r .....i "".. . . .i 1"... " r.. .y . 4.... . . a . t .Y .., u ... ,.. ... .. .. ,. . -r -W7 LOOKING AT THE CAMPUS THROUGH THE EYES General Library windows. By JOSEPH WILLS DURING FOUR YEARS of undergrad- uate life at the University, a uniquely architectural insight can be - actively nurtured along with the other faculties of learning and studying. Its importance lies in the general interest students are encouraged to take in art and thought; and architecture is both an art and philosophy. In addition, history has de- veloped us to the modern stage where 85-90 per cent of all our time is spent in or looking at buildings. Architecture is the specialized profes- sion of the master builder-designer. Thus it has its own vocabulary and funda- mental notions. We must reckon with them from the start if we expect to think intelligently of campus buildings. In order. to gain appreciation, three basic facts about architecture must be understood. All buildings must react in some way to gravity. All buildings must be seen. All other assertions about build- ings arise through conjecture or tradi- tion. SECONDLY, we must agree, temporarily at least, to a host of convenient as- sertions to facilitate explanation and understanding. First, any part of any building can be called "artistically jus- tifiable" if it appears to be inevitable, just as the word in a poem or note in a song is. heard to be the only word or note that fits. Secondly, by "surface" I shall mean the art of elevation. An elevation is the drawing of any flat wall of a building, representing it from an actually impossible view point. In design- ing this method eases handling propor- tion and composition; however, many walls are beautiful in elevation but when actually built they are insensitive to three-dimensional effect. Lastly, archi- tectural poetry, or the 'poetics" of arch- itecture, is a foggy notion which depends on your intuition for comprehension. It is gotten at through beautiful language. Poetic content in campus buildings will exclude the potential for becoming ab- solutely poetic. No campus building, that I know of, is pioneering as poetry. They all lack the exaggeration of detail which characterised the great historical archi- tects. For convenience I divide buildings on campus into two groups; the old, and the new. "Old" means anything built up to about 1925. "New" means anything built afterwards. I believe the old have more architectural character than the new. By contrasting the two, we arrive at the crux of this thing called "archi- tectural insight." Comparing and con- trasting them helps determine things to look for in all buildings in general. Old and new are distinguished by dif- ferent emphases on certainrather analy- tical issues; mass versus surface, "pro- -portion" versus "function" oriented in- teriors, decoration versus the smooth look. Of course there analytiques are not to be taken too seriously. They are mere clarifying contrivances. THE NEW BUILDINGS are exercises in treating surfaces to be seen from great distances. The Albert Kahn Office's Undergraduate Library of 1956 was built at the cost of character from close-up, or any apparent imagination in three dimensional fulfillment. The east and west exteriors are huge brick surfaces intended to "float." They are punctured by holes of unjustifiable proportions. They turn their north boundaries with- out change of detail but with complete line surfaces, called fulget, that line the change of . mood. The marble-aggregate elevator core and-first floor entry hall floors, are unjustifiable. Their mortar joints from close up form ugly rectan- gular prdportions, as if unintentional. The veneer turns corners callously, as if the walls themselves were as much void as they are- solid. The interior is dotted with subtle colors that are intensely primary against the stark fluorescence. They are all surfaces. Their depth ap- pears to be an accident. Compare this with Kahn's main li- brary of 1916. Rather than surface, the building is articulated in terms of mass. Flemish brick bonds form vertical mor- tar joints where the veneer turns corners; granite pedestal flays the building's weight from top to bottom; window mul- lions break glass into prisms reflecting light at odd angles, contrasting their weights with the weight of the brick. (Newer architects like plate glass, which is neither heavy or light, only trans- parent, and often impudent in smooth, unbroken reflections.) The top of the main is capped by an (albeit imitative) cornice. Kahn took his examples from Italian and English Renaissance archi- techs who believed that everything had to appear to be resting on something, and thus nothing floated. OR. AGAIN consider Kahn's West En- gineering Building of 1909. The small The Liberal Papers, edited by James 1 Roosevelt, Anchor- Books, Doubleday I and Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, 1962, $1.40. "MANY OF THE IDEAS both in for- eign policy and in domestic policyj are ideas fashioned for another time and for other problems. Because of this, po- - litical discussion among the citizenry has become tangential and irrelevant." With this note, James Roosevelt intro- duces a book that is neither tangential nor irrelevant. The Liberal Papers is that relevant, in fact, that it has drawn the denunciation of the Republican lead- ership in the House and Senate and of a national radio commentator. Roosevelt, the editor of the twelve probing essays making up the book, fits his -title well: he is one of the foremost liberals in the House (he has represented, California's 26th district since 1956) and he is known nationally for his leadership in the yet small movement to abolish the House Un-American Activities Com- mittee. It is no surprise that a Congressman who speaks out for the free society do- mestically would speak out for it abroad. But achievement of the free society is dependent on a relaxation of internation- al tensions, on disarmament, on econom- ic development and on population stabil- ization, the book brings out. It is this type of program that the book outlines. David Riesman and Michael Maccoby argue that the cold war, while a real conflict, also exposes the failure of a style of life. Though the immediate peril demands the beginning of disarmament as one first step toward ending the cold war, in doing this we only patch a symp- tom, they assert. Disarmament and eased international tensions are not the end of. therapy, and true peace is not merely the absence of war but a state in which the quality of existence becomes humane and generous rather than destructive. James Warburg points out that dis- armament would probably mean not the end of the cold war but the transference of the struggle out of the military and into the politico-economic arena. Walter Millis criticizes the policy of deterrence as actually no more nor less than a form of gigantic blackmail, "and as with other forms of blackmail its threats are valueless if they ever have to be made good." Arthur Waskow relates that shelter- building contributes greatly to the in- stability that deterrence is supposed to alleviate, because such a program raises the specter that the deterrent is to be used for a first strike and forces the opponent into developing a counterforce strategy. Charles Osgood presents a program of graduated, unilateral action designed to reduce the tension in the world. Emile Benoit anaylzes some economic adjust- ments America would have to make in disarming. Vera Dean looks at American policy in Southeast Asia, and Frank Tan- nenbaum exposes American failures in Latin America. - Allen Whiting relates the history of the Communist China problem, and Stu- art Hughes urges that the United States drastically reduce the military emphasis of its European policy and encourage dis- engagement in Eastern Europe. Quincy Wright suggests policies for strengthening the United Nations, and Kingsley Davis reveals the population trends of the world. The essays are intellectual (most of the contributors are professors) and incisive. Much of the writing is idealistic, but there are specific proposals for tran- scending the gap between reality and ideality. Many of these proposals may seem radical, especially in view of the present policies of our government-but then, the Populist party was radical in its day, and its wild-eyed proposals have "T 1VCEW% At --- Ci A-rr ,nrE1 a wU become attributes of American democ- racy. Perhaps, then, there is hope for world democracy. Woodrow Wilson was ahead of his times, but The Liberal Papers have updated his ideals. If they are realized, future generations may be indebted to James Roosevelt and his fellow thinkers. -Robert Sewa Salinger, A Critical and Personal Por- trait, edited and introduced by Henry Anatole Grunwald. Harper Brothers Publishers, 1962, $4.95 rpE FIRST BOOK reputed to be able to "explain all those strange Salinger stories" has arrived with an impressive list of contributors. But, Salinger, A Critical and Personal Portrait, edited by Henry Anatole Grunwald, suffers from many of the maladies common to collec- tions of essays. The most obvious problem is the repe- tition. Every' one of the essayists feels compelled to give a two or three page synopsis of the plot after each story. (After reading this book if you are un- confused about anything, it's the sub- stance of the plot of Franny.) Grunwald recognizes this as a problem and apol- ogizes for it at the beginning; however, that doesn't alleviate it. These plot summaries are quite helpful, for many of the earlier and pre-fame short stories are virtually unavailable now, and it is of extreme benefit to the reader to have the plot reiterated before reading the es- say. The 25 critics of Salinger are a notable listing of who's who in the contemporary critical world. Alfred Kazin, Granville Hicks, William Wiegand, (an ex-Daily writer), Leslie Fiedler, John Updike, as well as Grunwald are essayists, critics, and writers in the non-fictional world of considerable merit. Once the problem of the repetition is overlooked any serious student of Sal- inger's can have a wonderful time with this book comparing his theories with some very well executed professional ones. Salinger is not the sort of writer who appears to be very obtuse; still, if we are to believe the contributors, there is a tremendous amount of significance in every word. And there is an essayist to propound every theory-ranging from the view of Salinger as a social critic to those who see him as a religious writer, and ranging from those who claim to be a modern Elijah of the misunderstood, sensitive, modern intellectual to those who think he is something less than can- onized since he "flatters the very ignor- ance and moral shallowness of his young readers." The only point upon which the Salinger writers seem to be in agreement at all is that they all believe F. Scott Fitzgerald was the writer the most influential on his style. In comparing Salinger, he is said to be in turn Ring Larder or Dos- toevsky or Mark Twain or the worst short story writer in the "New Yorker's" history. - . The frantic disagreement about Sal- inger carries over into contention over all of his characters. Wiegand believes, "Salinger's heroes are a family of non- co'nformists," but they do not consider themselves oppressed by society, "He (Holden) is a victim of so much of socie- ty as of his own spiritual illness." Others think Holden is merely rebelling against the prep school form and therefore he is a social objector, who views the upper- middle class American with horror and revulsion. Still, the book has problems-not the least of which is that Salinger is too cur- rent and the tides of criticism haven't yet settled down around his ears and put him in his proper place. So the crit- ics have either decided he is going to be great and laud him as the prophet or they belong to the anti-Salinger league- which puts its money on his audience be- coming disenchanted. Basically the trou- ble is lack of perspective, which is a danger which is face devery time a new writer is broached.' Josephine Jacobsen, one of the includ- ed critics, feels that the reason that cri- tical writing on him is so anemic is that "so far, public comment on, Salinger's work is like the comments a panic-strick- en, valiant Victorian-minded spinster might make in trying to discuss Dr. Kin- sey's report without referring to sex." She feels that most of the writing is being done by those who haven't got the nerve to take a stand on him so therefore they vacillate, and qualify every judgment and produce milquetoast essays. There isn't even agreement on the disagreement. The book belongs to those who have formed an opinion on Salinger, who have discussed him over coffee, and who feel that "Salinger is the only person in the world capable of understanding me," that is to say, to those who belong to the Sal- inger cult. The undecided masses who simply thought Zooey was a good short story, shouldn't read this book; it would depress them. -Malinda Berry the overall Carte tend focus atte: Morison, w the traditi found sing cellent, but shaker. NC both often out much. But for hasn't quit Perhaps tli Angel reco unlike the difference The Def amorous 5s the indignf quite the p quite the . 'make' a C missing, a their abse] But the of it, and many new for the wo At any r has come petition is Melodies Old Wo Mysterie SA 8567 IN REVII five of Melodies o forced to t ferent ang the record a sound ( it) backgr and other tions. Un records, fil hour of sc for 1,e r Burton Tower staircase. windows fit tightly up under the eaves. Granite sills are in horizontal play. The building is topped by a big broad tile roof, a commodity too expensive for modern architects to play with. The building utilizes a granite foundation course, exaggerated door detail border- ing on pioneering inventiveness and the chimney as part of the total massing. All this suggests the genius of Wisconsin's Frank Lloyd Wright or England's Lutyens. The interior of this building betrays the clarity and order of the outside-due to concrete block partition additions. But only the most disinterested students of architecture and the most critical lay- men would deny the suggestion of poetry here. A third case of the old: Lynn Fry's porches to Waterman Gymnasium, added in 1923. This to me is the most--beautiful entrance on campus. From the ground, one climbs to a dark cave-like recess. Thick brick walls establish the near point of a perspective inward, the far point of which can be at infinity. The stone band turns to become the lower edge of a rectangular tympanum, (the Tral by Jury: Angel 35966 (S), Proyour sp Arte Orchestra and Gylndelbourne your sp Festival Chorus. Sir Malcolm Sargent, sn the conductor. Recorded in London. $6.98 function WITH THE copyrights having expired Howe" on the light operas of Sir William the albs Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan, there is some can be no doubt that many will try their include, hand at recording these classics. And Sassenf after 75 years under the watchful eye Star fr of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Co., there is Lune, L a tendency to fall into the assumption ski's Mi that all Gilbert and Sullivan is, by defi- Barterer nition, good. Of course, this will cease resentat to be true now, and the trick will be to Te separate the wheat from the chaff. The souped Angel Records now has become among in the c the first to offer non-D'Oyly Carte re- cast it i cordings. Angel's reputation for high obvious quality is not lacking, but G&S buffs will his Clai detect a difference. more b First in a series of G&S performances Almeide by Angel and shortest of the light operas, all of v 'Trial by Jury' comes to life in a very with th new way under the respected baton of the pe Sir Malcolm Sargent, conducting the Pro than i Arte Orchestra and the Glynbourne Fes- for sing tival Chorus, with Chorus Master Peter such as Gillhorn. The music, in a new arrange- Unfo ment, is wonderful. It truly has the Gil- yet ano bert and Sullivan flavor, record It's as though the dust had been -blown voraciol off an old treasure, and it is restored: It does nc is just as good but not quite the same. the aes There is something almost modern about or the the Angel recording that the D'Oyly Carte 'is furth productions have never acquired. Capital In many passages, the tempo has been series T slowed a bit to allow better enunciation. the cor (Gilbert & Sullivan often goes so fast in its v that the actual words can become un- buyer discernable.) However, this does not, sur- sampler prisingly enough, destroy the total effect Capital of the production. ing put The emphasis, in fact, seems to be on in swi set na ver um; wh; es o 'I Deli nu d . tiv ns, mi -ul orig n. to r c eau a, whi e "c rfc n gle ti rtu th( cc us It the mi her .I Mel ntei vast w2 r. '1 te lic Room 102, Economics Building.