A remarkable band of two from Chicago named Für Sermon came to perform at the Lubeznik Center for the Art’s First Friday on March 6, 2015. People around the Michigan City area attended this performance while eating small bites from Shoreline Brewery and looking at the magnificent new exhibit, Pipelines and Borderlines.
The band Für Sermon is Shelbi Albert and Jake Lashenik. Their music was interesting and was made to be enjoyed and remembered by many different kinds of people. with a style you would hear in coffee houses. Shelbi and Jake described their music by saying, “Now we do a mix of original music and really fun and surprising covers that make people's ears perk up a bit. I think over all we are a good mix to appeal to the masses. We appeal to the older crowd with our choices in old rock and roll songs, and to the younger people too as we play some more obscure Pop covers. We're motivated by seeing people happy.”
During their gigs they feel great when they see people being happy because of their music. The songs they played were mixed. Some were new original pieces they created and others were old songs such as ‘Calling Me Back Again’ and ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun.’ It was hard for the guests to leave because everyone was curious to what the band was going to play next but it was certain it was going to be enjoyable. You could also tell that the band mates were having lots of fun playing their music together as an inseparable and perfect team. When you watched and listened to them you could tell they get inspired from each other.
“First Friday is for entertainment and it’s social. It’s a good entry point to take in an exhibit. First Friday is always trying to bring in new audiences and trying to appeal to different people," explained Amy Navardauskas, the Marketing Director of the Lubeznik Center. "We bring in new musicians and new exhibits to bring in new audiences with different interests. When they come in the door they can see that it’s friendly. In this way we work hard to make contemporary art approachable.”
I found that bringing Für Sermon to First Friday to be a great success into bringing many different kinds of people to come enjoy the music and observe the new art exhibit.
Pipelines and Borderlines Exhibit
The new art exhibit, Pipelines and Borderlines was attractive for many of the guests. It was made in the Mexican tradition of political printmaking and proved to be very provocative and interesting to the audience. The exhibit focused on two oil disasters, the Tar Sands in Alberta, Canada and the BP Refinery in Whiting, Indiana.
Some of the guests’ most favorite piece was the picture of the huge power plant smokestack with the words “Hello, Goodbye” on it. I think it was because quoting a Beatles song was provocative enough that it caught their eye and they enjoyed it. I found it to be a powerful piece because even though quoting a Beatles song makes the scene lighthearted, it also shows a darker side. Because of pollution shown from the smokestack, “Hello, Goodbye” might state that the present life of nature is just going to be a fleeting moment in history. We’ll have to soon say goodbye. The piece mixes both lightheartedness of a beloved Beatles song and tragedy from pollution on the environment in one picture. The name of the artist of the painting is Lora Fosberg who will also be having an exhibit on in July. The painting is also shown in the picture with the Für Sermon band.
This exhibit will be open for viewing until April 6. The next first Friday will be April 3rd, a Poetry Slam with J.W. Baz.