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I 8 Orono Weekly Times, Wednesday, July 15, 1998 The Bowm-anville Toastmaster executive for 1998/1999 are from left to right Carol Wonnacott, President; Vanessa Hughes, V.P. Education; Karen Martin, V.P. Membership; Russ Le Blanc, V.P. Public Relations; Michael Sullivan, Treasurer; Bilan Forrest, Corporal at Ai-ms; Allan Martin, Division Govemnor, who installs the niew executive. Missing from the photo is Cam Berry, Sergeant at Arms; Jeif Hancock, Secretary; and Connie Nelson, Past President. Arthur Black STOOL'S GOLD! Let hie conifess rig>ht off the top that I arn not a big fani of most Modern Art. Various experts hiave assailed mie for being a Philistine and a barbarian not to mnentioni a crude, unlettered lout who just doesn't get it"ý. Well, sorry, folks, but 1l don't thinik Vinm the one who doesni't get it. I believe the Emperor is buck naked. 1 thoughit Modemi Art hiad reached the bottomt of the bar- rel -- or soup can -- back nin the '60's «ýhen certified American flake Anidy Warhiol proved he could paint a portrait of a can of Campbell's Soup and bave it declared a priceless master- piece. 1 was wrong. I underesti- miated the gUllibiiity of the Art World. But 1 think the descent may have bottomred out this summiiier at Sothieby 's Auction House in Londoni, England. Thiat's where a 'wor-k' by Italian artist Piero Manzoni recenitly sold for more thian $50,000. The work? it i s entitled Mierdif d'artista. t is a 3'0- grain tin cani filled wvithi the artist',s excremnent. And don't féee bad that you i ssed a chanice to join the bid- dingf -- there are 89 idenitical feces-laden cans waiting to be auctionied off. Manizoli was ant artist who fancied imiiself as an aniarchist. He created Merda d'artista as a protest against the direction hie thioughIt Art wvas takinig. He sawý that artists like Picasso were sellingi doodles oni servi- elltes for- huge sumns of mlonley, s0 he started filling up tins withi liis personal artistic statemient and labeling- themi. His idea was to peg the price of his ... wvorks . ..to the exchiange rate of gold -- pre- sunably to see j ust hiow, absurd Art aficionados could gTet. Manzoni died in 1963 -- too soon to realize that hie lad seri- ously underpriced bis protest work. The Modern Art crow.d loves Manzoni. "He hias trans- formred the very nature of Art" chirrups one critic. Another -- Elena Guena, European Head of Contemiporary Art at Sothieby's, no less -- inisists that his work "emrbodlies a rarefied purity of aesthetic vision.-~ Not everyone wýas taken in. One London Art critic sneered that Manzoni's wvork "exempli- fies the bowels of degeneracy" to which Art has sunk. But that didn.'t s;op an Institution as venerable as SothIebý'S AuIctionI Hlouse from leaping at the opportunity to merchandise thel, crap, out of Manzoni. I suppose we should be grytateful to Piero Manzoni and is Mer-da d'artista. Surely lis odiferous contribution hias taken Modemn Art to its final destination in termis of absurdi-. ty? Or perhaps flot. I read in a recent edition of The Globe and Mail about a teddibly serlous art collector by the namne ofHortensia de la Cruz, whose mansioni s filled with the very latest in contemn- porary art works. Recently, while giving a guided tour of hier collection fo a aggle of New York art enithuLsiasts, Mrs. de la Cruz was nonplused by one specta- tor who rushed up to a tangle of electrical wires spilling out of hier living roomi wall. "MMMmmmmmmiiiiii" cooed the ýpectator, "'this is a new work. Very resontant!- "It was myv safety alarmn" Mrs. de la Cruz admitted later. -1 had just moved a painting to another room, exposing the electrical connections. There wýere 20 people in the group. t would have been embarrassing to explain. 1 just kept going and talking...- Very wise. Mrs. de la Cruz. Say - you wouildni't want to â.uy a bridge, would you? N Northcutt Ellioitt SE Funeral Home THOUGHTFULNESS, SERVICE & CONCERN A Failyi Owned Business, Offeringý: Tr1aditionial Funercal services Alternatives Io 1Traditional F'unerals - Out of' Town ilShipping CORY Kt 1PERS - PRUSIDENT 53 Division Street Bmamnville, Ontario LIC 2Z8 623-5068 OFT 1TRETPARKINGi The foundation of the pro- gram is Industry Canada's very successful Student Connection Program. SCP lias hired and trained 2,400 post- secondai-y students to provide Internet training to over 36,000 small and medium- sized businesses across Canada. Using this model, Year 2000 First Step is hirlng over 700 business and tech- nology students and provid- lng them with specialized training on the business and technical issues facing com- panues. CIBC's sponsorship invest- ment of $550,000 includes a comimitment of $250,000 for marketing and communica- tions. CIBC bas also formed a partnership with IBM mhat provides clients with an opportunity to upgrade to Y2K compliant equipment at speclally dlscounted prices. Year 2000 Flrst Step will be available to over 85 com- munities across Canada beginning in late July. The cost to businesses is $195 for an assessment of up to ten personal computers and $15 for each additional computer. Businesses interested in learning more about Year 2000 First Step can caîl 1- 888-807-7777 or visit the Year 2000 Flrst Step web site (www.scp-ebb.com/y2k.htm). For more information on the Year 2000 challenge visit the CIBO web site (wvww.cib.coml/y2000). Canadîan Hemophiia 'oit We're a>il re'lated by blood. NC , 'q eCakes for ail//Occaslions' #&Tea RoIJfp eBed&Bn Prpreor:Gary & Carol Vrecker 983-9779 The Orono Town Hall Board wvishes to thank al of the Community Organizations and Individuals who sogenerousty gave of their time and efforts to make the July lst Canada Day Gelebrations> * the resounding success that it was. Thank You Orono -Sfor your prticipion& sppt 1- 1