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N.C. ESSAY
TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 1974
Visual Arts: Small But Growing
V.A. STUDENTS AT WORK by Marshall Thomas
By LORI GOTTEMOELLER
Essay Staff Reporter
The smallest department at NCSA is
the 18-student visual arts department.
Although the three-year-old program is
struggling against lack of funds and
facilities, faculty members are looking
forward to expansion in the near future.
Little Recognition
Little recognition is given to the visual
arts department in the school catalog and
other publications. A photographic
display that was sent to UNC-Chapel Hill
contained no information about the
department. At the recent Central
Piedmont Scholastic Art Awards in
Greensboro, however, NCSA received
nine Gold Key Awards and six Certificate
of Merit Awards - more than any other
school.
When questioned about the place of a
visual arts department in a school for the
performing arts, Dean John Sneden said,
“It’s difficult for them. They must do
individual work by themselves, and
dormitory rooms are unsuited for that.
The department tends to be over
shadowed by Design and Production,
too.”
He said, however, that visual arts is not
merely a feeder program for D&P
studies in college; “It was one of the
ideas in establishing the program
originally, but the majority of the
students will not enter the D&P depart
ment,” he concluded.
The Essay asked I^ewis Cisle.a teacher
in the department, about the i^holastic
Art Awards. “It’s a program in which
high school students compete for
scholarships and prizes”, he stated. Gold
Key Awards were won by Sandra
Hoswell, I-eigh Ann Freeman, Susann
Glenn, Melissa Rinehart, Diane Syrett
and Susan Stevens. Jane Moody won
three. Certificate of Merit Awards were
won by Susann Glenn, Diane Syrett, Amy
Salganik, Sonny Reavis, Marguerite
Gusdon and Melissa Rinehart.
Potential .u be Excellent
Cisle had this comment to make about
the awards: “Although our work is ex
ceptional, we are still submitting work
that can be duplicated, in media, by other
high schools. Next year we’ll be entering
etchings, welded and cast metal sculp
tures, stone carvings, and greater
numbers of paintings and silk screen
prints. My students have the potential to
be excellent, and that’s what I expect
them to be.”
On Jan. 9 the visual arts students met
with Sneden to discuss some complaints
that they had. Sneden said that the
complaints had concerned regularity of
classes. “It was rather unfortuante,” he
stated. “Members of the staff had over-
committed themselves to other things.
'Fhose problems have been cleared up
now.”
Lack of Facilities
The Essay also asked Sneden about the
lack of facilities. In the past year the
students and faculty have repaired and
refurnished the sculpture, drawing and
design studios themselves. Sneden said
that the new Workplace that is planned
should take care of .that problem with
“three new studios at least twice as large
as the present ones.”
Cisle sees the major problems of
visual arts as lack of state funding for
improvement of present facilities.
“W^en I came here last year they were a
sables,” Cisle stated. “When I was
hired, I sent a letter to the administration
outlining the improvements that needed
to be made. The sculpture studio needed
new wiring, plumbing, and the addition
of an office and a tool room.”
“Up until three weeks before school
began, virtually no work had been done,”
Cisle continued. The maintenance staff is
too small to repair what needed to be
done. If we hadn’t done it, it wouldn’t
have gotten done. The windows were all
broken and they wouldn’t have been
repaired. There is little left to do
now, though.”
Maureen Trotto teaches a class in
drawing which is working on self-
portraits drawing in stages. “They find
objects-tin cans, cooking utensils, any
metal objects-and construct a suit of
armor for themselves,” she.said. “ITien
they do a self-portrait of themselves in
the armor”.
Ms. Trotto said of the lack of facilities:
“^wis Cisle has improved the old
studios by painting, rearranging, and
reorganizing. The space is still small, but
the environment is much better. The best
studio is out-of-doors on nice days.” She
added that she would like to see another
full time teacher added to the staff.
“High school students need more per
sonal attention than college students,”
Mark Pirolo’s senior painting class is
working on an open project using
acrylics. His design class is doing a
project using color mixing and repetitive
patterns in nature, and his critique class
finished a project on “The Crucible” and
is now doing based on the word “decay”.
Pirolo says that the program of weekly
projects has been “highly successful.”.
Works on Display
Works by the students of the visual arts
Hyatt told a student affairs staff meeting
that, according to his interpretation of
the rules, Ms. Shortridge could resign at
any time until the effective date of her
dismissal, March 31, 1974. He also said
that it was his understanding that if she
did appeal Hyatt’s action to either the
North Carolina University Board of
Trustees or the University Board of
Governors, that either of these boards
could only determine whether or not her
rights had been violated. They could not,
department are currently on display in
the dining room. The exhibition includes
figure drawing and silkscreen and
linoleum prints, and shows some of what
the students have completed this year.
The Essay spoke to Director of
Admissions Dirk Dawson about the
future expansion of the department. The
rumor that no applications for next year
had been receiv^ as yet and that the
visual arts department was not going to
be continued was denied by Dawson.
“It’s news to me,” he replied when
questioned. “Only two or three ap
plications have been received so far, but
the bulk of applications are usually
received in spring or late summer. We
don’t devote a great deal of time to
recruitment, but we write to the
Scholastic Awards winners and the
nominees for the Governor’s School.”
Dawson said that he expected to expand
the program to up to thirty students next
year.
The question of expanding the visual
arts department to include college
received unfavorable responses. Ms.
Trotto said, “We have been told ‘no’.”
Pirollo said, “In my own viewpoint, it
would destroy some of the joy of the
program.” Cisle said, “Our program is
unique in the country, and it needs to be
improved before future expansion is
attempted.”
More Attention
Cisle’s future plans for the department
include “an effort to draw more attention
to the visual arts program. I would like to
elect our group of 30 or so from 200
qualified applicants. I have asked for an
^,000 budget for next year, and a new
faculty member. The program was not
taken seriously in the three years before I
came; however, I have received full
cooperation from the Chancellor and
Dean.”
He concluded, “Whatever the
drawbacks of the department, the
students are doing more here and now
than they could anywhere else.”
Hyatt contended, question his judgement
in this matter.
In an interview with the Essay, Ms.
Shortridge told of her desire to remain
with the school until the end of the 1973-74
school year.
Not Resigning
“I’m not resigning. He (Hyatt) can’t do
that; it’s not due process,” commented
Ms. Shortridge. Ms. Shortridge also said
that she did not presently plan to return
to NCSA next year.
D&P
Looks At
Bilt-Rite
By MARSHALL THOMAS
Essay Staff Reporter
The Bilt-Rite Auto Parts Co., a building
which could alleviate severe space
problems at the D & P department here,
is up for sale.
The sale status reopens the opportunity
for a quick expansion of the department
only one month after the state seemed to
close that opportunity by refusing to act
on the acquisition of the Pearce Laundry.
The Bilt-Rite building, 179 Waughtown
St., is just north of the present shop. It
currently houses the retail showroom
and storage facilities for the company
wtoch is moving to new and larger
facilities. The company plans to vacate
the building in the next-30 days, ac
cording to owners.
John Sneden, dean of the D & P
department, said last month in an
E&AY interview on the Pearce Laundry
that, “The present D&P building is
overcrowded; we get tighter and tighter
the more shows we do, and this affects
the other departments.”
Good For Community
Owners of Bilt-Rite said that when it
moves, the school will be given a pur
chase price for the building, the lot
between that building and the D & P
buildings and another lot directly across
the street from the D & P shop.
G.G. Young, owner, said that the
school would get the first chance to
purchase the properties because “we
(my father and I) believe that what you
are doing at NCSA is good for the com
munity and the state.
We’d rather you people would buy it
instead of some commercial interest.”
The exact size of the buildings and the
configuration of the rooms inside is not
known by officials at NCSA. It is known,
however, that the upper building is
centrally air-conditioned and heated and
that the middle building is broken up into
several small rooms. TTie present ownefs
are reluctant to allow people from the
school or appraisers to enter the
buildings for fear of damaging relations
with the current tenants. There has been
speculation about the possible uses of the
building should the school decide to
purchase it.
Stone Agrees
Sam Stone, Director of Institutional
Planning for NCSA, and Max DeVolder,
Technical Director of the D & P depart
ment, agree that the space could be used
to relocate the school’s storage facilities.
The current storage warehouse is the
Butler Enterprises warehouse on Sun-
nyside Ave. The Butler warehouse, which
is used primarily by D & P, is also used
by the maintenance department and by
the North Carolina Dance Theatre. It is
built of wood, wliich increases the danger
of loss by fire, and is being rented from
the Butler Enterprises Co. Stone said
that the $230-a- month rent now paid on
the Butler building could be used to make
payments on the Bilt-Rite building.
State’s Decision
The final decision on whether or not to
buy the property rests with the state. If
the state should decide not to buy, the
NCSA Foundation could purchase the
property, but that would not leave money
with )^ich to make capital im
provements on the building.
Dr. Peter Bourne is the man respon
sible for property acquisition for the
state. It was Bourne who last month
decided that the state was not interested
in purchasing the Pearce Laundry
building for D&P.
Inspite of this, Martin Sokoloff,
Administrative Director at NCSA, says
that “in the long run. Bourne’s
judgment usually pays off.” Sokoloff
said that Bourne will be here this week to
determine whether purchasing the
property will take care of the total space
needs for D&P, thereby eliminating the
need for a new D&P building, i^koloff
said that then the state would probably
buy the property if the money could be
found.
DeVolder said that he preferred that
the state buy the property > because
needed capital improvements are easier
to get for state property. “We’re glad to
have the foundation interested, though,
in case the state doesn’t come through,”
he added.
/
Essay Photo
by Marshall'Thomas
BILT-RITE BUILbiNG