It’s late, and I can’t think of much to write about these images. I will add that there’s a show opening today at Cooper Union, put together by all of us currently occupying the Presidents office, with the help of so many friends and supporters. Opening is 5-9pm and the show will run through June 15, open to the public from 12-7 Tues-Sat.
Peter Cooper will be there.
It’s been a fucking crazy two and a half weeks. Sleeping on the floor of the presidents office, reading and performing a “secret transcript”, and so much more. Too much to mention in this particular moment.
Through all of the ups and downs, threats and victories, the most centering thing — for me — has been working at The Arm. I’ve been helping hold down the fort while Dan and Ashley are off on their honeymoon. I’m grateful for the work, the hum of the presses, the inky fingers, and a bit of perspective on everything else.
Today I returned a large, inflatable rat to the Bruce High Quality Foundation. The Bruces have kindly lent the rat to Students for a Free Cooper Union for deployment in all maneer of protests and lock-ins that have occurred over the past few months. I’m not terribly sad to see it go, since it did take up quite a bit of real estate in the studios, and was getting somewhat mouldy. However I am looking forward to seeing it — after a bath and a fresh coat of paint — at BHQF’s upcoming exhibition at the Brooklyn Art Museum .
Check under your seats, folks…
That’s right, it’s a full tuition scholarship for everyone!!
To: The Cooper Union Community
From: The Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees met on March 6th and agreed that the admission
process for the entering class of 2013 will continue as scheduled for
each of the three Schools. All undergraduate students entering in the
fall of 2013 will be admitted on a full-tuition scholarship basis, as
previously stated.
The Board of Trustees would like to thank the faculty for their commitment,
ideas and work in developing the new academic initiatives adopted by
each faculty. In the weeks ahead, the Board will continue to review all
options to address our financial challenges. We are grateful to all our
constituents, for their input and patience as the trustees continue their
deliberations.
In addition, the Board has charged the Committee on Trustees to investigate
and make recommendations at the June Board meeting concerning the matter of
student participation at meetings of the Board of Trustees.
(via felixsalmon)
These are the students, and they are all Cooper Union. They are there to address the Board of Trustees, which “votes” today to determine if they end the 100+ years of tuition-free undergraduate education at the school.
The only problem with the fact that the students showed up is that the Board didn’t show up. After telling these same students that the Trustees are dedicated to communication and transparency on Friday, they have moved the meeting to a secret location, where no one has to meet anyone’s eyes. That’s character.
It may seem to be a tangent, but it’s also interesting that the students all fit in that huge staircase, which has no function except to move this number students into the tiny classrooms on the edges of the building (along with 3 elevators).
The reason there’s so much empty space has to do with zoning laws that were designed — in spirit — to prevent a building this large from going up. By keeping a small number of usable square feet, and embedding it in a monstrously large shell, the Trustees and the architects were able to meet the letter of the law (encouraging modest construction) and still find a way to spend $175MM on the building.
Coincidentally, It’s a building that had part of the construction contract assigned to a family member of the Board of Trustees.
So the staircase atrium is a space that was deliberately designed to comply with the law and avoid function. But it had a function today. Or it would have, if the Board of Trustees had demonstrated principle and showed up to the building.
After all, they built it.
That’s right.. we occupied (Tom) Mayne St. this afternoon. Artists, architects, and engineers together in solidarity and support for Cooper Union’s mission of providing free education too all admitted students.
Meanwhile, the board of trustees met in secret, off-campus, out of sight, and incredibly out of touch.
Painting of Olivia Ahn, with Save Cooper Union sash, has the window seat in Hope Gangloff’s current show at Susan-Inglett (at Susan Inglett Gallery)
When I applied to the Cooper Union School of Art, I submitted an early decision application. It was the only school I applied to as early decision. As most college applicants know, you can only apply to one school for early decision consideration. This is because if you’re accepted to that school, your early decision application is considered to be a binding agreement — you agree to attend the school and “withdraw your applications to other colleges” if they accept you as an early decision applicant.
I only applied to one school early decision: Cooper Union. I sent in applications to several other schools, but was fortunate enough to receive an acceptance letter from Cooper — on time, as promised — during the first week of February, 2009. Had my early decision application been deferred — as it has now been for all applicants to the school of art, I would have felt cheated, and likely outraged, because it would mean that my early decision application (the only one any college applicant gets) would have been wasted.
This years School of Art applicants have held up their side of the bargain.. but the Cooper Union administration has not. President Bharucha has wasted the opportunity, that all early decision applicants to the school chose to take. And all he’s got to say to them is “sorry, better luck in March”. The president has already marginalized the current body of students at Cooper… and now he’s doing it to future students.
Artist Tries to Light US Map on Fire, Burns Gallery … or Something
Claire Fontaine, “America (Burnt/Unburnt)” — but definitely burnt. (image via Flickr/Telstar…
Claire Fontaine at it again. Saw a lecture from the group last year on general strike, only a few days after the lock-in at Cooper Union
