Friday. May to. 1959 SCARLET AND BLACK The 5&3 Reviews Porlney's Complaint Trumped Up Popularity By GARY GlDDENS Portney’s Complaint is worth reading in spite of its popularity, but it is not the great literature that so many speed- freak Critics have tried to trump it up as. Briefly, Purtney‘s Complaint is basical- ly a bad case at third generation Amer lean Jewery. Alexander Penney is a grotesque stereotype living in n worltl oi grotesque stereotypes; the overhear ing, castratlng mother, the constipated father, pleasant but stupid goyim, etc. His story is related as a coniesslon to n psychiatrist whose only response is the exasperated “punch line” of the book. “So, Now vee may perhaps to begin. ,Yes?” i Portney ls in serch or an identity — "Put the id back in yid" is his anguished plea —— to help him survive in America with all those crazy gentiles who say “Good morning” in the morning, “Good litter-noon” in the afternoon, and who are apparently never obsessed by the tunky perversities of sex, masturbation, defeca- tion, loss of temper, or lack of reserve. But Roth doesn't seem to be sure how sick his protagonist really is. The pas- sages allemate from stereotype confron- tations in wildly hilarious sex episodes and gentile-Jew interrreactions. to des- perate cries of hurt and bewilderment. As a result, the reader often finds the laughter sticking in his throat, although the structure or the book seems to decry the seriousness of the oomplaint. When- ever Portney gets too serious, Roth checks himself and throws in another anecdote about his sex adventures with his girl irlend, “the monkey." And to be sure, these segments contain some brilliantly written wmic moments. But: the repetitive rambling oi the “contes- sion” is olten merely redundant rather than revealing. There is an ease or style and perceptiveness that ls reminiscent of Roth at his best (the “Goodbye C0- lumbus" stories) but i don't believe that Roth is at home in the novel formi The discipline or a novella might have avoid- ed the fluctuation oi tone and the mean- ingless repetition, and would have creat- ed a tighter, runnler framework. But of course novella: and short stories never, ever make the bestsellers list, The novel is significant for a couple of reasons. For the lirst time e excepting a few short stories by Roth and Malamud — the Gregor Samsa-Asa Leventhal char» acter has become a joke. (How else do you treat such a cliche at this late date?) The narrative style is that uniquely A~ merican vemacular that seems to have been modllied year alter year ever since Nick Carraway hit town. Most impor- tant, however, IS the possibility that Roth has sung the swan song tor a type of Jewish literature that has dnminated American letters tor twenty-two years. I don't believe much can be added to the serious attempts at this kind of writing alter Herzog, and Roth has completely run the stereotype into the ground — creating a grand quignol at Jewish ideals. There is truth in the antics of Alexan- der Partney, and thls is a marvelously entertaining and timely story but it is ul- timately dissappointing. :— Equipment Lost! Over $l,000 worth or equipment in~ clnding a Hohner electric piano, a vox Super Beatle speaker system, and two vox organ loot pedals are missing. Any assistance in locating the equipment would be very appreciated. Contac wa Wah, Ext. 643, Loose Hall, Fantastic Faculty Art By RICHARD WICKSTROM The Faculty Exhibition at Schealler Gallery showing through June 2nd is by far the most exciting exhibition 1 can remember seeing at Grinnell. Not only are the individual pieces excellent, but: the organization and hanging or the works transforms the gallery into a dec« oratlve, cohesive environment. Many changes in style from last year are evi- tlélit in the Work of Bart Mulse, Richard Cervene, and Glenn Zirkle. Bart Morse's concern last year was the study or the nude lignre, The town countryside has gained preeminence in his explorations this year. The works Summer: Blue Point and Fall: Blue Point capture well the mood of each season. in both works a birds-eye View presents the eye with the expansive openness ot Iowa. In Summer: Blue Point, a wood cut, intense retls, yellows, greens, and blues term a decorative interplay or advancing and receeding areas. The grainy quality at the wood is exploited in the fluid quality of the clouds. In Fall: Blue PoinILan etching. aquatine. the lack of color, energetic sky, and rich landscape elicit romantic memories of fall. ()va a weaving by Laura Wleman brings the viewer directly into the act of creation through the evemhanging opti- cal impressions on the retina of the ey t It is an interesting extension of the 0p art phenomenon. lier Weaving, Road- side, which incorporates weeds directly into the fabric an extension of the col- logeassemblage tradition, calls up, with the aid ot warm browns, images at landscape Weaving, too seldom seen in BUBA An exhibit by Lawrence Frank East Street Gallery New lhl'u June 1. Step Up To JD'S RESIAURANI’ 711% Main Mon. s Sat. 5 to to p. . Sunday — Noon to to pm, an exhibition, is a valuable contribution to this month’s Show. The paintings of Richard Cervene rep— resent an aspect of the recent: trend or shaped cam/asses. In his work Anguilla the frame is set back about one half inch from the surface of the canvas. A5 in most of Cervenc’s work, form is sac- rlilced to an exploration ot color etlecls. Advancing and receeding hues or pink and blue present an interesting spatial interplay; while aicas where one color blends into another establishes unusual coloislic ellects. in his Pnerio Marquez the canvas jumps a lull six inches out {lflm the Wall, Willlin the blue form on the front side are beautiful Washes variations of color. Form, a greater con- cern in this work, serves the function of integrating the five surfaces of the painting. The orange and core lines lead the eye to the side surfaces where the downward movement of the pinks on the left side draw the eye to the bottom sur- face where the blue stripe offers a plea- sant visual surprise. The paintings of Robert McMillan, largely monochromatic, have an empha» sis on values and interplay of lorms, In hls Untitled acrylic in the east lobby, McMillan employs Cubist space and form but introduces color to create lurther spatial movements. The Work is more dynamic, complex. and imposing than his other paintingsi His pencil drawings are pristine, like little gems, complete unto themselves. The wine cups of Glenn le‘kle are ex~ nmples or superior design and crafts- manship — to say more is difficult. The machine has crept into Mr. Zirkle‘s work this year as shown in the cast bronze lit—u McCormick peering, 0r- ganlc Gear and Impossible Gear. The walnut limestone Ferguson 1V is, in my opinion, his best sculpture and possibly the best work in the Show The subtly modeled walnut base gives the lime stone a gentle life. The smooth, tlowlng planes and lines or the limestone, corl~ trasted with the rough cut areas em- phasizes the rock quality of the material opposed by the beautirul biomorphio form, No words can do justice to the work Merle Zirkle's jewelry exhibits super- ior craftsmanship. Her weed bottles echo the forms of tall weeds and are strikingly beautilul. The large slab bot- tle in the center Cabinet in the hallway is sensational. Primitive linear design and a complex, well-resolved design make this work the most beautiful pot l‘ve seen at Grinnell, To write about a good work at art is difficult if not imposslhle: it Can't be expressed in Words This exhibition is the perlect example or the above state ment. It is too good to be missed. Page Nina one} (Photo by bill Ratterty Bland Blues Email By PETER KEEPNEWS When the marl himsell, Bobby “Blue" Bland, pulled up in lrnnt ot Darby Gym in his white Cadillac last Saturday night, it was apparent that this was to be no ordinary night at Grinnell. By the time Bland set root on the Darby stage, the entire gym was adritt in a sea oi soullulness, blnesiness, and the kind at musical euphoria you seldom find in this part or town. Bland, the man who gave you such hits as “Turn on Your Love Light’ and “I Pity The Fool," put on quite a show. It began when his band, Emie Flelds Jf. and Company, played a heavy set ot lunky jazz and soul numbers. Then a beautiful young lady named Paulette Parker sang and shouted her way into the hearls and minds and bodies of the audience, especially with her version or “Twenty-five Miles to Go.” And then— with the audience breathless with an: llcipatian—Bobby Bland walked up to the stage, began to sing—and it )Ja: beautifuli ’ Bland's music is steeped in the [radio tion or America’s only native art lorm, the blues, and no words can do as good a job as Bland's perlormanee did oi explaining the universal appeal that th- blues has. Sultice it to say that it you missed the concert, you missed an op: portunity to feel what it's like to be really touched by the blues as sung by a master. Bobby Bland really is a mas (er a! his Craft (35 are his musician] and Miss Parker), and it's quite some— thing to have your soul stirred by a master, This was soul. baby, and there’s nolhing more that can be said than that. it you have to ask what it is, you’ll never know. This was a great concert, the kind of evening that makes going to Grinnell seem worthwhile. One thing that helped make it such a success was the way the gym was decorated: it wasn't. There were no chairs on the lloor and no crepe- paper backdrop for the stage, and it was great. It was the Fillmore Midwesth people were tree to listen. dance, move around, in short, to do their own thing (a phrase i just invented). All that was missing was a light Show. All Grinnell concerts should be like this. New This Year EuroBUSpass in Europe—3 Weeks S88 As Well As Th EuRA Grinneil Tr e Old Favorite, Ilpass avel Center 808 5th Avenue Court Phone 236-4384 1364575