Everybody has moods swings, but none are quite like those of Robert Fichter. The tone in his art changes from happy to sad to anguished in an instant, which is evident from the magnificent gallery portraying all his shifting art. Instead of ignoring his feelings, he put his emotions into his mediums, which currently display the journey of his masterpieces.

Robert Whitten Fichter was an American artist born in 1939. He studied painting, printmaking and photography at the University of Florida, where he experimented across a variety of mediums, colors and styles. He describes himself as an imagemaker, expressionist and experimentalist all in one. Fichter was a curator at the George Eastman Museum and a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, which helped him hone his artistic skills.

His gallery displayed in the Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery starts off with a dark and monochrome photograph collection that eventually switches to a plethora of color and vibrance. The photographs, developed in the darkroom, increase the melancholy feel. He uses methods like blurring and solarization to enhance this effect. He then moved onto different mediums and colors: drawing, airbrushing and implementing watercolor to get his desired vivid effects. Many of his paintings are fun and full of interesting characters and scenes, whereas some in his later days are inspired by horrors with anatomy and the environment.

Fichter was troubled by the effects of overdevelopment of society on the environment and even gave up photography for a time because of the chemical waste it produced. In fact, many of his paintings were inspired by that same anxiety—changes in the environment, the destruction of war and the threat of nuclear proliferation.

One of the pieces that stood out among this gallery was the Hiroshima Memorial, c. 1982. It encapsulates everything that Fichter stood for in his art and the emotions that lay behind it are extremely clear.

The print grips the viewer from the very beginning, simply because of the truth of history mixed with the softness of art. The print itself consists of traditional Japanese artwork depicting war, along with delicate cherry blossoms framing the edges. The connection to Japan lies within these cherry blossoms, or sakura, as it is their national flower. Skeletons and corpses and other deathly depictions fill the center. A feminine doll in a kimono appears to be completely damaged.

This symbolizes the destruction of innocent lives in the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that occurred in 1945. The depictions of war and bones bring such a dark and bitter atmosphere to the art, while the bright colors of the flowers and kimono could symbolize the hope that the country could hold on to.

Fichter created an exquisite gallery that displayed his changes in the art, which brought a beautiful blend of somber yet vibrantly curious illustrations. “Artists don’t have to stay in one singular mood all the time. I am consistent about nothing,” he says.

Photo Credit: Robert Fitcher’s art is displayed in the Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery. Photo by Alex McKenzie.

HAPP scholarship awards - applications now available

Barbara E. Burkman & HAPP COM applications due Dec. 1, 2019

See link below or attachments to apply. 

https://sahap.umbc.edu/awards/

The views expressed in this article are the views of the author.

It’s a well-known fact that President Donald Trump is not well-liked. Currently, his job approval rating sits around 44 percent. He has gone down as the most unpopular president since the poll’s origin. The American public doesn’t like him.

The economy gave Trump redemption. However, in a time of plenty, a lot of Trump’s antics slipped under the radar. His subtle jabs toward fascism were quickly struck down by the courts, taken back due to public outcry or disregarded in total. We were in a cycle where Trump’s actions became a hot topic for a week and then evaporated into the ether.

But we are entering into a new era of the Trump presidency. Trump is the fourth president to have an impeachment inquiry opened against him. In July, Trump, on a phone call with the President of Ukraine, threatened to withhold funding in exchange for dirt on Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden’s dealings with a Ukrainian gas company. Even worse, a whistleblower within the Intelligence Community saw this behavior and attempted to report this bribe to Congress, only for the Trump administration to block the report until late September.

Obviously, this behavior is unacceptable of a sitting president; and yet again, in a world where we’ve seen everything, Trump has found a way to shock us all. We’ve never seen a moral man, nevertheless, a sitting president, so blatantly and openly disregard societal, political and cultural norms, and defy the will of his party and the public.

Trump has no morals, however. Since his inauguration, the sitting president has been accused of obstruction of justice, witness tampering, breaking campaign finance laws, alleged sexual assault, threatening the free press, undermining his own intelligence agencies, inciting violence and revoking human rights from refugees and immigrants. Within the last three years, we have seen more corrupt, ruthless and dictatorial behavior than we’ve ever seen before. Now, we can add “attempted to rig an election” to the list of inexcusable acts this president has committed.

For far too long, the Democratic Party held off on impeachment, fearing it may trigger a backlash from the public. Many in the party worry that impeachment, specifically an acquittal in the Senate, will energize Trump’s base in the 2020 Presidential election. Many representatives of swing districts fear that supporting impeachment may cause them to lose their position in 2020. Even still, Democrats in the House reached a majority for supporting an impeachment inquiry.

What’s right is not always easy. We have a constitutional and moral right to keep the powerful in check, even at the risk of losing. Furthermore, we can no longer allow this president to make a mockery of our government. Congress must use the checks and balances afforded to them and keep the presidency in line. The impeachment inquiry must go forward, and every representative and senator must make their mark on history and either stand up against corruption or succumb to complacency.

Trump’s reign of lawlessness must end. Our democracy is at stake. All the ideals this country holds in high regard — freedom, liberty, decency and truth — lie stripped, beaten, robbed and left for dead by this administration. Enough is enough. Congress has waited for far too long to place this president in check. Impeachment must move forward.

It’s time.

Job Req ID: 18845

Administrative Secretary

General Summary:

Provides administrative support for office staff, including special projects, website maintenance, office workflow, appointments, correspondence, student payroll, budgets, data compilation and records control. May perform duties of a sensitive and confidential nature.

Note: Position runs through June 30, 2020

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This review contains spoilers for the Netflix’s “Between Two Ferns: The Movie.”

This one could use a trim. Netflix’s film adaptation and mockumentary of the popular web show “Between Two Ferns” gives plenty of shine to its star Zach Galifinakis but misses the clear potential to build more around him.

The interviews that Galifianakis—who plays a version of himself in the movie—hosts are nothing short of masterclasses in improvisational comedy. His purposely uncomfortable and mean-spirited questions are not only hysterical but also never fail to garner reactions of bemusement from his A-list guests like Matthew McConaughey, Brie Larson and Chance the Rapper. But do not worry, they are in on the joke, and some of Zach’s guests even return his verbal spars.

Surrounding Galifanakis is his trusty crew: cameraman Cam (Ryan Gaul), “Boom Boom” on sound (Jiavani Linayao), and his assistant Carol (Lauren Lapkus). Together, they are sent on a cross-country quest by Will Ferrell (also playing himself) to record ten episodes of his public access show, so Galifanakis can earn a real late-night talk show of his own.

Scott Aukerman, co-creator and executive producer of the internet series, is the film’s writer and director. His direction leaves none to be desired; all of the cast put their best foot forward, and no bad performances are to be found. Aukerman’s script provides quality satire on the inner workings of Hollywood and tons of self-deprecating humor all around.

Unfortunately, aside from the off-color interviews, the movie does not have much substance. The journey our heroes take does not feel entirely necessary since there is no reason to trek from North Carolina to California other than “it’s what the plot demands of them.” 

The film also falls victim to an overreliance on self-mocking humor (mostly targeting Galifanakis). He has sex with supermodel Chrissy Teigen, and it is played purely for laughs. The “ugly guy gets attractive woman” trope is not only outdated, but also incredibly unoriginal. Zach is a hilarious person and he should be allowed to actually be funny.

Not to mention, the severe waste of Zach’s team. There are interesting side plots established for them towards the beginning of the movie (Cam and Zach’s rivalry and a potential romance between Carol and Zach for instance) that are swept under the rug for quick laughs. The dynamic established between Zach and his “Fern Crew,” although entertaining to watch, also feels like something we have seen before—it is in the vain of Michael Scott to his employees at Dunder Mifflin Scranton.

All in all, this movie prospers when focusing on the interviews but leaves much to be desired “outside of the ferns.”

Photo Credit: Zach Galifianakis is the star of “Between Two Ferns: The Movie.” Photo courtesy of Creative Commons.

In the past few years, environmental activists have called attention to the detrimental effects of plastic straws. This widespread campaign has boasted some big successes, with chains such as Starbucks vowing to phase out the use of plastic straws by 2020 and entire cities, including San Francisco, restricting the use of plastic straws to those who request them due to disabilities or medical needs. The Starbucks located in University Center at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County has seemingly reached this goal to date: All iced beverages are now served with a recyclable lid akin to a sippy cup. 

While a similar agenda has not been stated by Dunkin’ Donuts — the new location in The Commons hands out cold beverages with a signature orange straw — we must recalibrate the focus of our environmental advocacy. Even with a meal plan, iced coffee is a luxury that not all students indulge in. Water, however, is a necessity. Given that the entire population of UMBC, including students, staff, faculty and visitors, drinks water on a daily basis, wouldn’t it be safe to assume that our environmental footprint could be reduced if we focus on minimizing waste from water-related single-use plastics?

Currently, bottled water is available for purchase at both the True Grit’s and Commons Outtakes, as well as in vending machines located inside every residence hall and academic building. Meal deals at any food vendor in The Commons offer the choice between a plastic water bottle and a compostable fountain drink cup. All fountain drink machines on campus have a water option, and the compostable vessel does far less damage to the planet than plastic bottles. To encourage the use of cups over bottles, UMBC should eradicate the selling of plastic bottles, or at the very least cut down on the practice, taking into consideration redundancy and necessity.

This is a goal that other schools have committed to, notably The University of Vermont. Their Office of Sustainability website documents the progress of this initiative, which began in 2013. As of now, all dining locations offer free, filtered cold water. UMBC’s own filtered hydration stations are sporadically located throughout campus, but should ultimately replace all fountains. Additionally, water coolers with compostable cups should be installed in academic buildings, allowing students and faculty to fill up personal reusable bottles or bring cold, fresh water to their classrooms in cups if needed. UMBC currently sells Dasani brand water, owned by Coca Cola, which is produced by filtering municipal tap water. There is no reason that this water should be made more available than the free tap water that flows through our fountains, especially if we take the initiative to filter and chill it. 

To accommodate the on-the-go lifestyle of students, UMBC can and should sell reusable water bottles at Outtakes, offer compostable cups by water fountains and update our water infrastructure so that all fountains are replaced with filtered hydration stations, and all existing hydration stations are maintained properly and frequently. Light indicators communicate the filter status, letting us know when it needs changing. These lights should always be green. The UMBC community deserves free access to quality potable water, and the planet deserves the benefits that accompany this intentional decrease in single-use plastics.