College festivals celebrate student talent

JULIA TIERNAN/YH It looks like the Louvre, yes, but it's actually the TD dining hall.

So you're artistic and you want to share your gift with others, but the Yale University Art Gallery isn't exactly beating down your door begging to exhibit your oeuvre. Not to worry. If recent events are any indication, chances are your college will soon be displaying your masterpieces for all your peers to admire.

College arts festivals are all the rage lately. Ezra Stiles' festival started on Fri., Feb. 19, and finishes on Fri., Feb. 26. Timothy Dwight College also launched a festival which will continue until Fri., Mar. 3. Everything from acryclic paintings to black and white photographs to sketches--all created by TD students, staff, and faculty--now decorate the walls of the dining hall. The opening night of the festival also included performances such as hula dancing, singing, and the playing of Korean drums.

The point of festivals like these is to give students a forum not only in which to display their artwork, but also a chance to see what their peers are up to. "When I went to my first [TD] arts festival, I was shocked that I had classmates who drew so well," Joelle Laszlo, TD '99, said.

Laszlo was so impressed that she decided to organize this year's festival. She called on fellow TDers she knew as "arty" to submit their work and gathered friends to help her matte and hang the works in the dining hall. "Organizing the festival has been hard work, but seeing it come together has made it worth it," she said.

The results suggest that it was indeed worth it. Several pieces, like Eva Lane's, TD '02, series of poignant black and white photos and Geoffrey Graham's, TD '01, "Litany of Re," done with ink and watercolor on papyrus, are worth seeing. Laszlo estimates that about half of the works aren't even by art majors. Laszlo, herself a political science major, submitted a collection of photographs entitled "Favorite Photos from Places I've Lived." She said that the great thing about the art festivals is that they give non-art majors the chance to display their work. Without this kind of forum, non-art majors would be at a loss. "Unless you're an art major, there aren't a lot of places to display your stuff," Laszlo said.

The Stiles festival provides a similar opportunity for budding artists, but it goes a step further than TD's, encompassing music, poetry, film, and theater in its roster of events. Each day of the festival has featured a different form of artistic expression: one night was devoted to classical music, one to poetry, another-- "Cabaret Night"--to short skits performed by Stiles students. Ezra Stiles Master Paul Fry even got involved, using his house as a gallery to exhibit student artwork and hosting a Master's Tea with noted architect Mark Simon.

Stiles art festival organizer Sarah Baker, ES '99, agreed with Laszlo that the point of events like these is to showcase as much student talent as possible. "There are so many people with talent that no one knows about," she said. She added that student participation and interest in the event has been enthusiastic, and pointed out that "ours is more elaborate than TD's." Oooh, arts festival rivalry.

Both festivals are worth taking in. If you haven't had the chance to visit Stiles', you can still catch the Classical Music Dessert tonight at 7 p.m. in the Master's House. TD's talent will be on display all next week--to see it, drop by the dining hall any time meals are being served.

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