4.5/5 Stars

Nick Jonas, a pop singer well-known for his solo music and member of the band the Jonas Brothers, recently released “Spaceman” on March 12 as his fourth studio album. “Spaceman” is made up of 11 songs that capture the time he has spent at home during the pandemic, and serves as a great addition to his artistic repertoire. “Spaceman” is the first album Jonas has released since the reunion of the Jonas Brothers in 2019. 

Listeners have considered the lyrics across the album to be inspired by Jonas’ experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. During an interview with Zane Lowe, Jonas describes that the title of the album symbolizes his disconnection from the world, further explaining that he created this album while remaining at home for the past year, hoping for better days to come. Listeners can hear four themes in “Spaceman”: distance, indulgence, euphoria and commitment.

Each song ranges from two to three minutes long, following a trend of pop and contemporary R&B beats. The album has a total run time of 35 minutes. Notable songs from “Spaceman” include “This Is Heaven,” “Heights,” “Don’t Give Up On Us” and “If I Fall.” The album was released through Island Records and the producer is Greg Kurstin.

Jonas is 28 years old and is from Dallas, Texas. As a solo artist, he has released three other studio albums, “Nicholas Jonas” (2005), “Nick Jonas” (2014) and “Last Year Was Complicated” (2016), aside from “Spaceman.” As a member of the Jonas Brothers, he and his brothers released the five studio albums “It’s About Time” (2006), “Jonas Brothers” (2007), “A Little Bit Longer” (2008), “Lines, Vines and Trying Times” (2009) and “Happiness Begins” (2019).

The Jonas Brothers, made up of Nick Jonas and his two brothers, Joe and Kevin Jonas, was formed in 2005. The pop-rock band gained popularity quickly, and were featured on a television show called “Jonas” on Disney Channel, as well as in the Disney Channel Original Movies “Camp Rock” and “Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam.” 

In 2008, the band was nominated for the best new artist award at the 51st Grammy Awards and the Jonas Brothers won the award for breakthrough artist at the American Music Awards. Eight years after the band was formed, the Jonas Brothers announced their break-up on Oct. 29, 2013. They then reunited in 2019 by releasing their song “Sucker” on March 1. Their fifth studio album, “Happiness Begins,” was released on June 7, 2019, topping the U.S. Billboard 200.

Currently, Jonas lives in Los Angeles with his wife Priyanka Chopra, who were married in 2018. There is no doubt he will continue to make successful, upbeat pop music with both the Jonas Brothers and on his own as an individual artist. “Spaceman” holds the No. 12 spot on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart as of March 26.

Second-year University of Maine student Katherine, or Katie, Libby found her place at UMaine despite being nearly 2,700 miles away from home. As a transfer student, especially amidst a pandemic, becoming involved and feeling like a part of the UMaine community was a challenge. However, she was able to let down her guard and meet new people, finding where she belonged.

Libby recently attended El Camino College (ECC) in Torrance, California for a year and a half to study nursing before transferring to UMaine. During her time at ECC, she was a member of the Pre-Med Club and on the Dean’s list. Growing up about 30 minutes away from ECC in Los Angeles, Libby had the desire to travel to see the different sceneries our country has to offer. She longed for the opportunity to attend a four-year university and gain the full college experience with the time that she still had left. With those passions in mind, she ended up transferring and landed right here in Orono, Maine at the ‘college of our hearts always’.

In Los Angeles, Libby grew up with her younger twin siblings, Alex and Stephanie. She has fond memories of going to the beach once a week and experiencing random encounters with celebrities while simply going to the grocery store. As a big city girl her whole life, starting a new chapter in a small, New England town sounded like the perfect fit.

Now living on campus in the transfer living community at UMaine, Libby is working towards her bachelor’s degree in nursing, and recently became a new member of the Delta Zeta sorority. She is also a member of the Circle of Sisterhood Club.

“My favorite memory so far in my sorority was the Big-Little reveal day,” Libby said. “I found out my Big was Liz and I knew I was going to love this sorority forever.”

In her spare time here on campus, Libby hangs out with her new friend group in her residence hall, socializes and bonds in her sorority and studies hard for her challenging science courses. Libby also enjoys reading, going on hikes and driving her new car.

Once Libby receives her nursing degree, she hopes to become a registered nurse and work as a traveling nurse. Her dream location to work in is Vermont, as she feels she would enjoy and fit into small towns to change it up from her upbringing in a large, upbeat city. Nursing has always been her calling and passion, as all she wants to do is have the ability to make a difference and positively impact people’s lives.

“The children of the hospital that I volunteered at in high school inspired me to become a nurse,” Libby said. “I saw how happy nurses made them and I knew I wanted that to be me making them smile one day.”

Last year, at the start of the pandemic before coming to UMaine, Libby worked at an OB/GYN medical practice at both the front and back desks. She assisted in procedures, recorded vital signs and scheduled appointments and surgeries by serving as overall office manager to further prepare herself for her nursing studies.

Libby’s ultimate life goal and dream would be to work at a private practice as a family nurse practitioner. If she does pursue her master’s degree, she would work as a registered nurse for roughly a year beforehand. She would love to stay in Maine when studying for her master’s, as the vacation state has come to grow on her. 

Libby is ecstatic to be moving closer to her third-year and to begin her clinicals caring for older adults. She can hardly contain her excitement, as these clinicals will better prepare her for what she ultimately wants to concentrate on for nursing: family and internal medicine.

With the spring 2021 semester coming to an end soon, her plans for this summer are to stay living in Orono and to work at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor as a secretary for the cardiac unit. Aside from work, she hopes to find the time to adventure out and explore the wilderness that Maine has to offer, including visiting Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park.

5/5 Stars

Among many different genres of newly released movies, Netflix’s “Penguin Bloom” was far from disappointing and gave a lasting outlook on life. Based on a true story from the book of the same name, this film gives viewers a look into how, even though life may not always go as planned, there is always happiness and forgiveness to be found throughout.

“Penguin Bloom” was released on Jan. 15. This film has a run time of 1 hour and 35 minutes and is the perfect heartfelt movie to curl up to in your free time — just make sure you have tissues available by your side.

Starring Oscar nominee Naomi Watts as Sam Bloom, the cast of “Penguin Bloom” is charismatic and compelling. Supporting actors include Andrew Lincoln as Cameron Bloom, Jacki Weaver as Jan, Griffin Murray-Johnston as Noah Bloom and Rachel House as Gaye Hatfield. Watts is well-known for her roles in “Mulholland Drive,” “The Impossible,” “King Kong” and “The Ring.”

This film was directed by Glendyn Ivin and produced by Watts, Bruna Papandrea, Emma Cooper, Jodi Matterson and Steve Hutensky. The screenplay was written by Harry Cripps, Shaun Grant and Cameron Bloom, with the music composed by Marcelo Zarvos.

Based on the true story written by Cameron Bloom, the film follows the tragic event the Bloom family encountered on their vacation in Thailand. One of the three Bloom sons, Noah Bloom, blames himself for his mother, Sam Bloom’s, accident when a roof railing broke and she fell and broke her back, paralyzing her from the waist down. A year after the accident, he finds an injured magpie and brings her home. The family decides to name the magpie Penguin and cares for her, although Sam Bloom does not appear interested in Penguin at first. As time goes on, Penguin begins to grow on her, and the two become nearly inseparable as life becomes more tolerable. After many hard months that take a toll on the Bloom family, things begin to finally get better.

“Penguin Bloom” is a tear-jerker, showing the effects a freak accident can have on a family, as well as how a bond with an animal can help mend a person. Sam Bloom’s difficult recovery and new perspective on life is a reality for many people around the world, and this film is a reminder that even at one’s lowest point, it can always get better and happiness can be found again. Family and love are what is most important.

Today, Sam Bloom has defied the odds despite her injury. She has competed in the World Kayaking Championships and is a two-time World Adaptive Surfing Champion. Penguin has found her way in the wild and is no longer in need of care, but will always be a part of the Bloom family.

If you are looking for the perfect heartfelt, inspiring and emotional film to watch, don’t let “Penguin Bloom” slip through the cracks. This film is well worth the watch and will stick with you long after watching it.

From Jan. 21 to Aug. 7, the Zillman Art Museum (ZAM) in Bangor is showcasing a wide variety of art media from photographs to oil paintings and etchings. Featured artists in the exhibition include Amy Stein, Thomas Cornell, Gene A. Felice and Kimathi Moore, as well as selections from the museum collection. With a range of different art styles on display, there are pieces for everyone to enjoy in this show.

Stein’s artwork consists of photographs that bring awareness to current environmental concerns. Themes in her art include simple settings in the open outdoors or a friendly suburb, which are actually barriers between what is human and nature, and not in a positive way.

“The ‘Domesticated: Amy Stein’ exhibition sheds light on environmental issues, particularly the destruction of animal habitat as a result of encroachment to build houses and commercial uses,” George Kinghorn, ZAM’s director and curator, said. “At first glance, Stein’s photographs may trick the viewer, but things are not as they seem. The animals in each of the images may look a bit threatening, but they are all taxidermy. Stein has employed these taxidermy animals, to create these thought-provoking narratives in her photographs.”

Stein is based in Los Angeles, and many of her pieces are based on real stories that took place around Matamoras, Pennsylvania from 2005 to 2008.

Cornell’s work includes oil paints, etches, drawings and more. Many of his works are inspired by mythology, with a special interest in the Greek god Dionysus.

“The ‘Thomas Cornell: A Vision Accomplished’ exhibition is a must-see for art students,” Kinghorn said. “Cornell was such a skilled artist who created paintings that had bold, expressive brushstrokes and also created prints that were incredibly detailed and realistically rendered, as seen in his Michelangelo portrait. It’s wonderful for students to see an artist who was confident in working in a variety of media and to view the artist’s absolute commitment to his subjects.”

Cornell was an art professor at Bowdoin College and spent many of his years in Maine. His pieces on exhibition at ZAM spans his vast practice across 48 years.

Felice and Moore took a different approach to their art at ZAM as opposed to traditional mediums. “Living Windows” is an immersive media installation, consisting of 3D-printed sculptures, video projection mapping and immersive sound design all enclosed in a dark room to create an experience that appeals to all your senses. This installation explores the forms and functions of micro and macro algae to inspire the form of digital storytelling. Following through the depths of aquatic ecosystems in California, Maine and North Carolina, viewers can expect to explore rivers and watersheds over time as they flow into the Earth’s oceans.

One final exhibit that can be found among the diverse artwork at ZAM is the “Pop Art and Influence” showcase that features selections from the museum’s collection. Early pop art figures such as Richard Hamilton, Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein are featured in this gallery, along with works from newer artists such as Alisa Henriquez, Hannah Cole and Jim Darling.

All of these pieces continue to inspire public viewers, as ZAM has been successful in continuing its exhibition throughout the pandemic.

“Museums, like other cultural organizations, have encountered challenges during the pandemic, but I’m pleased that we’ve been able to continue to curate quality exhibitions for our citizens,” Kinghorn said. “The museum has successfully implemented safety guidelines and visitors have enjoyed touring the galleries, even with the reduced numbers that are required. The primary challenge has been a few delays in our exhibition schedule [although] our featured artists have been flexible and a delight to work with.”

In addition to staying open to the public amidst the pandemic, the ZAM has exciting news regarding overall growth and exhibition expansion.

“The Zillman Art Museum is embarking on an exciting period of growth,” Kinghorn said. “Construction has recently begun on five new galleries on the second floor of the 40 Harlow Street building. When ZAM’s expansion is complete, the Museum will increase its public gallery spaces by 42%.”

Currently, ZAM is now open to the public by reservation as strict guidelines for the pandemic have lessened. Visiting hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information regarding ZAM’s galleries, artists and events, visit https://zam.umaine.edu/, or view their Facebook at @ZAMatUMaine and Instagram at @zillmanartmuseum.

Monday: National Napping Day

With daylight savings time yesterday, today is the perfect opportunity to catch up on your sleep. It is scientifically proven that naps can be better for you than coffee or energy drinks. Whether you can take a quick nap between classes or not, even just finding a moment to sit down, breathe and ease your mind is enough to make your day less stressful. As we are midway through the semester, finding time to relax can be difficult. Don’t skip out on this national holiday — you deserve it and you’ll feel much better afterwards! March 15 is also Ides of March Day.

Tuesday: National Artichoke Day

If you have been looking for an excuse to finally try out some new foods and recipes, today is the perfect opportunity for it. Take the time with friends and family to cook your favorite recipes with artichokes, or even try out new artichoke recipes. Artichokes are from the Mediterranean and have been eaten all the way since the eighth century. In the U.S. today, more than 99% of our artichokes are grown in California. So get cooking and make the best out of National Artichoke Day. March 16 is also National Panda Day.

Wednesday: St. Patrick’s Day

Whether you are Irish or not, St. Patrick’s Day is a day for everyone to celebrate. This holiday celebrates the famous Irish patron saint who brought Christianity to Ireland. The first ever St. Patrick’s Day parade actually took place in America, not Ireland, in 1601. Make sure to wear green today, drink beer and whiskey (if you are 21 or older) and celebrate all things Irish.

Thursday: National Close the Gap Day

Every year on the third Thursday of March, National Close the Gap Day takes place to advocate for Australia’s Indigenous people. On this day, Australians from all over America take action to work towards better health and living conditions for the Indigenous people in Australia, as well as spread awareness about the conditions they live in. Even if you are not Australian, you can still help spread the word to raise awareness. Find an organization to donate to or spread awareness on social media. The opportunities are endless. March 18 is also Awkward Moments Day, National Biodiesel Day and Absolutely Incredible Kid Day.

Friday: Certified Nurses Day

March 19 is Certified Nurses Day, celebrating nurses who have chosen to continue and further their knowledge and education in the medical field through certification. Nursing is one of America’s largest career-fields, with over 3.8 million nurses working in the country. Take time today to recognize and thank the nurses around you, especially as they are working harder than ever to help treat people during the pandemic. With COVID-19 still upon us, it is an understatement to say that our nurses are essential superheroes. March 19 is also National Let’s Laugh Day, National Poultry Day and Red Nose Day.

On March 10 from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., the McGillicuddy Humanities Center featured artists Jill Pelto and Deirdre Murphy in their presentation “The Art of Climate Change.” Both artists have found a new way to communicate climate change through more than just scientific data reports, but also by artistic expression. 

Pelto is a climate scientist and artist who focuses on communicating human-environment connections to the public. She is based in Westbrook, Maine, and her artwork primarily consists of watercolor paintings. Pelto is well-known for her fieldwork in the glaciers of Washington and the Transantarctic Mountains, and especially for one of her paintings appearing on the July 2020 TIME Magazine cover.

Pelto’s watercolor paintings incorporate climate data, making the data more visual, emotional and easier to get its point across about what is going on with climate change.

“My art reflecting science really started when I was doing science field work,” Pelto said. “So, I would bring supplies with me into the field and create paintings that captured what was in front of me. I found in those moments my process was observing the landscape and really thinking about what changes I saw, what the ice was doing in a location or how the plants had changed their growth season that year, and I would be taking those moments to really pause and observe the environment.”

Pelto takes her fieldwork data and weaves it into the landscapes. One painting features the data line creating the peaks and shape of the glaciers, showing how the glaciers have become smaller and smaller. Another painting includes data running right through a boat and the surface of the water, indicating the rapid variations of the temperature of the ocean’s water. Pelto even makes sure to include sea animals in her paintings that are from the specific area the data was recorded.

“I chose species in this painting based on stories here in Maine,” Pelto said. “The fish are cod and I have them disappearing across the painting as they’ve been overfished in Maine to the point where you often are no longer allowed to fish them. I chose shrimp who are also often overfished. Lobster who are sensitive to temperature and have an uncertain future in the Gulf of Maine despite their importance here. And then in the sand are soft shell clams that are burrowing in which are very susceptible to changes in ocean chemistry.”

Murphy, the second climate artist featured in this event, decodes the interconnected patterns that exist in art and science by creating biological patterns and data visualization in her paintings. Murphy is well-known for her work being exhibited at the Philadelphia International Airport, Palm Springs Museum of Art, Zillman Art Museum, Biggs Museum of American Art, New Bedford Art Museum and Tacoma Art Museum. She has conducted research that has led her to art residencies at Integral Molecular Biotech and Winterthur Museum.

Pertaining to her current exhibit featuring climate change work, Murphy recalled consulting with ornithologists, behavioral biologists and cartographers during her beginning stages as an artist, collectively accounting for 15 to 20 years of work and research which led her to create multiple relevant works. In many of her paintings, Murphy has focused on bird migrations in response to climate change. One of her paintings features songbird migrations, including the Atlantic Flyway, a major flyway for migratory birds in North America.

“Looking at how I can utilize scientific data to express the changes in bird migration is the beginning of my journey,” Murphy said. “‘Winds of Change’ was an exhibition I had in Philadelphia and I worked with Hawk Mountain Sanctuary on this one. I wanted to really try and educate the viewer to see the crisis of climate change and global wanting but I wanted to do it through the hook of beauty and that narrative that wouldn’t be kind of finger-wagging and make people feel the intense negativity that indeed is there, but to take the colors and the beautiful bird forms and images and hook the viewer with the beauty and then softly educate them with this climate change awareness.”

Both artists have created inspiring works of art that allow the public to see science data in another form — a more communicable and emotional form. To find out more information about Pelto and Murphy’s artwork, you can find their online galleries at www.jillpelto.com and www.deirdremurphyart.com.

On Feb. 25 from 6 to 7 p.m., the President’s Council on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion hosted its inaugural session for the Nine Pillars of Diversity Lectures Series, featuring guest speaker JoAnn Fritsche. Fritsche is the former director of equal opportunity and women’s development at the University of Maine.

The lecture series began with a welcoming introduction by UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy, followed by Laura Cowan, the director of UMaine’s women’s gender and sexuality program, introducing the notable works of Fritsche as a past employee and member of the UMaine community.

Back in 1973, Fritsche was hired as the first officer for equal opportunity at UMaine.

“It is not an exaggeration to say Dr. Fritsche transformed the college of our hearts always,” Cowan said. “She understood that advancing equity and diversity required important changes in practice, such as equal salary, more diverse job candidates, accessible buildings and classrooms, but also a change in culture.”

As Fritsche began to speak of her time at UMaine, including how the world around her was so different at that time, it is clear that she made a tremendous difference for many people in the Maine community.

“At that time, married women couldn’t get a credit card without their husband’s permission,” Fritsche said. “And married women job applicants were asked ‘When do you expect to start a family?’ so they could knock them out of a promotion if they were going to have a child.”

Fritsche went on to discuss how the position for the officer for equal opportunity at UMaine came about. The position was advertised by former UMaine President Winthrop C. Libby after a woman faculty member in 1972 had filed a lawsuit against the Portland campus and its administrators for violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which forbids sex discrimination in employment.

“Since women faculty and staff at the University of Maine had been bringing complaints of sex discrimination to attention internally, [former] President Libby decided to advertise for an equal opportunity director to help the university investigate and resolve complaints internally, thus to prevent expensive and embarrassing lawsuits,” Fritsche said.

After being given the position of officer for equal opportunity, Fritsche noticed that even though the Equal Pay Act had been passed by Congress a few years prior, nothing had changed. To her, changes in the law do not bring about changes in attitudes or behavior, until and unless there are protests and effective advocacy.

Fritsche began her first case of intervention advocacy for a woman employee of UMaine who had relatively the same credentials as a male employee but was being paid almost $2,500 less.

“With no embarrassment whatsoever, the department chair said that the man, Dr. F., had six children and a wife to support, but Dr. D. had a husband who was a department chairman making plenty of money and they had only one child, so of course it seemed only fair to give a higher salary to this male faculty member, even though his credentials were similar to hers,” Fritsche said. “At that point, I told the chairman that there were now two laws, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and also Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and both require that a woman and a man doing equal work must be paid equally.”

Moving on to 1974, Fritsche advocated for getting rid of homophobic interview questions for classified employment at UMaine. She urged the president and the director of personnel to remove the questions to avoid bad publicity, and ultimately, her advocacy worked. The questions were removed from the form.

After attending disability training workshops, Fritsche is an advocate of the philosophy to spell disability like ‘disAbility,’ a change she is still advocating for to this day.

“The purpose is to focus on your own and other people’s abilities and find ways to compensate for your own or for others ‘dis,’ or impairments,” Fritsche said. “The other thing is to learn how to be a self-advocate, or an advocate to yourself, to request for yourself or to grant others reasonable accommodations for the ‘dis’ if or when needed.”

Throughout the years in her position at UMaine as the officer for equal opportunity, Fritsche addressed many other equity and diversity issues. 

“Dr. Fritsche created a committee before she left Maine, and she called it Preparing Ourselves for a Changing World,” Cowan said.

Fritsche left UMaine in 1986 for a career fundraising for nonprofit and as director of the Tacoma Washington Area Commission on Disability. 

As a whole, Fitsche made a huge impact on the UMaine community and culture, one that is still felt today.

Monday: National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day

Start your week off great by indulging in one of America’s most loved spreads: peanut butter! More than $4 billion spent on peanut butter purchases contributes to the GDP of the U.S. every year. Whether you prefer to eat it in your favorite candy or with fruit, the opportunities are endless when it comes to peanut butter. Gather friends and family to make homemade peanut butter fudge or hit the shelves of your local grocery store to take advantage of all the peanut-buttery Easter candy that’s recently appeared. March 1 is also National Pig Day and World Compliment Day.

Tuesday: National Egg McMuffin Day

Head over to your local McDonald’s for breakfast today and indulge with a classic Egg McMuffin. These popular breakfast sandwiches were invented in 1972 by Herb Peterson to resemble an eggs benedict, consisting of an English muffin, ham, eggs and hollandaise sauce. Whether you prefer your Egg McMuffin with bacon, sausage or even just cheese, take the time to treat yourself today. Other national holidays that fall on March 2 include National Old Stuff Day and National Read Across America Day.

Wednesday: World Wildlife Day

Whether your favorite animal is an elephant, tiger or flamingo, World Wildlife Day is your opportunity to support a wide variety of animals. On this national holiday, the United Nations and its partners are planning to raise awareness about critically endangered species such as the Sumatran elephant and the Amur leopard. Take today to donate to wildlife funds or organizations to help stop more species from reaching the endangered list. If you can’t provide support by making a donation, don’t worry. Even a simple post on social media to spread awareness can make a big impact. March 3 is also National Anthem Day, National I Want You to be Happy Day and National If Pets Had Thumbs Day.

Thursday: National Grammar Day

Created by Martha Brockenbrough in 2008, founder of the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar, National Grammar Day allows us to sit down and analyze how we can improve our syntax. Take today to practice improving your writing, research upon common grammar errors and give a special thanks to our editors all over America. Other national holidays on March 4 include National Hug a G.I. Day and World Obesity Day. 

Friday: National Day of Unplugging

If your world revolves around technology and social media, take today to unplug from the virtual world and appreciate the natural world around you. Silence social media notifications and take a walk at a local or state park or utilize a hiking trail. You can even drive to the beach and relax to the sound of the waves. Every now and then, everyone needs the time to themselves to unwind and disconnect for a little while, so take in your surroundings and just breathe. March 5 also celebrates National Cheese Doodle Day.

The University of Maine’s 2021 faculty art exhibit, “Faculty 2021: Featured Art Faculty Exhibition,” showcases a variety of media and themes by seven faculty artists in the Lord Hall Gallery until March 12, 2021. From digital prints to oil paints, to pieces with varied types of wood, the exhibit showcases artwork of all different kinds for everyone to enjoy.

Although the gallery may assume a quiet face upon entry, visitors will soon learn that the artwork inside creates both emotion and sensations big enough to fill the room. The talent on display is intricate and detailed, and will leave lasting first impressions.

A prominent theme of the exhibit is the use of natural materials to create works of art. Two faculty artists in particular, Susan Camp and Wayne Hall, used wood to create their pieces on display. Camp also used real mushrooms to create some of her pieces.

Most of Camp’s pieces involve natural latex casts used to cast natural, organic materials. The outdoors were her biggest inspiration in creating these pieces of art. Three of Camp’s featured pieces are titled “Entanglements,” “Monuments” and “What we carry.”

“For many years, a primary focus in my practice has been utilizing natural, biodegradable materials; keeping the environmental footprint of my artistic production as small as possible,” Camp said. “Conceptually, my work focuses on our relationships with other species, the impact of agribusiness, food production and availability, and the marketing of ‘natural’ products. In this work I have collaborated with other species including drosophila, gourds and mold.  Most of this work involves constraining or manipulating these other species in environments of my creation.”

Instead of removing organic material from its environment, Camp created natural latex casts to recreate the story she saw in the object.

“I have been building on my investigations of interspecies entanglements, by creating ‘skins’ made from natural latex casts of trees in my wood lot that were scarred by logging equipment over forty years ago,” Camp said. “These irregularities [where the trees have been forced to change their growth patterns] document the coercive forces that surround these organisms and the resilience in their adaptations to the changed environment. The impressions of the natural forms serve as visual metaphors for the damage we endure and inflict [both visible and hidden] and the beauty of resilience.”

Hall, on the other hand, created his pieces using the wood itself in his studio at home during quarantine. 

“As the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, the daily structure of our lives fractured, leaving painful fissures, some dramatic, hairline or even invisible,” Hall said. “We stayed home. We avoided contact with others. We self-isolated. In my case, I worked alone in my studio. I needed some comforting play time to counterbalance grieving and anger. I found spoon forms to be something inviting I could wrap my arms around or just hold in my hands as a reliable distraction. And I could spend lots of time with my favorite tools: very sharp knives, saws, rasps and other carving implements.”

With all this time on his hands during quarantine, he created over 80 wooden spoons for a display titled “Quarantine Work,” all to each their own.

“This show is the result of much of that studio time,” Hall said. “Not just the spoons themselves, but the intriguing cut-offs as well. My goal was never to design production models. In fact, some of the gestural, dramatic cut-offs are as interesting as the spoons. I made over 80 spoons before I used any of them, which reveals where my true priorities lie: form and beauty over function. It’s the unfair luxury of an artist, I suppose.”

Other faculty artists in the Lord Hall exhibit include: Samantha C. Jones, Andy Mauery, Robert Pollien, Matt Smolinsky and Giles Timms. Jones contributed a piece made of painted silk velvet, Maurey contributed drawings on No. 6 plastic that were shrunken, Pollien painted a series of oil on panels, Smolinsky contributed a series of archival digital prints and silver gelatin pieces and Timms had an animation available to watch on a television screen. In addition to Hall’s wooden spoons, he also created artwork with graphite and charcoal on paper.

For more information on the current “Faculty 2021: Featured Art Faculty Exhibition” as well as previous and archived exhibitions, please visit https://umaine.edu/art/lord-hall-gallery-page/.

4.8/5 Stars

With Netflix releasing a variety of new movies and shows taking place in a historical setting lately, the new movie “The Dig” just joined the list on Jan. 29. Having a lengthy run time of one hour and 52 minutes, prepare yourself to sit down and indulge if you are to watch this miraculous film.

Starring Carey Mulligan as Edith Pretty and Ralph Fiennes as Basil Brown, the characters feel real and raw. Additional actors in the movie include Lily James as Peggy Piggott, Johnny Flynn as Rory Lomax and Archie Barnes as Robert Pretty. “The Dig” portrays its characters as if they were people we know and interact with every day. From their mannerisms to their problem-solving decisions, the characters are a breath of fresh air from many of the crazy, drama-filled shows and movies we know today.

“The Dig” is based on a true story that happened in Suffolk, England in the late 1930s as World War II was beginning. It is also based on the book of the same title by John Preston that was written about this historical event. Pretty, a wealthy landowner, hires Brown, a self-taught excavator to dig up the large burial mounds on her land in Sutton Hoo. As Brown begins to make incredible discoveries, well-known professional archaeologists move in and take over the site. However, Pretty insists that Brown stays and continues to work on the case with them since it was his discovery in the first place. By the end of the excavation, Pretty is granted ownership of the site’s discoveries, and she eventually donates the findings to a museum under one condition: Brown’s name is given credit for the finds. Unfortunately, Brown’s name never made its way into recognition. It wasn’t until recently that his name was discovered and recognized and is now displayed to the public alongside Pretty’s name.

One thing to recognize as successful in this movie, aside from the realistic acting, is an immersive sense of place. Viewers will feel like they are in wartime England. With the planes flying over every now and then, the old radio voice announcing news about the war, the costumes and the constant rain and gloom of England weather, Netflix did a phenomenal job executing the setting and scenes of this film. Even the small, little details of the movie stay true to the decade and location that “The Dig” takes place in.

If you love historical movies, then this is the one for you. Not only do you get to learn how early 20th century archaeology was done, but you also get to learn about a factual event in history. It is a spectacular movie overall. “The Dig” exceeded expectations and did not disappoint. Do not let this one slip past your watch list. Go ahead and sit down with yourself or friends and immerse yourself into the late 1930s for an excavating journey.