“…I am dismayed by what seems like a current trend among many universities to establish a style for buildings on their campuses and to slavishly replicate buildings in that style. This, I presume, is seen as a means to gain the order, cohesiveness, and harmony that is so desirable. But, in fact, it often produces campuses that are like army camps—lifeless, repetitive, and banal.
“Many of the great old American campuses—like those at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton Universities—have revered cores that are wonderfully coherent, but also rich and diverse architecturally….”
The Library Café is a weekly program of table talk with scholars, artists, publishers and librarians about books, ideas, and the formation and circulation of knowledge. It is hosted by Thomas Hill, and can be heard on WVKR FM 91.3 Tuesday afternoons between 12:00 Noon and 1:00 p.m. ET (16.00-17.00 GMT) during the academic year.
“What a pity it would be if the many big touring exhibitions at Yale managed to deflect attention from ‘Master Drawings,’ a new, quieter show at the Yale University Art Gallery. The European old master drawings shown here are from the 15th to 19th centuries. They are part of the permanent collection, but together form an exhibition no less compelling than the imported works.”
“Female characters struggle against — or embrace — the family ties that bind them in the works featured in this year’s Carlotta Festival of New Plays, taking place May 9-18.”
From a library/librarians’ perspective, how are our library resources when it comes to sustainability? Are we supporting the college’s curricular efforts? What about the “greening” of the library and the campus? Can we practice sustainability? Can we promote it by speakers, presentations, etc.? What can we do within our library associations, and other professional groups?
NOTE: All ACRL OnPoint chats are free and open to the public. Sessions are unmoderated, 30 to 45 minutes long, and take place in a Meebo chat room. While no registration is necessary to participate, ACRL recommends creating a quick and easy Meebo account for the best experience while participating in ACRL OnPoint discussions. Full details are available on the ACRL Web site at www.acrl.org/ala/acrl/acrlproftools/OnPoint/onpoint.cfm.
“Whether a monstrosity or a dishonest provocation, Shvarts’s ‘project’ was the reductio ad absurdum — or ad nauseam — of ideology and pedagogy that have been standard fare in the humanities at Yale and on many other campuses for years. Her supervisors — Yale’s fall guys — probably didn’t tell her no for the same reason that, in 2003, a New York University professor initially approved a student’s proposal to record two students having sex in front of the class. (The NYU administration later nixed it.)
“The politicized obsession with race, gender and sexuality; the denigration of canonical works by ‘dead white males’; the callow mocking of convention; the notion that truth itself is merely a construct of power and self-interest — all characterize the study of art and literature in America’s colleges and universities. All were reflected in Shvarts’s rationale for her ‘installation.’”
“I dated Cindy Sherman … And all I got was this documentary. Paul H-O on his film about the iconic photographer and the perils of being an art world sidekick.” Salon.com May 2, 2008 By Joy Press
“It sounds like a highbrow fairy tale: an unsuccessful artist turned cable TV host snags an interview with one of the world’s most reclusive and glamorous art stars, Cindy Sherman — and the two fall in love. This is what actually happened to Paul Hasegawa-Overacker, aka Paul H-O, who uses it as the premise for the documentary he co-directed, ‘Guest of Cindy Sherman.’ But to cling too tightly to that romantic story line is to seriously misrepresent this movie, which is screening this week at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York and is slated to run eventually on the Sundance Channel.”
“New York has the Empire State Building and the Guggenheim, Paris has the Louvre and the Pompidou Center, now Beijing is determined to build its own architectural icons. Thirty years after economic reforms began, this country has built a series of superstructures that almost seem intended more for the Guinness Book of World Records than cityscapes.
“‘I’m completely against this big architecture. It’s a total waste,’ said Yin Zhi, president of the urban planning and design institute at Tsinghua University in Beijing. ‘The government wants to grab the Olympic opportunity to remake Beijing, spending so much money on these stupid projects. Why not use the budget to improve Beijing’s traffic system? Why not improve the quality of people’s lives?’”
“A German artist wants to install a terminally ill patient in a gallery as an exhibit. In Nicaragua last year, an artist displayed a starving dog, tethered just out of reach of food, as conceptual art. In New Haven, Conn., an artist claims to have made multiple attempts to impregnate herself and then induce miscarriages as a work of art. All these artists say their projects are intended to start conversations. But apart from all the shouting about indecency and insensitivity, are any ideas actually being exchanged?”
Art Aimed to Shock: Yale’s abortion artist is the latest to try—and fail—to start a conversation. Newsweek Jennie Yabroff 5/5/08
Also:
“Shvarts submits alternate project:
While new exhibit prevents senior from failing, veracity of original project remains uncertain” Yale Daily News May 1, 2008 Thomas Kaplan
The “Yale University Sculpture Building and Gallery in New Haven, Conn., which boasts a green roof, 8-foot operable windows and a skin that admits natural light,” has been named one of the top 10 Green Building Projects by AIA.
“Midcentury modern has reached that unloved age that all architectural styles pass through — and midcentury modern will pass through it too. Let’s not forget that when Modernist buildings were going up, all of those antique architectural styles that are so beloved now were considered by many to be outdated and overly ornate. In the era of urban renewal and at other points in our history, we tore them down, and now we regret it. Will the same thing happen to modern architecture?”
“Yale University will participate in discussions aimed at creating the first peace park in the Middle East.
“Faculty and students from the university’s acclaimed School of Architecture will meet with Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian designers May 12 to discuss the project, according to a news release.”
“A Yale University student who claimed to have repeatedly inseminated herself and induced miscarriages in the name of art has substituted another piece of work for her senior art project.”
Check out the newly redesigned Primary Sources at Yale portal:
http://www.yale.edu/
collections_collaborative/
primarysources
This invaluable site includes copious amounts of information about finding and using primary sources. Collections available at Yale and elsewhere are organized by medium along with many tips on primary source research.
Here is part of the site's definition of primary sources:
"Primary sources provide first-hand testimony or direct evidence concerning a topic under investigation. They are created by witnesses or recorders who experienced the events or conditions being documented."
