A deranged, Marxist lunch-lady, Japanese Legos and stock footage from "Family Feud" were among the diverse artistic tools used at Squeaky Wheel's open screening, "Chance and Misfortune" Wednesday night.
Squeaky Wheel, a nonprofit media arts center located on Elmwood Avenue, like many local artistic establishments, has lost funding due to the severe budget cuts recently passed by Erie County legislators.
"Chance and Misfortune" was Squeaky Wheel's valiant effort to give Buffalo video, musical and performance artists an open forum to discuss the budget cut's effect on the local art scene.
The event kicked off with Tammy McGovern's brief video montage of chance-related television footage, intermixed with shots of downtown Buffalo. McGovern's collection of footage from lottery drawings and the "money wheel" from "The Price is Right" was not the only comical attempt to shed light on Buffalo's shaky financial future.
The Giambras, named for Buffalo County Executive Joel Giambra, gave a unique musical performance. They used a one-stringed bass, banjo, accordion and a plethora of other old-time musical instruments.
Their lyrically updated covers of The Carter Family's "No Depression" and Woody Guthrie's "Hard Times" hearkened back to the musical style of the 30s, likening Buffalo's economic situation to the great depression.
"In other steel cities like Pittsburgh, the arts have been funded in order to help rejuvenate the economy," said Marc "Giambra," the group's lead vocalist. "There is no visionary city planning like that in Buffalo. It's all very reactionary."
"The local government's been having some hard times/ Giambra says we're out of money/ can't even afford a library," sang "Giambra," referring to the fact that the Buffalo Public Library is among the long list of establishments along with The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Squeaky Wheel currently losing funding due to budget cuts.
The evening's highlight came when Tawnee Grant, a local performing artist, donned the guise of Nadine Cisco-Hormel, a "lunch lady" in downtown Buffalo's Rath Building.
Armed with only a hairnet and a spatula, Grant discussed the greedily lavish lifestyle of politicians such as Joel Giambra and even launched into a Marxist lecture, stating that one of America's biggest problems is the gap between its "workers and owners."
"When did politicians get the right to sell away civilized society?" asked Grant, who, although it was unclear whether the applause was for her excellent acting or for Cisco-Hormel herself, was received well by the audience.
The remaining videos screened had little to do with the budget cut and were increasingly abstract, some even downright strange. Ranging from an extremely graphic view of the abortion of a male actor, to a lengthy adventure of Japanese-speaking Lego characters, they had little in common except that all displayed the unique creativity of Buffalo's art culture.
"We're very upset about the budget cut. Ten percent of our budget has already been cut. We wanted to give people a chance to speak back, it's all been politicians speaking up to this point," said Brian Milbrand, a local video artist and the technical director at Squeaky Wheel, which luckily is sponsored by a number of local businesses including Ani Difranco's Righteous Babe record label.
While the old proverb goes, "The squeaky wheel gets oiled first," it seems in Buffalo's economy, Squeaky Wheel and countless other art-related establishments are rapidly losing much of the financial lubrication that has been provided in the past by Erie County.
Squeaky Wheel is continuously holding open screenings similar to Wednesday night's event. Those interested should consult their website at www.squeaky.org or stop by their office located at 175 Elmwood Ave.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
