8-page booklet, stapled. Matte paper, off-white. General announcements, course offerings, faculty updates, news about the Harriet Engelhardt Memorial Collection and list of students in attendance at Summer Art Institute 1946.
BLACK MOUNTAIN COLLEGE NEWS LETTER
VOLUME V NUMBER 1 November 1946
FOURTEENTH COLLEGE YEAR OPENS
GROWING PAINS
Black Mountain College is larger this year than it has ever been. When school opened, September 18, 92 students were enrolled; 49 men and 43 women. Forty of these were new students. At BMC as elsewhere, growth has its effects on living. Four units of temporary government housing for GI’s have been under construction for some weeks and are expected to furnish additional sleeping and study space by the first of the year. Students on the work program are providing part of the labor supply, turning their earnings over to the college. These impatiently awaited buildings are spaced over the grounds: one below South Lodge, one between the Studies Building and the Office, two in the rhododendron thicket above the Mac Wood cottage. Until these are completed, students must room at Mrs. Patton’s, down the road a half mile; and many share studies.
In spite of the best efforts of the faculty in providing a varied curriculum and in advising against too heavy a schedule, classes are large. The following courses are being offered:
Drawing Ilya Bolotowsky
Painting Ilya Bolotowsky
American Civilization David R. Corkran
Mechanics and Mathematical Analysis Theodore Dreier
Introduction to Theoretical Chemistry Fritz Hansgirg
Woodworking Mary Gregory
Book Binding Johanna Jalowetz
Cultural History of the Greek World Albert William Levi
Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle Albert William Levi
Problems of Musical Form and Structure: Gregorian Chant to Bach Edward E. Lowinsky
Counterpoint Edward E. Lowinsky and Charlotte Schlesinger
Harmony Charlotte Schlesinger
Introduction to Music Charlotte Schlesinger
Voice Johanna Jalowetz
A Capella Edward E. Lowinsky
Chorus Charlotte Schlesinger
Piano Edward E. Lowinsky and Charlotte Schlesinger
Ensemble Edward Lowinsky
Latin Theodore Rondthaler
Weaving Francisca Mayer
Race Problems Herbert A. Miller
World Today Herbert A. Miller
Historical Introduction to Present-Day Economic Analysis Karl H. Niebyl
International Economics Karl H. Niebyl
Shakespeare Mary Caroline Richards
Literary Criticism Mary Caroline Richards
Human Relations John Lewis Wallen
Psychology of Social Issues John Lewis Wallen
Typewriting and Shorthand Alice K. Rondthaler
In addition to these, spontaneous interest has created informal groups which meet regularly to work together on “extra-curricular” material. They range in emphases from art history to creative writing, play reading, the study of French, modern dance, and economic theory.
FACULTY: NEW AND OLD
Since Anni and Josef Albers are on leave this year, weaving and art are in new hands. Ilya Bolotowski, a member of the Modern Abstract Group, is teaching drawing and painting. He was born in Russia in 1907 and was educated at the French Sr. Joseph College in Constantinople and at the National Academy of Design in New York City. His work has been widely exhibited both here and abroad and is represented in several museums and private collections. He has designed and executed murals at the New York World’s Fair, the Williamsburg Housing Project, and Welfare Island. During the war he served with the U.S. Air Forces and was stationed at Nome, where he acted as interpreter and taught Russian to officers and enlisted men. Francisca Mayer is continuing the instruction in textile design which she began at the Summer Art Institute. Born in Hamburg, she received her teaching diploma from Johanna Brunson’s Weaving School in Stockholm, and was associated with workshops in Denmark and Germany. In 1938 she became weaving instructor and designer for the industrial department of the Grenfell Association in Labrador. During the war she worked as occupational therapist and assistant director of the Grenfell orphanage. In 1945 she came to the U.S. and was connected with workshops in New York City. Miss Mayer is a niece of Dr. Dehn.
Newly a member of the music department, Charlotte Schlesinger came to Black Mountain this fall from the Foxhollow School in Lenox, Massachusetts. Originally she came from Berlin, where she took professional training at the Hochschule fur Musik, majoring in composition.
Black Mountain College Bulletin Newsletter
Volume V Number 1 November, 1946
Issued five times a year, in November, February, March, April, and May. Entered as second-class matter November 4, 1942, at the Postoffice at Black Mountain College, North Carolina, under the Act of August 24, 1912.
And also where she won the Beethoven prize in 1929 for a chamber music work. Between Berlin and the U.S., Miss Schlesinger taught in Vienna and in Kiev. She directed the first European performance of Hindemith’s opera, “Wir bauen eine neue Stadt.”
Dr. Karl Niebyl, economist newly appointed to the faculty, arrived with his wife after a summer as visiting professor at the University of Texas. Dr. Niebyl took his degree at the University of Wisconsin. He has taught at Carleton College and at Tulane University. During the war he was active in the educational services of the Navy.
Mrs. Margaret Brown joined the College staff this year as supervisor of the dining room and kitchen. She had previously been youth counselor and assistant director of the cooperative camp and small community of Circle Pines Center, Cloverdale, Michigan. “Peggy” is a Westerner, from Jackson Hole and the Teto county in Wyoming, where she managed a dude ranch. Mrs. Brown and her sons, Jerry and Stanley, occupy the old Straus cottage (which, by the way, work crews have completely redecorated).
Christa Noland, wife of one of the students, Harry Noland, is a registered nurse and has been given charge of the infirmary.
Theodore Dreier, back from his year’s leave, has been re-elected Rector and is teaching mathematics. He and Mrs. Dreier have a new baby girl, Barbara Beate, born in Asheville on August 9.
Dr. Max Dehn is on leave until February. He is teaching mathematics at the University of Wisconsin this fall.
Dr. Erwin Straus and Trudi left the end of August for Lexington, Kentucky, where Dr. Straus has accepted a position as director of clinical psychiatry at the Veterans Hospital. He has just completed two years of research on a fellowship at Johns Hopkins, the results of which will be published in a series of papers some time during the winter.
Elliott Merrick, who taught English here last year, is now doing an editing job for the Forestry Division of the Department of Agriculture in Asheville.
“Unwanted: Liberal, creative, sound education living, by complacent, sedate, well-established college,” an article by John Wallen, BMC psychologist, appears in the current issue of Motive, a magazine of the Methodist Student Movement, published in Nashville. Wallen believes that the “human climate” of the college may be more important than its curriculum, that “the deepest and most significant learning comes as a result of close contact and interchange with other persons.” “The task the liberal arts college must face,” he writes, “is that of enabling the student to define the ends of which he lives.” Wallen suggests ways in which this task may be performed. Last January his book, Counseling with Returned Service Men, was published by McGraw-Hill. It was written in collaboration with Dr. Carl Rogers, head of the training program for psychological counseling at the University of Chicago. “We wrote the book,” Wallen reports, “for a non-technical audience. It is addressed to people whom veterans are likely to consult- teachers, preachers, personnel agents, and so forth- people who are not trained counselors but yet have to function well in a counseling situation.
Dr. Edward Lowinsky has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, which he plans to take advantage of next year. He expects to write a history of the motet, from Ockeghem to Orlando di Lasso, and hopes to do his research in Rome. Although the award was made for 1946-7, Dr. Lowinsky petitioned for a year’s postponement of the prize so that he might carry on the music program here and rebuild the department which suffered a profound loss in the death of Dr. Heinrich Jalowetz las February. His book, Secret Chromatic Art in the Netherlands Motet, was published by Columbia University Press in March, 1946.
Josef Albers was one of three invited to lecture before the annual conference of the Cooke-Daniels Memorial Foundation, held July 23 to 26 at the Denver Art Museum. Other lecturers were Sheldon Cheney, well-known author of art history, and Georgy Kepes, professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mr. Albers’ lecture, “On General Education and Art Education,” will be published by the Foundation.
Early last spring two collections of prints by Josef Alberts were shipped about the country to be shown at Yale University Gallery, Cranbrook Academy, San Francisco Museum, San Diego Museum, and other places. This fall his prints are being shown at the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Egan Gallery in New York.
BUILDING
Permanent Building Plans for the College are being studied and a report on them will be made later. The building fund has now reached $11,508.85 thanks to a recent anonymous gift of $5,000.00.
BAS ALLEN
Bascomb Allen died on August 27th, without regaining consciousness, three days after being his by a truck while crossing the street in the town of Black Mountain. He was 58 years old.
Bas Allen had general supervision of all maintenance work at the college. Although he was not officially on the faculty, he was an indispensable teacher and much that one learned from him was not to be found in books. The way one learned was by working with him on the job, on all kinds of jobs.
He joined us when the College started, in September, 1933, and had been with us ever since. From the first he entered into the spirit of our educational venture and has been well known to every generation of students who have come. Nearly all have at one time or another worked with him. He showed us how to farm: how to plow an how to harvest and everything in between; he taught us how to fire our boilers, install and repair our heating systems, plumbing, and the electrical wiring. He was always on the job, and though he showed many others what to do, he always got an immense amount done himself. Sometimes we would ask him to meetings where he hoped to get the work better organized. He never was very tolerant of too much talk, however, and a familiar and often much-needed bit of advice from him was, “Let’s stop talking and do some work.”
THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Established last spring, the Community Council has two main functions. First, to enable all community members to share realistically in the governing of the community. Second, to this free the faculty to concentrate its weekly meetings upon matters of more direct academic or educational concern.
Composed of representatives elected from the students, faculty, staff members and wives, the Community Council operates under authority of its own which was delegated to it by the faculty. This means that the total community now participates in decisions on matters of concern to the total community. Formerly, since such authority resided in the faculty, there was always the possibility of the faculty over-ruling decisions of the student government. Also the staff members and the faculty wives previously had no direct voice in determining community policy.
At the present time the Community Council is preparing a program of community education which will lead to a democratic decision by the community as to how the emergency buildings given to us by the Federal Government are to be utilized.
The personnel of the Community Council is as follows:
REPRESENTING THE FACULTY Mary Gregory, Johanna Jalowetz, John Wallen (Chairman)
REPRESENTING STAFF MEMBERS AND FACULTY WIVES Alice Rondthaler
REPRESENTING THE STUDENTS Olavi Sihvonen, Harry Weitzer, Jose Yglesias (Secretary)
REPRESENTATIVE AT LARGE Suzanne Teasdale
HARRIETT ENGELHARDT MEMORIAL COLLECTION
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Engelhardt of Birmingham, Alabama, parents of Harriett Engelhardt, a student at Black Mountain College in 1939, have generously made a gift of $2,011.31, the entire amount of Harriett’s estate, to the College to be used in memory of Harriett. She was killed in Germany, October 26, 1945, in a jeep accident, while serving overseas with the American Red Cross.
Part of the sum represents a contribution by the Japanese American 522 Field Artillery Battalion with whom Harriett had worked for several months; part was a personal gift of friends, Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Lobman of Birmingham; the major portion was what Harriett had saved out of her earnings as an aeroplane mechanic and Red Cross worker.
Since Harriett was especially interested in work in Weaving, the project for this memorial will be a collection of textiles to be known as the Harriett Engelhardt Memorial Collection. The material for this memorial is to be collected under the direction of Anni Albers, adviser to Harriett while she was at Black Mountain College. In order to display the textiles, ancient and madern, part of the gift is to be used for the purchase of exhibition showcases. These showcases will be placed in the Art Room or Weaving Room until the day when Black Mountain College builds its own museum.
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE FACULTY
The annual meeting of the faculty of the Corporation of Black Mountain College was held on Tuesday, October 1. Theodore Dreier was elected Rector of the College for the year 1946-47. At the same meeting Theodore Rondthaler was elected to the Board of Fellows for a three year term; Albert William Levi, Edward E. Lowinsky, and John L. Wallen, for one year terms.
At a subsequent meeting of the Board of Fellows, Albert William Levi was elected Secretary and Theodore Rondthaler Treasurer of the Corporation.
STUDENT OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES
Officers chosen by the student body to serve for the first semester are: Moderator, Henry Bergman, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin; Olavi Sihvonen, Voluntown, Connecticut; Harry Weitzer, Jr., St.Louis, Missouri; and Jose Yglesias, Tampa, Florida.
Larry Fox, New York City, and Mrs. David H. Corkran were elected to fill vacancies on the Admissions Committee. Other members are Herbert A. Miller, registrar, M.C. Richards, Mary Gregory, John Urbain, Detroir, Michigan, and Lucy Swift, New York City.
Francis Foster, Detroit Lakes, Michigan, was elected by the faculty to represent the student body on the Senior Division Examinations Committee.
Henry Adams, Lenoir, North Carolina, and John Urbain were elected by the faculty to represent the student body on the Academic Publicity Committee. Other members are David H. Corkran, Alice K. Rondthaler, and M.C. Richards.
GRADUATION
In June 1946 the faculty graduated William McLaughlin, of Easton, Pennsylvania, in the field of American History. His examiner was Clarence D. Stevens, Professor of Sociology at Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio.
In September 1946 the faculty graduated Miss Beate Gropius, of Lincoln, Massachusetts, in the field of Art. Her examiner was Thomas M. Folds, Professor of Art and Head of Fine Arts Department, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
DEMOCRACY AT WORK AT HOME
Last month ten members of the Black Mountain College community attended the Southern Negro Youth Congress, held for three days in Columbia, S.C. Our delegation, an enthusiastic iota of the total 1200, returned with a fortified sense of personal commitment to the aims of the organization, which they communicated to us all.
Consequences in action have already been felt on our campus. The college’s bi-racial program has been expanded to admit Negro men as well as women, with a special view to the GI need. The desirability of a scholarship fund came up in this connection, and ways of amassing such aid are being sought.
PIANO
Black Mountain College needs a grand piano. (As a matter of fact, it needs at least two grand pianos and two uprights. However…) We will be delighted to pay shipping costs on any instrument given us. And we are prepared to accept contributions to a piano fund, looking toward a Steinway.
JOSEF ALBERS COMMENTS ON THE SUMMER ART INSTITUTE 1946
“The third summer art institute was held from July 2 to August 27. Connected with it was a small summer work camp and so the campus appeared very active. The results achieved may justify a belief that it was a successful summer.
“Over one hundred inquiries were received, fifty-two students were accepted for the full period. These with the work campers occupied all available space. Among the students were three architects, four teachers from colleges and art schools, and three high school graduates. The greater number were transfers from other institutions, here for the summer session only. Seventeen were regular Black Mountain College students. Students enrolled from Canada to Florida; from New York to California. Among them were two Negroes, one American-Japanese, and one Chinese. Ten of the students were GI’s.
“The excellent working spirit and good results were due to our guest teachers; Jean Varda of Monterey, California, and Jacob Lawrence of New York City, each teaching painting for the full eight weeks; Concetta Scaravaglione of Sarah Lawrence College and Leo Animo of New York City, each teaching sculpture for four weeks; Will Burtin of New York City, Art Director of Fortune, and Leonard Lionni, Art Director of N.W. Ayer & Son, Philadelphia, each lecturing on advertising art for three weeks; Balcomb Greene of Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, lecturing on the history of painting, and Beaumont Newhall, of the Museum of Modern Art, lecturing on photography. Members of the Black Mountain College faculty who taught during the eight weeks were Josef Albers, design and color; Anni Albers, textile design; Francisca Mayer, weaving; and Mary Gregory, woodworking.
“The College appreciates the continuing interest in the summer art institute of the following donors and sponsors: Dr. John E. Burchard, Sheldon Cheney, Mrs. Suzette Hamill, Mrs. Alice Wilson Haible, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew H. Hepburn, Mrs. Emma Hoffman, Dean Joseph Hudnut, Mrs. Romero James, Mrs. Anna D. Jamieson, Mrs. T. Catesby Jones, The Samual H. Kress Foundation, Mrs. Elizabeth C. Morrow, Ralph M. Parsons, Felix Payant, Paul Rand, The Julius Rosenwald Fund, Mrs. Constance Wharton Smith, Mrs. L. B. Sayman, Mr. and Mrs. Ernest William Stix, Mrs. Wilma M. Straus, Mr. and Mrs. George B. Thorp, Robert N. S. Whitelaw, The William C. Whitney Foundation.”
STUDENTS, SUMMER ART INSTITUTE 1946
Altman, Harold New York N.Y.
Asawa, Ruth Glendale Ariz.
Bergman, Henry Beaver Dam Wisc.
Blaine, Lorna Jaffrey N.H.
Brunell, Richard Riverside R.I.
Cole, Dorothy Chicago Ill.
Cox, Kendall Winnetka Ill.
Darling, Philip H. New York N.Y.
Ewing, Caroline B. Villa Nova Pa.
Fiore, Joseph A. Willoughby Ohio
Florsheim, Claire Chicago Ill.
Fromer, Karen Brooklyn N.Y.
Green Sally Bronx N.Y.
Gropius, Beate Lincoln Mass.
Hawk, Eleanor Jacksonville Fla.
Jaeger, Henry Denville N.J.
Johnson, Doris Woodstown N.J.
Johnson, Raymond Detroit Mich.
Joseph, William Cincinnati Ohio
Kadden, Lore Brookline Mass.
Levine, Josephine Brooklyn N.Y.
Li, Suefong Shanghai China
Lipsett, Lillian New York N.Y.
Malkin, Robert S. Richmond Hill N.Y.
Mayhew, Dorothy Tallahassee Fla.
Miller, William B. Concord Mass.
Moore, Susan Winston-Salem N.C.
Morse, Alexander B. Washington D.C.
Murphy, Robert B. Charleston S.C.
Muzenic, A. Nicholas Kansas City Kan.
Newhoff, Theresa Lexington Ky.
Oberlander, H. Peter New York N.Y.
Parker, Harley W. Toronto Can.
Parks, Mary Jeanne Atlanta Ga.
Phelan, Mary St.Louis Mo.
Pinchuk, Rene Royal Oak Mich.
Prager, F. Zena Brookline Mass.
Schmitt, Elaine Wauwatosa Wisc.
Schwartz, Leonard Paris France
Seidler, Harry New York N.Y.
Sihvonen, Olavi T. Voluntown Conn.
Spaulding, Freda Lincoln Neb.
Stack, Joan Minneapolis Minn.
Stein, Barbara New York N.Y.
Stepner, Bacia R. Providence R.I.
Topp, Helen Pittsburgh Pa.
Urbain, John A. Detroit Mich.
Walker, Janice Athens Tenn.
Williams, Evelyn Kress Tex.
Williams, Ora Marie Ferndale Mich.
Williams, Paul Winnetka Ill.
Wight, Don Cleveland Ohio
