8p, onsesided print. Two copies. Mimeograph on matte off white paper. On the first copy- pencil first page "Fill copies for T.D." Announces that Anni and Josef Albers will take a year's leave of absence and art will be taught by Ilya Bolotowsky for the year. Franziska Mayer will teach textile design. List of course offerings for the fall semester.
BLACK MOUNTAIN COLLEGE COMMUNITY BULLETIN Bulletin 1
College Year 14
September 1946
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Sept 16 Monday 4:30 pm Meeting of Old Students
7:30 pm Faculty meeting
Sept 17 Tuesday All students report to Business Office
Office hours 9-12 2-5
Sept 18 Wednesday Classes begin and may be visited until end of week
Sept 19 Thursday 7:30 pm Meeting of New Students
Sept 21 Saturday Registration after consultation with advisers
8pm General Meeting of entire community to be followed by dancing
BLACK MOUNTAIN COLLEGE begins its 14th academic year on September 18th with an enrollment of 92 students: 49 men; 43 women. 49 are returning from last year’ 3 joined the student body from the summer art session; 40 are new students. All but 2 are boarders.
“Old” students arrive on Saturday the 14th; “new” students on Tuesday the 17th. Also, by Saturday all members of the faculty and staff with their families will be on the campus, making a total community of 153.
Anni and Josef albers will enjoy a year’s leave of absence, beginning about October 1st.
Art will be taught this year by a Visiting Professor, Ilya Bolotowsky. He was born in Russia in 1907 and was educated at the French St. 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 (1942-1945) and was stationed at Nome, Alaska, where he conducted classes in Russian to officers and enlisted men.
Franziska Mayer will continue the instruction in textile design which she began at the Summer Art Institute. She was born in Sweden, received her weaving teacher’s diploma from Johanna Brunson’s Weaving School in Stockholm, and was associated with the workshops in Denmark and Germany. In 1938 she became weaving instructor and designer for the industrial department of the Grenfell Association in Labrador and during the War worked as an occupational therapist and assistant director of the Grenfell orphanage. She came to the United States in 1945 and was connected with the workshops in New York City. Miss Mayer is a niece of Dr. Dehn.
Dr. Karl Niebyl, economist, and his wife, Elizabeth, have arrived at Black Dwarf after a summer as visiting faculty at the University of Texas. They are at present very much occupied with unpacking their many books. Dr. Niebyl, who has taught at Carleton College and at Tulane University and served in the educational services of the Navy during the War, is writing a book on international economics. Mrs. Niebyl, a professional housing economist, did work in the Government office that is giving us our GI temporary housing. During the War she was a pharmacist in the Navy.
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Miss Charlotte Schlesinger will join in the Faculty to teach music and is expected to arrive about September 23rd. She took her professional training at the Berlin Hoschule fur Musik where she majored in composition under Professor Franz Schreker. She passed the State examination for the teaching of music summa cum laude and in 1929 won the Beethoven Prize of Berlin for a composition of a chamber music work. Since then she came to this country and has been teaching at the Foxhollow School in Lenox, Massachusetts, until coming to Black Mountain this fall.
Mrs. Margaret Brown joins the College staff this year as supervisor of the dining room and kitchen. Mrs. Brown is a graduate of the University of Colorado. She is a Westerner from the Teton Mountain Section of Wyoming and has had experience in the management of a dude ranch there. She has also worked in the field of office personnel at the University of Chicago and for the past two years has been youth counselor and assistant director of the cooperative camp and small community at Circle Pines Center, Cleverdalo, Michigan. Mrs. Brown and her sons, Jerry and Stanley, will occupy the Straus cottage.
The Dreiers returned to the campus on August 1st after a year in Cambridge. On August 9th a daughter, Barbara Beate, was born in Asheville. She is the youngest member of the College community. Ted, Jr., returned to Putney School early in September; Eddie is here with his parents.
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 there. 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. Until they can find a home in Lexington, they will live at Transylvania Inn, 829 South Broadway.
Dr. Max Dehn has been granted a leave of absence for the first semester. He will teach graduate courses in mathematics at the University of Wisconsin. When he returns to Black Mountain College for the Spring Semester, he plans to bring Mrs. Dehn with him.
FEDERAL TEMPORARY HOUSING
The principal news about the federal temporary housing is that the housing is not here. It has been allotted, the contract has been let, the buildings (at the Maxton, North Carolina, Army Air Base) have been taken down ready for shipment.
But until it is here and up and ready for occupancy, we shall be badly crowded. 90 boarding students will be living in the Lodges and at Mrs. Arthur Patton’s in space that this summer accommodated 70. The Studies Building will be proportionately crowded.
Fortunately the inconvenience will be temporary. As soon as the temporary buildings are in use, students at Mrs. Patton’s will be returned to the campus and both the Studies Building and the Lodges will b less crowded than last year.
The interval of crowding could have in no way been avoided. The Government housing which was promised ready for occupancy by September 1st simply did not arrive. Our own share of the undertaking, preparation of the building sites, was completed weeks ago.
The contractor now promises to begin work within five days and to push it as fast as is humanly possible. He offers to give the College a share in seeing that this happens by using student workers on the job. The skilled work will be unionized; students will be accepted and welcomes for semi-skilled and common labor.
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Bascomb Allen- or Bas, as we all knew him- died on August 27th, without regaining consciousness, three days after being hit by a truck while crossing the street in the town of Black Mountain. He was 58 years old. Services were held at the First Baptist Church in Black Mountain on August 30th, and he was buried thereafter at the Mountain View Memorial Park. All those members of the College who were here and knew him went to the service, which was conducted by Reverand H.W. Baucum and Reverend Walter H. Styles. The pall bearers were Clyde Watkins, R.R. Viverette, Herbert Sanders, Lewis Harris, J.H. Stepp, and Theodore Dreier.
Bas Allen started with Black Mountain College when the College itself started, in September, 1933, and except during the summers when he was committed to work for Blue Ridge 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 and how to harvest an everything in between; he taught us how to fire our boilers, intall and repair our heating systems, plumbing, and electric 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.”
It would take too long to recall the many ways in which we knew and depended on Bas. But one of the pleasantest was on the mountain trips that we took. Often we went together over the Craggies, the Black Mountains, Mitchell, Yates’ Knob, Blue Ridge, Pinnacle, Green Knob, and so forth. Sometimes we would explore mountains where there were no trails or where the trails gave out. Then, when all hope of an adequate trail was gone, Bas would exclaim, “Well, boys, we’d better take to the open woods.” This usually meant crawling on one’s stomach to get under the dense laurel and rhododendron. “Taking to the open woods” became at one time a by-word for the toughest possible going as a result of such experiences.
A former student writes: “I have never known a more likeable, so deeply and thoroughly honest a man. I think some of the happiest hours of my life have been those spent in the words and the fields and fitting pipes under buildings with Bas.” There are many of us who would say this and for those of use who knew him well, the experience was a precious one.
COURSES OFFERED DURING FALL SEMESTER, 1946-1947
Note: All courses are half-year courses except those which are underlined. These are full-year courses. Students taking only one semester of a full-year course run the risk of receiving no recognition for this week except in particular instances where the instructor approves.
*An asterisk in front of a course name indicates that students must consult the instructor before enrolling.
Bolotowsky, Ilya Drawing Painting These two courses are open to both beginning and advanced students.
Corkran, David H. American Civilization including American literature and history of ideas.
*Foreign Policy of the U.S. since 1900 Principles and practices that have guided major decisions; factors in the current picture.
In 2nd semester probably a course in American government (state and national)
Dehn, Max On leave until 2nd semester when he will offer work in mathematics (including a geometry course especially suitable for art students if needed) and possibly philosophy.
Dreier, Theodore Mechanics and Mathematical Analysis All students interested in either physics or mathematics should come to the first meeting of the course, which is intended as preparation for either of 2 courses which it is hoped will be offered in the 2nd semester.
2nd semester: 1) Logic and the Philosophy of Science
2) Physics, especially Heat, Electricity, and Atomic Physics.
Hansgirg, Fritz Introduction to Theoretical Chemistry This course will include regular laboratory work. It will also include physics essential to understanding the modern theories of matter and energy.
Gregory, Mary Woodworking
Jalowetz, Johanna Voice Book Binding
Levi, Albert William Cultural History of the Greek World 5th century Athens including its social and economic structure, art and literature.
Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle A study of the 2 founders of the western tradition emphasizing their work in ethics and politics.
2nd semester: 1) Cultural History of the Medieval World 2) Medieval Philosophy
Courses Offered during Fall Semester, 1946-1947 (continued)
Lowinsky, Edward E. *Problems of Musical Form and Structure Gregorian chant to Bach *Counterpoint II A Capella Chorus *Piano *Ensemble
Malton, William Will not come until 2nd semester when he may offer work in French as well as in Dramatics
Mayer, Franziska Weaving I *Weaving II
Miller, Herbert A. Race Problems *World Today This is the weekly community newscast. Those students interested to make special studies of current events may register for this as a one-hour course.
Niebyl, Karl Historical Introduction to Present-Day Economic Analysis *International Economics 2nd Semester: *Analysis of the Internal Economy
Richards, M.C. Shakespeare Careful reading and discussion of selected works *Literacy Criticism Extensive readings in the tradition of “great critics” from Aristotle to T.S. Eliot; discussions of critical methods and experimentation in applied criticism.
Both of the above courses will include writing as part of the work. 2nd Semester: Writing
Rondthaler, Alice Shorthand Will cover Gregg theory and practice in one year.
Rondthaler, Theodore Elementary Latin For beginners. Equivalent to approximately two years of pre-college Latin.
Schlesinger, Charlotte Introduction to Music *Counterpoint I Harmony Chorus *Piano *Ensemble
Courses Offered during Fall Semester, 1946-47 (continued)
Wallen, John Human Relations An attempt to gain an increased understanding of and skill in meeting problems in human relations. We will work with human relations problems here we find them. Our attention will be focused on our own day-to-day experiences and not upon textbook material.
4 hours of class: 2 1-hour periods, 1 2-hour period. One afternoon of “laboratory” which will often consist of working together on new program.
Psychology of Social Issues The study of the psychological factors involved in such social issues as race relations, industrial relations, public opinion polling, bureaucracy, alcoholism, the occupation of Germany and Japan, world peace, and so forth. 4 hours of class: 4 1-hour periods.
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SUMMER ART INSTITUTE 1946 by Josef Albers
From July 2nd to August 27th we had our Third Summer Art Institute. Connected with it was a small Work Camp, and so the campus appeared very active. The results achieved may justify a belief that it was a successful summer.
In the spring when we prepared for the summer program, we were surprised to learn how well our Art Institute is already known. Though it has been held but twice before, we received around 100 inquiries previous to any formal announcement. Even though our publicity was little and late, our campus was filled to capacity with about 60 art students and 15 work campers. All art students, with the exception of 2 who came for only 4 weeks, were here for the whole 8 weeks’ session. This fact made less work for the administration and brought us a more selected group of students who came not with vacation thoughts in mind but with a plan to study seriously. So the work done was by the advice not to take more than three courses, and this resulted in more concentrated work.
Among the students were 3 architects, 4 teachers from colleges and art schools, and 3 “youngsters” from high school. The students came from far-away Canada, Nebraska, Florida, Texas, and many other places. We had 2 Negro students, 1 American-Japanese, and 1 Chinese. 17 of the student body were regular BMC students who remained for the summer session. These proved very helpful in introducing the new students to our community life. 10 of the summer students were GI’s.
The excellent working spirit and good results we had are the merit of the teachers who extended their inspiring lectures and advice outside of the classes by continuing their teaching in the dining hall and on the lawn as well as in the studies of the students. Our guest teachers were: Jean Varda of Monterey, California, and Jacob Lawrence of New York City, both giving painting courses for 8 weeks; Concetta Scaravaglione of Sarah Lawrence College and Leo Amino of New York City, each teaching sculpture for 4 weeks; Will Burtin, Art Director of FORTUNE, and Leonard Lionni, Art Director of N.W. Ayer and Son of Philadelphia, each giving courses in advertising art for 3 weeks; and Balcomb Greene of Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburg, who gave 4 lectures on the history of painting, and Beaumont Newhall of the Museum of Modern Art who gave 4 lectures on photography. Unfortunately the lectures scheduled for architecture by Walter Gropius of Harvard and John McAndrew of Wellesley College were canceled since these two architects were unable to come to us. Though this was quite disappointing, particularly for our architect students, they themselves arranged discussion groups on architecture with Harry Seidler and Peter Oberlander taking the initiative in talks on modern architecture and city planning.
Of the art faculty of Black Mountain College, Mary Gregory conducted a course in woodworking; Anni Albers taught textile design, assisted by Franziska Mayer; and Josef Albers gave courses in basic design and color with laboratory hours in the afternoon.
In addition to lectures in the evening, we had twice weekly short periods of dancing after dinner. During the summer there were constant exhibitions: paintings by Varda, Lawrence, and Albers; advertising by Burtin; sculpture by Amino; and a collection of The Container Corporation of America. During the last days there was an exhibit of students’ work. On Saturdays we had several times films from the Museum of Modern Art, and afterwards dancing. Everyone was pleased with our “band” which was composed of pianists Judd Woldin and Jimmy Tite (who also played trumpet) and Henry Jaeger, drummer. On Sunday evenings record concerts were arranged by Lore Kadden and Kendall Cox. Some of these were given on the lawn near the Round House. There were a number of parties and picnics and Wednesday afternoon community teas. On the last Saturday night there was a big Greek mythology part with Varda as the competent supervisor (conductor). A tremendous Trojan hourse on the Hansgirg lawn, opposite the dining hall entrance, announced the event several days ahead of time. A traditional BMC two-day interlude was announced to give time for preparations for the big event.
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Jean Varda and later Mrs. Jacob Lawrence gave instructions in dancing. Dr. Herbert A. Miller while he was at the College gave weekly news reports.
So, on the whole, we consider the Third Art Institute successful in work done and results achieved. We have acquired new ideas and viewpoints. We have made Black Mountain College and our community known to many more people. We have proved again that spiritual isolation does not exist anymore today, and also that physical isolation is necessary for creative work.
COMMENTS OF VISITING FACULTY AT THE SUMMER ART INSTTUTE
VARDA: “I have found at Black Mountain College what I dreamed of finding (but have not generally found) in America. Black Mountain College community is like a ship which uses to capacity everybody who goes aboard. The Captain asks you what you can do- splice rope, cook, navigate; everyone does whatever he can. Black Mountain College is like a ship sailing on a pilgrimage toward a purpose, toward some truth, toward the brotherhood of man. The ultimate quest of man is paradise- and Lake Eden is properly so called. Those have been two of the happiest months of my life.”
LIONNI: “The real test of a school is in how much students learn and teachers unlearn. At the end of the Summer Art Institute I had the feelings that the positions were at an even level, the only difference being that I can still catch more small mouth bass on a dryfly than can the students.”
LAWRENCE: “I enjoyed the summer very much. I feel that Black Mountain College is doing a very good job. I myself learned quite a bit.”
AMINO: “I enjoyed absolutely free contact with students as well as faculty amidst natural grandeur unsurpassed. Both experiences have given me the happiest month of my life. It is too bad that we cannot come to a place like Black Mountain College more often to renew ourselves in our creative work.”
BURTIN: “I think back with pleasure to the three weeks at Black Mountain College teaching and relaxing. The students were intelligent and eager, the atmosphere generally delightful.”
GREENE: “As is usual, when one’s contact is with such a subtle thing as an educational ‘system,’ the reactions become most complex. I do not know, however, at the moment of any school which, with comparable ideals, is doing so effective a job as Black Mountain is. This I say with haste to add that most schools do not operate with a very obvious regard for any thought-out ideals.”
NOTE
Several students took photos of locations and life at Black Mountain College. We would appreciate it very much if copies of these, valuable for publication or use in our archives, could be sent to Miss Hazel Larsen at the College. Mr. Albers wishes to remind you, too, of your promise to send him either negatives or contact prints of the shots taken from studies of the design and color classes, particularly duplicates of the kodachromes of color studies.
SUMMER WORK CAMP by Mary Gregory
Summer Work Camp proved of great help in keeping the necessary work going through June, July, August and early September. 14 members of the College Community stayed over for most of the time, one former student and the daughter of a former faculty member returned for part of the period, and two new young people joined the group. The work was carried on under the general direction of Molly Gregory.
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Besides doing routine chores such as hauling, mowing, table setting, and so forth, with cooperative help from students in the Art Institute, the Work Campers hoed 19 acres of field corn twice, planted corn and soy beans, cut shoots in the pasture, repaired fences, chased the roaming beef cattle back home, helped slaughter, and took in hay, etc. etc.
Specific achievements included general maintenance, painting the milk house, painting dining room porches, trim on lodges, fences, bathrooms, floors, and so forth. Sites for 4 temporary FHA houses were cleared and graded. Charles (Chuck) Forberg, here for the summer from Harvard Graduate School, engineered this mainly with the Hough leader. A bridge was built across the stream near the Studies Building in order to move in one of the temporary houses and a culvert was laid so asto bring back into Lake Eden the water from North Fork River. This has already improved the freshness and beauty of the lake. Students worked under carpenter Pearson Mundy on an addition to the dining room which will enlarge the store facilities. A big project in the late summer was the remodeling and enlargement of the farm house so as to accommodate two families.
The Work Campers were:
Neil Albright, Sidney Elkin, Francis Foster, Hannelore Hahn, Joan Couch Sihvonen, Jane King, Isaac Nakata, Joyce Perry, David Rosnik, Richard Sherman, Constance Spencer, Jean Stewart, Lucy Swift, James Tite, Judd Woldin
BUILDING PROGRAM by Theodore Dreier
Because of the mixup that occurred in our plans last June, a fairly comprehensive account of what has happened to date will be given so that all the community may be informed.
Work on the construction of a new dormitory, originally scheduled to start during the past summer, was postponed, along with the campaign for building funds, because of the strong preference indicated by the community in June for small rather than large dormitories.
In response to this preference, which unfortunately was only expressed after the other designs had been completed, the Board of Fellows reconsidered our policy and at its meeting on June 14th agreed to request the Architects’ Collaborative to consider designing, for construction in the fall, a small dormitory for a dozen girls.
Although it was naturally quite a shock to the architects to have the design thrown over which they had been asked to make, they were very understanding of the difficulties of maintaining continuity of policy in a democratic community which was in process of getting reorganized after the war. They therefore agreed to reconsider the whole problem if we would give them adequate information as a basis for planning and design in the hopes that repetition of such a fiasco can be avoided. It is important for us to recognize that such changes, made long after the proper time for consideration of changes has passed, are exceedingly expensive and may be demoralizing. There is not only the financial loss of several hundred dollars to be considered, which we can certainly ill afford. There is also the wasted effort that was made in good faith and the ensuing delay of at least 6 months and possibly a year in beginning to solve our housing problem and in getting underway with the building up of the College. These comments which could perhaps not have been avoided under the circumstances. Rather they are made in the hope that we will learn from this rather unfortunate experience and find ways to avoid letting it happen again.
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A program starting with a small rather than with a large dormitory necessitated not only a complete change in design but also a fundamental revision of the overall plan of development of the College. Thus a major change of policy was involved, a point whose implications were perhaps not fully appreciated last June. It proved impossible simply to superimpose the necessary number of small dormitories on the old plan as the zone allocated for dormitories was both too small and also much less suitable in character for a large number of small dormitories. Thus the whole question of zoning and particularly the brought up. The dream of last June that the architects night have building now therefore proved unrealizable. We were simply not prepared to give them the basic information which they required before they could start. After numerous preliminary discussions and correspondence during the summer, the Board of Fellows finally met with Walter Gropius, a member of the Architects’ Collaborative, when he visited the College at the end of August and worked out the following five points as an expression of the basic policy for the new plan which is to start with a small dormitory:
The first dormitory is to be small and is to be part of an overall plan for the development of the College.
This overall plan is to sufficiently flexible so that all dormitories to house ultimately 150 students may eventually be small if we wish them to be, though the final decisions of whether later ones will be large or small will only be made after experience with the first unit.
There are to be living quarters for one or more faculty members in connection with each dormitory unit or group of small units.
Social areas in the study area are to be expanded, and in connection with the faculty living space in or adjacent to each dormitory there is to be a living room for use of faculty and students.
The zoning which is to guide the long range building plan would include (a) one area which would be only for faculty members and their families and (b) areas which would allow for an arrangement including both student units and faculty living quarters.
The Architects’ Collaborative, TAC, are now starting work again and the following series of steps proposed by them has been approved by the Board:
Step 1 Now site plan studies for the whole College will be made. The studies will be based on (a) the requirements of the different parts of the College as outlined in the previous program; (b) the five points above; (c) a program for additional lounge and social areas to be developed adjacent to the Studies Building. This step will include site selection for the first dormitory unit and small-scale sketches of the dormitory. A new expense of $200 has been authorized for this step. Unless a trip down here should prove necessary, it is hoped that this step will be completed by about October first.
Step 1a After Step 1, when the site plan and dormitory sketches have been received here, all necessary criticisms preparatory to final preliminary drawings on the first dormitory unit are to be made. Please note that this is the time for criticisms- not later. TAC office will then modify the plans accordingly and submit them in the form of final preliminary drawings which will also furnish a suitable basis for publicity. An expenditure of $100 has been authorized for this step. Major changes made after this phase has been approved will be charged at $2.50 per hour.
Step 2 Working drawings and specifications will be made for the first unit. We have to supply the necessary topographical survey. After this step construction can start and will be under the general supervision of TAC. The fee for this step will be 5 per cent of the normal cost of the building less the $100 paid for in step 1a, but with possible additions for traveling expenses, and so forth.
