10 Arts

New Year's Resolution: Get Involved with Local Art!

Laura Mooney
Arts Editor

ose weight. Drink less. Eat

better. These words are only a
small fraction of the promises one
usually make to themselves once
the clock strikes twelve on New
Year’s Eve, and let’s be honest,
within a couple of weeks those
promises are forgotten and thrown
aside for another year. So this new
year, instead of making a resolution
to improve yourself on the outside,
make the choice to better yourself
on the inside by enriching your
life and doing something you may
not have done in past years; go
out more and experience all that
your local community has to offer.
We are fortunate to live in an area
that has been working towards
facilitating art and entertainment
options for young adults through
a variety of mediums, and what
better time is there to start
exploring all that Prince George
has to offer than in the new year.
So grab some friends and open
yourself up to the growing art
community in Prince George.

If local artists are what you are
looking for, Prince George has
many options based on what
your preferences are. If you have
never been to any of our local
galleries, now is the perfect time
to go, and the best way to start
is at the top with our largest
gallery in town, the Two Rivers
Gallery. The Two Rivers Gallery
is currently featuring some very
unique exhibits from fantastic
local artists, so not only will you
get to spend a day out of the snow,
you can experience some of the
best local art that Canada has to
offer, right here in our little city.
If you like your art with a little
edge, look no further than Will Gill
and his featured exhibit entitled
“Bloodredlife.”

Born in St. Johns, Newfoundland,
Gill’s exhibit features mixed media
works that draw inspiration from
the news and nature, and all have
a common theme of violence.

Gill stated in an interview that

the purpose of the exhibit is

to attempt to draw together a
supposedly connected world

Pet ov tite LCV AE

Exclusive Visual Album

Laura Mooney
Arts Editor
O; 13 December 2013, Beyoncé
shocked the world when an
unannounced album was released
to the world via iTunes, and
naturally the music- loving world
went crazy. The former Destiny’s
Child star quietly released her
fifth album without any press or
announcements simply because she
stated she was tired of the same
old song and dance when it came
to album releases, and she claimed
that when it came to her fans, she
did not need to push or promote
her music for them. So in true
Queen Bee form, Beyoncé proved
her own theory correct with her
new album selling nearly 100,000 in

BEYONCE

Sy

oye" The Wife

the first three hours, successfully
causing iTunes to temporarily
overload and shut down, and had
sold over 600,000 copies three
days later. Besides successfully
redesigning the way future

albums will be released, Beyoncé
also successfully redesigned her
musical direction, for a sound that
is not only more mature and free,
but is also more liberating than any
music that has come from a female
artist in the past year.

To be blunt, the first word that
comes to mind when listening

to the album is sex. The image is
everywhere, from the romantic
“XO” to the erotic novel that is
“Drunk in Love,” Beyoncé explicitly
describes her (ahem) relations with

that is so disconnected from the
suffrage of others. His paintings
feature prominently red overtones
and are jarring to the eyes, with
the purpose of being a shock to
the senses. This unique gallery is
only here for a limited time, so it
may be a good spot to begin your
involvement with local art.

If local music is your preference,
then January is the perfect month
to go out to see some great local
shows. If you prefer more of a quiet
night with a glass of wine, then
Oak and Thistle’s featured concert
series is definitely for you. With
the local artists performing at
some of Prince George’s favourite
cafés, including Ohh Chocolat

and Shiraz, these small events are
a great way to discover some of
the more contemporary artists

we have here in Prince George.
Featuring violinists, Celtic bands,
blues- rock, and much more, the
Oak and Thistle concert series has
quickly become one of the most
diverse musical series currently in
Prince George and is a great way to
expand your musical horizons and

Beyonce: the

Jay Z, unabashedly leaving nothing
to the imagination. But once you
get past the initial shock of the
content of the first two singles, the
album has a lot of heart under the
surface and often delves into topics
Beyoncé has never before discussed
with her fans.

We all know that Beyoncé has
always been a confident woman,
and she is definitely not afraid

to show it. In the upbeat dance
track “Flawless” she sings about
how the media portrays confident
women as being conceited and
unladylike, and although this is
touchy subject matter which raises
multiple feminist issues, Beyoncé
pulls it off flawlessly. Of course
though, Beyoncé is not without
her own insecurities. Perhaps

the most revealing song on the
album, “Mine” confronts the
issues Beyoncé had to face once
she made the change from being a
wife, to being a mother. Lines such
as “Been having conversations
and breakups and separations/
I’m not feeling like myself since
the baby/ Are we going to make
it” show a more vulnerable side

get involved with local music.

If small and quiet is not really your
scene, then mark your calendars
for the upcoming Coldsnap festival,
which will be happening from 24
January to 1 February. The week-
long winter music festival features
a variety of unique artists, many
of whom are from right here in

BC, who will be preforming at
multiple locations around town.
From electro-dance rock, to folk
music, to even a slam poetry night,
the Coldsnap festival is the perfect
place for anyone who is looking

to get out into the community

and experience the best that local
music has to offer in an extremely
fun setting.

So forget physical improvement
resolutions and instead opt for
changing your life for the better

by experiencing some of the great
upcoming art events that Prince
George will soon be home to. Make
this New Year’s resolution one

that you will not throw aside, and
make it one that will leave you with
lifelong memories.

Visual Album

to Beyoncé when it comes to her
relationships, and shows the world
that even though she may be one
of the most beautiful women in
the world, everyone has their
insecurities, especially when it
comes to relationships. Perhaps the
most touching song on the album
however, which comes across as
being more heartfelt than any of
the other songs, is simply titled
“Blue,” in which Beyoncé sings a
beautifully crafted ballad for her
baby girl Blue Ivy that is full of all
of the love and adoration that fills
any new mother.

The album shows that over the
years Beyoncé has listened to

her fans and has evolved to fit

the changing music scene, often
adding in a techno sound to her
music that could be mistaken for
any of the current top 20, all while
still maintaining the amazingly
powerful voice that made the
world fall in love with her in the
first place. All in all, through her
music Beyoncé still proves that
she is exactly what she has always
claimed to be, a diva.