First Aid Kit has put a bandage on a slowly dying genre of music – folk-rock. The Swedish duo, composed of sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg, released “Ruins,” its fourth studio album, Friday. Though not a major stylistic departure, First Aid Kit still gives a strong performance, showcasing the Americana twang that brought the duo […]
Category Archives: Arts
Student’s international basketball career inspires life as an artist
Coleman Collins transitioned from shooting baskets to shooting film. Prior to coming to UCLA, the graduate art student pursued a professional basketball career spanning over a decade, taking him to countries including Germany, Ukraine and Bahrain. However, Collins, who speaks several languages, said his time living in foreign countries inspired him to portray global issues […]
Q&A: Piano professor shares how Soviet Union background influences her music
Inna Faliks’ Soviet Union household only had three rooms for seven people and no telephone – but it did have music. Growing up, Faliks’ parents encouraged a creative childhood that included reading books and cultivating interest in music. Now a concert pianist and UCLA professor of piano, Faliks will perform the protest composition “The People […]
Movie review: ’12 Strong’
“12 Strong” drops more literal bombs than emotional ones in an overtly explosive new feature starring Chris Hemsworth. Based on a book by Doug Stanton, “12 Strong” details a gritty, but true, war story about the fall of Mazar-i-Sharif. Hemsworth stars as Captain Mitch Nelson, leader of a band of Special Forces soldiers who are […]
Playing the Villain: Institutional villains in film explain main character’s motives
A movie is only as good as its villain, and a good villain is much more than a monster with maniacal laughter or a sinister-looking entity surrounded by henchmen. From the anarchist Joker to the cunning and brutal Annie Wilkes, countless successful films have earned their iconic status thanks to their antagonists. Each week, columnist […]
Student collaborates with major fashion brands before turning 18
Connor Brashier’s first experience with photography was playing with his father’s spare cameras. Now the 18-year-old’s work includes traveling to Costa Rica, Miami and Tulum, Mexico, shooting catalogs and lookbooks for brands such as PacSun. Brashier, a first-year economics student and videographer, has worked professionally with numerous clothing brands, artists and influencers, including Pura Vida […]
Design media arts students display artwork inspired by prefix
Three letters and a hyphen inspired a 27-artist exhibit. Undergraduate design media arts students will display their artistic interpretations of the prefix “dis-” at the New Wight Gallery on Thursday. The prefix, which indicates reversal, a negation, lack or deprivation, and a removal or release, allowed students to interpret terms like “distance” and “dismantle” through […]