THE ARCHIVE

On Saturday morning, some friends and I piled into my car and drove down to the inlet of Cayuga Lake to watch the men’s lightweight and heavyweight crew races. By 9:00am, the regatta had already attracted a substantial crowd with clusters of athletes and fans on both sides of the course, on the bridges, and in front of the Boatyard Grill.

Cornell’s lightweight squad raced Dartmouth for the Baggaley Cup while the heavyweight men raced Princeton and Yale for the Carnegie Cup. In an hour and a half, we witnessed complete Cornell domination on the water as they swept all varsity and junior varsity events. With good race conditions, hometown support, and a new coaching staff, the rowers capitalized on their (intensive) winter training.

The biggest race of the morning was the men’s varsity heavyweight (1v) race against Princeton and Yale. Both visiting teams can boast extremely successful rowing programs with a number of national titles. It was exciting, therefore, when the loudspeaker announced that the Cornell rowers had gained open water (a boat-length advantage) over both crews within the first half of the 2k race. When the boats came into sight at 1,500 meters, the Big Red had taken a healthy lead and hammered toward the finish line with a good view of the Tigers and Bulldogs fighting for second place.

The win continues the first boat’s undefeated season and puts them in good standing for the upcoming Eastern Sprints and national championship races.

Life can be a bit stressful here on the hill but sometimes the cause isn’t clear. According to the PULSE survey conducted on campus this year, a significant percentage of Cornell students feel stress as a result of family or relationship problems, challenging academics, or tight finances.

Concern for future plans, however, ranked first among all potential sources of stress. A startling 34% of the survey pool marked this as “very stressful” and another 33% responded that they considered it “moderately stressful.”

Whether thinking about summer internships or professional careers, the over-achieving student body at Cornell seems to brood anxiety about the future. And this can hardly be attributed entirely to the current recession. It’s just that planning to do things beyond Ithaca while taking classes and exams requires an incredible capacity for multitasking. Thoughts of resumes, cover letters, portfolios, and phone interviews loom quietly overhead and disrupt one’s normal routine.

This semester, I am taking fewer credits than ever before and my classes could hardly be described as overwhelming. And yet, I am completely dysfunctional. I’ve spent the majority of the spring dreaming up activities for this summer and drafting various mental versions of my life plan. I’ve also been touching up my portfolio, editing my resume and emailing potential employers.

Finally my schemes have come to fruition. And yes, they involve Italy.

I accepted a job working for three weeks on an archaeological site near Pompeii. The small team of professors and graduate students (mostly from Texas) will be researching Villa Oplontis and trying to make sense of its many phases of construction. Working alongside an architect, I will be documenting wall types and settlement patterns while trying to determine the original configuration and use of the Roman complex.

Afterward, I have arranged to work for an architecture firm in Rome called Labics. The two principle architects worked as my professors last Fall and have invited me on board to help with their firm’s current projects and (possibly) a bilingual publication.

Now that these plans are set and housing is nearly arranged, I’m about ready to relax a bit and enjoy the good weather. What? What’s that you say? Final exams?

The Cornell Daily Sun published an article today discussing my architecture professors’ recent “Field Project” on the Arts Quad. The article, “Hay is for Horses: Don’t Overthink Art” raised some interesting issues but misrepresented the purpose of the installation. I wrote a response to the article and have since decided not to submit it to the Editor. The Cornell community should not be subjected to a personal rant about aesthetics. You, on the other hand, are voluntary readers so I’ve included the text of my letter below.

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What constitutes Art? Why are we so inclined to place it on a pedestal of intellectualism? These are two important questions that Liam Berkowitz addresses in his article “Hay is for Horses: Don’t Overthink Art.” In discussing the Field Project that occupied the Arts Quad last week, the author articulates a common frustration with Art-namely, the fact that it relies heavily on academic jargon and seeks justification through context, not content.

This is a legitimate concern. Contemporary artists clamor for space in Museums and Exhibition halls around the world where artwork enjoys intellectual authority-defended by titles, signatures, explanatory captions, and a curatorial staff. “Leave Art to the experts” is the mantra of the day and the rest of us can be darned.

The interesting thing about the recent installation on the Arts Quad is that the designers never intended to dictate its meaning. A short and ambiguous statement about the project left the work open for interpretation and encouraged members of the community to draw their own (clever/absurd/amusing) conclusions. Furthermore, the extensive grid of red bags was not merely referential-it was also experiential. The placement of bags across the Quad changed one’s perception of the space and invited viewers to consider issues of scale, shape, and topography.

Forty years after the extremely influential “Earth Art” exhibition at Cornell, the project is not without precedent. Many artists who rejected the over-intellectualization of art turned to the outdoors where a work can be valued for its inherent qualities, not only for the academic meaning assigned to it. The removal of the artist’s “frame” so to speak defined the Land Art movement and obscured the line between Art, objects, and the natural world. The Field Project lives in this tradition.

Concerned that projecting meaning onto things as banal as red bags of straw will open the floodgates of artistic interpretation? That fool’s mimicry and donkey canvases might earn the status of Art? Lets welcome new interpretations and new forms of art. A free market of tastes and ideologies will determine what we value most.

Here at THE ARCHIVE we do not shy away from awkward or embarrassing topics, so it is with candor that I will explain to you the repercussions of my Dragon Day debacle. As noted in the first installment of the D-day saga, the kind men and women of the Cornell Police force decided not to send me to the Ithaca courthouse; instead, they referred me to the Office of the Judicial Administrator where my case would be dealt with internally.

Being “sent to the JA” is a common part of the freshman experience at Cornell and I considered it an interesting opportunity (if not an honor) to experience this rite of passage as a senior. I knew that the JA’s decision would not appear on my permanent record and that I would likely be required to do community service.

The JA process begins with an informational meeting to review the case and discuss various procedural issues. After examining evidence (police report, student statement, etc), the JA counselor proposes a “summary decision” or SD. This functions like a plea-bargain in the criminal system and allows students to admit to their violation of the Campus Code of Conduct and to agree to the requisite sanctions. If a student rejects the SD, he or she will proceed to a hearing where an impartial board will review the case, make a verdict, and decide upon an appropriate punishment.

When I visited the Judicial Administrator for my preliminary meeting, I was surprised by the cheer and good-humor of everyone in the office. My counselor described Cornell’s judicial process primarily as an educational opportunity and explained that he hoped to “come to an agreement” with me in determining “positive repercussions” for my illicit behavior. For the first time, I started to feel really good about my situation. Disciplinary action, it seemed, would make me into a better person.

We reviewed the police report from Dragon Day as well as the Campus Code of Conduct, and discussed the appropriateness of my actions. The counselor agreed that I had not been “disorderly” and decided very definitively to drop those charges. He did, however, point out that members of the community are required to present their name and Cornell I.D. to a campus officer immediately upon request (read the text on the back of your card if you don’t believe me). Thus, it was clear that I had “failed to comply” with the officer and needed to be punished accordingly.

I agreed to the Summary Decision which required me to perform 20 hours of community service and complete the BASICS course. The JA office prefers using community service as a punishment because they worry that monetary fines discriminate against poor members of the Cornell community. I agree with this logic, but why give “community service” such a negative connotation? Students with community service requirements learn to dread the activity rather than appreciating the social and personal benefits that it can provide.

I digress. I am not too worried about the service requirement because I already take part in a variety of community activities here in Ithaca. The truly embarrassing part of the punishment is BASICS, which is a forced acronym for “Brief Alcohol and Other Drug Screening and Intervention for College Students.” This is a two-part, two hour course that teaches students about the dangers of alcohol abuse.

At twenty-two, I found it amusing and slightly strange to take BASICS. The “facilitator” at Gannett was a recent graduate from Cornell and fulfilled her duties in a friendly and non-judgmental manner. The results from a quick survey showed that my drinking habits were average among college students and that I fall somewhere within the “social drinker” range. Recognizing that I didn’t need much counseling, the facilitator asked what I hoped to gain from BASICS. Based on my response, we spent a good portion of the remaining time discussing fun facts and the historical precedent for the social (or ritual) consumption of alcohol.

Here ends the story of Dragon Day 2009. For my own well-being, I hope that next year’s is much shorter.

Early this morning, architecture students converged on the Arts Quad to begin work on a “monumental and unique” installation designed by visiting professors Mauricio Pezo, Sofia von Ellrichshausen and Yehre Suh.

The site-specific project, called “FIELD”, is comprised of 2,800 red mesh bags stuffed with straw and placed in a 10ft x 10ft grid that stretches across the quad between Olin Library and Sibley Hall. This intervention (which might be the largest in the history of our campus) is appropriately timed on the 40-year anniversary of the famous “Earth Art” exhibition held at Cornell University in 1969. That event brought together twelve important artists and has been credited for launching the influential Land Art movement.

The FIELD installation is not merely a commemoration of the past, nor is it a direct representation of anything in particular. Like other works of Land Art, FIELD is un-curated and open to interpretation.

Throughout the day, people passing by the Arts Quad were very inquisitive. “What’s going on? What does this represent? What’s your message?” They asked these questions assuming that a quick response might substitute for the power and subtlety of visual communication. A few people simply assumed that we were political activists calling attention to victims of war in Gaza or some such catastrophe.

We explained to one woman that we were working on an art installation and she asked in confusion, “Insulation? Why do you need to insulate the ground now that it’s warm out?”

Interestingly, there is a great range of meaning that can be assigned to the FIELD project. It references the agrarian tradition of campus, the shifts in topography, formalism and versatility, the harvest, temporality, etc. etc. Probably more important than any of this, however, is the spatial effect that the bags have on the Arts Quad. The grid of points generates a strong visual impact and invites people to perceive the space differently.

FIELD will remain on the Arts Quad until Tuesday afternoon. I am currently studying with the Chilean Architects Pezo and Sofia (two of the three organizers). If you are interested in the artistic and architectural work of their young firm, I encourage you to check out their website: pezo.cl

Throughout the semester, I have been working as a teaching assistant for a course called Structural Systems. Aside from attending lectures, each student in the class conducts a case study project wherein they select, research, and model an existing contemporary building.

Over the years, structures models have become increasingly accurate and complex. The construction process takes several weeks and requires a variety of tools and technologies. The resulting models are awe-inspiring. Anyone can appreciate the incredible degree of detail and craft invested in these miniature structures.

I encourage those of you in Ithaca to check out the show this week at Hartell Gallery (underneath the Sibley Dome). A reception will be held on Wednesday, April 8th at 4:45pm and models will remain on display until Friday afternoon.

View past structures models at the course website.

The Cornell Design League (CDL) presented its 25th annual fashion show in Barton Hall on Saturday. The show included more than 200 outfits designed by 60 students from throughout the University. Several friends were participating in the event as designers and/or models, so I thought I’d check it out.

I was very sceptical at first that Cornell students could put on a good fashion show. I suspected that the amateur designers in the Department of Apparel Design would play it safe by emulating popular styles. But I came for a show and hoped to see outfits that were innovative, humorous, or even shocking. What’s the point of going to a fashion show if it’s not a spectacle?

This year’s event walked a fine line between J. Crew catalogue, Avant-garde, and dress-up box fashion. Some pieces were ordinary or tacky while others sparked interest and applause. A few of the most interesting were made by architecture students who used the lasercutter to generate precise shapes and patterns.

The best complete line, in my opinion, was called “outside the box.” The designer dragged a chest onto the stage and started pulling objects out from within. Each of these things (a lamp, a neck tie, a book, a bird cage, etc.) inspired an outfit that corresponded materially or symbolically to the source material. The process seemed simple enough, but the resulting dresses were clever and surprising. I’d like to add some more objects to the box and see what outfits they might inspire. (window shades, pizza, notebook paper, and dirty socks are some initial ideas)

On Sunday night I returned to Barton Hall for a completely different event. The CDL runway had been disassembled, chairs were removed and a stage stood ready for the sold-out Girl Talk concert.

After the opening act, students swarmed around the stage and waited excitedly for the main performance. Girl Talk arrived in a grey sweat suit and hunched over his laptop to select songs. Within minutes, he stripped down to his bare chest and danced frantically alongside students on stage.

If you are unfamiliar, Girl Talk is a “mashup” artist who combines other people’s songs into a continuous stream of dance music. Despite his denial, he is often considered a glorified DJ. Nevertheless, he put on a good show and managed to get the entire crowd in Barton Hall dancing passionately to Kelly Clarkson (something that most would probably like to deny).

Four years ago, my friends and I suffered through the month of March with that tremendous burden of anticipation that lingers in the gut and weakens the limbs. Over the course of a few days, we would discover what cards had been dealt for us in the college admissions game-but unlike poker, no one could keep a straight face. Excitement, distress, confidence, and gloom emanated from the senior class and flooded the hallways with distracted banter about life after High School.

Fearful of technology and inexplicably superstitious, I refused to go online to check my acceptance status. Instead, I waited as packages large and small arrived in my P.O. box. I picked these up ritualistically and placed them in a pile on my desk until all had arrived.

One particular envelope had a large “thumbs-up” printed on the front which seemed at first to imply my acceptance. But when I glanced at the envelope again from a different perspective it appeared to be a large “thumbs-down.” Not wanting to jump to conclusions, I acknowledged the possibility that I had been rejected and cursed the school for its cruel use of imagery.

As the stack of unopened mail grew higher on my desk, I anxiously awaited news from Cornell. The entire Ivy League seemed to be taking its sweet time sending out letters and restlessness surged to new heights. April 1st arrived and so did a large package from Cornell. My self-discipline dissolved immediately and I opened the envelope in the middle of the post office.

The letter said that I had been accepted to the School of Architecture at Cornell and, judging from quantity of paperwork, it was not an April Fool’s joke. Relieved by my small victory against the daunting odds of college admissions, I turned toward a relatively unknown student and exclaimed emphatically “word to your mother.”

Even if Vanilla Ice lyrics didn’t come to mind, I suspect that newly accepted students in the class of 2013 are feeling pretty good right now. Congratulations to all of you for being among Cornell’s most selective class in history.

For those of you debating between several Universities, I hope that you take an opportunity to visit us here in Ithaca. There are many events this spring to help familiarize accepted students with all aspects of life at Cornell. Check out cornelldays.cornell.edu for more information.