Silent voices from secret places

The SCAD community witnessed two moving performances of “The Vagina Monologues” Feb. 18-19. Read more

A trip down artistic lane

By Blair Kao

Located in Atlanta’s Historic Arts District, Castleberry Hill is full of creativity, as evidenced by its 2nd Friday ArtStroll. Read more

Six students show they’re up for challenge

Despite the inclement weather Feb. 12, six artists and a professor put up a multidimensional installation exhibit at Studioplex. Read more

Photo of the week

Spring House finally has a new entry gate. The old one malfunctioned early fall quarter. The new turn style gate allows students easy access to the school via SCAD Way — out of the way of traffic on Spring and Peachtree streets.

Final Performance of “The Vagina Monologues” Tonight

Tonight is the final showing of “The Vagina Monologues”, an award-winning play by Eve Ensler based on the anecdotes and stories of over 200 women, as performed by SCAD students. The show starts at 8 p.m. in the 4C Events Space and the cost is $5 for students and $7 for staff and faculty. All proceeds benefit Innocence Atlanta. Don’t miss it!

SCAN Magazine Winter 2010

The Winter 2010 issue of SCAN Magazine is finally here.

Join the Connector and SCAN staff for the magazine release party Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 1:30 p.m. in the Hub. Enjoy ice cream and music, and don’t forget to pick up your free copy of SCAN.

For more information about SCAN, e-mail scan.magazine@scadconnector.com.

Check out the new website–>
http://www.scadconnector.com/scan

Butch Walker’s ‘No Heart’ has plenty to spare

Georgia native Butch Walker may be the best rock musician you’ve never heard of — at least not as a solo artist. A veteran of the music industry and a producer/collaborator with such acts as Pink, Weezer and All-American Rejects, Walker couldn’t sound further from the more popular names he’s helped reach heights higher than he. A unique amalgamation of folk, rock and indie, Walker has slowly built a small following of cult fans. Now with the release of his fifth solo record, “I Liked You Better When You Had No Heart,” Walker is poised to gain more followers.

You might know him as the guy who did that cover of Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me” and was subsequently invited to play with Swift at last month’s Grammys. But what does Walker sound like doing his own stuff? Sincere. Walker has made a clear effort in his indie career — he spent the ’80s and ’90s in a succession of bands — to not be pinned down to any one genre. It’s like the old Osmond saying, “a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll,” but not as cheesy.

In past albums and in the new one, his songs speak from the heart about life’s ups and downs. Even when he and his band are having fun and writing about stock subjects, the lyrics come from experience. It leaves a bigger imprint on the listener than songs built around catchy-but-empty three-line hooks. But one listens for more than lyrics; the music that accompanies the words is just as appealing.

Compared to his previous album, “Sycamore Meadows” — bonus points if you know what we’re talking about — “No Heart” definitely has more bounce in its step. More hopeful than “Sycamore,” it has the energy of earlier solo efforts, but builds off the content and feel of his later work. The title of the album is a mystery. It’s not the title of any song on the record and of those eleven songs, not one lacks a modicum of heart. It features a mix of upbeat rock-pop numbers that should stand well as singles. With experimental genre-mixing tunes that draw from recent folk elements, and the occasional slower heartfelt ballad that finds its way into each of his albums, “No Heart” is less roller coaster than tour bus. It takes listeners through a variety of sounds that mesh well together.

Album highlights include, “She Likes Hair Bands,” a sometimes humorous pining for a girl; “House of Cards,” an upbeat jam session with a bit of twang; “They Don’t Know What We Know,” a mish-mash of folk and power rock; and “Temporary Title,” which is arguably the best tune of the bunch with a speedy mix of guitar solos, “woah-ohs” and catchy hooks. Singling out these tracks seems somewhat wrong given the overall strength of the work here, but newcomers would be wise to sample the above tunes before delving into the full album.

Who knows? You might add to the growing list of fans. If not, well at least you’ll know the answer to a future Trivial Pursuit question about Taylor Swift.

“I Liked You Better When You Had No Heart” will be released Tuesday, Feb. 23.

Can iPad replace the traditional portfolio?

After days of twiddling our thumbs, waiting for the big reveal, we finally got a glimpse of Apple’s latest device. Now that we know what it is, we can assess the iPad’s strengths and weaknesses. Its capabilities can benefit art students in many areas. However, the iPad does have it its limits. The following are the pros and cons the iPad presents for art majors.

Photography
Pro: You can present your portfolio in one device rather than carrying a heavy case.
Con: There is no built-in camera.

Painting
Pro: There are 99-cent applications, such as Finger Paint for in-computer painting.
Con: You would have to photograph each one of your paintings to place them into a portfolio on the iPad.

Graphic design, advertising design and illustration
Pro: iPad serves as lightweight portfolio for work presentation.
Con: Although you can download tutorials like “Learn the Adobe Creative Suite with Terry White,” you can’t use any Adobe software on the iPad.

Motion media design, animation, television producing
Pros: If your files are created with QuickTime, you can present your portfolio on the iPad. You can also watch YouTube videos.
Con: Adobe Flash doesn’t work.

Art history
Pros: You can do your research on the go using the Safari browser on any WiFi and 3G network. You can also take notes in class and even record your class lectures.

Interactive design and game development
Pros: You can choose from hundreds of games to download and play. There is also the opportunity to create and sell games and apps for the iPad.
Con: You can’t create the games on the iPad.

Writing
Pros: Whenever the light bulb goes on and you need to jot down thoughts on the iPad and you can download books to read for inspiration.

Fashion, fashion marketing and management, accessory design
Pro: Applications like Trendstop TrendTracker help you study fashion trends.
Con: iPad doesn’t transform into a sewing machine.

Sculpture
Pro: Instead of hauling around a truck of your sculptures, you can show photographs of your work on the iPad.
Con: There aren’t many applications for sculptors.

Sequential art
Pro: You can do rough sketches on the go using the free application Doodle Buddy.

Interior Design
Pro: There are several apps, including Home Interior Layout Designer – Mark On Call, that cater to interior designers.

Recession Depression

By Allyssa Lewis

Collaborative learning to play big role at SCAD

One small acronym is causing big buzz at SCAD. Read more

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