West Windsor Arts Council has become a go to place for art, films, music, and more. Two major happenings at the center include “Rock Paper Scissors,” a group exhibit of artwork that stretches the idea of what is traditionally art, and a screening of “Even the Rain,” a Spanish film set in Bolivia.
The film, also known as “Tambien la lluvia,” is directed by Iciar Bollain and features Gael Garcia Bernal, will be shown on Saturday, January 12 at 7:30 p.m. A discussion led by Dan Wright and Maria Bok follows the screening. Wright, a Ph.d candidate at Princeton University, has spent several years in Bolivia. Bok, a teacher in West Windsor-Plainsboro School District, is of Bolivian heritage.
Multiple stories intertwine within the film. A Spanish film crew headed by idealistic director Sebastian (Gael Garcia Bernal) and his cynical producer Costa (Luis Tosar) come to Bolivia to make a revisionist epic about the conquest of Latin America — on the cheap.
The film is a fictional drama that draws on real life situations within Bolivia. Indigenous residents were hired as actors and film crew for the dramatization of the brutal oppression of the native people by the 16th century Spanish conquerors protest their own risky and unfair working conditions. Daniel, a local resident cast as a 16th century native, organizes a massive demonstration against his community’s deprivation of water at the hands of a multi-national corporation. In this film within a film, discrimination, racism, demonstrations, and confrontations take place.
Bok has taught Spanish at Community Middle School for more than 10 years. Drawing on her personal experiences and familiarity with the City of Cochabamba, she will provide context for cultural patterns and tensions portrayed in the film, as well as local and political issues that led to the Water War.
Wright, who served as a regional sanitation engineer in the Peace Corps in Monteagudo, Bolivia, has expertise in water management and direct involvement in water issues in Bolivia, He will focus on the complicated aftermath of the Water War in Cochabamba.
Although the film has not been rated with respect to recommended age for attendance, the Arts Council suggests 14 years of age or older due to its complex plot and content.
The opening reception for “Rock Paper Scissors” will be held on Sunday, January 13, from 4 to 6 p.m. The artists will speak about their work and juror Kelly Baum presents a gallery talk. Baum is the Haskell Curator of Contemporary Art at the Princeton University Art Museum.
Rock Paper Scissors, a centuries old game, is based on the concept of randomness. The theme for the exhibition is centered on the idea that the process of art making is just as important as or more important than the end result. Artwork that stretches the idea of what is traditionally considered art is especially encouraged.
The arts council membership is represented by 32 works of art by 18 different artists. Works on view include digital photography, painting, mixed media, collage, and assemblage. Artists experimented with various media including wax, bleach, found objects, and hand dyed fabrics. Artwork was submitted based on the theme of randomness and experimentation. Work that stretched the idea of what is traditionally considered art was encouraged. More than 65 submissions from 25 artists were received following the call to artists.
Artists from West Windsor include Kathleen Liao, Susan Ezzo, Sandra Shapiro, Dee Gozonsky, Allison Singer, Marci Gelb, Ilene Dube, Richard Snedeker, Ahuva Arie, Andrew Werth, and Al Chasen.
“I was struck by the number of artists who were playing with collage — this seems to have been an ideal format when it came to exploring chance and experimentation,” says Baum. “While jurying, I rely on intuition and knowledge: I tend to ‘go with my gut,’ but it’s a gut that’s been studying art for well over two decades, so my gut is informed by my reading and research. I review all of the submissions once and then again at least three more times before coming to a final decision. Gradually, I hone the list of artworks until I’ve arrived at what I think are the most compelling and exciting submissions.”
West Windsor Arts Council, 952 Alexander Road, West Windsor. 609-716-1931. www.westwindsorarts.org.
