by mosammad rahman - pace university · by julia yeung pace university has been ranked as one of...
TRANSCRIPT
Newsletter Staff:
Mosammad Rahman
Sierra Chandler
Jordan Jhamb
Julia Yeung
Ariel Love
Contributor:
Lauren Flack
Honors College One Pace Plaza – Suite W 207G
New York, New York 10038 Telephone: 212-346-1697
Dr. Ida Dupont Director [email protected], x11146 Dr. Bill Offutt Faculty Advisor [email protected], x10399 IM: BillOffutt Charissa Che Advisor, Editor [email protected] Aydde Martinez Program Coordinator [email protected], x10398 Annamaria Santamaria, Noor Fatima, Andrea Carlson Student Assistants x 10397 & x10395
By Mosammad Rahman
Professor Roger Sayre with Honors College Director, Dr. Ida Dupont
On November 2nd, Professor Roger Sayre presented a lecture to Honors College students concerning the development of his artistic career entitled, “Looking for Work.” Portraying an amalgamation of wit and creativity through his works, Sayre captured the students’ attention from the moment he began his slideshow.
Throughout his undergraduate career, Sayre worked on black-and-white photography; the form he chose was purism, which he defined as, “What you see is what you print.” In graduate school, Sayre worked on the same form until he began to dabble in other innovative art forms. One of his creations was a photo of a Polaroid camera, whose flash exposed a piece of paper in front of it. What captivated him about this concept was that it was a “piece that explained its own making.”
As Sayre developed a taste for this innovative art, he began to look into other artists on the same track. He discussed Robert Cumming’s four-step piece of what seemed to be shells blowing up, but really, they
were four stills of shells that were hung from strings. Cummings had done a variety of pieces of this nature that manipulated the viewer’s perspective.
Sayre’s intention was similar; he wanted to be able to mold the perception of the audience. He created a piece that was, in essence, a large contact sheet filled with negatives of various images. The fusion of these images formed something similar to a cityscape at night.
His next inspiration was Joseph Kosuth, a conceptual artist who played with the concept of different levels of reality. In one photograph, Kosuth incorporated a picture of a chair, an actual chair, and finally, a dictionary definition of a chair. This pushed the audience to think of these chairs as one cohesive entity rather than three correlated ideas of a chair, once again dealing with the molding of perception.
Professor Sayre took this as an opportunity to explore what humans rarely ponder: their shadows. Initially, he placed a group of Polaroid pictures on a wall, shining a light bulb on one side. The seemingly-random formation of the photographs created a shadow that was the actual image. Later, he changed this set-up and hung the photos on strings from the ceiling. One shadow from his slides was a self-portrait, while another was of a dog. “A lot of people didn’t see it…you guys wouldn’t say, ‘Look at the cool shadow cast by that chair!’” he explained. This project was immensely popular, and Sayre has recreated it multiple times on many scales.
Most of Sayre’s artwork has been spontaneous and unconventional. His feats include making his own box hour-long camera (quite literally, a camera that looked like a box that captured a photograph in an hour), a Mobius Strip dot matrix printer representation of the infamous rabbit reproduction, and a swiveling contraption whose mixed light colors formed what looked like a desktop screensaver, among many more breathtaking pieces.
In This Issue:
Pace’s Got
Knowledge:
Professor Roger
Sayre
Pace Gives Back
The Corner will Bill
and Dr. Ida Dupont
NY Comic Con 2011
Pace’s Got
Knowledge:
Professor Jillian
Mcdonald
The U.S. News Hails
Our Interns
Thailand Struggles to
Stay Afloat
Poetry &
Photography
Submit to the
Newsletter and E-
Journal!
November 2011
We are now near the end of this semester, and that was when I had to pay for a semester’s worth of
procrastination. The novelty had worn off on many courses, and the work seemed overwhelming. One of your
rights as an Honors student is to have fun, but sometimes the fun isn’t apparent. Sometimes, college is a grind.
There are two opposite pieces of advice I need to give as you launch yourself into these last two weeks.
First, when the grind seems to be overwhelming, that’s when you should draw on your fellow Honors students,
and on me. If you need help, ask someone: in your class, on your floor, in the cafeteria, or ask the List (yes, you
can use the e-mail list to ask for help in courses); ask me. More importantly, if you’d just like a break, take it
with friends, take it with other Honors students; just hang out in the Honors lounge or elsewhere. What you
will take from college will be more than just courses and grades; it will be shared experiences, and in those you
are not alone.
And second, to make it through the next weeks with success, find a place that you can be alone to work
for long, uninterrupted periods of time. To do that, you must find a cave, a place where no one can find or
disturb you for hours on end. You should disappear: go underground (metaphorically), where there is nothing
to distract you. Turn off the cell phone, turn off the internet, ignore family, friends and temptations, and don’t
schedule anything for 2, 3, 4 hours at a stretch. There are caves all around, but you must find one now. Your
family, friends, significant others will still love you in two weeks; value yourself and your future by finding a
cave to work in. And in this effort, you will also not be alone.
Hi everyone!
I hope you are all doing well in this busy time of year! Before you head off to your well-deserved break, please consider a few things…
Deadlines for students graduating in May, 2012: o April 20- Draft is due to your thesis advisor AND the
Honors Office o April 27 & 30- Thesis presentations will take place o May 1- Final draft is due in the Honors Office
If you are a junior, consider applying for a Pforzheimer Honors College Research Grant. Recipients are eligible for up to $1000 to use toward research for their senior thesis. The application deadline is April 15, 2012. Application forms are available on the Honors website under “Scholarships and Fellowships.”
Sophomores, you should be planning your study abroad NOW. Make an appointment with someone in the Office of Student Abroad to make it happen!! Their office is right next to the Honors office.
Apply for fellowships and scholarships: If you are interested in applying for fellowships including the prestigious Fulbright or Rhodes Scholarships, contact Theresa Frey for more information: [email protected].
Join the Honors Council. We really want your participation in planning interesting cultural, social and academic events for the Honors College. Next semester, keep your eyes and ears open for meeting times. We will keep you posted.
Internship credit: Apply with the Honors College to have your internship count as one of your Honors courses.
Contribute to the Honors College E-Newsletter or Journal. To make a submission, contact Charissa Che at [email protected].
Check out the updated Honors College forms. You can find them on our new website under “Forms.”
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about this or anything else. You can contact me at [email protected]. Have a great break and see you in the New Year!!
Best,
Prof. Ida Dupont
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Professor Jillian McDonald Gives Honors Students the Bite with A Gory Showcase of Her Work
Jillian Mcdonald, Zombie Portraits, 2007
Honors students were prepped for Halloween on Wednesday, October 19 when Pace University’s Honors Colloquium Series, Pace’s Got Knowledge, hosted Professor Jillian Mcdonald in a multimedia presentation laden with zombies, vampires, and a whole lot of blood and gore.
"Zombies! Vampires! Slashers! Oh My!" featured a brief introduction from Mcdonald, in which she traced the path of her arts education and career that ultimately led to her foray into something she had never expected to be interested in: the horror genre. Afterwards, students were treated to her video and performance art, starring the undead.
In attendance was freshman and Biology major Tate Aquino. “The title [of the event] stuck out to me,” she said. “I love horror movies because I like to get my adrenaline pumping.” Her friend, freshman Alvi Rashid, has read many books on the subject and was interested “to see where it came from, and how it began.”
Mcdonald received an MA in Fine Arts from Hunter College in 1999 and in 2002, began teaching at Pace in the areas of video, digital design, performance art, and project studio. She focused primarily on exploring artwork, performance, and the web.
She professed that part of the allure of the horror genre was that she was always apprehensive of its no-holds-barred nature. “I’ve never been a horror fan until recently,” Mcdonald said. “I didn’t understand it, and I didn’t like the physical and visceral feeling of it.” Nonetheless, her curiosity as to what drew audiences to scary movies led to some researching, and soon, she got the bite.
On horror films and art, Mcdonald explained, “I like dissecting them to see what makes them what they are. I’m interested in the archetypes that get repeated all the time.” She identified the main archetypes in the genre as zombies, vampires, and slashers.
The presentation started off with a series of screenshots from her 2005 web project, “Screen Kiss.” Created during Mcdonald’s fascination with the romance genre, the project featured popular actors in film scenes, including Daniel Day Lewis, Johnny Depp, and Angelina Jolie. As Mcdonald’s website www.jillianmcdonald.net reads, she inserted herself into each scene “as a stand-in for the actresses or actor kissing these stars.” “Screen Kiss” was a follow-up to her DVD and web project, “Me and Billy Bob,” in which she acts upon her “crush” on the actor-musician Billy Bob Thornton.
The audience then experienced an abrupt turnaround with “Zombie Portraits.” Completed in 2007, the “old school” interactive art piece had people changing into vampires as one walked by them. Mcdonald’s amusing endeavor, 2006’s “Horror Make-Up” was an experiment which involved her putting on zombie makeup on the subway, while the reactions of her appalled fellow straphangers were discreetly filmed. Other projects included “The Screaming,” completed in 2007, in which Mcdonald explores the trademark screams in horror movies that always signal that, as she put it, “someone is going to be slashed, eaten, or chopped.”
Mcdonald also spoke of her undiscriminating approach towards hiring actors and actresses for her projects. “I don’t like the idea of being exclusive,” she said. “Anyone can perform and surprise you, and make an interesting character.”
Mcdonald is currently collaborating with Pace student Julie Gill in an interactive web project entitled, “Horror Stories.” Made possible by a grant from Pace University’s Undergraduate Research Initiative, the website will allow visitors to submit their own horror stories and videos, as well as view those of others. In the end, visitors of the site would be able to design their own collage of horror movies that would mesh into a film. The website is set to go live in the spring.
By Julia Yeung
Pace University has been ranked as one of the top ten national universities producing the most interns, according to a recent
study by The U.S. News & World Report, with 57 percent of its 2010 graduating class with internship experience. Pace was the only university in the New York area to make the list.
Brigitte Thieme-Burdette Year/Major: Senior, BFA Acting Internship Experience: NBC Universal Archives via Honors College listserv Remarks: “I was the only intern in the department and came in ready to work and adjusted my schedule so that I could be there for two full days and one half day. I would stay until 8 or 8:30 some nights because I was just so curious about how news worked and about the company…It was really amazing for me to get an internship at a news organization because I was able to branch out of my familiar world. A couple months into my internship I was asked to work part-time beginning in January 2011.”
Honors senior Mark Kazinec currently has an internship with NBC in Social Media Marketing. “The internship is phenomenal
and I feel very secure working for a company that strives to provide interns with the opportunity for a full-time position. My main goal before graduating is to secure a full-time job, and I think NBC may be the key to achieving my goal,” Kazinec said.
The U.S. News received internship data from about 416 schools and found that on average, 37.6 percent of students had
participated in internships during their undergraduate years. Of the graduating seniors that provided data from 59 national universities, about 30.4 percent had internship experience.
Honors junior Kerry McBroome interned at Krupp Group, a fashion marketing and public relations firm in SoHo. “In prepping
for Fashion Week and attending the Lela Rose show in the white tents at Bryant Park, I realized that the fashion mindset and the personalities involved in an industry running on whim and vanity and Starbucks were more captivating than the clothes. That's why I switched to a Psychology major, and I couldn't be happier,” reflected McBroome. “Although trying on Beyoncé's shoes was a moment I wouldn't trade for any number of doctoral degrees,” she added.
With graduating students facing a competitive job market, many decide to supplement their coursework with internships
that will give them the opportunity to experience real-life work situations and give them an edge in the job market. The University’s Career Services provides students the opportunity to have invaluable pre-professional experience that will help shape their careers, develop professional contacts, gain marketable skills, and create professional resumes before graduation.
Neil Patel
Year/Major: Junior, Biochemistry Internship Experience: American Society of Microbiology as an Undergraduate Research Fellow at
Pace (Research Internship on Tuberculosis) via Private internship/science grant through a generic internship application process
Remarks: “... the internship provides funding in hopes of new breakthroughs. The experience is very cool, but it is a project I have been dedicated to for over just a year now. In hopes of going to medical school, progressing in research associated with a human disease makes it that much more interesting to get involved.”
Honors senior Hiren Prajapati is graduating this semester with experience as a tax intern at AIG and PwC, and a risk
management intern at a hedge fund. “In today’s highly competitive job market, having internships helps students stand out against others who are competing for the same jobs. My internships allowed me the opportunity to gain real world experience and to get my foot in the door,” Prajapati said. He will be working in the assurance practice at PwC after graduation.
The University’s location in NYC gives Pace students a competitive edge for future employment, as it is located near Wall
Street, some of the major Fortune 500 headquarters, major publishing and media organizations, not-profit organizations, and many government, technology, fashion and theater groups. All of Pace’s students are welcome to call and stop by the Career Services Center to make an appointment, and sign up for workshops that will help them gain internship experience before graduation. The University’s Career Services Center is located on 41 Park Row on the 14th floor.
Kristie Dash Year/Major: Sophomore, Communications Internship Experience: Harper’s Bazaar in the fashion closet, NY Fashion Week with FIJI Water, NBC’s Peacock Productions (in 30 Rock), and Celebuzz via Ed2010, EntertainmentCareers.com, and eRecruiting
Remarks: “I am using my time at Pace to experiment with different careers to find what is best for me…In New York, I honestly feel like when I go to my internship, I am going to work. I am working with real professionals that have dream jobs at dream companies. This semester, I am interning every single day of the week, with classes at night and online, and a work study job in the evenings as well. If I can do all of this right now, once I graduate, it should be easy for me to transition into my first big-girl job.”
Sierra Chandler Year/ Double Major: Sophomore, Theater Arts-Directing & Film and Screen Studies Internship Experience: 3DGuy.TV (3D Film Production Company) in Bangkok, Thailand via networking Remarks: “My duties included managing the company blog, shooting and editing 3D footage for various film and TV projects, storyboarding new projects and conducting research. The biggest project we had was filming a documentary in Mongolia for nearly a month. From this internship I received a crash course in 3D film production as well as how to use social media in business…I now have skills that absolutely will get me jobs in the future.”
Stephanie Kozofsky Year: Junior Major: English Education Internship Experience: New York Historical Society in the Education Department via the J.K. Watson Fellowship Remarks: “It was absolutely the best experience of my life and I am thrilled to see what lies ahead for me. Since this program [J.K. Watson fellowship] is only for students attending college in New York City, I would not have had the chance to get it without Pace.”
—Compiled by Julia Yeung
The Fight
The clouds stood still,
Imprinted in the night sky
Serious, yet mocking ill
The fear of the looking eye.
The earth burned my soles—
I not desired to step forth
Though behind the devil’s souls
Thrashed, torn to grasp my clothe
I pressed feet down in pain,
Struggled to the altar
This effort tried, an attempt in vain
Soon fell souls pressed heat to my collar
Held me they did, ‘til
No more could I fight; only sigh
I look—the clouds were laughing still
Mocking my fearful eye.
12-7-1941 For many years I lived by the sea, Wasting days and drinking tea. Watching the surf roll on effortlessly, Just palms and shells and water and me. Then one day before it was time, I was forced to leave this place of mine. Long after dawn I heard the chime, Of war and fear and gunshots and crime. After this unexpected attack, I vowed that I would never come back. With suitcase in hand I began to pack, Leaving my house and heart and memories intact. Once I arrived in this new place, I enjoyed the smile it brought to my face. Yet the skyline and lights could never erase The ocean’s sand and waves and grace. Ever since I left that sandy ground There is no place that I have found, Of which I feel as strongly bound As to the surf and wind and seagulls’sound.
A Gift
Phantom Geyser
The Honors Newsletter is a monthly online publication that features work
by Honors students ranging from art work, to Op/Ed pieces, to essays, to news
stories. Additionally, each Newsletter will cover some special Honors and Non-
Honors events that took place that month. If you are interested in submitting art,
poetry, photography, music, commentary on important social/political issues, or
any topic you feel strongly about—or, if you simply plan on attending any of our
future events and reporting on them—this may be the outlet for you!
The Pforzheimer Honors College E-Journal is an interdisciplinary
publication produced online each semester, and includes a selection of both
literary and academic works. You are encouraged to submit a piece of work that
you have completed during your undergraduate years. Works published in the E-
Journal may cover a wide range of subjects, including poetry, memoirs, theater
arts, women and gender studies, biology, politics, and history.
If you are interested in submitting to The Honors Newsletter and/or The Honors
E-Journal, please email me at [email protected].
I look forward to perusing your work!
Charissa Che
Advisor Editor of Honors Newsletter and E-Journal