The Rock, Spring 1986 (Vol
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Whittier College Poet Commons The Rock Archives and Special Collections Spring 1986 The Rock, Spring 1986 (vol. 57, no. 3) Whittier College Follow this and additional works at: https://poetcommons.whittier.edu/rock a President's Corner hs year we were visited by the Accrediting Commission of the TWestern Association of Schools and Colleges, the normal 10-year visit for reaffirmation of accreditation. The self study made as preparation for the visitation took months of work on the part of the Accreditation Task Force and was written in its final form by Professor Anne Kiley of the English Department. The Ac- creditation Committee described it as "one of the best documents of its kind that we've seen." In fact, praise was paramount throughout the report made by the seven-member visiting team; they lauded the quality of the faculty and their commitment to the future of the college; the standards exhibited by the students; the participation by the staff; the integrity and acces- sibility of the administration; and the energy and caring personalities of the members of the Board of Trustees. They applauded the various curriculum changes, mentioning in particular the Whittier Scholars Pro- gram and the new Liberal Education Program, and referred to the pro- gress that has been made on the campus since the last visitation in 1976, commenting on the sense of mission which "guides the entire campus and draws together a very warm and supportive community." At the last Eugene S. Mills meeting, the chairman of the Commission, Dr. J. Herman Blake, president of Tougaloo College in Mississippi, and formerly of the University of Cali- fornia at Santa Cruz, spoke of Whittier as "this precious plane," which succinctly summed up the general opinion. Lest we become content to rest on our laurels, however, the Commis- sion did make suggestions for the future, urging us to strengthen our efforts to increase endowment, without which many proposed improve- ments could not be achieved and the upkeep of campus facilities would be impossible. They also mentioned that faculty salaries, which fall behind those at many of our sister colleges, should be upgraded as soon as possible. Ten years ago, when the College received its last accreditation, one of the areas that, in the opinion of the Commission, required consideration was the fine arts. Since then, much has been done in this field. For exam- ple, the faculty in the arts department at that time consisted of one-and- a-half faculty members, whereas now there are three; also, as you will read in this issue of your magazine, the Mendenhall Gallery has been establish- ed, providing exhibition space for student, faculty and visiting artists. So, with the reaffirmation of accreditation, this fine old college finishes its first century of service with renewed pride and commitment to the pur- pose for which it was founded--that of providing excellence in education for a diverse student body composed of very special people. Eugene S. Mills Cover photos: "Allow six weeks for delivery, "Santa Barbara artist Cohn Gray, who finds humor and fantasy in everyday objects. "The Night was Like a Storm, "by Whittier artist Julie Schneider. The picture leaves the viewer wondering, is it real or is it rendered? THE ROCK is published four times a year, Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer by Whittier College, 13406 Philadelphia Avenue, Whittier, California 90601. CONTENTS Volume LVII, No. 3 Spring 1986 EMERGING GALLERY, EMERGING ARTISTS 4 THE PRINTED WORD 7 THE ROCKWELL STORY 9 LAW SCHOOL 11 ON CAMPUS 13 OLD ACQUAINTANCES 25 Robert and Hertha Rockwell "Standing Cow," Margi Weir. These 3-D Woodcut portrait of T. E. Lawrence paintings are composed of stretched by William Eric Voss. canvas painted in an expressionistic style. 3 Emerging lery,, , Emerging Susan Meyers Director, Mendenhall Gallery Artists The struggles of emerging major city, with a wealth of better artists are well recognized. So established galleries and museums, well, in fact, that the struggling the new gallery has had to work artist has become an established hard to overcome several handi- and mildly comic stereotype. The caps unrelated to the gallery sensitive but ne'er-do-well son or itself. daughter of the middle class in a Among the least tractable of novel (or a comic strip) often the problems the gallery faces is its claims to be an artist to cover his or location. Whittier is simply too far her confusion on setting out in the from the established art centers in world. Their poverty is not involun- West Los Angeles and downtown to tary (failure), but deliberate draw significant numbers of Los (bohemianism); their odd habits Bruce Guttin, "Old Shoe, "carved pine, Angeles art aficionados to its shows. not eccentricity, but creativity. The severity of the local compe- See Revolutionary Road by tition (from all the L.A. museums Richard Yates, or consider Mike well understood, are no less and galleries) and the youth of Doonesbury's wife, JJ, with her daunting than those facing young Mendenhall Gallery create two smashed-dinner-plate collages in artists. further problems. It is hard to lure recent episodes of the cartoon strip. Mendenhall Gallery at Whittier established artists and perhaps even The difficulties facing emerging College opened its doors in 1981. harder to gain attention from the art galleries, while generally less Located, as it is, on the fringes of a busy Los Angeles art press. 4 Devising a Strategy expressionist paintings from the People's Republic of China. The Given these considerations, it paintings, by Wang Lu Yan of was my job, when I took over Beijing, incorporate traditional recently as director from Carrie Chinese elements as well as brush Ceniseroz, the founding director, techniques borrowed from west- to find a niche for the gallery in ern abstract expressionists. the crowded L.A. art market. Mr. Wang paints on long, narrow I believe I've found one. If it's silk scrolls, the traditional Chinese not reasonable to expect establish- work medium, but the scrolls are ed artists to show their work at black rather than the usual white. Mendenhall, why not work with On these distinctly eastern surfaces emerging artists, talented people he overlays paint in a non- who need the exposure and a representational way, reminiscent chance to exhibit their work? In of work done in the U.S. and West- doing this we accomplish two ern Europe beginning 30 to 35 things. By bringing these artists to years ago. our community, we are able to China historian Dr. Robert Marks offer a progressive calendar while arranged to bring the show to Men- also making a space available to denhall Gallery after meeting the deserving newcomers. artist in China last year. He points out that the Chinese authorities Selecting Artists regard the efforts of Mr. Wang and other Chinese abstract painters as The key to this gallery strategy subversive and will not permit them is, of course, locating emerging to be shown in Beijing. Thus Men- artists whose work is suitable for denhall Gallery has, most improb- the gallery, given the goals I have ably, become a focal point for an for it—which are not limited important expression of individual simply to locating outstanding art. freedom on the part of an em- I am also concerned that the art battled group of Chinese painters. be suitable for the community the In October 1986, a second show gallery serves, the city of Whittier with an international dimension and environs, as well as the college Wang Lu Yan, untitled painting. Mr. will open at Mendenhall Gallery. itself. Wang's abstract expressionist works, Scheduled in conjunction with the Maximizing the educational which have never been shown in his annual meeting of the Pacific Coast potential of the gallery is a further native Beijing, premiered at Whittier's Mendenhall Gallery in May. Council on Latin American Studies, consideration. Not only does Men- to be held at Whittier College, the denhall Gallery put on an annual show will feature the work of Latin student show (held in May of the American artists now residing in the academic year), I also try to inte- examples of Indian art, rather than United States. grate the material we display into slides, or pictures in books, avail- The work of these artists moving- the college curriculum. This is a able for student inspection, we ly reflects the shock they have new area of endeavor for the hope to enhance their appreciation experienced in leaving their home- gallery which promises to yield of a culture very different from lands (often for political or eco- interesting results. their own. nomic reasons) and immersing I am trying, for example, to themselves in a culture which line up an exhibit known as the Chinese Abstract Expressionism differs markedly from that of their Women Painters of Mithila. The Latin-American Art native land, and offers them little show, if we get it, will be used as a or none of the support they enjoy- resource by professors teaching a I am particularly excited about ed from their often close-knit set of paired courses—the Visual two shows coming up later this year. families and/or villages. Arts of India and the Religion of Both are artistically interesting and Both the Chinese and Latin- India. The use of paired courses to both promise to be invaluable ed- American shows, like the Women integrate different sorts of know- ucational resources for reasons as Painters of the Mithila, support the ledge about individual cultures is much political as aesthetic. educational effort at Whittier one of the techniques employed in Beginning May 20, the gallery College while providing a space in Whittier College's Liberal Educa- will feature the first exhibition any- which emerging or otherwise tion Program.