VOL. CLXXVI NO. 86
RAINY HIGH 58 LOW 47
OPINION
ZAMAN: ABANDONED ALLIES, AGAIN PAGE 4
TOWLE: KEYSTONE ISN’T A MEAL PAGE 4
ARTS
Q&A WITH STUDIO ART PROFESSOR AND ARCHITECT ZENOVIA TOLOUDI PAGE 7
CARLA BLEY AND THE COAST JAZZ ORCHESTRA OFFER A FRESH TAKE ON JAZZ PAGE 8
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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2019
Indigenous Peoples’ Month kicks off
B y PIERCE WILSON The Dartmouth
On Oct. 14, Native American students launched a month-long celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Month, which began with a demonstration on the Green recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day — a holiday celebrated on the same day as the federal holiday Columbus Day. According to Native Americans at Dartmouth copresident Onaleece Colegrove ’20, the “silent protest” on the
Green sought to “take back [Indigenous Peoples’ Day] and recognize indigenous people instead of glorifying Columbus.” NAD co-president and Indigenous Peoples’ Month programming committee cochair Elsa Armstrong ’20 shared similar sentiments, explaining that NAD often recognizes the beginning of Indigenous Peoples’ Month with a protest on the Green during Indigenous Peoples’
The Dartmouth
Known for his scholarly work in the field of Native American history, Native American studies and history professor Colin Calloway was recently awarded the George Washington Prize for his 2018 book “The Indian World of George Washington.” The prize, which includes a $50,000 monetary award, is given out annually by Washington College, the Gilder Lehrman
Cory Booker talks gun violence, criminal justice in campaign event
SEE MONTH PAGE 3
NAS and history professor wins George Washington Prize B y LEANDRO GIGLIO and KYLE MULLINS
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Institute of American History and George Washington’s Mount Vernon to honor works about George Washington and the Revolutionary era. Winning works — for example, Lin Manuel-Miranda’s Broadway hit “Hamilton” in 2015 — should also “reach a broad, non-scholarly public audience,” according to the prize’s website. “It’s extremely gratifying,” Calloway said of winning the award. Noting the substantial SEE CALLOWAY PAGE 5
GRACIE GOODWIN/THE DARTMOUTH
Booker spoke to nearly 500 students and community members at the Top of the Hop.
B y LAUREN ADLER The Dartmouth
Democratic presidential candidate Cory Booker spoke on Sunday night to a standing room-only audience of nearly 500 Dartmouth students and Upper Valley residents who crowded into the Top of the Hop and overflow space in the lobby below. Booker, a U.S. senator from New Jersey, was introduced by Quentin Law, the Upper Valley student organizer for the Booker campaign, and New Hampshire state senator Martha Hennessey (D-Hanover), who recently endorsed Booker for president. Although at first she was determined to support
a female candidate and met with all of the women running for the Democratic nomination, Hennessey said that she decided to back Booker because she believes he can bring Americans together. “I decided we needed somebody who would heal our nation,” Hennessey said. “Everybody who gets up there [on the debate stage] has plans, has ideas, but who can heal our nation? Who can bring us together and make us whole again? I personally believe that person is Cory.” Walking on stage to a playlist that included Lizzo’s “Good as Hell” and Florence + the Machine’s “Dog Days Are Over,” Booker was
greeted with cheers from the audience. “Let’s just jump in!” Booker began, pausing to acknowledge his endorsers in the room and audience members downstairs. He quipped that 2020 is not the election year, but rather the number of Democrats running for president, then quickly progressed to more serious issues, discussing the work he did while serving as mayor to refor m the public school system in his hometown of Newark, NJ and the importance of American unity. “The highest calling of a Democrat right now in SEE BOOKER PAGE 2
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THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2019
Booker emphasizes importance of Democratic Party values B o o k e r t o o k q u e s t i o n s f ro m attendees. When asked by an this moral moment is to unite audience member about the lack Americans,” Booker said. “When of diversity in government inspiring this country needs to do big things, a lack of trust in the democratic we unify, we pull together. Well, system, Booker admitted that he had we’ve got some big challenges now never considered that possibility, but … This is a moral moment, and this said that lack of diversity could also election is not about one person in be linked to the current mechanism one office, it is about us.” for campaign finance. Booker also touched on the “Diverse teams are better teams,” importance of maintaining the he said. “I want all money out ideals of the Democratic Party of politics, and publicly financed in the election, noting his belief elections … [and] I would like to that it is important for voters not end gerrymandering in this country.” to see leaders moving away from The event comes as Booker has something bad, but instead see them struggled to gain traction in the moving toward something better. He historically large field of Democratic criticized pundits for prioritizing a contenders. In recent national candidate who can beat President polls, he has generally earned two Donald Trump in 2020, calling for a to three percent support among reexamination of Democratic values Democratic primary voters, and in and asking, “Dear God, can’t we New Hampshire, he polls between have bigger one and two aspirations percent. Higher“Growing up in than that?” profile candidates, B o o k e r Newark, [Booker] tried such as former vice also dived president Joe Biden, to do a lot of things into policy U.S. senator Bernie issues such as that didn’t necessarily Sanders (I-VT) and the criminal help all of us.” South Bend, IN justice system mayor Pete Buttigieg and gun have also visited v i o l e n c e . -GABRIEL MARGACA ’23 Dartmouth in He said that recent months. U.S. American Senator Elizabeth schools now have more active Warren (D-MA) is scheduled to shooter drills and shelter in place make her second visit to campus drills than fire drills, and that drug- this Thursday. related incarcerations are still on Reactions to Booker’s speech the rise even though drug treatment were largely positive, with attendees programs are cheaper and more praising his focus on unity and effective than prison sentences. improvement and generally agreeing “I will defend my ideas on debate that Booker is a solid candidate in stage after debate stage, but that’s not their minds. what’s getting me up every day and “I found Cory Booker inspiring,” running,” he said. “Right now I am said Sarah Berger of Fairlee, VT. fired up and angry, and anger is a “I like that he talks about moving productive emotion. I’m channeling towards something and not just that anger every day, that heartbreak. away from things that are not going If America hasn’t broken your heart, [well] … it definitely confirms that you don’t love her enough.” he’s strong on my list.” Toward the end of the event, However, not all attendees were FROM BOOKER PAGE 1
CORRECTIONS We welcome corrections. If you believe there is a factual error in a story, please email editor@thedartmouth.com.
convinced that Booker is right for the presidency. According to Newark native Gabriel Margaca ’23, while Booker will probably go far in the race for the nomination, the city of Newark faced extreme gentrification while Booker was mayor — so extreme that Margaca’s family lost their home — and then felt largely abandoned after he became a senator. “[Booker] tried to do a lot of things that didn’t necessarily help all of us,” he said. “I don’t think that he has any bad intentions, but I just hope that he doesn’t forget about the American people the way that a lot of Newarkers felt that he forgot about us … I just hope things are
going to change for him and I hope America,” Booker said. “If we the best for him, honestly.” live like that in this moral moment B o o k e r and get up off the w r a p p e d u p “This is not what couch, and get into t h e e v e n t this is all about: not the game, and get with a final into the fight, if call for unity, one candidate, one we do that, this e n d i n g w i t h election, one office, nation’s dream will the continuing not perish in the importance of but it’s about repit.” the American igniting the dream of After concluding Dream. h is speech, America.” “This is not Booker stayed to what this is all take selfies with about: not one -CORY BOOKER, U.S. attendees before candidate, one finally walking election, one SENATOR offstage to Jackie office, but it’s Wilson’s “Higher about re-igniting the dream of and Higher.”
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2019
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THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
Events seek to increase visibility of Native Americans at Dartmouth FROM MONTH PAGE 1
Day. This year, however, NAD chose to focus their demonstration on a specific issue within the Native American community — Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirits, which centers on the disproportionate number of indigenous women, girls and two-spirits who are either missing or killed. “This is one of the first years since I’ve been here that we’ve put more of a focused topic to the demonstration, because MMIWG2S is such a pressing issue amongst all indigenous communities right now,” said Indigenous Peoples’ Month programming committee co-chair Selena Neptune-Bear ’20. “It’s really important that we’re in on that conversation and make sure that people at Dartmouth are aware, because the Dartmouth community is very much affected by this epidemic as well.” Neptune-Bear noted the example of Nicole Redhorse ’95 — who was sexually assaulted and killed in 2007 in Durango, CO — of Dartmouth’s
connection to this issue. The three men responsible for her death have been sentenced to 48-year maximum sentences for sexual and negligent manslaughter. “It’s really important to make people at Dartmouth aware that this isn’t just some distant thing, but that it’s a part of the Dartmouth community as well,” Neptune-Bear said. Armstrong, Colegrove and NeptuneBear all emphasized the importance of Indigenous Peoples’ Month as an opportunity to increase visibility of Native American and indigenous people at Dartmouth and beyond. Colegrove also said that this year marks the first time NAD will expand the celebration to an entire month. “We have a lot of different things we wanted to do and we have a lot of different communities within communities and we wanted to be able to represent those communities in different ways,” Colegrove said. “And so we needed a longer time than just a day or a just week or even just a month. In the United States, there are 573 federally recognized tribes, and
there are more than that but not all of them are recognized, and that’s just the U.S. alone.” As the scope and duration of Indigenous Peoples’ Month celebrations have grown, so too has the amount of planning put into it. According to Armstrong, this year was the first year that NAD had an official committee for Indigenous Peoples’ Month, that they applied for Special Programs and Event Committee funding, and that the majority of the events have been open to campus. “It’s never been done at this scale,” Armstrong said. “There’s always been celebrations at least for Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and at least a few more sprinkled throughout, but this is the first time it’s been this large and central to campus.” Neptune-Bear added that the funding from SPEC also has the benefit of making NAD more visible to campus. “We want more allies, we want to bring in people that might not be familiar with indigenous communities,” Neptune-Bear said.
Along with the theme of visibility, Neptune-Bear said she hopes that this month’s events can create contemporary perceptions of Native American people and challenge some more antiquated ones that might be associated with Dartmouth’s former mascot. Colegrove echoed this statement, sharing a story from an Indigenous Peoples’ Day when she visited Dartmouth as a prospective student. “My prospective year, during this time of year, the [Dartmouth] Review — or allegedly the Review — posted pictures of the old Dartmouth mascot around campus, which is just another racist depiction of a caricature of Native people,” Colegrove said. “And it’s just really disrespectful and really ignorant, and I feel like that’s something that brought to the larger Dartmouth community’s attention of why things like Indigenous Peoples’ Day are important and should be recognized. And so people can get educated.” Neptune-Bear said that she hopes the NAD Fashion and Art Showcase, as well as billboards in Collis Center focusing on notable indigenous people
who have contributed to society, can help bring about an understanding of contemporary contributions to society by indigenous people. “The Fashion and Art Showcase highlights a contemporary version of how we perceive Native people today,” Neptune-Bear said. “We’re showing what current Native people are doing in art and fashion and just showing how we’re bringing our tribal designs into a more contemporary, modern field.” Armstrong echoed Neptune-Bear’s statement, saying that NAD hopes to “focus not only on bringing attention to the resilience in the contemporary community, but also highlighting and celebrating indigenous voices and faces on campus.” Armstrong shared that she hopes community members will consider attending all of the Indigenous Peoples’ Month events, but in particular the frybread competition on Oct. 26. All three NAD leaders stressed that they hope Dartmouth as an institution and the Dartmouth community will continue to expand support for indigenous people and programs.
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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH OPINION
STAFF COLUMNIST RANIYAN ZAMAN ’22
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST SYDNEY TOWLE ’22
Abandoned Allies, Again
Keystone Isn’t a Meal
The abandonment of the Kurds is part of a greater pattern in U.S. history. Last week, President Donald Trump suddenly announced his decision to withdraw American troops from northern Syria. The withdrawal effectively made way for the Turkish military to move in and seize land that had previously been held by the Kurds, who are often referred to as “the largest ethnic group in the world not to have a state of their own.” Countless Kurds have been slaughtered, and Trump has faced bipartisan condemnation for abandoning our Kurdish allies, who have long aided American forces in the fight against various terrorist groups. Now, these same Kurds whom American troops have cooperated and fought alongside with for so long are experiencing an entirely preventable ethnic cleansing. And it’s far from unprecedented; in fact, the United States’ abandonment of its Kurdish allies is part of a broader pattern in U.S. history. Time and time again, the United States has cooperated with foreign troops when it was politically beneficial, only to back away when they needed American support most. The United States’ past history with the Kurds reveals a historical precedent for the present-day desertion of the Kurds. The Kurds have long been disappointed by Western nations, even before the U.S. became directly involved; promised a state by the Treaty of Sèvres in 1920, the Kurdish people instead watched as their territory was carved up and doled out to several nations. Historian Bryan Gibson has studied the way America’s policy of noninterference shifted in 1972 after years of tension brewing in neighboring Iraq. He has argued that it was “the Soviet-Iraqi threat to Western interests” that finally motivated America into helping the Kurds, even though the
DEBORA HYEMIN HAN, Editor-in-Chief
Kurds’s requests for American assistance against the Iraqi government had fallen on deaf ears for over a decade. But the aid was short-lived; just three years later, in 1975, as the Iraqi military displaced and slaughtered thousands of Kurds, America stood by and did nothing to provide help. Years later, in 1991, the Kurds led an uprising against the Iraqi military under the impression that they would receive U.S. support, which they did not. These events could be viewed in a different light if the Kurds were a people with a country to call their own. But in a region landlocked and surrounded by hostile forces all sides, the Kurds are among the most vulnerable people in the world. Evidently, leaving the Kurds behind to be slaughtered by Turkey’s military would fit a recurring pattern in a line of American betrayals of the Kurdish people. But they are far from the only people that have suffered this kind of treatment at America’s hands. A well-known example that comes to mind is the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. A group of Cuban refugees trained and ostensibly backed by the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. government invaded Cuba in the hopes of leading an uprising against Fidel Castro’s government. The attack quickly fell apart as Castro’s military took out the rebels. The U.S. withheld air support and instead, simply stood by as their allies were slaughtered. Several politicians, from both parties, have criticized this move as un-American, but history seems to suggest it is very much American. And many more have denounced the damage that Trump has done to American credibility. But more than mere SEE ZAMAN PAGE 6
AIDAN SHEINBERG, Publisher
ALEX FREDMAN, Executive Editor PETER CHARALAMBOUS, Managing Editor
ANTHONY ROBLES, Managing Editor
PRODUCTION EDITORS CAROLINE COOK & EOWYN PAK, Opinion Editors
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ELIZA JANE SCHAEFFER, Engagement Editor WILLIAM CHEN & AARON LEE, Data Visualization Editors
ISSUE LAYOUT STEPHANIE PACKER SUBMISSIONS: We welcome letters and guest columns. All submissions must include the author’s name and affiliation with Dartmouth College, and should not exceed 250 words for letters or 700 words for columns. The Dartmouth reserves the right to edit all material before publication. All material submitted becomes property of The Dartmouth. Please email submissions to editor@thedartmouth.com.
Eating disorders pose a potential threat to Dartmouth’s campus. “You have an eating disorder.” The words lingered in the air with exceptional weight, yet my mind refused to let them sink in. My eyes floated around the small examination room, desperately trying to distract myself from my diagnosis. Growing up, I never could have imagined that I would develop such a strained relationship with food. Prior to attending Dartmouth, I had always maintained a healthy association with food, even gaining the reputation as a “carbatarian” because of my affinity for bread and pasta. Of course I had noticed my once-snug skinny jeans now hanging loosely from my waist, but I had never attributed my weight loss to an actual disorder. It’s nearly impossible to pinpoint exactly why my relationship with food has gone so far downhill. Could it be due to academic stress or the need to fit in, or maybe a little of both? I can’t say for sure, but I do know this: I am not alone. I have heard both friends and strangers alike degrade their bodies and compare themselves to other students on campus and/or social media influencers. While this is a common practice, it is heightened at Dartmouth due to a pressure for perfectionism, a culture built on alcohol and an emphasis on athletics. Studies have found that pre-developed ideals of perfectionism and concern about mistakes are much more common in people with eating disorders than not. To get into a high-caliber school like Dartmouth, students have to work much harder in high school to achieve a certain degree of excellence, and one could argue that many students here are perfection-obsessed as a result. According to another study of female college students, it was found that “self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism were found to play the greatest roles” in disordered eating habits. Perfectionists tend to fixate on numbers as a method of control, such as GPA, test scores and numbers on the scale. By maintaining too tight of a grip on these numbers, it is easy for people with perfectionist mindsets to develop a negative, control-obsessed relationship with food. In addition to being built on perfectionism, Dartmouth’s culture also includes heavy drinking. The mentality seems to be that skipping meals balances the surplus of calories consumed through alcohol consumption and late-night snacking at Collis. This trend seems to also stem from the actions of one’s friends. In college, students have more responsibility over their own eating habits. A student’s meal schedule is, therefore, often determined by the schedules of their friends. If a student’s friends are skipping meals, some will be discourgaged from eating by themselves.
While it may seem like replacing meals with alcohol makes sense from an overall caloric intake point of view, the health implications say otherwise. Eating disorders are the deadliest of mental illnesses, with at least one person dying every 62 minutes due to resultant health implications and malnutrition. Needless to say, the human body needs a variety of nutrients to function properly and effectively. United States Department of Agriculture guidelines suggest each person have at least two servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables each day. In a college environment, students are already less likely to intake the proper amount of nutrients due to “shortage of time, convenience, cost, taste, health, physical and social environment, and weight control,” according to the USDA. If a student is skipping meals, they are then furthur reducing an already nutritiously-sparse diet and could easily become malnourished. Restricting ourselves cannot be brushed off as a simple “dieting” technique or something of that ilk. Our bodies need fuel to survive and cannot run off of Keystone alone. Dartmouth students are especially vulnerable to eating disorders because of the prominence of athletics on campus that create an added social pressure to exercise that may spiral into a hyper-focus on calories. Nearly 25 percent of Dartmouth students participate in intercollegiate athletics across 35 intercollegiate varsity sports and 35 club sports. Including intramural sports, three-quarters of undergraduates participate in some form of athletics. Comparing these statistics to the NCAA, the disparities are apparent: on average, a reported four percent of a DI college’s student body participates in sports and there are roughly 19 sports teams at these schools. Given the prevalence of sports on our campus, it is no surprise that those students who don’t participate in an organized sport may feel a social pressure to hit the gym more often. This pressure, combined with a lower food intake, can quickly escalate into an unhealthy relationship with food. By recognizing signs of mental health issues early on, eating disorders can be prevented from taking deadly turns. If a friend is regularly skipping meals, chooses foods based solely on calories or has an obsessive relationship with the gym, checking in with them should be a priority. It is essential that we shift away from a campus culture of obsessive athleticism and perfection, toward a more positive environment that embraces all types of students. Shifting this culture will allow us to create a space curated not by competition, but by compassion — which we could all use a bit more of.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH NEWS
PAGE 5
Book examines Washington’s relations with Native Americans FROM CALLOWAY PAGE 1
sum awarded — larger than most awards for books about history — he added that “it’s both an honor … but also quite humbling.” In addition to the George Washington prize, the book has also won the Excellence in American History book award from the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Calloway said that he is particularly pleased with both of these awards because, as he put it, both the Daughters of the American Revolution and Mount Vernon might be resistant to a work that portrays Washington in a negative light. “It looks at George Washington’s role in stealing Indian land … and, in addition, his campaigns against the Iroquois,” Calloway said. “People who are Washington-worshippers might be very resistant to it.” He said that the intention of the book was to reach those who might not otherwise read about Native American history and provide a “well-rounded”
look at Washington, not to “trash” the first U.S. president. “The idea of the book, of course, was to use George Washington as a vehicle to show that Native America and Native Americans mattered in his life,” Calloway said. “If they mattered in the life of the man who created the nation, then they mattered in the life of the nation.” Calloway noted that he previously taught a class about the topic for several years, a class made possible by the public nature of many of Washington’s records. “A lot of what we do in Native American studies is find and identify a Native American presence, a Native American or indigenous interpretation of events,” Calloway said. “What I decided to do here was use the deadest white guy imaginable, George Washington, and reveal how there are Indian stories or Native American strands running through even his life story.” He added that it is important to
include Native American contributions to history. “The story we are already telling doesn’t make sense if you do not include Native Americans,” he said. Alex Rounaghi ’20, a history major currently taking Calloway’s class NAS 14, “The Invasion of America: American Indian History Pre-Contact to 1830,” said Calloway’s lectures are consistently engaging and that the class has shaped how he thinks about American history. “His lectures on the history of Dartmouth and its connections to Native Americans have been fascinating,” Rounaghi noted. “I like how Professor Calloway uses so many examples from his own experiences as a historian to explain events.” NAS professor N. Bruce Duthu praised his colleague’s work via email, calling Calloway “an inspiration to scholars everywhere.” “His award-winning scholarship is a huge reason our program is so wellregarded nationally,” Duthu wrote.
FRATERNITY FOLIAGE
SYDNEY GILLMAN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Peak foliage brings beautiful colors to Webster Avenue.
COURTESY OF COLIN CALLOWAY
Calloway has taught a class for several years about Washington and Native Americans.
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DARTMOUTHEVENTS
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH EVENTS
THE TALE OF THE MISUNDERSTOOD MOTTO
NATALIE DAMERON ’21
TODAY
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Breakfast: “Breakfast with the Arts,” with Dartmouth Office of Communications video producer Chris Johnson, sponsored by the Studio Art Department, Nearburg Gallery, Black Family Visual Arts Center.
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Panel: “Understanding Climate Change Through Storytelling, Policy, Culture and Art,” sponsored by the Native American Program, Haldeman, Kreindler Conference Hall, Room 041.
5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Lecture: “The Legacy; Political Protest and the Denial of History,” with University of London professor Jacqueline Rose, sponsored by the Jewish Studies Program, Rockefeller Center, Room 003.
TOMORROW 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Lecture: “Courageous Government: The Audacity of Collaborative Leadership” with Tom Burack ’82, sponsored by the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy, Rockefeller Center, Room 003.
5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Lecture and Film: “The Oscar,” with director Alexander Smoljanski, sponsored by the Russian Department, Reed Hall, Room 108.
FROM ZAMAN PAGE 4
credibility is at stake; America’s integrity has been tested. This takes America from a nation that is not only increasingly unwilling to do anything about refugee crises, to a nation that creates such crises both within and outside of its borders. Among those most familiar with our Kurdish allies are American soldiers, many of whom have expressed anguish and dismay at this new policy. Military personnel have spoken movingly and hauntingly of the loss of their Kurdish comrades-in-arms who they fought shoulder to shoulder with. In a video op-ed published in the New York Times, Captain Alan Kennedy of the Colorado National
Guard who served in northern Syria this summer, reveals that “ever since [Trump’s announcement to pull U.S. troops from Syria], I haven’t been able to sleep at night.” The disparity between an officer who feels genuine concern and empathy for the Kurdish people, and the commander-in-chief, who seems to regard the entire affair as a game, is jarring. In Trump’s letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the cavalier attitude (and multitude of exclamation points) demonstrate the absolute lack of gravitas Trump brings to this issue. The lives of American allies are not chess pieces to be seized or discarded at will. It’s time that our elected officials began to act like it.
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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
PAGE 7
Q&A with studio art professor and architect Zenovia Toloudi B y Shera Bhala The Dartmouth
Studio art professor Zenovia Toloudi’s “Technoutopias” series is currently on display in the Jaffe-Friede and Strauss Galleries, located in the Hopkins Center. An architect and artist, Toloudi explores the interactions, or lack thereof, between humans and public spaces in her current exhibit. Her work uses various materials and techniques to show this relationship and the impact of architecture on social interactions and the civil self. Toloudi said she hopes that spectators will appreciate the importance of architecture and its ability to alter interactions. Collaborative architectural s t r u c t u re s, a s s e e n t h ro u g h “ Te ch n o u t o p i a s, ” e n c o u r a g e communication and meaningful conversations. In an interview with The Dartmouth, Toloudi discusses “Technoutopias,” her process of creation and her ultimate artistic vision.
hope a truly public and civic self is developed. “Technoutopias” tries to find a moment to move away from addiction to handheld devices and find the right place for technology. The exhibition tries to showcase a future way of making architecture and shaping our physical environment. I want to showcase this in a possible, tangible way, not in a way that is too futuristic. These works are materialized in front of you so that you believe this utopian world is possible.
What inspires your work? ZT: It could be a reading, a lecture, an exhibition. There is always a balance between drawing from tradition and future technology. But what enables my work has to do with a condition I experience in my physical environment and I don’t find right. For example, a lack of light and windows in buildings. I am not only an artist, but an architect too. I observe the environment around me and I seek opportunities to intervene. I call this architectural activism. An example of this work Could you talk about your could be the urban furniture I have exhibit at the Jaffe-Friede and in the exhibition, “Free-See-Saw,” Strauss Galleries this term? which is a bench that targets the ZT: “Technoutopias” presents lack of interaction between people my vision of working between in public. I conceived this design reality and to help people fantasy. In a way, “My exhibition is interact with this exhibition each other. This is inspired by about animating the bench is there a philosopher social imaginary and to help people called Cornelius negotiate and the extinct civil self Castoriadis, who collaborate and talked about the and explores utopia. to find the right d i s c o n n e c t i o n My exhibit helps us equilibrium from the past on the bench, and the lack of imagine who we want which is a seehaving a civic to be and who we may saw. The bench self. So my fo rc e s p e o p l e need to become.” exhibition is to collaborate about animating and negotiate in the social order to sit down. imaginary and the extinct civic So this shows how architecture can self and explores utopia. My exhibit change the environment and people. helps us imagine who we want to be I do this with my students too, both and who we may need to become. as an inspiration and a process. I Through this collection, I hope we don’t tell them what they need to do, develop a new civic vocabulary but they identify what is wrong in a and build rituals that establish physical space and seek to improve it. empathy and connections. And I In a way, my students have to create
both the problem and the solution.
gives a lot of freedom to rethink architecture, both in terms of W hat is your process for making and teaching, and making it creating your art? more relevant to the contemporary ZT: The process is long, and many era to rethink the fundamentals of of my pieces are in series to explore architecture in an art department. related ideas and particular cultural At Dartmouth, our department and geographical contexts. Each belongs to the humanities, which piece ends with a question that I brings a lot of intellectual rigor, explore with the following piece. critical thinking and scholarly For example, there is a piece at work. This is really important both the Jaffe-Friede Gallery that is for myself and my students — not called “Photodotes V: Cyborg only to make art or architecture, Garden,” which but to combine it is part of the with theory and “ P h o t o d o t e s ” “I refer to the visitors critical thinking. series. “Cyborg of this exhibition There are also a Garden” has to lot of interesting do with the lack as witnesses of the lectures on of light in spaces. possibility of a utopia. campus, which I was inspired to are not always I invite Dartmouth introduce plants specialized to art, into the work. students, professors but they act as a I then found a and others to come to great influence new series of and produce q u e s t i o n s, a s the show in order to intellectual the plants die develop a collective dialogue. without light. M o r e o v e r, memory among The fact of Dartmouth decay and the themselves.” being a liberal u n p re d i c t a bl e arts school means incorporates that it has an the idea of interdisciplinary vulnerability, which cultivates nature by default. Art being empathy. There is this sequence combined with other disciplines of ideas from one installation to makes it more relevant to the another. My work has to do with world’s issues. This happens in my craft a lot. I make my art both in own research, through talks and North America and in northern other collaborations and through Greece, with craftspeople in each my students who come to class with region to focus on different materials knowledge from other subjects. I and techniques. The physical hope this continues to happen in making is an important part of the future and produces something the work, and I see it as an act of very innovative. resistance against the virtual area that we experience. Physically How do you hope your art making the works is also an act of impacts Dartmouth’s campus? resistance against the crisis of the ZT: As I mentioned, my works are loss of craftspeople. between imagination and reality. I want to show that utopia is possible. What has your experience as a This exhibition showcases this studio art professor been like possibility and motivates the people at Dartmouth? who view it to change their attitude. I ZT: My experience has been refer to the visitors of this exhibition amazing and inspiring. My work as witnesses of the possibility of a has always combined art and utopia. I invite Dartmouth students, architecture. I have this unique professors and others to come to the position as the architecture professor show in order to develop a collective within a studio art department. This memory among themselves.
Do you have a favorite piece to talk about in your collection? ZT: I do not have a favorite piece, because they are all kind of my children. But “Silo(e)scapes” is different because it has two scales. The other works are all on a one-to-one scale. “Silo(e)scapes” is both architecture and art. It envisions a hybrid of a seed bank, a sharing economy and a museum for Mediterranean plant species that may disappear. The threatened native seeds are stored in transparent displays, which are also the columns of communal architecture. “Silo(e)scapes” creates this future architecture model of community. You can see Lego-like people, who are the community members and preserve the seeds’ biodiversity and Mediterranean tastes, flavors, nutrients and medicinal capacities that are threatened by environmental catastrophes. In this piece, I showcase these ideas through an architectural model of the future, but also through an immersive installation where you experience these public buildings. The experience is similar to the experience little kids have with dollhouses, where it is like you can shape the environment. The difference in scale can empower the individuals who visit to feel positive about the future, drawing from the positive attitude kids have while playing with their toys. What would you say to current students interested in pursuing careers as artists? ZT: I would tell them to follow their passion by committing themselves to the process of creating art. They should be fearless in expressing their ideas without worrying about the result. They should also be original and honest through their art. Finally, they should collaborate with each other, especially with students from other disciplines, because there is potential to make even more impactful work. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
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THE DARTMOUTH ARTS
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2019
Carla Bley and the Coast Jazz Orchestra offer a fresh take on jazz B y kendall milender The Dartmouth
A wise man once said, “Come for the music, stay for the message.” For those who attended musician Carla Bley’s performance with the Coast Jazz Orchestra, formerly known as the Barbary Coast Jazz Ensemble, last Saturday night in Spaulding Auditorium, this parable rings true. In a double-bill performance, the Dartmouth ensemble showcased a wide selection of Bley’s big band forms from the past 50 years before Bley then took the stage with longtime colleagues Andy Sheppard and Steve Swallow on saxophone and bass, respectively. As an accomplished pianist, composer and bandleader, notable for her contribution to the free jazz movement of the 1960s, Bley’s reputation precedes her. Bringing in a world-class artist like Bley is exemplary of the Hopkins Center’s efforts to expose Dartmouth to a broader artistic community beyond the campus. “At the Hop, we’re trying to bring the world of ideas and cultures to little Hanover,” said Rebecca Bailey, Hopkins Center’s publicity director. “We feel strongly that the arts are an important part of the educational experience and can provide an opportunity to grow in your perspective.” Certainly, the energy one feels in this unique collaboration is palpable. With the help of Bley’s daughter, Karen Mantler, a talented pianist and composer in her own right, the Coast Jazz Orchestra played selections from Bley’s “Escalator Over the Hill” with every ounce of nuance and swing that Bley’s forms merit. In watching the trio of Bley,
Sheppard and Swallow perform a set ripe with humor and artistic turn of phrase, the audience bore witness to a unique synthesis of old and new. In the auditorium, jazz transcended generations. It would seem as though the spirit of this collaboration was not lost on the Coast Jazz Orchestra musicians themselves. Christopher Damon ’22, splitting his time between the bass and the bassoon, spoke of the experience fondly. “It’s inspiring to see the trails [Bley, Sheppard and Swallow] have blazed for themselves,” Damon said. “We’ve put in a lot of extra hours and extended rehearsals, but I enjoy doing it so I’m not really fazed. A lot of [Bley’s] music is about improvisation. I like getting out of my comfort zone and immersing myself in the music to get something good out of it,” he continued. Damon performed a funk bassoon solo in Bley’s arrangement of “Old MacDonald Had a Far m” on Saturday. This collaboration would perhaps not have been possible without the efforts of Coast Jazz Orchestra director Taylor Bynum, who described Bley’s trio as a “dream team.” Bynum, who emphasizes the importance of intergenerational collaboration in jazz tradition, was in contact with Bley for almost a year to get the project off the ground. “All of the artists we invite represent people who draw from tradition but understand that the deepest tradition is to find your own voice,” Bynum said, acknowledging the importance of new perspectives and aesthetic diversity in programming at the Hopkins Center. For Bynum, the knowledge Bley has to impart through her music is invaluable to both a music education
and an understanding of the human condition. “Jazz improvisation is one of the most essential and human things we do. It’s very real and it’s hella funny,” Bynum said. “There are core principles about balancing out the individual and the ensemble; the freedom and the discipline. It’s an opportunity where people can listen to each other with a shared vocabulary.” The sense of community Bynum speaks of was obvious when Bley, Sheppard and Swallow took the stage. The three passed around melodies and exchanged quotes with a profound sense of trust and musicality. Amidst blues scale runs and saxophone swells, one felt as though they were listening in on a conversation. It was fascinating to watch three performers, each with decades of experience to their name, finding new things to say to one another.
At the performance’s pre-talk, held in the atrium of the Hood Museum, the musicians of the trio reflected on what makes jazz music such a challenging and rewarding art form. “We know each other extremely well,” Swallow said. “We finish each other’s sentences, and that’s central to music-making.” These sentiments were echoed by Bley, who first commended the Coast Jazz Orchestra for their performance of her repertoire. “What a band! The [Coast Jazz Orchestra] amazed and delighted me … even when they made mistakes,” Bley joked. “I love mistakes. I thrive on them.” Bley further encouraged members of the orchestra to take risks in their musicianship, saying that “all the accidents that are happening in any art form are interesting. You can try to correct them, or you can try to elaborate on how wrong they are.” At the talk’s conclusion, Bailey
commented on the value of bringing in seasoned performers such as Bley to interact with students of the College. “Working with an artist like this, you not only learn a lot about the art form from the artist who is creating it, but you also have a chance to learn about the discipline it takes, the humor it takes and the working relationships it requires,” Bailey said. “You’re learning what it means to master something. Whether you go on to apply that to music or elsewhere, you still have a lesson in devotion that will serve you well.” B y nu m al s o s p o k e to th e broader importance of Saturday’s performance and maintaining a jazz scene on Dartmouth’s campus. “ [Bley ’s ] mu s i c celeb rates radical individualism and radical collectivism,” Bynum said. “As long as human beings feel a need to be expressed, this music will remain relevant.”