Chuck Amuck: A Legacy of Laughter

Tempe Center for the Arts has an exhibit on Chuck Jones, the cartoonist who worked with Warner Bros. to create characters that were developed on Looney Tunes from the beginning of April to June 18th.

This gallery spans not only Jones' career, but his lifetime. Starting at the left side of the gallery, his career is chronicled in decades, from the time he was in college pursuing a degree in art to the nineties, when he completed his last drawings of Buggs Bunny and the crew.

Jones started out sketching and painting portraits, but became interested in drawing cartoons. He helped design and create many characters, including Bugs Bunny, Sylvester the Cat, Gossamer, and Marvin the Martian.

The back of the gallery displayed his art desk with sketches on it as well as two of the twelve bookcases he owned. Two lists were beside the display, listing every book in order that were placed on those bookcases. The book selections were varied, ranging from books on chivalry and cooking to artist books to Mark Twain journals. A screen is hung above his desk that plays a documentary on Jones in great detail about his life, family, love, and career.

There are cartoon drawings and paintings as well as a list of characters that Chuck Jones had helped create. There is a little viewing theater designed for the kids who visit the exhibit with their parents where they can sit and watch cartoons while their parents walk through it.

If anyone becomes inspired by the paintings and sketches around the gallery, they can draw a cartoon on a sticky note and put it up on the wall: many people have done so and have created their own works of art or draw replicas of Jones' or other famed cartoonist's works.

Those working at the exhibit are in great spirits; each person has an interesting tidbit or two about the exhibit itself that enhances the experience. Go check it out before it ends on the 18th of June.

Lady Gaga-ville

Lady Gaga is a force to be reckoned with. She can write, sing, dance, and she is a classically-trained pianist.

She's performed on American Idol. Her songs have been used as performance music to break dancing crews on MTV's Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew. Miss Gaga has sold over 5 million albums, inspired fashion worldwide, and has put the art back in artist.

Gaga has become so influential that she made Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People issue in May 2010. She's only 23 years old.

Gaga is not just a musician. She's got an eye for fashion and art and it's exciting to see a woman who has no qualms about laying all her feelings on the table.

Upon seeing her album, Fame Monster at Zia Records, I stared at both sides intently and didn't quite understand what made her so special.

Then I became curious. Why is it that makes her so unique?

Fuse TV aired a special on Lady Gaga last year that was stripped down and high profile on the songstress. The questions Toure asked her were controversial and personal, and she carried herself with poise and genuine honesty.

In this interview she stated what her obsessions are (monsters, death), how the support of her father means a lot to her, and how she doesn't ever separate her life into two parts: regular person and artist---they are both equally intertwined in her being.

She discussed feeling uncomfortable and freakish growing up and the fact that she loves to write and create new music while on tour because the tour itself (fans included) inspire her to do so.

Once listening to this interview, I felt like I had more of an understanding of Lady Gaga as a person. As an extra treat, Fuse showed an hour of her music videos directly following the interview. While watching the videos, I thought more about what she was trying to communicate through her lyrics.

Each music video is a work of art. The costumes are definitely out there, but they're interesting and some of them are absolutely stunning.

I don't feel that her singles, "Just Dance" and "Love Game" show the amount of talent, creativity, and inner strength that she has as an artist. I like the fact that she's become more of an abstract performance artist.

Gaga described her fans as "little monsters." She compared herself and some of her strongly felt emotions to "monsters" and said that she relates well to her fans because she can see herself in them. We are all willingly becoming her "little monsters."

Her website has posted more dates for her upcoming Monster Ball II Tour. I might buy a ticket if she stops in Arizona. I'm already learning "Paparazzi" on guitar.

Lady Gaga stands out from the rest of the woman artists of this time---Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Rhianna, because she is willing to take things to the extreme, and not extreme in a slutty way---but a respectable, smart, and an avante guard way. May she continue to keep pushing boundaries. The sky isn't the limit anymore, and she's already proven that.

The Beginning...

Hello all who might begin to read this...

Greetings and salutations!

I'm quite excited to embark on the world of blogging. My interests are varied: music, art, food, sports, TV, and movies---and I will make sure to represent each of them with fervor and tenacious writing on my part.

I hope you will enjoy my posts--it's not neccesary to always agree with me--I just want my blog posts to make you think. If that is the main result, I've done my job well.

Read--and rock---on...

TicTac Fruit Snack (TTFS)