The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 43

lb irfrilabclpfiia Inquirer DAILY MAG SATURDAY April 11, 1992 SECTION PEOPLE HOME MOVIES THE ARTS TV STYLE AZINE He folds a Japanese art into music of the Celts An origami artistharpist also has 2 books, a musical i 4 8 wilt AtS Lot 1 iwb I South Africans of all races love beauty pageants. But, black women have had almost no chance of winning. Until now, that is: The battle against apartheid is entering the contests. Spucm to Irw Inquire! ANNA HbMINbM Victory was brief for Nani Mokoena. A day later officials talked of a misunderstanding.

Two weeks later they restaged the contest; a blue-eyed blonde won the title. Tarnished Crowns By Marylxth C. Phillips SFECIALTOTHK INQUIRER His likeness of Gene Shay sits on the folk deejay's desk. Editor Rose Phillips hangs his mythical beings over her kitchen sink. And some of his creations will appear onstage in a new musical, Peter Pan and Wendy.

But origami artist Jay Ansill thinks it will be a long time before he, or anyone, can make a commercial success of his lifelong hobby, the traditional Japanese art of paper folding. "It's like what the poet Robert Graves said," Ansill said. "There's no money in poetry. But then again, there's no poetry in money." As success goes, though, Ansill, 30, of Bucks County, is enjoying more than can be expected. HarperCollins Just published his two origami books: Mythical Beings and Lifestyle Origami.

And his work has been shown at the Museum of Natural History, New York's Origami Center, and the Cheltenham Center for the Arts. And this weekend, Borders Book Shops are throwing bashes in his honor, today at its Marlton store and tomorrow at the Philadelphia store. From 1 to 4 p.m. at each location, Ansill will not only sign books and demonstrate paper-folding, but will also play music from his 1990 album (aptly titled Origami) on the Celtic harp. "When was 7, a woman came to our second-grade class to talk about Japanese culture.

She did some origami pieces. I've been hooked ever since," Ansill said, at home in Pineville. "I do think it's a serious art form, but it's never been central for me. Until this book deal, I never took it seriously." There is evidence the intricate art has existed since paper was introduced in China 6,000 years ago. But a Japanese master, Akira Yoshizawa, is credited with popularizing it in the 1940s, developing the diagramming system used by Ansill and others around the See ANSILL on D6 By Scott Kraft OHANNESBURG The lights were dimmed, the audience held its breath and the master of ceremonies ripped open the envelope.

On a 1 5'1 (one of them black) chose a tall, blond 22-year-old actress, Diana Tilden-Davis, as Miss South Africa 1991. The pageant generated only a murmur of disapproval among blacks when Tilden-Davis was crowned in August. But her appearance and third-place finish in the Miss World pageant in December (South Africa previously had been ostracized from the international stage since 1977) has touched off an ugly debate here over beauty, racism and the legacy of apartheid. Beauty contests are the latest front in the battle between whites and blacks for future control of South Africa. Whites had enthusiastically applauded the invitation from the Miss World organizers, who turned away South Africa's entrant in London 14 years ago.

Interest in South Africa was so high that the pageant finale in Atlanta in December was broadcast live nationwide here, at 4 a.m. South African time, and rerun that evening for viewers who missed it. Top government officials, all of them white, said Miss South Africa's re-entry into world competition was yet another sign that their promises of reform were ending this country's long isolation. And Tilden-Davis even paused for tips from Foreign Minister Roelof F. "Pik" Botha, in a meeting recorded in full color in the local newspapers, before leaving for the United States.

But many blacks were not so pleased to see the doors swinging open. "All of a sudden, whites are feeling that absolutely everything is kosher," said Nokwanda Sithole, editor of the black-oriented Tribute Mag-See PACEANTS on 08 card inside was the name of the new People's Miss Johannesburg "Nani Mokoena!" A crown was placed on the tall black model's head, and photographers snapped pictures of her holding the keys to the Opel Kadett she had won. It was the happiest moment in 20-year-old Nani Mokoena's life. But by the next day, her warm glow was gone. Pageant officials said there had been a misunderstanding.

It seemed the sponsors were happy to let black women compete for the crown, but they wanted a white woman to wear it. The pageant was restaged two weeks later, and the judges knew just what to do. A blue-eyed blond Afrikaner, Mokoena's runner-up the first time, got the crown, the car, the modeling contract and the free trip to Portugal. That was 1990, but the memory was still fresh when Mokoena and many other black women considered whether to enter the country's most prestigious pageant. Miss South Africa of 1991.

"Many of us thought about taking a chance," Mokoena said, "but why enter and then be made to feel ashamed of yourself?" In a country with five times as many blacks as whites, only 50 of the 500 Miss South Africa 1991 contestants were black. And although the pageant has been open to all races since it began in 1954, there has never been a black winner. As Mokoena expected, no blacks were even among the 12 finalists. The panel of nine judges mi 7 it 1 ill it South Africa's first Miss World contestant since 77, Diana Tilden-Davis (right), and Brazil's Catia Kupsinsky, in VI. A vivid film that spars with apartheid By Desmond Ryan IMJI IKKKMIIVIKt HITIC John In a striking early scene in ough (Cry Freedom), Chris Menges (A World Apart) and Euzhan Palcy (A Dry White Season) the American director made a conscious decision to be different in look as well as story.

"I wanted to be as different as possible," Avildsen said in a recent interview at the Latham Hotel. "If I went all the way over there, I sure as hell wanted to make sure you see the place and the animals and the grandeur on the screen. With those other films, they always seem to be shooting a wall or something. See AVILDSEN on D5 "His name is Abu and he even had his own Winnebago Ion the setl," said Avild-sen with an almost straight face. "He was really wonderful, an absolute delight and very docile.

We had the kid 17-year-old Guy Witcherl feed him oranges all day to get used to each other. Abu's still there and very happy. He had an accident and broke a tusk foraging, but he's OK now." Abu's presence in Avildsen's apartheid drama was no accident. In venturing into South Africa movie terrain already traveled by Richard Attenbor- IAvildsen's The Power of One one that seems straight Out of Africa a boy learns to confront his fear by facing down a rogue elephant. Even though the elephant who co-stars in this almost mystical experience is out of Minnesota.

The elephant came over by boat from the Minneapolis Zoo to Avildsen's Zimbabwe location before his release into the wilderness as part of a program to repatriate animals to their natural habitats. John Avildsen joins storytelling and realism in "The Power of One. Donna Karan, Geoffrey Beene and Isaac Mizrahi were the brightest lights as the big city's fall shows closed. Their clothes twinkled with detailing and colors. One final fling Talk about going in style! In the newsletter published by the Hemlock Society of Delaware Valley, a group that advocates the right to end one's life, 87-Jear-old Helen Ansley of Renton, rues the fact that there is no place you and your friends can go to celebrate your life and impending death.

"Some smart business person ought to make a lot of money out of a 'last resort' like that," she writes. "I'd call it 'The Way Out Toddler-bed recall Parents: The goverment has announced the recall of 155,000 beds for toddlers because 50 children, including one who died, got their heads stuck under metal arches. Made by Cosco the beds are models T22 and T23. A white label on the mattress support will say either "10T22" or "10T23" and will contain a date code, which you should write down. Call 800468-0174.

AIDS on the home front Warning: Medical procedures done in the home can pose a risk of transmitting the AIDS virus, Centers for Disease Control officials say. They cite the case of a 3-year-old boy who apparently got the virus in 1990 or 1991 from a needle used to treat his older brother, who has been infected with the AIDS virus since 1985. Both children suffer from hemophilia. Titanic tidbits Some interesting facts about the Titanic, which sank 80 years ago Wednesday: The most expensive suite cost $4,350, which would be $62,292 in today's dollars, according to U.S. News World Report.

Which isn't to say the Titanic wasn't cheap: The widows of band members who went down with the ship were billed $3.50 for lost uniforms. Ordinary people It's hip to be square. So says a new book, Auntie Barbara's Tips for an Ordinary Life (Avon, $8). "I'm not sure if the dyed-in-the-wool frumps will be purchasing it," author Barbara Ilovanetz, president of the National Frumps of America, tells the Orlando Sentinel. "But surely potential frumps will buy it They need to know that it's OK to be this way." By Marc Schogol Compiled from reports from Inquirer wire services.

Body-loving looks for fall from supreme design trio 'Of black, gleaming gold buttons, zippers and trim. Unlike other designers here and abroad, Beene is moving forward. No retro look in his collections, no long daywear skirts, no menswear looks. It was all about sexy clothes and short skirts that bared the body beautifully. For evening, the same: He sliced the side of a black gown, leaving one leg completely bared.

He left one shoulder revealed on the gown, which also featured appliqued patches of black bugle beads. A circus theme of bright-colored bolero jackets with animal designs on the back closed the show. The ringmaster himself came on stage to bow to the sound of circus music. Karan's clothes were definitely for classy women. She, too, paid homage to the feminine form with crepe jersey slim skirts, slit incredibly high.

Often the slit was accompanied by a gold zipper inset in leather piping. Someone with a shape to flaunt would love Karan's sexy organza bodysuits, ribbed, sculpted or belted jackets, slim black leather jeans, ribbed stretch turtlenecks and molded unitards. The clothes were breathtakingly lovely, in colors of either conservative navy, black or gray or loud mustard yellow, lipstick red and beaming ivory. She used bright colors to accent conservative ones, to the delight of the audience, which included the likes of Joan Rivers, Kim Basinger, Alec Baldwin, Helen Gurley Brown and Ivana Trump. Mizrahi did the same thing with colors in his show Thursday.

Clearly the best show of the season, Mizrahi took black gowns to a new extreme by slicing them at the side and lining them in neon See FASHION on D5 By Roy II. Campbell INlJt IHKK KASHKIN V. HITKH fV I EW YORK Amid all the hype and hysteria ill in the fashion industry, amid the thousands of I ensembles seen on the runways each fall and spring, occasionally lightning strikes, a brilliant flash that proves clothes still have the power to seduce the spirit and absorb the mind. It is in these instances that one understands why so many worship at the temple of high fashion. In the closing days of the fall collections here, three of the country's foremost designers presented flawless fashions that enhanced the feminine form.

And they made it look easy. One had to wonder, while watching the collections of Donna Karan, Geoffrey Beene and Isaac Mizrahi, why other American designers coexist on the same planet with this trio. Their work was even more triumphant when contrasted with the distilled, unoriginal offerings of Louis Dell'Olio for the Anne Klein label, and the elegant but never-changing designs of Mary McFadden. The other cause for celebration was the launch yesterday of a new fashion star, Byron Lars, whose shirtdress took the industry by storm last year. This year he mounted his first full-scale show.

Beene opened the day in a Midtown theater. In the choreographed show, complete with strobe lights and eerie music, he embraced the feminine form with sculpted suits, lace jackets, curvy crepe gowns, molded slip dresses and narrow fluid slacks and catsuits. As in seasons past, the details were what counted: gleaming beaded lapels, slashes of color Index Ann Landers 02 The Arts 03 Grandparenting D2 Radio highlights D7 Television D7 Film review: The Last Butterfly D3 Music review: Eaken Trio D3 Associated Prm Getting in the flow of fall, Isaac Mizrahi offers a Japanese-inspired, plaid jacket over a pajama dress. Shimmering hose accents this Geoffrey Beene knit tunic, short skirt and lace jacket..