VASSAR’S ART & STYLE MAGAZINEVOL. 7, ISSUE 2

CONTRAST

Letter from the Editor

I’ve been with Contrast for four years now and every semester it gets better. As a reflection of the Vassar student body, the magazine shifts according to the wants and needs of its readers. Like with most things, Vassar consistently challenges Contrast to reach wider and higher with regard to its content. Though it started as strictly a style magazine, Contrast now encompasses an eclec-tic range of artistic subjects. This semester’s Executive Board, which is made up of highly motivated and creative students (whom I would lit-erally be lost without), was inspired to go beyond the walls of Vassar’s campus—further than we’ve ever gone before. This issue of Contrast begins at Vassar and ends at a roller rink in Hyde Park. As readers make their way through the magazine, they will find themselves drifting further and further away from the “Vassar Bubble,” as it has been unfortunately deemed. Because we visited so many different places, this issue was one of

the most logisti-cally challenging ones to date. After almost los-ing models on a Metro North train bound

for Grand Central, driving over an hour to visit an unmarked artist’s studio and getting kicked out of a roller rink for disturbing children’s birthday parties, it’s safe to say that this issue was a bumpy ride. But the destination was worth it.

Enjoy!

Emilia Petrarca, Editor-in-Chief

1

Photo by Jessica Coles

Illustrations by Joel Orloff Cover Photo by Tim Serkes

Table of Contents

haha

2Illustration by Lauren Garcia

Superhumans of Vassar

Juan Felipe LasoFreshman, ‘17

I feel that sometimes if you believe in some-thing slightly controversial or politically incorrect you can no longer say it because it will go against the ideals of the bubble, but we need to learn to listen to other points of views even if we don’t agree with them. If we all share the same beliefs and are too politically correct, we will soon forget how to engage in meaningful discussion with people who think differently from us, and I don’t think that is what Vassar is about.

Anna DoyleSenior

It’s important to take time off. It helps you recharge.

Ben SlawSophomore

I’m not sure the bubble is poppable.

Maya KhatriSophomore

I escape to the city and treat myself to art shows, sleep and just to relax.

3

Imrul Islam ‘17, founder of the “Superhumans of Vassar” Tumblr, asks students about the alleged “Vassar Bubble”

Jean Sebastian SprattSophomore ‘16

If you don’t make an effort, you can easily go weeks without getting off

campus.

Saisha SrivastavaFreshman ‘17

I’ve been apple picking, zip-lining, ice-skating, to concerts and done all

kinds of things and I haven’t even been here a year.

Najwa DakirFreshman ‘17

I do think there is a Vassar bubble, but I don’t think it’s a negative

thing.

Shivani DaveJunior ‘15

I don’t think the place is the bubble; it’s more the people who make it stifling sometimes. So when it gets too much I spend a lot of time by myself around people, if that makes sense. I love sitting in the Retreat with my earphones on and not talking to anyone. It helps clear my head.

4

5

Strangers on a Train

6Photo by Jake Solomon

THE ART HISTORY MAJOR

A visit to the Metropolitan Mu-seum of Art is a right of pas-

sage for any Art History major.

THE OVERPACKER

Every overpacker knows that one ticket buys you four seats:

one for each suitcase.

7Photo by Jake Solomon

Photo by Rachel Garbade

THE CONCERT-GOER

Too cool for school, literally.

THE WALL STREET INTERN

The only person getting a high-paying job after gradua-tion, which is good because

they spend too much money on train fare.

8Photo by Rachel Garbade

Photo by Rachel Garbade

9

Photo by Jake Solomon

Photo by Jacob Gorski

10Photo by Jacob Gorski

Contrast Comedy

Spring has sprung and Vassar Seniors are once again hard at work on that most sacred of academic accomplishments: the Senior Thesis. From Amer-ican Studies to International Studies, students are in the process of scrambling togeth-er their most original ideas and every reading they’ve ever perused to construct the longest annotated bibliography they’ve ever EasyBib’d. Ranging from 30-120 pages, these projects are truly the landmark achievements of the graduating seniors aca-demic career. “ I’ve been waiting for this opportunity [to write a thesis] since I was a little girl,” said one South Commons resi-dent. The whole campus is abuzz with anticipation. Sure to liven up campus discussion, students and faculty alike eagerly await

the arrival of theses likely to be the most innovative academic papers Vassar College has ever produced. Two sophomores told me how excited they were to hear their upperclassman friends talk excitedly, then confusing-ly, and later on in the semester, dejectedly, about their respective projects. “You can really see the passion the students here have for their various academic pur-suits, no matter how obscure and specific they are,” Sophomore #1 said, “It’s cool.”

“Original”

After four years at Vassar, students have transformed from gangly ambitious high shcool-ers with large vocabularies into sophisticated scholars capable of transforming the landscape

of academia. “Not only are they well informed,” Psychology professor X explained, “but they are analyzing and synthesizing at a level that is on par with the greater minds of our day.” When asked to put the aphorism ‘There is nothing new under the sun’ in the context of the Vassar Senior Theses, Professor X said, “That doesn’t’t really apply here. Or rather, Vassar students are the exceptions that prove the rule.” Then he chuckled, and unwrapped a rainbow sprinkle Nilda’s.

“Sort of Important”

Vassar students are known for their innovative spirit and senior theses are a prime example of this. One religion major glowingly spoke on her

Another Year of Senior Theses Prove to be Original, Important, Well Worth Everyone’s Time* Names have been changed to protect the identities of those interviewed herein.

Grace SaffranComedian

11

theses, “I’m writing about the fictional timeline of an android society’s use of plastic surgery!” Adding, “It’s really exciting being on the vanguard of something so relevant in today’s day and age.” Similarly, an Art History major described the unfettered joy of her research on the type of hairs used for the paintbrush of a cer-tain Renaissance painter world renowned for his stroke. “I’m on the brink of proving not only that there are religious themes in this painting, but that they are directly related to the sociopolit-ical climate of Renaissance Italy. This could change everything!” A Women’s Studies major studying children’s literature, described in florid if not quite unclear prose, the ways in which he was applying queer theory to kids classics. He suggested the possibility of an experience for a subset of individuals then quick-ly clarified that his use of queer theory was not to imply that everyone was gay. “No one has ever thought about this before,” he told me with a wink.

“Radical”

Perhaps the best part of the Senior Thesis tradition is the myriad of enterprising ways students’ efforts are transformed from the page to reality; theo-ry into practice. Anyone who’s anyone is familiar with the earth shattering undergraduate thesis penned by Liz Cushman Titus Putnum, class of 1955. In it, Putnam outlined the ideas that would later become a platform for the Student Conservation As-

sociation. The nonprofit repur-posed the crushed dreams and cheap labor of young volunteers for the care of national parks and public lands with. Putnam can be credited with both saving national parks from decrepitude and squalor, and for the found-ing principles of the unpaid internship.

“Not Bad”

When asked what the plan of execution was for his thesis, a Media Studies Major stammered incessantly. “Well, its not really a plan so much as it is a critique” he tells me. “I’m not really doing anything, per say.”This sentiment is echoed throughout the senior class, with the exception being a Chemistry Major who is in fact creating a screenplay. “Its kind of like Rom-Com meets NOVA special, she

explains. Two radically different mediums that should together react explosively.” When asked about the possibilities for implementing their groundbreaking, original and important work, the seniors were uncharacteristically hum-ble. “I’m not sure I want to make it Google searchable,” an Inde-pendent Major studying Critical Sexualities said of his thesis on Autofellacio as the Seminal Act of the Modern American Man. The same Art History Major, whose 32(!) pages on paint brushes have been called ‘vision-ary’, was similarly restrained: “I don’t know exactly how it will change the world,” she told me, “But I’m confident it will. Be-cause otherwise this was just a big waste of time, right? I haven’t applied to any jobs yet…Maybe I should make a LinkedIn?”

12Illustration by Joel Orloff

Sometimes getting off campus is the best way to appreciate being on campus, and the Vassar Outing Club (VOC) merges both worlds all year round. You’re probably on their email list (over 1,000 students are), and you’ve probably said more than once: “Let’s go on a hike this weekend.” But getting off campus is easier said than done. Members of the VOC are bound and determined though, and are out hiking mountains before most of us have managed to get out of bed.

According to their mission statement, VOC activities include: “backpacking, hiking and mountain climbing in the scenic Hudson Valley area and beyond, rock climbing in the ‘Gunks, kayaking, snowshoeing, whitewater rafting, and skydiving [yes, SKYDIVING]. In addition, the VOC supports other off-campus outings, including taste testing, ice-skating, pumpkin and apple picking, and wilderness skills classes. Extended overnight trips run during October and Spring Breaks.” VOC will subsidize the cost of most of these outings, which can sometimes be very pricy. For example, members went ice climbing this semester for half the price.

All Photos by Daniel Foley

Page by Sarah King13

VOC Co-President Katie Ewen ‘15, who has been a member since her freshman year, says the club helps her escape the “Vassar Bubble,” every week. “Going on a hike, backpack, climb, or paddle gives me—and I’m sure other people—the chance to breathe, slow down, and get back in touch with what’s really important,” she says.

Daniel Foley, who is a yearlong exchange student from England, says the club is not only a great way to escape Vassar, but also appreciate an entirely different landscape. “I want to experience Vassar but I’m only in this country for a year—I want to explore America too!” At this point, Foley has probably seen more of the beautiful Hudson Valley than most of his American classmates.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve lived with a pack of wolves or have never left New York City—there’s no expe-rience necessary to be a VOC member. And while the focus is getting out into nature, VOC is simply a way to facilitate any sort of adventure beyond Vassar’s gates. So, do yourself a favor and join the Vassar Outing Club.

Get Out of Your MindBy Emilia Petrarca

14

CONTRAST: You spent last year at Goldsmiths, Uni-versity of London. Can you tell us about your experi-ence in there?

BRAWLEY: I was serving as the Resident Faculty Di-rector of Vassar’s newest study abroad initiative, the Vassar London Program. I was teaching a site-spe-cific course in critical urban studies, and advising students on independent projects. Students also take two courses at Goldsmiths, University of London, and I was on hand to talk with them about their classes at Goldsmiths, and to help them navigate the vagaries of the university structure and such. I was also working with faculty and colleagues at Gold-smiths.

CONTRAST: How did that experience help you break boundaries in your own life? What did you get out of it?

BRAWLEY: The course I taught was a full-day roving seminar, with the city of London itself as both class-room and subject. We were out and about in London for five-hour sessions. A few of the sessions ran from noon to almost midnight. It’s “teaching in the round,” as it were. The program’s success—and its pleasure—really depends upon breaking the spatial and tempo-ral boundaries of regular classroom teaching. It was lovely to live in a major city again after 15 years; I haven’t lived in a big city since I left Chi-cago. The structure of everyday life in a metropolis shifts the boundaries between public and private, in a way; one tends to live more of one’s life out and about: in cafés, pubs, parks. The city becomes an extension of the house: a café becomes an office; a pub, a living room. I’ve never had the opportunity to live outside the United States for an extended period of time. The series of official permissions and sponsorships required to live abroad makes the boundary of the na-tion-state very clear, as well as the terms under which one is permitted to cross it.

Lisa Brawley, professor of Urban Studies and American Studies, has been teaching at Vassar since 2000. Her courses grapple with topics of urbanization and national identity. As the theme of this semester’s Contrast is “breaking bound-aries,” we thought it would be apt to ask Brawley what she thinks about the “Vassar Bubble” and beyond. Lucky for us, after spending last year on the Vassar London Program, Brawley is back in the 12604.

An Interview with

Lisa Brawley

15

CONTRAST: How does the idea of boundaries (and breaking them) apply to what you teach?

BRAWLEY: First, I wouldn’t want to assume that bound-aries are always bad and breaking them always good. Boundaries are context-specific—one could also say that they function as a way of talking about context itself. Because I teach all of my classes in the multidis-ciplinary programs, I am often in conversations about disciplines as if they were clearly bounded structures of knowing. Because I have an interdisciplinary Ph.D., I am fascinated by these questions—but also frustrated when they devolve into questions about the institutional arrangements of particular departments. That conver-sation is boring, and almost always about resources (the boundaries between different budget lines).  Contem-porary scholarly disciplines only imprecisely map onto existing academic departments, and they do so differ-ently from one institution to another.  

“I wouldn’t want to assume that boundaries are al-ways bad and breaking them always good. Bound-aries are context-specific—one could also say that

they function as a way of talking about context itself.”

CONTRAST: Many students refer to a “Vassar bubble” in addressing both physical and metaphorical boundaries that surround them. What do you think are the strengths and limitations of evoking the conceptual Vassar bubble?

BRAWLEY: I’ve always been a little puzzled as to why more students don’t choose to live off campus. When people talk about the Vassar bubble I often get an image of the cam-pus enclosed within a Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome. Which is also to say that the residential liberal arts campus shares certain features with communitarian experiments in making the world a better place by reimagining ways to re-structure everyday life. But like many of those experi-ments, Vassar is of course already fundamentally structured by its encounter with the larger world, especially when one looks at what structures the conditions of possibility, for the college itself. It’s not a bubble.

CONTRAST: Do you experience the Vassar bubble as a professor who does not live on campus? As an Urban Studies professor, is the bubble problematic to you?

“What forces are drawing the boundaries that structure our world—and to what ends?”

BRAWLEY: Living away from campus probably makes me less aware of what it’s like for folks who spend a lot of their time within walking distance of the Retreat. Rather than saying that I find it problematic, I’d say that through my Urban Studies classes I’ve discovered how troubling the bubble seems to be to students. In a recent Intro Ur-ban Studies field trip, many students said that they hadn’t walked through downtown Poughkeepsie or been any-where besides the Walkway over the Hudson or the train station prior to class. If you see the bubble as limiting to students, are there some ways that students might culturally counter-act it? Many of my students have found ways to become very meaningfully involved in Poughkeepsie-based events and organizations. Students also counteract the bubble by taking advantage of our proximity to New York City. In getting involved and offering their skills—as writers, photographers, translators, etc.—to area orga-nizations, students can begin to see Vassar as a hub in a network of connections and projects rather than a bub-ble.

CONTRAST: What do you think is the importance of breaking out of boundaries more generally?

BRAWLEY: Well, your questions prompted me to revisit the meaning—and history of meanings—of the term “boundary.”  The OED has this definition: “That which serves to indicate the bounds or limits of anything whether material or immaterial; also the limit itself.”  I love words like that—words that blur the distinction between a marker of a thing and the thing itself.  I think the key question would be: what forces are drawing the boundaries that structure our world—and to what ends?

CONTRAST: What transitions (if any) do you see in your future?

BRAWLEY: My daughter is in her last semester at Bar-nard; my sweet old doggie is almost 14 years old and very much showing her age. So, two transitions are on the near horizon in my personal life. Here at Vassar, I’m excited about the architectural competition and building plans for the Center for Multidisciplinary Studies. Mostly, I’m delighted that it’s finally stopped snowing. Was that the longest winter, or what?

Interview conducted by Faith Hill

Page by Faith Hill

16

Sixteen miles south of campus, settled along the banks of the Hud-son River, lies Dia:Beacon– a weekend escape for Vassr students. The convert-ed Nabisco printing factory turned mu-seum of contempo-rary art provides visitors with a bountiful array of visual and imagi-native stimulation. Galleries are illumi-nated with natural light pouring through skylights overhead. Hardwood floorboards and worn brick walls evoke the spirit of the building’s industrial history. The Dia Art Foundation’s site in Beacon, NY extends the boundaries of a traditional museum. This monumental space houses ma-jor works of art for Riggio Galleries’ renowned permanent collection including fluorescent lights, a pile of layered glass shards and even a gigantic metal spider. The expansive dimensions of the warehouse struc-ture permits both unique aquisitions and experience.

In this article, Con-trast interviewer Jacque-line Krass speaks to Elyse Schoenberg ’15, Kristina Arike ’14, Sofia Macht ’14, and Char-maine Branch ‘14 about their expe-rience as interns at Dia: Beacon. ELYSE SCHOENBERG

Q: How did you get involved with Dia:Beacon, and what made it appealing to you?

A: I’m an Economics major, so I hadn’t even taken an Art

History course until I went abroad to

London last year. I got really into the art scene there so when I came back [to Vassar] I

declared a cor-relate and start-

ed taking a bunch of classes. I applied

to the Dia program as kind of a reach. A lot of people say that Art History and Eco-nomics are an odd combination, but it’s really not. Every museum has its development department, and there’s the more adminis-trative side to the art world like galleries in general, for-profit institutions, auction houses, etc. Post-graduation I really want to combine the two somehow.

Q: Dia does a lot of unconven-tional things with space and scale.

Does that have an affect on the way you perceive

the art, both as an economic com-

modity and as a medium for creative expression expression?

A: A lot of the installations [at

Dia] were displayed with the help of the artist

who actually created the work. For example, there’s a Richard Serra piece that is basically a

piece of metal that looks rect-angular when you’re looking at it front on. When you walk [around it] you realize that the metal continues straight, and the floor actually dips down. The metal correlates with its space to make it appear flat. The floor was purposefully lowered in order to make that piece what it is, so that’s just one example of how the space is so much a part of the art, and the art is so much a part of the space.

KRISTINA ARIKE

Q: Do you see differences between the way Dia and Vassar approach or critique art as institutions?

A: There’s one professor who teaches contemporary art at Vassar, so it’s a self-selecting group that goes to those classes and participates in that world. At Dia, their philosophy is to try and reach out to as many people as possible, and not be afraid of trying to let people into the world of contemporary art. I think that Dia is more welcom-

All Photos by Daniel Foley17

ing in terms of outreach and finding ways of understanding, whereas Vassar is much more theoretical. You have to want to do it in order to be involved with that kind of art.

Q: How does space affect the way you perceive and interact with the art?

A: I think the fact that Dia has so much space is really a luxury compared to other museums. I mean, if you think of going to the MoMA on a Saturday after-noon, you know that you’ll bare-ly have any room to turn around,

let alone to reflect and be within yourself. I think that Dia made a very intentional choice to have a space of that size and to not overcrowd it. The space allows people to have a very personal, meditative experience.

SOFIA MACHT

Q: How has Dia changed your perspective on art?

A: Dia’s unlike any place I’ve ever been before. Their pieces don’t have a long provenance – most of them were commissioned for Dia. Many of them were installed

by the artists themselves. It’s a place that’s kind of haunted by the artists, in a good way. It’s more like a home for the artwork than a museum. Robert Irwin, the artist who converted the building, helped maintain the outward shell of the architecture, but transformed the grounds and utilized the natural elements of the building in order to create a space appropriate for art. He said that he doesn’t work with traditional mediums; he works with perception. And his whole philosophy was about teaching the average person their own potential for seeing.

A Dia Education

Photo by Rachel Garbade

18

That’s really what Dia does, it changes the way you see.

Q: Are you planning on exploring the art world professionally after Vassar?

A: Yes, I am! I’m applying to lots of other museum education intern-ships and positions. I think it can empower young kids to ask them what they think. It’s rare for them to be asked that. Even if it seems unapproachable because it’s so abstract and complex, it’s not! They can access it through their own observations, and I

think that action in itself is valuable for young kids.

Q: I definitely noticed kids just enjoying their

interactions with the art – like I saw one kid running in and out of that huge spider—

A: Oh my god, yeah, they love that! Louise

Bourgeois. And did you see the torqued ellipses? The Richard Serra?

Q: Yeah!

A: I mean, these are things that are so easy to love. Especially for kids, who can’t believe that they can actually go inside a piece of art.

CHARMAINE BRANCH

Q: What’s a typical day at Dia like for you?

A: I’m a dancer at Vassar, and I’m going to do a workshop called “Movement in Sculpture at Dia:Beacon.” I’ve invited a group of Vassar dancers to come in and we’re going to talk about the connections and relationship between movement and some of

All Photos by Daniel Foley

the different sculptures within Dia. That [project] in itself is sort of a culmination of my everyday experiences at Dia. We also do a lot of admin-istrative work, planning com-munity free days, working with Excel spreadsheets and organizing.

Q: I think a lot of us are used to seeing these incredibly famous works of art with these huge crowds. Do you feel like Dia’s use of space creates a different dynamic with the way you view the art?

A: I think it makes it easier! You don’t have to create your own

walls, the space allows you to do some close looking, to be really active in looking. Let me walk

around this object, spend time with this sculp-

ture, or with this painting.

Sometimes people worry or think that art,

especially art at somewhere like

Dia:Beacon, isn’t very accessible. I really think

that no one should ever feel intimidated to go explore and make it an adventure. I never want to give the impression that this is just a space for art histori-ans, or artists. This is a space for everyone.

Introduction by Daniel Foley

Interview by Jacqueline Krass

20

INSIDE THE “OUTSIDER'S” STUDIO

EARL Earl Swanigan moved to Hudson, NY from Columbus, Mississippi in 2006. His expo-sure to art began at the age of ten, when his uncle encouraged him to explore both his imag-ination and what he found in the world that surrounded him. While tracing over his uncle’s sketch of a Coca-Cola bottle, Earl was caught trying to show it off as his own. Since then, Earl has scarcely left a pencil sharp or a paper bare.

It’s hard to miss Earl standing outside his former studio-turned-luxury-apartment on Warren Street in Hudson, NY, which is around an hour from Vassar. Six-foot-something with paint-splattered clothes, he surrounds himself with his un-framed paintings of unicorns and chickens in bold glittering colors. There are no barriers between him and the passing viewer—no veil between the spectator and the artist unlike the curated gallery windows and

their better-than-thou eyes. Earl is approachable and relentlessly dedicated to creativity, one of those true gems you never want to walk away from.

Yet, these aren’t always the things you hear once you leave the comforts of Warren Street. Critics who, indicative of the limited and often exclu-sionary lens that dominates art narrative, often use words like “primitive,” “outsider,” and “naively charming”to describe

Photo by Taylor Pratt

21

Earl’s art. Earl finds this rhetoric enclosing and discriminative.

The term “outsider art” was foreign to Earl until he moved to Hudson a decade ago and is antithetical to the way he continues to approach art. To him, art school and exhibi-tion formal-ities are far from man-datory: “I love my own imagina-tion. I don’t want nobody to train my mind to think a different way— their way,” he declares.

Earl’s methods involve everything from critical staging switches, to medium changes and free-flowing paint strokes. Art for Earl is contingent on his encounters with a fluctuating locale—he sources materials from local shops and his “can-vases” from discarded alleyways. One day he’s asked to paint portraits of famous Jazz singers on pressed wood scraps and the next he paints a cat with flowers emitting from its head on gothic-style fencing. Earl’s paintings of animals are his sidewalk gallery’s best sellers. His work seeks to reconcile two seeminly dif-

ferent subjects, like puppies play-ing tug-of-war with a food bag or neighborhood kids going after the same ice cream cone. What’s remarkable across Earl’s work is his use of exquisite corpse forms that mimic countless species’

gesticulations. These moments of creative en-lightenment for Earl reflect the common emo-tions between species that render hierar-chies inane. The bath-

ing of expressive forms in con-trasting color palettes is where Earl’s art finds its playul nature and exacting aesthetic. They are images so particular to Earl’s art that they draw the high profiles of Martha Stew-art and Marc Jacobs, among many, to purchase hundreds of them.

Using the sidewalk as a marketplace in lieu of galleries and online shops has led to many legal and interper-sonal issues, both with copyright and with creative competitors.

But Earl’s morals are strong in avoiding greed and encouraging forgiveness. He is hesitant to sell his work outside of its context in Hudson, where he knows it belongs.

It’s discouraging to imagine a world where one’s talent has become obligatory of training, impossibly regulated and, most horrifically, exclusive and unobtainable to the majority that seek to pursue it. Unfortu-nately though, this is the world that many artists like Earl find themselves swallowed by. Earl is an “outsider” only in the sense that he feels excluded from both the community where he resides and the Bourgeois art world that

he sells in. Yet he still stands floating in between, vital to both.

Article by Taylor Pratt

Earl’s Paintings22

In the back office of the Family Partnership Center sits a collection of students from the city of Poughkeepsie. Periodi-cally, they erupt into thunderous fits of laughter and knee-slap-ping before returning to what’s on the forefront of the collective consciousness: the first read through of this semester’s Hip Hop Theater play, Grindin’: The Come Up. Based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the concept for this semester’s play was provided by Tree Arrington, Director of the R.E.A.L. Skills network, which is facilitated by the Family Part-nership Center in Poughkeepsie. Arrington considers this semes-ter’s play invaluable because,

“We know that there needs to be social changes made. We’re cul-turing our young ones to pay at-tention to theater. [Our students] get to focus on some of the more mainstream readings. It’s our form of edutainment.” With themes like a rise to stardom, the domination of communities, deception, and the price of fame, Macbeth can be re-purposed as a symbolic reminder of how hip hop has changed the world.

Started in 2008 by a Vassar alumnus, Hip Hop Theater gives Vassar students the opportunity to connect with Pough-keepsie public school

students through the artistic medium of hip hop. Since its creation, it’s functioned as a sort of artistic hand-me-down: Vas-sar seniors who’ve spearheaded the project pass on the torch to rising underclassman with the hope that student involvement will continue for years to come. It’s an important space, fostering a connection between

Hip-Hop Theater

Photos by Cheikh Athj

23

By Cheikh Athj

the walled-off garden of Vassar and the city of Poughkeepsie.

According to Hadiya Shire ‘14, the lead writer for HHT this year (and Contrast’s Editorial Director), “HHT also offers students a break from the per-formance of academia, which often stifles other parts of your identity.” Hip Hop Theater func-tions as fluid creative space where students can use their talents to ex-plore theater, foster their creative passions and, in the process, transform themselves. “Honestly,” says Brandon Greene, a graduate of the class of 2013 and intern at the R.E.A.L. Skills Network, “this is one of the few collaborative spaces in Poughkeepsie for academics—where what could be contradic-tive artistic forms find the space for expression. Academia and hip hop, for example.” And he’s right: how often do academics who love the creation of art find the space to meld the two prac-tices? Hip Hop Theater functions as a space of multiple intersec-tions: students from Vassar and Poughkeepsie’s public schools get to engage with one another while analyzing important, sometimes uncomfortable themes through the lens of hip hop. “I think it’s a Vassar student’s responsibility,” Shire echoes, “to invest in Hip Hop Theater and the conscious-ness it necessitates. To have fun

and be free to teach your fellow students, as well as allowing

yourself to be taught by your peers.” Perhaps the most positive

thing about Hip Hop Theater, more so than the creation of the art itself, is that it exists as a healthy, constructive space for people of color and indi-viduals from lower socioeco-nomic brackets. Many of the kids who participate in the Real Skills Network are not well off and hail from the inner city of Poughkeepsie: an area rich with vibrant, talented young lives, but lacking in opportunity and economic support. With the high dropout rates of the city’s students—over 70%, according to Ar-rington—Hip Hop Theater is a vital pace for those who take part in it. For Vassar students, we get the chance to mentor and learn directly from students whose

lives are informed by this city so divided from us. For Pough-

keepsie’s public school students, they get mentors and a glimpse of college academia.

Hip Hop Theater is one of the most important affinity spaces that Vassar has to offer. It provides a safe place for students to explore themselves and their interests through what David Foster Wallace calls, “the most important American poetry of the 21st Century.” Hip Hop the-ater has come a long way since its inception, but there’s still work to be done. Shire predicts, “as long as there are people will-ing to commit and be passionate; to care, listen, and be protective of this program, the possibilities for growth are limitless.”

“It’s our form of edutainment.”

A Day in the Life...

Jake Pendelton grew up in Orange County, California and (“god”) does he hate the Northeast winters. He is a senior at West Point, studying Literature and loves waking up everyday to be part of his brotherhood. He grew up playing football and track, activities that remain passions to this day. In November, he found out that he is going into Infantry and will be stationed at Ft. Hood, Texas after a summer Ranger and Infantry Basic Officer Leader course. He aspires to be in the Special

Forces or serve in the Ranger Battalion.

Jake Cohen is a senior, Culinary Arts Management Major at The Culinary Institute of America where he graduating early. After

graduation, he will be moving to New York City to work as a cook for ABC Kitchen Restaurant in Union Square. Jake has lived in

Queens and Long Island before moving to Poughkeepsie, New York and currently lives with his boyfriend who is a baker. You can follow him

@jakecohen, if you want some great recipes!

6:50-7:30Mandatory Breakfast Formation

7:30-11:55History of Military Art

12p-1pLunch

1p-2pDean’s or Commandant’s Hour (w/ Briefing)

4p-6pIntramural Hockey

6p-7pDinner

7:30-8:30Breakfast (Apple Pie Bakery)

8:45-10:05Ecology of Food

10:45-11:45Ind. Study Meeting w/ Eco of Food Professor

12p-1pLunch

2:30p-3:45pFrench IV Ind. Study

3:45p-5:15pLeadership and Ethics

5:30p-6:45pProfessional Food Writing

7p-8pDinner

25

Comparing and contrasting the schedules of students at West Point, CIA, Marist and Vassar.

Kristen Semple, born and raised in central New Jersey, is a freshman Business major at Marist, with an emphasis in International

Business. She is pursuing a career in fashion merchandising. However, she plans to explore the field further before making a final decision. A passion for the economics behind Runway curtains is complemented by her studies on gender. Kirsten intends to pursue involvement with nonprofit organizations and currently works on campus researching potential benefactors for contributions to nonprofits using various databases. In high school, she participated in United Way Wom-en’s Initiative and hopes to bring her skills to volunteer work to the

Poughkeepsie community. Kristen has been a vegetarian for three years, is conscious of contemporary environmental concerns, and regularly

participates in dialogues concerning climate change, pollution, and the abuse of organic resources. She likes spending time with her family,

friends and cat.

Lauren is from Bellevue, Nebraska, and has lived in Oklahoma, Germany, and New York as part of a military family. She is a

Sophomore and is double-majoring in Biology and Film. Lauren likes folk music, partying (usually not to folk music,) movies, and pigs in a blanket (both the cute animal wearing a comforter and the weenie

in a croissant.) After college, she hopes to attend medical school, basically anywhere that will take her. Bahamas?

8-10:30Eat Cereal (Breakfast) in Bed While Doing Film Readings

10:30-11:45World Cinema After 1945

11:45-12pGrab Express Lunch to Eat During Class

12p-1pOrganic Chemistry II

1:30p-5:30pAnimal Structure & Diversity Lab

5:30p-6:30pContrast Meeting

6:30-ForeverGrab Retreat Sandwich (Dinner) and Head to Library

9-9:30Breakfast

9:30-10:45Intro to Fashion Industry

11-12:15pPhilosophical Perspectives

12:30p-1:30pLunch

2p-3pWatch TV with Boyfriend

3:30p-4:45pLiterature and Gender

7p-8pDinner

26

Interview by Lanbo Yang

27

Photo by Rachel Garbade 28

Photo by Tim Serkes29

Photo by Rachel Garbade

Photo by Rachel Garbade

30

31 Photo by Tim Serkes

Photo by Jacob Gorski

32Photo by Jacob Gorski

Editors Page

Photo by Rachel Garbade33

Executive BoardEditor-in Chief:

Emilia Petrarca

Photography:Rachel Garbade

Jacob Heydorn Gorski

Layout:Lauren Garcia

Women’s Style:Olga VoyazidesMargot Mayer

Blog:Lauren Garcia

Michael Gambardella

Treasurer:Jasmine Timan

Editorial:Hadiya Shire

Men’s Style:Christopher Hastings Farrell

Publicity:Tiarra Dickens

CommitteesStyle:

Eloisa CleggJanou Hooykaas

Lydia CiaputaPaulina Vigoreaux

Olivia MichalakPaarul Sinha

Modeling:Tiarra Dickens

Daniel FoleyIyana Shelby

Paulina VigoreauxMax Baumbach

Brittany HillLuna Garzon-Montano

Jonny GottliebAlix Masters

Jackson Teague

Editorial:Dion Kauffman

Taylor PrattCheikh Athj

Jacqueline KrassDaniel Foley

Faith Hill Grace Ashford

Joel OrloffLanbo Yang

Layout:Sarah KingFaith Hill

Photography:Daniel FoleyTim Serkes

Jake Solomon

Blog:Amy Sullivan

Saskia ComessFaith Hill

Parisa HalajiRyan HolguinImrul Islam

Illustrations by Joel Orloff34

Contrast Magazine, Spring 2014contrastvassar.blogspot.com