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Culture

Picture Perfect Photo Lab proves film photography is alive and well

Shelby Kleinhans | April 6

Picture Perfect Photo Lab is a second home for photographers looking to return to the age old practice of developing film. Originally founded in 1985 as a one-hour photo store, the business now does it all: developing C-41 color negative and B&W film weekly, in addition to scanning and digitally restoring old photos/slides to continually add to a 22-year-old archive. “We've really seen a huge surge in film photography from young people who are in college or high school who are looking for a different experience from their phone or digital photography,” owner Matt Alexander said, who originally started working at the shop in 1996.

Culture

Photojournalist Junfu Han reflects on his path to success and time at UNM

Jesus Mata | April 6

Detroit Free Press Staff Photographer Junfu Han has worked hard to get where he is today, creating a Daily Lobo legacy that will live on. His peers and colleagues consider his dedicated nature an essential example for how he continues to be a role model for others. Han came to the U.S. in August 2008 as an international student after his unfulfilling studies in computer science in China. Here, he delved into the photography program at UNM, not knowing that this choice would later impact the rest of his life. When Han started his education at UNM, he began applying for a multitude of jobs on campus in order to fulfill the conditions of his international visa. This eventually led to his employment as photo editor, multimedia editor and web editor at the Daily Lobo in 2012.

Culture

UNM photo department ranks eighth best grad program in country

Megan Gleason | April 6

The photography department at the University of New Mexico remains one of the top photography MFA programs in the country, and continues to stay on the cutting edge of interdisciplinary arts. UNM’s photo department is currently ranked #8 in the U.S. News & World Report’s list of the best graduate schools to study photography. As one of the oldest photo programs in the country, associate photography professor Patrick Manning said UNM has always made photography a priority in the fine arts department. “With our community, it’s always just been part of art,” Manning said.

Culture

ABQ Artwalk flourishes as pandemic slows

John Scott | April 5

On April 2, dozens of artists, creators and crafters lined the sidewalks of Central Avenue for the Albuquerque Artwalk, an independently-run showcase event designed to help artists to show off and sell their work to the public. According to ABQ Artwalk’s website, the walk “aims to support local artists, micro-businesses and local brick and mortar establishments by organizing cultural enrichment events, art place-making and an online platform for emerging artists.” ABQ Artwalk typically takes place every first Friday of the month, but the event was postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. According to the ABQ Artwalk Instagram, the event was cancelled in April and May 2020 and had a one-time curbside-only Artwalk in June. July 2020 was the first month that the Artwalk resumed regular in-person activities.

Culture

OPINION: Top 5 photo books in UNM’s fine art library

Liam Debonis | April 5

There’s nothing quite as remarkable as holding a photo book in your hands; the feel of the gloss on the pages, the rich tones in each image and the knowledge that each photo was chosen carefully and arranged intentionally by the artist for the limited number of pages available to them. In the digital age of photography, it seems we’ve become accustomed to online portfolios and Instagram profiles. While on-screen displays have their place in the photographic landscape, nothing on a computer can truly compare to holding an artist’s finished work in your hands. Luckily for students at the University of New Mexico, the Fine Arts and Design Library has a large collection of these masterpieces available to be checked out at this very moment. As a photographer who has drawn an enormous amount of inspiration from photo books, I’ve compiled a list of some of the most awe-inspiring books the library has to offer.

Culture

'The Vault’ opens new doors for horror movie director Jaume Balagueró

Daniel Ward | March 29

Released Friday, March 26, “The Vault” is an action packed bank heist thriller expected to catch the interest of people from all over the world. With such a wide variety of bank heist movies, it’s hard to find one that actually stands out, but “The Vault” is a healthy combination of intellectual strategy and suspenseful close calls that keep the audience at the edge of their seat. Directed by Jaume Balagueró, “The Vault” has a wide range of talented actors including Freddie Highmore and Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham.

Culture

CAPS sees increase in virtual tutoring during pandemic

Megan Gleason | March 29

The Center for Academic Program Support (CAPS) at the University of New Mexico, which has been operating mostly online for over a year, has seen a drastic increase in virtual tutoring visits from last year. CAPS is a learning assistance center where students can get help with UNM coursework, with resources including drop-in tutoring, individual appointments, workshops, conversation groups, supplemental instruction (SI), online learning and faculty office hours. “(We have) lots of different (services), so we really do have something for everyone,” Megan Rivera, a student manager for the SI team, said.

Culture

NM nuclear fallout victims await federal compensation

Nikita Jaiswal | March 28

Bernice Gutierrez was eight days old when she experienced what many people believed was the end of the world. At 5:29 a.m. on July 16, 1945, a plutonium based bomb detonated at the southern New Mexico Trinity test site, radiating more heat and light than the sun. The resulting fireball shot up more than seven miles high, and radioactive ash rained down for miles across the soil, water, animals and people. “We never knew what was happening,” Gutierrez said. “When my doctor asked me if I had been exposed to radiation, I had no clue.”

Culture

Maxwell Museum sees virtual boost in attendance with new online exhibits

Megan Gleason | March 28

The Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, located at the University of New Mexico, has seen a boost in attendance after switching to a solely online presence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three new virtual exhibits have been drawing in visitors: “COVID-19: Concepts of Sickness and Wellness,” “Iconoclasm: Questions of Veneration, Destruction, and Power” and “What We Do at the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology Part I: Curator Dr. Carmen Mosley.” Carla Sinopoli, the director of the Maxwell Museum, said the COVID-19 exhibit was the biggest and most ambitious one. The exhibit explores the history of how humans deal with pandemics, with themes of sickness, wellness and healing.

Culture

REVIEW: ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League:’ Bigger, badder and a whole lot better

John Scott | March 25

Following the theatrical release of “Justice League” in 2017, the movie was met with mixed reviews as well as fan backlash over the extensive reshoots that seemed to greatly alter Zack Snyder’s original vision for the film. After years of rumors and rumblings of a reported director’s cut, we now have the apparent definitive version of the DC film: “Zack Snyder’s Justice League.” The film opens with a very Snyder-esque slow motion shot of Superman being killed by Doomsday, an event which took place at the end of Snyder’s previous film, “Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice.” We follow Superman’s dying scream to different locations, all of which introduce us to the characters we can expect to see in the film. It’s a much more dramatic and grand opening compared to the original, which could be said of the entirety of the movie.

Culture

REVIEW: ‘It’s a Sin’ approaches HIV/AIDS crisis with compassion, humanity and love

Sarah Bodkin | March 25

Captivating, charming and tragic are the best words to describe the U.K. mini-series “It’s a Sin,” created by Russell T. Davies, which spotlights the lives of several gay men as they live through stigmas, homophobia and the spread of HIV in the 1980s. I heard about the show through social media various times, and though there are many shows that I mean to watch but never get around to doing so, something compelled me to start watching it during a particularly busy and trying time in my life. I was not disappointed. As I started watching the first episode, I knew I was on a journey that I wanted the entire UNM community to take with me, because I want to see an increased conversation among my student peers surrounding stigmas that the LGBTQ+ community and people with HIV face.

Culture

Mural by Albuquerque artists depicts iconic musicians across decades

Sarah Bodkin | March 7

The famous faces of Lady Gaga, Prince, Mac Miller and David Bowie grace a new mural behind the El Rey Theater on Seventh Street. The project was the result of a collaborative effort by forty-four local artists to honor famous musicians both past and present. Nazario Sandoval, the coordinator of artists for the new public artwork, said he initially planned for 10 artists to create the mural but the painting process turned into a community-building event, full of local artists and music lovers. The budget for the project was originally $1,000 but quickly tripled as the community of artists working on it increased. Sandoval funded the entire project himself.

Culture

REVIEW: ‘Minari’: A gentle tale of the immigrant experience

John Scott | March 3

If there were one thing that could connect almost every family living in the United States, it would be the immigrant figure. Perhaps one who came over from the east, greeted by the Statue of Liberty and landing on Ellis Island, or one who crossed the southern border without looking back, only looking forward to opportunities in a new home. These universal experiences are where “Minari,” released virtually on Feb. 12 by indie film company A24, finds its heart. “Minari” is a semi-autobiographical tale, written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung, that follows a Korean family of four moving from California to Arkansas in search of a new life. Steven Yuen brilliantly portrays the father, Jacob Yi, who plans on starting a farm so that he and his wife, Monica Yi (played by Han Ye-ri) can abandon their makeshift careers as chicken sexers.

Culture

OPINION: Golden Globes fail to avoid controversy — again

Shelby Kleinhans | March 2

In a year unlike any other for film and television, filmmakers, actors and crew members nevertheless persisted to get their work out in time to contend for the 2021 Golden Globes. No one was sure what the award ceremonies would look like, but now they know: sketchy comedy, Zoom acceptance speeches and predictable controversy. The Globes aired the evening of Feb. 28, and hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler — tuning in from opposite ends of the country — made short work of addressing the most pressing controversy. Both women called out the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), which constitutes the voting body for the Golden Globes, for having zero representation of Black journalists within its 87 members.

Culture

Period: A podcast about the science of menstruation and 'all the bloody bits'

Lissa Knudsen | March 2

When the Period podcast went live in 2016, it took a social-scientific approach to menstruation, a.k.a. "periods." Kathryn Clancy, a biological anthropologist and former writer for Scientific American, served as the podcast host and brought both feminist and scientific lenses to the show, which halted production as the pandemic worsened in May of last year. I found this podcast while looking for a list of the best science podcasts and consistently found myself learning new things about a topic that, for more than half the population, is a normal part of existence for much of our adult lives.

Culture

New Feminist Research Institute director continues work on gender, sexuality

Megan Gleason | March 2

Francisco J. Galarte, the new director of the Feminist Research Institute (FRI) at the University of New Mexico, plans to continue focusing on topics that relate to gender and sexuality as the center celebrates 25 years in action. The FRI has a specific focus on the support of students — graduate students in particular — and faculty. Galarte, an assistant professor of American studies and women, gender and sexuality studies at UNM, has been the director for about two months and plans to continue this work while strengthening ties to the community. "We focus on supporting feminist research," Galarte said. "Feminist research for us means research that not only is focused on issues related to women but rather issues related to gender, sexuality and institutions that govern and oversee gender, sexuality and those types of roles."

Culture

UNM resource centers collaborate to celebrate Women’s History Month

Megan Gleason | February 28

March marks the celebration of Women's History Month, and this year the University of New Mexico's Women's Resource Center (WRC) is teaming up with the LGBTQ Resource Center and other groups on campus to host a variety of virtual events lined up throughout the month. The pandemic disrupted Women's History Month plans on campus last year, and the school will now feature virtual events in place of the usual fare, according to WRC professional intern Reina Davis. Lectures and in-person panels were included in previous years, but this year will focus on social media and online events.

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Culture

Popejoy not throwing away their shot at 'Hamilton'

Megan Gleason | February 25

Popejoy Hall at the University of New Mexico announced its 2021-22 season on Friday, Feb. 26, with many canceled shows, including “Hamilton,” being rescheduled to the following season. “Hamilton” is now set for 24 performances from Jan. 27 through Feb. 13 of next year.

Culture

Hare-raising: Over 100 rabbits available for adoption

Alex McCausland | February 21

The Bernalillo County Animal Care and Resource Center is overflowing with over 100 rabbits who are in need of loving homes. Candace Sanchez, the center’s outreach manager, said it all started with a complaint they received about rabbits spotted in the road in the South Valley area. “Upon arrival, we found that a homeowner ... was housing multiple rabbits in a small contained outdoor area,” Sanchez said. “Once we started going into the facility, we realized that what ended up happening was the owner initially purchased the rabbits as pets, and they were not spayed and neutered. So as time progressed on, multiplication started taking place.”

Culture

Meditation, music at virtual UMI show

Daniel Ward and Hannah John | February 21

Though ASUNM Student Special Events has been forced to adapt to virtual concerts to “protect the pack” amid the pandemic, the featured artist didn’t disappoint on Feb. 12 as UMI showcased live acoustic music and guided meditation over Zoom. Tierra Umi Wilson, also known as UMI, is a 22-year-old singer/songwriter based out of Los Angeles who made a name for herself when she toured with fellow artist Cuco back in 2019. Her virtual concert on Feb. 12 was only available to University of New Mexico students, and about 100 students attended. According to Joe Polack, the executive director of SSE, the idea for the event stemmed from UMI’s previous shows that included meditation alongside a live performance.