said, "Heil Hitler."
• 28:15
  And they connect her with World War II.
• 28:16
  - Oh my goodness.
• 28:17
  - Again, she was born in the 1970s.
• 28:19
  She has nothing to do with the war.
• 28:21
  Yet, she carries this with her.
• 28:23
  - Oh, yeah.
• 28:24
  It literally says,
• 28:25
  "Whenever I traveled abroad, her guilt traveled with her."
• 28:31
  - Yeah, powerful. - Oh, yes.
• 28:34
  - But one of the most powerful things is this set
• 28:37
  of photographs
• 28:39
  in which Nora placed photographs that she had taken
• 28:42
  as a young lady touring a Nazi concentration camp
• 28:45
  with her schoolmates as a teenager.
• 28:47
  And she has these photographs here
• 28:50
  of some of her schoolmates after the tour.
• 28:52
  And you can just see the anguish on their faces
• 28:55
  after learning what happened there.
• 28:56
  - Yeah, just devastated.
• 28:57
  Yeah.
• 28:58
  - And yet, she juxtaposed those
• 28:59
  or compared them with photographs
• 29:01
  that Nora bought at flea markets of Nazi soldiers,
• 29:04
  many of whom could have worked in those concentration camps.
• 29:07
  Here, playing with their pets as if they had normal lives.
• 29:10
  - Yes.
• 29:11
  - And those atrocities are just swept under the rug.
• 29:14
  - Yeah.
• 29:15
  - So it's a strange juxtaposition-
• 29:16
  - It really is. - Between the atrocities
• 29:18
  of the war and then the way
• 29:19
  that these soldiers are acting in these photographs.
• 29:22
  - Yeah, there are photos of them petting dogs.
• 29:26
  Holding, looks to be lambs.
• 29:29
  I mean, just these very joyful photos.
• 29:33
  In their uniforms, might I add.
• 29:35
  - In their uniforms. - But it's just, woo.
• 29:37
  Oh, the contrast. - Yeah.
• 29:41
  The other half of the room over here,
• 29:43
  including one of these cases,
• 29:45
  includes illustrations by Nora Krug
• 29:47
  for a number of different things.
• 29:49
  I like to say she used a conventional comic book format
• 29:53
  to tell very unconventional stories.
• 29:56
  - Yes.
• 29:56
  Like you said, these are tackling very difficult topics
• 30:01
  in a format that we normally think of as light and fun.
• 30:04
  - As comic books. - Right? Yeah.
• 30:06
  Love that.
• 30:07
  Love that.
• 30:08
  Well, we have more to say. - Should we go upstairs?
• 30:09
  - Absolutely. Let's do it. - Okay, let's do that.
• 30:10
  (stairs thumping)
• 30:15
  So this part of the show is based
• 30:18
  on Nora's adaptation and illustrations
• 30:22
  for Timothy Snyder's book, "On Tyranny."
• 30:25
  And you can see here,
• 30:26
  at the beginning of the exhibition, in a case, a copy,
• 30:31
  Nora's copy of Timothy Snyder's original small book,
• 30:35
  which is text only. - Yep.
• 30:37
  - And you can see her beginning
• 30:39
  to sketch out ideas and motifs
• 30:41
  that she uses and expands into all the artwork
• 30:44
  that you see on the walls in these upper floors.
• 30:46
  - I love this.
• 30:48
  I love all the page markings.
• 30:50
  I love how she did little sketches
• 30:52
  on other pieces of paper and stapled it
• 30:54
  to the book itself. - Precisely.
• 30:55
  You can see her create,
• 30:57
  starting with words,
• 30:59
  and then creating visual ideas out of the words.
• 31:02
  - Wow.
• 31:03
  - And putting them down on the page.
• 31:04
  - So, so beyond just your two dimensional, yeah.
• 31:09
  - Is this a good time for us to mention
• 31:10
  that Nora Krug will be here on campus?
• 31:12
  - It's a great time. - That's great.
• 31:14
  - 'Cause I have a lot of questions for her.
• 31:16
  - Good.
• 31:17
  She'll be here on March 11th.
• 31:19
  That's a Wednesday.
• 31:20
  And she'll be giving a talk in Sursa Hall.
• 31:22
  Not here at the museum,
• 31:23
  but across the street at Sursa Hall,
• 31:25
  at 6:00 PM on March 11th.
• 31:28
  So you'll have a chance to ask questions.
• 31:30
  To meet Nora.
• 31:31
  And she's gonna talk about the graphic novel
• 31:32
  and her work for these particular projects and others, so.
• 31:35
  - That's great. That's wonderful.
• 31:37
  What a great opportunity. - Yeah.
• 31:40
  So what I suggest that people do
• 31:41
  when they come to the upper level of this show,
• 31:43
  on the top floor,
• 31:45
  is they grab a copy of "On Tyranny."
• 31:46
  We have several around the room.
• 31:49
  And if you look at the labels on the wall,
• 31:51
  it will tell you what page number the drawing is for.
• 31:54
  - Wow. - Yeah.
• 31:55
  And it goes through all the lessons.
• 31:57
  There's 20 lessons in total.
• 32:00
  And it goes through each one.
• 32:00
  And you can see the different phases
• 32:03
  of the development of ideas.
• 32:05
  For example,
• 32:09
  in this one, you could see her original,
• 32:11
  Nora's original line drawing in pencil
• 32:14
  of this pig with a Russian writing on the chest there.
• 32:18
  And this goes back to the idea
• 32:20
  that Stalin started classifying wealthy farmers as pigs.
• 32:25
  - Mm.
• 32:25
  - And kept repeating that, "They were pigs.
• 32:27
  They were pigs."
• 32:28
  Well, if you dehumanize someone enough
• 32:30
  and turn them into a pig,
• 32:31
  it makes it easier to slaughter them later.
• 32:35
  So this particular lesson is lessons four.
• 32:38
  "Take responsibility for the face of the world."
• 32:40
  It's about taking on symbols, and words,
• 32:44
  and language that are problematic like this.
• 32:47
  That dehumanize people. - Wow.
• 32:50
  - And the final lesson is a really interesting one.
• 32:54
  Lesson 20 is part of the epilogue.
• 32:56
  "Be as courageous as you can."
• 32:58
  - Wow.
• 32:59
  - So even in the face of difficulties,
• 33:03
  you should still be as courageous
• 33:04
  as you can to fight against them.
• 33:06
  - That leads me to the question, Bob.
• 33:08
  Why was this so important
• 33:10
  for DOMA to have this exhibit now?
• 33:13
  What prompted you to say we need to do this now?
• 33:16
  - Well, really, I did wanna bring
• 33:17
  in something with illustration and animation.
• 33:19
  That's such a growing field
• 33:21
  and so important to our students.
• 33:23
  And then, again, there are various tyrannies occurring
• 33:26
  across the planet right now.
• 33:28
  And these are great lessons to learn.
• 33:30
  One of the really important lessons,
• 33:32
  to go back a little bit, is lesson 11.
• 33:37
  Investigate.
• 33:38
  I wanna encourage people to investigate everything.
• 33:41
  There's an image that recurs as a motif
• 33:44
  in Nora's illustrations of the man with no eyes.
• 33:48
  - Mm.
• 33:49
  - It's when you lose your ability
• 33:51
  to look and to investigate that tyrants are able
• 33:55
  to do whatever they'd like to do, essentially.
• 33:57
  - Sure.
• 33:58
  - So investigative reporting.
• 34:00
  Investigating for yourself.
• 34:03
  Trying to sort the difference between fact and fiction.
• 34:05
  - Absolutely.
• 34:06
  I don't think I have used the word vetting more
• 34:09
  than I have in the last few years.
• 34:11
  I mean, everything I say is, well, let me vet that.
• 34:14
  I'll get back to you.
• 34:15
  I need to vet it first.
• 34:16
  And I think we all need to be doing
• 34:19
  that a little more than we have maybe in the past.
• 34:23
  So I love the lesson 11.
• 34:26
  Investigate. That's a great one.
• 34:28
  Well, thank you so much, Bob-
• 34:29
  - You're welcome.
• 34:30
  - For showing us around the exhibit.
• 34:31
  Remind us again how long this will be on display and-
• 34:35
  - The show opened on February 19th.
• 34:37
  And it closes on June 13th, 2026.
• 34:40
  And don't forget that Nora Krug will be here
• 34:42
  on campus on March 11th,
• 34:44
  that's a Wednesday night,
• 34:45
  at Sursa Hall at 6:00 PM.
• 34:47
  So come and see her.
• 34:48
  - And for more information, what's the website for DOMA?
• 34:49
  - You can always go to bsu.edu/doma.
• 34:53
  D-O-M-A. - Perfect.
• 34:55
  Thank you so much once again.
• 34:57
  - You're welcome. - This is a wonderful exhibit.
• 34:59
  - Thank you.
• 35:00
  - During our tour of the museum,
• 35:02
  Director La France pointed out one
• 35:04
  of my favorite works that's going
• 35:06
  to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
• 35:10
  Lee Krasner's abstract painting, "Right Bird Left,"
• 35:14
  is over 11 feet long.
• 35:19
  So how do you deliver a big
• 35:20
  and very expensive piece of art?
• 35:24
  He explained how that works.
• 35:27
  - Lee Krasner was married to Jackson Pollock.
• 35:30
  Jackson Pollock was
• 35:31
  the most famous abstract expressionist artist in the world.
• 35:33
  She was married to him for a fairly short amount of time.
• 35:36
  10 years or so. - Yeah.
• 35:38
  - They got divorced.
• 35:39
  He crashed his car and died.
• 35:41
  And then she suddenly burst out on the art scene
• 35:44
  in 1965 with her first big show.
• 35:47
  - Yes.
• 35:47
  - And our painting by Lee Krasner is from 1965.
• 35:51
  - I'm obsessed with this. - It's pivotal in her career.
• 35:54
  And you love this picture.
• 35:56
  We all do.
• 35:57
  "Right Bird Left."
• 35:58
  Well, they love it so much,
• 35:59
  it's gonna be in the- - No, no, no no.
• 36:00
  - It's gonna be in a Krasner-Pollack exhibition
• 36:03
  at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
• 36:05
  which opens in September.
• 36:07
  - But you get it back though?
• 36:07
  - So we're sending it.
• 36:08
  We will get it back. - Okay, good.
• 36:09
  - We're gonna send it to New York in August.
• 36:12
  It'll be in New York through the fall.
• 36:13
  And we'll get it back early in the spring.
• 36:15
  - Because this is literally the piece
• 36:16
  that I always tell people to see.
• 36:18
  You know, I have to make sure that they come here.
• 36:19
  - Well, they're gonna have to go to New York
• 36:21
  and see it at the Met this fall.
• 36:22
  - Well, it'll be back.
• 36:23
  So that'll be nice.
• 36:23
  Because I always think,
• 36:24
  oh, I would love to have this as a fabric.
• 36:29
  And I've always thought that- - It's a beautiful one.
• 36:31
  It's a beautiful one.
• 36:32
  We're gonna finish preparing it for its trip on Monday.
• 36:36
  'Cause we're closed this next week.
• 36:38
  - Yeah. - So we'll take it down.
• 36:39
  - And so what does that take to prepare it and-
• 36:41
  - Well, first off,
• 36:42
  you have to make sure that the frame,
• 36:42
  and this is a very thin frame,
• 36:44
  you make sure the frame is in perfect condition.
• 36:46
  Because it's gonna be handled a lot.
• 36:49
  And then we need to stiffen the back.
• 36:50
  We're putting in backing boards.
• 36:52
  And then between the canvas
• 36:54
  and the back of the wooden stretcher,
• 36:56
  there's like an armature that this canvas is stretched onto.
• 36:59
  We call it a stretcher. - Yeah.
• 37:01
  - We put in a kind of synthetic batting
• 37:04
  so that when it's in the truck,
• 37:06
  if you just left it alone,
• 37:07
  you put it in the truck,
• 37:08
  the canvas will do this. - Yes.
• 37:09
  - And that could cause the paint to loosen.
• 37:12
  But if you have a backing on it,
• 37:14
  and it's stuffed with like a delicate,
• 37:16
  almost like pillow stuffing.
• 37:17
  - Okay, yes. - It's a Dacron interior.
• 37:19
  It doesn't act like a drum anymore.
• 37:21
  It stays relatively stiff.
• 37:23
  And, that way, the paint doesn't vibrate off.
• 37:25
  'cause you have things like,
• 37:26
  this is called Impasto.
• 37:28
  See that lump of paint on there?
• 37:29
  - Yep.
• 37:30
  - If that were to vibrate
• 37:31
  for a thousand mile trip to New York,
• 37:33
  that could possibly fall off.
• 37:35
  - Yeah.
• 37:36
  - So, instead, we're gonna reduce that vibration.
• 37:38
  Also, it'll be put into a special crate
• 37:40
  and kind of on these floating bars.
• 37:43
  They're called Oz clips,
• 37:44
  which clip it into the crate.
• 37:47
  So it kind of floats within the wooden crate.
• 37:49
  So it's never actually touched or rubbed in any way.
• 37:53
  It will arrive literally floating in a crate like that.
• 37:57
  Arrive in New York.
• 37:58
  They'll take it directly from the crate.
• 37:59
  Put it on the wall.
• 38:00
  Go back in the crate.
• 38:01
  Come back here at the end of the time.
• 38:03
  - That's fascinating.
• 38:04
  So the exhibit is in September?
• 38:05
  - It'll hardly be damaged at all.
• 38:05
  It's in September.
• 38:06
  It opens in mid-September in New York
• 38:08
  at the Metropolitan Museum.
• 38:09
  - And so how long will it be there?
• 38:10
  - I think through Christmas.
• 38:12
  - Oh, wow. - So.
• 38:13
  - And someone travels with the painting from DOMA, right?
• 38:16
  - I would probably be the courier that goes with it
• 38:18
  to make sure that the truck doesn't turn
• 38:22
  off the Pennsylvania turnpike and disappear.
• 38:23
  - Down it goes with it.
• 38:24
  It's just like, until it is on the wall,
• 38:26
  I'm your best friend.
• 38:27
  Yeah. (laughs) - Yeah, exactly.
• 38:29
  I watch it constantly.
• 38:31
  I will not be handcuffed to the painting, but-
• 38:35
  - But close enough. - Close enough.
• 38:36
  (upbeat music)
• 38:56
  - This is "Pop of Culture."
• 38:58
  I'm Michelle Kinsey.
• 38:59
  - I'm Jen Blackmer.
• 39:00
  - And I'm Kara DuQuette.
• 39:02
  - Instead of our regular,
• 39:03
  what are you working on the segment today?
• 39:05
  - We have two arts curators in studio to tell us
• 39:08
  about exhibitions that feature the younger artists
• 39:11
  in our community.
• 39:13
  - One of these guests is Stephanie Michaels.
• 39:15
  And she's the program director
• 39:17
  for Cornerstone Center for the Arts in Muncie, Indiana.
• 39:20
  - Hi, it's so great to be here.
• 39:22
  - And she plays a large role
• 39:24
  in shaping community arts, programming, and exhibitions.
• 39:27
  Also with us is Karen Fisher,
• 39:29
  who is also deeply connected
• 39:31
  to the growth of the arts and artists in Muncie.
• 39:34
  - Hi.
• 39:35
  - Karen is connected to the arts in so many ways.
• 39:37
  But for the sake of time, I'm just going to mention.
• 39:40
  She's a visual artist
• 39:42
  and the owner of Art Mart in the Village
• 39:44
  and a member of the Muncie Artist Guild.
• 39:47
  - We're excited to have you both here.
• 39:49
  So let's jump right in and find out
• 39:51
  about the upcoming Young Artist Exhibition.
• 39:54
  - Yeah, so the Muncie Young Artist Exhibit is open
• 39:57
  to all of Delaware County students.
• 40:00
  And you can be from kindergarten to 10th grade.
• 40:03
  Originally, it was kindergarten through 12th.
• 40:06
  Cornerstone took a little bit of a break for a few years.
• 40:09
  But the Muncie Artist Guild kind of picked up that slack.
• 40:12
  And they started doing an 11th
• 40:13
  and 12th grade show at Westminster.
• 40:16
  So we've kept that going
• 40:18
  and kind of kept that partnership.
• 40:19
  So Cornerstone is now K through 10.
• 40:21
  And it's open to any medium.
• 40:24
  Any kind of art that student wants to create,
• 40:27
  they can do it through their school
• 40:28
  or they can do it as an individual.
• 40:31
  - Okay.
• 40:32
  Well, now Stephanie,
• 40:33
  you mentioned that Cornerstone took a break for a while.
• 40:35
  So, Karen, could you talk about that period of time?
• 40:39
  - Sure.
• 40:40
  Muncie Artist Guild has a,
• 40:43
  it's called the Susie Burns Memorial Scholarship.
• 40:48
  We had worked previously with Cornerstone
• 40:51
  to give that scholarship away.
• 40:53
  That goes to junior or senior in high school.
• 40:57
  And we have been able to expand that a little bit.
• 41:01
  And so we have a 2D category and a 3D category.
• 41:05
  And those students are chosen by the art teachers.
• 41:09
  - Okay.
• 41:10
  So like, with all of this community togetherness,
• 41:14
  working together,
• 41:15
  how long has this exhibition been in existence?
• 41:21
  - As we both look at each other.
• 41:22
  (participants laughing) - That's okay.
• 41:23
  I was just curious.
• 41:24
  - Based on my, just trying
• 41:26
  to find paperwork through Cornerstone,
• 41:28
  I think this is the eighth year.
• 41:31
  - Okay. - But I would assume
• 41:32
  that Cornerstone has probably done some version
• 41:34
  of some kind of student show in the past.
• 41:38
  - Well, I know
• 41:39
  that this exhibit's happening at the Cornerstone.
• 41:42
  And, Stephanie, I know you have like,
• 41:44
  museum curation experience.
• 41:46
  Are you curating the show?
• 41:47
  Or how does that work?
• 41:49
  - Everything gets accepted.
• 41:50
  And then we had six wonderful judges
• 41:53
  from the Muncie Arts Guild come.
• 41:57
  We had a judging rubric.
• 41:59
  And they gave the numbers.
• 42:00
  And then they added up the numbers and averaged them.
• 42:02
  And then the highest number, of course, got the prizes.
• 42:07
  So everything was accepted.
• 42:09
  But it was juried and judged, so.
• 42:12
  - Okay.
• 42:13
  - Now, Karen, what is your role this year?
• 42:16
  - I'm the chair of this committee.
• 42:18
  The scholarship committee.
• 42:20
  And so we have a wonderful little committee
• 42:23
  that we've had put together for about five years now.
• 42:26
  We also use a rubric.
• 42:28
  Not exactly the same one that Stephanie uses.
• 42:30
  But very similar to.
• 42:32
  It takes the, you know,
• 42:34
  any judgementalness out of the judging of the art
• 42:39
  because it gives you a number.
• 42:41
  And, you know, the highest number just wins.
• 42:44
  And our winners are everyone that's participating
• 42:49
  because they're already a winner,
• 42:50
  being chosen by their teacher.
• 42:53
  We try to recognize all the kids that are there,
• 42:55
  whether they're the winners or not.
• 42:56
  Because they are winners,
• 42:58
  just being shown in an art show.
• 43:00
  And because we have ours at Westminster,
• 43:03
  we also have the seniors that live there come in.
• 43:08
  And they enjoy the art while it's there.
• 43:11
  They come to the program.
• 43:13
  They talk with the seniors and juniors in high school.
• 43:17
  So it's a very lovely picture
• 43:20
  to see a lot of old folks talking
• 43:22
  to a lot of young folks
• 43:24
  about the artwork that they produce.
• 43:26
  It's just lovely.
• 43:28
  - I think that's great
• 43:29
  when you can connect a multi-generational grouping
• 43:33
  of people.
• 43:34
  And I wanna know
• 43:35
  what you both feel is important about this show.
• 43:40
  - I think showing art builds confidence.
• 43:43
  There's a feeling of accomplishment.
• 43:47
  And I remember submitting artwork.
• 43:50
  And, you know, my local newspaper had a thing
• 43:52
  where you could submit art.
• 43:53
  And your picture would get in the newspaper.
• 43:56
  And it was just, you felt,
• 43:57
  it's just such a rush and a good rush of feeling.
• 44:00
  And so I think this is a great opportunity
• 44:03
  for students to feel that confidence,
• 44:06
  but, also, to get out.
• 44:07
  Meet other students in their county.
• 44:10
  Like, I mean, during the opening,
• 44:12
  I'm hoping we'll have all kinds of different schools.
• 44:14
  We have 15 schools that entered.
• 44:16
  There was 149 pieces that were submitted.
• 44:19
  So there's a good chunk of students
• 44:21
  in this county that can meet each other.
• 44:24
  And, you know, kindergartners can see their work
• 44:26
  on display with a 10th grader,
• 44:28
  which I think is really cool, so.
• 44:31
  - Yeah, that breaks down some barriers.
• 44:32
  And, also, when would all
• 44:34
  of these people otherwise get to meet?
• 44:37
  - Correct. - Right, right.
• 44:39
  Or get to see their art.
• 44:41
  It really does give you a feeling of euphoria
• 44:44
  to have a piece of yours shown to the public.
• 44:48
  I know that personally. (laughs)
• 44:51
  I, you know, can't get too bummed if I don't get accepted.
• 44:55
  But that's just life.
• 44:57
  So, you know, you can't take that personally.
• 45:01
  And that's a good lesson for young kids to learn.
• 45:04
  It's not a personal,
• 45:06
  anything to say about you personally,
• 45:09
  whether your art is accepted or not.
• 45:10
  It just has a lot to do with what the judge likes.
• 45:13
  So using a rubric really takes a lot
• 45:16
  of that pressure from the judge away, I think.
• 45:19
  - Oh, no. It certainly does.
• 45:21
  And, yeah.
• 45:21
  I know one of the fun things that I like to do
• 45:24
  when I'm showing out is kind of hang
• 45:26
  about around my artwork.
• 45:29
  See what's being said, you know? (laughs)
• 45:31
  - Sure.
• 45:32
  - But I have to prepare myself ahead of time.
• 45:35
  Like, you can't be concerned about what is said.
• 45:38
  Just interested.
• 45:39
  - I am also part of the Art Association of Madison County,
• 45:42
  which that show is also up right now until the 14th,
• 45:45
  which is open just to high school students.
• 45:47
  But we've noticed, this time,
• 45:51
  that the artwork themes have gotten lighter.
• 45:54
  It got really dark during COVID.
• 45:56
  Like, the artwork coming out
• 45:57
  of these students was just dark.
• 45:59
  And we all noticed it.
• 46:02
  And we didn't know how to explain it.
• 46:02
  And then we realized this year.
• 46:04
  Like, oh, there's sunsets.
• 46:06
  And they're drawing pets again.
• 46:08
  And there's flowers.
• 46:10
  And people are happy.
• 46:11
  And it's just,
• 46:13
  I don't have a comparison here for Delaware County.
• 46:14
  But I do know, in Madison County,
• 46:16
  it's been happier,
• 46:17
  which is a positive and happy thing.
• 46:19
  - Oh, that's interesting, Stephanie.
• 46:21
  It's very interesting.
• 46:22
  - Yeah, very happy to hear that.
• 46:26
  Well, can you let us know when both of these,
• 46:29
  actually, all three of the shows
• 46:30
  that you mentioned are coming up?
• 46:32
  And we'll end with the one
• 46:33
  that we initially were talking about. (laughs)
• 46:36
  - Yeah, so the Madison Art Association
• 46:38
  of Madison County Student Exhibition is on display
• 46:41
  at the Anderson Museum of Art until March 14th.
• 46:45
  Cornerstone's Young Artist Exhibit opens this Sunday,
• 46:50
  March 8th.
• 46:50
  We'll do awards at 1:00 PM in the auditorium.
• 46:53
  And then we'll go upstairs
• 46:54
  to the second floor and have reception.
• 46:57
  The winners will be hung in our Judith Barnes Gallery,
• 47:01
  while the other pieces submitted will be
• 47:04
  on display in the Heritage Room.
• 47:05
  So all there on the second floor.
• 47:07
  - And the Muncie Artist Guild Scholarship Exhibit reception
• 47:13
  is on April 1st, which is really not a joke.
• 47:17
  And it is open to the public from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.
• 47:21
  - Well, wonderful.
• 47:23
  We've been talking with Karen Fisher.
• 47:25
  And we have been talking with Stephanie Michaels.
• 47:28
  And thanks again for being here.
• 47:31
  - Thank you. - Thank you.
• 47:32
  (upbeat music)
• 47:40
  - Jen? - What?
• 47:42
  - It's that time. - Yes.
• 47:43
  - Let's dig into the arts calendar.
• 47:46
  - Dig away.
• 47:47
  - The Young Artist Exhibition opens this weekend
• 47:49
  at Cornerstone Center for the Arts in downtown Muncie.
• 47:52
  YAE celebrates the creativity, individuality,
• 47:55
  and self-expression of Delaware County students
• 47:58
  in kindergarten through 10th grade,
• 48:00
  including both public and homeschooled students.
• 48:04
  - Very cool.
• 48:05
  - "MOMIX Alice" will take the stage, or shall I say,
• 48:08
  go down the rabbit hole
• 48:10
  at Emens Auditorium, March 10th.
• 48:12
  The show, inspired by "Alice in Wonderland,"
• 48:15
  is given new life by this inventive dance company.
• 48:19
  This Alice story blends illusion, acrobatics,
• 48:21
  and plenty of whimsy into a mind-bending adventure.
• 48:25
  - Ooh, that sounds fun.
• 48:27
  On Wednesday, March 11th,
• 48:29
  artist Nora Krug will be on the Ball State campus
• 48:32
  to talk about her new exhibition
• 48:34
  at the David Owsley Museum of Art.
• 48:36
  The talk will begin at 6:00 PM in Sursa Performance Hall.
• 48:40
  - The Anderson Young Ballet Theater will present "Coppelia."
• 48:43
  Saturday and Sunday, March 7th and 8th,
• 48:46
  at the Paramount Theater in Anderson.
• 48:49
  This comic ballet is filled
• 48:50
  with fun, romance, and a touch of mischief.
• 48:52
  - Oh.
• 48:53
  - As you follow the story of a lifelike doll,
• 48:56
  a curious young couple,
• 48:57
  and the magic that unfolds in a village square.
• 49:00
  andersonparamount.org has all the details.
• 49:03
  - Hmm.
• 49:04
  Take Three will perform March 13th
• 49:07
  at Pruis Hall at Ball State.
• 49:09
  The trio's tagline is, "Where rock meets Bach."
• 49:12
  - Oh, yeah. (laughs) - I love that.
• 49:14
  The group merges pop, rock, oldies, Americana, and country.
• 49:18
  This genre-smashing vocal
• 49:20
  and instrumental trio has been described by audience-goers
• 49:23
  as, "A mini Trans-Siberian orchestra experience."
• 49:27
  - A mini Trans-Siberian. - Just a little.
• 49:29
  - Just a little bit.
• 49:30
  - Just a skosh of Trans-Siberian orchestra.
• 49:33
  The experience begins at 7:30 PM.
• 49:37
  - Orchestra Indiana will present "In Search of Magic,"
• 49:40
  March 14th at 4:00 PM and 7:30 PM
• 49:43
  at Muncie Central High School.
• 49:45
  The concert will be a spell-binding evening of music
• 49:48
  from the "Harry Potter" films.
• 49:50
  - Ooh.
• 49:51
  - From the whimsical charm of the Sorcerer Stone
• 49:53
  to the dark drama of the Deathly Hollows,
• 49:56
  this concert brings
• 49:57
  to life the unforgettable themes and magic moments
• 50:00
  that have captivated audiences for decades.
• 50:03
  - Hard to believe it's been decades.
• 50:04
  - I know, right? (laughs)
• 50:05
  - I remember standing in line
• 50:07
  for the books when they came out.
• 50:08
  - Yes, right. Exactly. (laughs)
• 50:10
  - New Castle Main Street,
• 50:12
  in partnership with Indiana on Tap,
• 50:14
  will present the fifth annual "New Castle
• 50:16
  on Tap St. Paddy's Day Festival!"
• 50:18
  on March 14th at the Arts Park Pavilion.
• 50:22
  And that's at the Arts Association of Henry County
• 50:24
  in downtown New Castle.
• 50:26
  This 21 and older event will feature tasty pours
• 50:29
  from 20+ craft breweries, wineries,
• 50:32
  and distilleries from all over the state,
• 50:34
  food vendors, and live entertainment.
• 50:37
  And just so you know.
• 50:38
  We will have more St. Patrick's Day shenanigans
• 50:41
  on next week's calendar.
• 50:43
  - Send us your shenanigans
• 50:45
  at indianapublicradio.org/contact.
• 50:50
  Then click Pop of Culture.
• 50:52
  (upbeat music)
• 51:02
  - Support for "Pop of Culture" comes
• 51:04
  from Stallings Wealth Management,
• 51:07
  the innovation connector.
• 51:10
  And from you.
• 51:12
  With state and federal money eliminated,
• 51:15
  you are the difference in keeping local programming
• 51:18
  on the air at IPR.
• 51:21
  Become a member today at indianapublicradio.org.
• 51:25
  - And that's our show.
• 51:27
  Our art director is Tracy Lauch.
• 51:29
  - This week was produced by Luke Jones,
• 51:32
  who also dreams of getting dressed up
• 51:34
  and standing in front of a television audience of millions,
• 51:36
  giving a speech.
• 51:38
  I'm sorry, did I say dream?
• 51:39
  I meant nightmare.
• 51:41
  That is his nightmare.
• 51:42
  - Our audio fellow is Maya Doss.
• 51:45
  - Our show was hosted by me, Michelle Kinsey.
• 51:47
  - And me, Jen Blackmer.
• 51:49
  "Pop of Culture" is a production from IPR
• 51:52
  on the campus of Ball State University.
• 51:56
  - How do you greet people at Cornerstone?
• 51:59
  - Oh, gosh.
• 52:00
  Oh, are you lost?
• 52:01
  Here, let me help find the exit.
• 52:02
  (participants laughing and clapping)
• 52:04
  Because that's usually,
• 52:05
  no, the door's right here.
• 52:06
  I know it's tiny.
• 52:07
  But this is the exit. (laughs)
• 52:10
  - This cable is long.
• 52:11
  So you just make sure you don't trip over it, okay?
• 52:13
  - Okay, all right. - Well.
• 52:15
  (participants laughing)
• 52:16
  - Wrap it around your ankle like a snare.
• 52:18
  - Oh, man. - We won't absolutely
• 52:19
  be using that audio of it. - Listen.
• 52:21
  He just foreshadowed exactly what's gonna happen.
• 52:25
  It's inevitable. (laughs)