Arts

Arts

What makes the Arts section special?

By Odessa Gaines | February 25

Since the very beginning,The Tufts Daily has acknowledged the importance and significance of engaging with the arts.Now, 45 years later,it is just as important to recognize how art and art appreciation does more than allow for Saturday movie nights and predictions for the awards season. The arts allow for social and political commentary to be delivered in a digestible and emotionally relevant manner. And as the Arts section, we make it our duty to deliver this commentary with every issue we release.

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Arts

‘The Grove’ bears the fruits, burdens of family

By Spring LaRose | February 24

Here in “The Grove,” language takes on a deeper shade of reality. Words are lived and breathed on the stage of theCalderwood Pavilion more fully than they ever can be in the waking world. There is a cacophony of English and Ibibio, with each tongue insisting upon itself. Shadow becomes substance, and substance slips into the sublime.

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Arts

‘The Odyssey’ reimagines the stories we tell at the American Repertory Theater

By Nate Hall and Odessa Gaines | February 24

A touchstone of Greek mythology, “The Odyssey” is one of the most widely read pieces of literature today. More than 2,000 years after its creation, the story is still being imagined in new ways, including a stage adaptation from playwright Kate Hamill, which had its world premiere at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge earlier this month. A contemporary version of Homer’s classic epic, “The Odyssey” succeeds with some bold creative choices and a dynamic cast.

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Columns

Confessions of a Shopaholic: Never be ashamed of merch

By Ryan Fairfield | February 24

A Taylor Swift Eras Tour tee. A Loewe ‘I Told Ya’ tee from “Challengers.” Multiple Glossier hoodies. A Sabrina Carpenter hoodie that says “You act like a bitch” — a reference to her song “Feather.” A 1975 tee. An A24 “Babygirl” tee — a recent pickup. All of these are pieces of merch I have collected over the years that are consistently in my outfit rotation.

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Arts

Delve into the world of artist alchemy

By Eden Weissman | February 21

Walk into room A212 at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and it’s hard to know where to look first. One side of the room, known as the Digital Fabrication Studio, hums with rows of 3D printers, churning out all types of different objects. Across the room, a large laser engraver etches designs into wood, acrylic and other colored materials. While the machines may seem daunting to newcomers, two seniors, Miguel Caba and Yaqi Cai, are aiming to change that with their newly launched Digital Fabrication Club.

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Arts

The Lumineers’ newest album invokes a cyclical journey

By Liv Jordan | February 21

Despite a Valentine’s Day release date, The Lumineers’ newest album “Automatic” takes a dark turn, filled with anxiety-threaded songs that center on struggles with depression rather than love. The album, written by founding members Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites, takes listeners on a cyclical journey filled with haunting melodies and intricate lyrics.

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Columns

Coffee with Creatives: Ian Choi, a master in the making

By Ava Dettling | February 21

Nestled within the winding corridors of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts’ senior studios is a curious space, one in which cultures, colors and clothes collide. It is the space in which artist Ian Choi, a fourth-year BFA student, works on her latest piece.

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Arts

Video essayists you should watch: Allie Meowy

By Basil Hand | February 20

I watch too much YouTube. You can ask my housemates about this, but I really watch too much YouTube. It’s always playing on my AirPods, either in the background when I’m doing homework or when I’m going to sleep. Due to my heavy consumption of the medium, I am always on the hunt for new and interesting YouTubers. I’ve managed to find some pretty cool content creators, but no one around me ever seems to know who they are, which I find to be a disservice to the YouTube community. In order to spread visibility to some of my favorite YouTubers, I’ve decided to take this responsibility and start a series in the Daily on some of the best video essay creators with less than 300,000 subscribers. Without further ado, I would like to talk to you about YouTuber Allie Meowy.

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Arts

‘No Other Land’ aims the lens at West Bank cruelty to sobering effect

By Noah Goldstein | February 20

In Masafer Yatta, a collection of Palestinian hamlets in the southern West Bank, life is synonymous with conflict. Every day, a suspicious, sunglassed man commands a bulldozer to destroy a family’s home, and the struggle can be heard. Mothers’ cries are met with soldiers’ orders. Foundations come crumbling down, only to be put back up inside of caves. Conflict is everywhere.

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Columns

Trunks Full of Treasures: Exciting vintage finds at Found

By Fiona Hinrichsen | February 20

Begun by husband and wife duo Rob Singh and Megan Fehling-Singh, Found has expanded from running Fenway Flea to a series of vintage pop-up events and ultimately establishing permanent curated vintage stores in Boston. After doing a video about Fenway Flea, Singh and Fehling-Singh reached out to videographer Sam Clovers and asked if she wanted to make videos for their new project called Found. Together, the trio launched Found in February 2023.

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Arts

Alessia Cara embraces growth and freedom with “Love & Hyperbole”

By Annika Pillai | February 19

Canadian singer-songwriter Alessia Cara’s career began as a teenager on YouTube. The artist started by posting acoustic covers of songs such as Justin Timberlake’s “Mirrors” and The Neighbourhood’s “Sweater Weather.” In 2014, she signed with EP Entertainment and Def Jam Recordings and, only a year later, released her debut single “Here.” 

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Columns

Center Stage: Freshman 15

By Nate Hall | February 19

For students interested in jazz performance on campus, there’s no shortage of offerings in the music department, which is home to a jazz orchestra and two small jazz ensembles. However, Freshman 15 offers something a little different. Created by Ben Lanzi during his freshman year in 2019, Freshman 15 is Tufts’ first and only student-run jazz big band. After Lanzi’s graduation in 2023, leadership of the band passed to seniors Matt Torres and Arielle Klein. Upon Torres’ and Klein’s departures last spring, it was up to the band’s younger members to step up into new leadership roles.

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Arts

Kendrick Lamar throws political haymakers on America’s most revered stage

By Noah Goldstein | February 18

Kendrick Lamar is no stranger to the bright lights, nor to the critics that accompany them. Nearly a decade before commanding the stage at the Super Bowl LIX halftime show in New Orleans, the Compton-born MC made his mark with another politically charged performance. At the 2015 BET Awards, fresh off the success of his third studio album “To Pimp a Butterfly,” Lamar dispatched his hit “Alright” while standing on a vandalized police car, an American flag flying in the background. On air the following day, Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera slammed Lamar’s performance, ultimately claiming that “hip-hop has done more damage to young African Americans than racism in recent years.” Two years later, Lamar sampled the clip on “DNA,” the second track on “DAMN.” which went on to top the U.S. charts and made him the first hip-hop artist to win a Pulitzer Prize.

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Arts

How Fanny Brice redefines strength, love and choice

By Sophie Herron | February 18

The Broadway tour of “Funny Girl” at the Citizens Bank Opera House, makes it abundantly clear what Fanny Brice (Hannah Shankman) is getting herself into. Within the first 15 minutes of the musical, the characters have directly stated that she’s a fiercely talented — although not chorus-girl-variety beautiful — woman who will succeed in show business no matter what. The story follows the evolution of her career and personal relationships, including her ill-fated romance with professional gambler Nick Arnstein (Stephen Mark Lukas).

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Columns

Adventures of an A-Lister: ‘Brave New World’ kicks off Marvel 2025

By Odessa Gaines | February 18

As 2025 gears up for a year of unrelenting releases from the Big Mouse, the question on everyone’s lips seems to be straightforward: Is Marvel finally back? On Friday, Marvel’s “Captain America: Brave New World” released in the United States. The fourth of the Captain America films has the unfortunate task of comforting every Marvel film critic into thinking the “Infinity Saga” is back. The truth, “Brave New World” is a fine film, easily one of the most enjoyable in recent years. However, it falls flat in common Marvel style — the narrative is uninventive and lacks heart.

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Arts

What are we watching for Valentine’s Day?

By Odessa Gaines | February 14

For some, Valentine’s Day is a momentous occasion to declare love to your partner in the form of bright pink gifts and heart-shaped chocolates. For others, it’s a time to gather with friends, pose with finger foods and clink long-stemmed glassware together. For others still, it is simply another day to get through. However, one thing any Valentine’s Day can not be complete without is a movie and an overflowing bowl of popcorn.

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Arts

Satire meets musical theater in ‘Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song’

By Jeremy Stern | February 13

“Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song” is not your typical musical. One could call it a comedy, a musical performance, a spoof or a satire and all would apply to this charming piece. Set with a piano, a glitter curtain and countless costumes, the night begins with an opening number titled ‘“Forbidden Broadway’ Comes to Boston.” Tailored for the run at the Emerson Colonial Theater in Boston, it lets the audience in on the secret of what is about to unfold. The premise is simple: Take famous musical theater songs and roles but change the lyrics to spoof current and beloved Broadway shows. 

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Columns

Read, Write and Be Merry: ‘Yellowface’ by R.F. Kuang

By Merry Jiao | February 13

I don’t think this book even needs an introduction. It’s quite possibly the most popular book I’ve seen around. From Chelsea to Cologne to Chicago, “Yellowface” always has a spot on the display shelf. In Oxford, it literally had its own little shrine, and deservedly so.

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Arts

Center Stage: Jumbo Drag Collective

By Nate Hall | February 12

One of the newest performance groups on campus, the Jumbo Drag Collective, began as a senior capstone project in theWomen’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department in 2022. Initially, the club was mostly made up of students from Critical Drag — a Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies course offered by Professor Kareem Khubchandani in fall 2022. After a successful end-of-semester showcase for their class, the students channeled their passion for drag performance into a new on-campus club.

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Columns

Confessions of a College Shopaholic: Why I never give in to shoe trends

By Ryan Fairfield | February 12

In the world of fashion, it seems there’s constantly a new ‘hot’ shoe or a new article explaining the up-and-coming shoe trends. We had theAdidas Samba,ballet flats, cowboy boots, mules, chunky sneakers and way too many more to count. Despite loving any excuse to purchase a new article of clothing, shoe trends are something I will never get behind and never adhere to.

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