A second view
of the show

Jennifer Sim either. Many of her paintings

 

Haiku in a Japanese Garden
17 Views Of The Seasons

 

 

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Ss aalateeeaieh aan tahini edge tame each dechinatate ietienianetan

 

Fee a ee

Maureen Egan

 

The first thing I noticed was
the advancing rush of tropical
oasis offering striking crystal
blues and vivid emerald
greens of a sea and land and
sky. The painting “Koi and
Pontederia (Pickerelweed)”
was a good introduction to
Haiku in a Japanese Garden:
17 Views of the Seasons, Diana
Zoe Cogp’s tribute to the
evolving cycles of nature. Her
arrangement of the garden's
shapes, textures, and colours
on geometric backings form a
pleasing esthetic, helping the
viewer glide effortlessly
through the tangible/
intangible continuum of
school/work/life in the
institutional ecosystem that
is Douglas College.
April Haiku
Rain, sun, wind, tulip
riot of colour emerges
Spring’s paintbrush at work.
In only 17 syllables,
“April Haiku,” the verse
accompanying Coop’s painting
“Teahouse and the Styrax
Tree” sums up the essence of
her 17 works of art. Awash in
this paradise are overhanging
tendrils of fine-laced fuchsia
interrupted by staccato up-
and-down brush strokes of
marsh-green grass and
driblets of raindrops that roll
softly down into the water—
water alive and teeming with
organic vitality.
From early summer
until the first fall of snow,
Coop's seasonal works herald

the comings and salute the
goings of nature. A jungle of
huge violet flora and sun-
touched fauna signals the
close of summer with “Koi
and Shihainami Iris,” and in
September, “Teahouse by
Moonlight,” perched atop a
craggy ridge, overlooks the
natural processes now begin-
ning to cool the unnamed
Vancouver garden. As Mother
Earth beds down for winter;
the stark afternoon light
illuminates “October Japanese
Maple and Teahouse: View
from the Stream,” and in
“First Snowfall and Wild
Gimger (sic) Iris,” muddy
greys and icy blues dominate
the canvas as shadowy flecks
of koi and trout weave in and
out through waving reeds
beneath the teahouse land-
ing.
January Haiku
The garden sleeps now
Winter warms the dominant
branch
Waiting for the sun

Two of the 17 “views”
are works in black and white,
titled “The Mystic Pathway:
the Garden Unfolds” and “The
Silver Garden,” and accompa-
nied respectively by “January
Haiku” and “Snowdrops,
February Haiku.” January's
painting seems to be the
artist's cautious approach to
the world of black-and-white
mixed media; but she quickly
regains confidence a month
later with “The Silver Gar-
den,” using pieces of Xeroxed
photographs of the garden
itself, as well as Japanese

washi paper, inks and acryl-
ics. In her biography, Coop
alludes to the storm-cloud
tempest (in the teahouse?)
that was her life before her
conjoining with nature
began, but what a silver
lining that benefits the rest
of us!

Forsythia

Brilliant yellow

first colour of spring beckons
Senses touch the heart

“Forsythia and the Lily
Pond” celebrate blues, greens
and violets lapping at the
edge of the still-sleeping
pond. “Wabi-sabi and the
Three Poems” is all curves and
swooshes, bubbling water and
cherry blossoms and long
blades of pond grass. And the
graceful orchestration of deep
rushing jades and swiftly
falling purples create a visual
shiatsu in “The Naro-no-umi
Iris and Waterfall.”

Outside, the rain keeps
tapping on the skylights of
the gallery; it’s dark and cold
out there. But in here, the
viewer is surrounded by a
pale gentle warmth of late
afternoon light. For those
who have fallen victim to
sensory overload (it’s still
only January!), steep a nice
hot cup of Mandarin Spice tea
and head on over to the
Amelia Douglas Art Gallery
for 17 revitalizing views of
the seasons in Diana Zoe
Coop's Haiku in a Japanese
Garden, currently showing
until February 15th.

Welcome to AOL

Jen Swanston

 

Joe Versus the Volcano would
have been a flop, if not for
that intangible spark be-
tween Meg Ryan and Tom
Hanks. Sleepless in Seattle
was made all the more
interesting by the spark that
comes across brilliantly on
screen between Ryan and
Hanks. With You've Got Mail,
Ryan and Hanks have
established themselves as
the romantic couple of the
nineties.

Ryan and Hanks were
once again teamed with Nora
Ephron who both wrote and
directed You've Got Mail.
Ephron wrote When Harry Met
Sally and wrote and directed
the hit Sleepless in Seattle.
Quirky romances seem to be
Ephron’s trademark; she uses
classic ideas with modern pop
culture. Her movies also bear
the dubious distinction of
being chick flicks.

You've Got Mail has
already established itself a
hit, raking in over $78 US in
just three weeks. The story
wasn't all that original, boy
meets girl, boy and girl have
instant rapport, boy and girl
have conflict that prevents

6 January 20 1999

Cyber-sex tonight honey?

them from being together,
boy and girl end up together
in the end. It is the magic
that Ryan and Hanks produce
while on screen that holds
this movie together when it
seems to run overly long.
They play off each other
beautifully, be it when they
first meet and flirt back and
forth over a book Hanks is
buying or when shooting
each other down after they
become rivals because Hanks
opens a mega-book store

around the corner from Ryan's

little book shop.
In addition Ephron has
given You’ve Got Mail enough

the Other Press

   

real life situation to keep it
from becoming too saccharin.
Final note, yes it is a
chick flick, but most guys
will enjoy it. You've Got Mail
is great for a date movie or a
girls’ night out.
PGT /2

This time of year, an exhibi-
tion of painting and poetry
celebrating the effect of the
changing seasons ona
Japanese garden is truly a
welcome thing. This elegant
and inspirational exhibition
should put some spark in
your battery.

Diana Zoe Coop's mixed
media paintings focus prima-
rily on colourful garden
scenes, including tall purple
irises and pools of azure
water. Coop spent months
documenting the seasonal
changes of this garden, and as
a result she gained a deeper
understanding of her “con-
nection with nature.”

Although Coop’s paint-
ings explore colour relation-
ships, there are also two black
and whites on display, which
she says is “a significant
departure” for her. “The
Mystic Pathway: The Garden
Unfolds,” and “The Silver
Garden” depict winter scenes.
Pale tonalities, ranging from
steely white to creamy matte,
contrast with black and gray
rock crevices and silver
iridescent frost. The effect is
striking. Impressed, I ask
Coop to tell me more about
them.

“The paintings helped
me see the real structure of
the garden,” says Coop, “to
see how much the line and
brushstroke is about manipu-
lation you don’t often see.”
The direct overhead lighting
and the white backdrop also
help to emphasize the
nuances of texture and shape,
the space and depth.

But Coop is not afraid
to have fun with her work

Jen Swanston

Good stupid fun

Sex, drinking too
much alcohol,
and sheer stupid-
ity. Those three
factors are the
key peaches in
Adam Sandler's
latest film, The
Waterboy. Sandler
plays Bobby
Boucher, a 31-
year-old mama's
boy, whose whole
life centres
around being the water boy
for a big university football
team, until he is fired by the
head coach.

The rest of the film is
Sandler's character trying to
overcome the odds with
typical Sandler slapstick,
bodily-functions humour that
for some reason seems to
work and enhance The
Waterboy. As with any ‘good’
American film, there are
several morals thrown in for
good measure. While the plot
and many of the lines are as
predictable as any other
movie of its kind, it’s an

   

I’ve got to fill these cups for the
guys. Is this the clean urine?

incorporate collage, photo-
graphic reproductions, and
amusing visual puns, such as
horizontal, vertical and
sequential layers, paintings
within paintings, and even
collage stepping stones
leading the viewer pictorially
into the garden. Coop has
also written and mounted a
haiku beside each painting
for each month, According to
Coop, “Like Haiku, the
making of visual art has a
rhythm, and a season.”

‘The Mystic Pathway: The
Garden Unfolds’

January Haiku
The garden sleeps now
winter warms the dormant
branch
waiting for the sun.

‘The Silver Garden’
Snowdrops, February Haiku

Drops of cream white

flowers hidden, rock crevices

rites of springtime

The selection of music
(Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” of
course) and flowers on
display, as well as the ar-
rangement of the furnishings,
all appear to have been
selected with great care. The
choices create an ideal
atmosphere for garden scenes
and poetry. The effect is
inspiring, elegant, and
nurturing. See it until
February 15, at Douglas
College’s New Westminster
Campus (fourth floor, north
Wing). Admission is free.

   

 

  

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entertaining film.

The Waterboy is the
kind of film that requires
little to no thought on the
part of the audience. It is a
little film whose sense of
humour rarely raises above
that of fifth graders.

When all is said and
done The Waterboy is a fun
film to watch with friends.

kkk