While arts facilities at the College have remained a virtual still-life in the past several decades, recent construction and renovations may brush-up the big picture of arts at the College.
The Hood museum is currently undergoing renovations and Webster Hall will no longer serve as a medium-sized programming space now that it is undergoing renovations to become the Rauner Special Collections library.
But despite these changes, the backbone of arts facilities at the College, the Hopkins Center, is just as relevant today as it was when it first opened almost 35 years ago.
And although the College is losing one performance space, another one may be appearing.
Webster Hall is becoming the Rauner Special Collections Library. Alumni Hall, which is currently used for registration at the beginning of each term as well as other events, could fill this void for a medium-sized programming space.
Performance spaces
Dominantly situated on the south end of the Green, the Hopkins Center has been a fixture on campus since it opened in November 1962.
It required seven years of planning and construction and its architect, Wallace Harrison, went on to design Lincoln Center's Opera House, which bears a striking resemblance to the Hop.
At the Hop's opening, Former College President Ernest Martin Hopkins, for whom the center was named, said the Hop could eventually become the soul of the College.
Whether or not it is the soul, the Hop is certainly a vital part of the College.
Hopkins Center Director Lewis Crickard points to a night last February as an example of the Hop's facilities being used to their fullest. On this particular night, Mikhail Baryshnikov's White Oaks Dance troupe was performing in the Moore Theater, the drama department's "Private Lives" was in the Bentley Theater below the Hop's lobby, the film "Drunks" was screening in the Loew Auditorium and "Breaking the Waves" was playing in Spaulding Auditorium.
"We're really fortunate in that the College lets these venues be scheduled for arts events" before other activities, Crickard said.
The Moore Theater's schedule is planned in advance with the drama department, Crickard said. Visiting performing artists usually occupy it during the first few weeks of each term and the last week of Fall and Winter terms.
Since the Faulkner Recital Hall is governed by the music department and the Bentley Theater is used by the drama department, Crickard said "we would go to them for access."
The events themselves also play a part in deciding where they will be held.
"Dance is most appropriately put in the Moore because it has a sprung floor," Crickard said. Many seats in Spaulding do not offer views of dancers' feet on stage.
While the Moore is "really a theater facility," and Spaulding is designed more for concerts, "Bentley is one of the most versatile" performing spaces, Crickard said.
In addition to the theater spaces, the Hop has other areas that can be used for performance-related events.
"Top of the Hop is a wonderful facility for certain types of small performances and for late afternoon or late evening discussions and forums," Crickard said.
But, he said, there is no way to prevent noise from the lobby from filtering up, and the Top of the Hop cannot be used during productions in the Moore Theater.
Receptions are often held in the Faculty Lounge near Alumni Hall. Crickard called the Faculty Lounge "a really pleasant space that's really ready for a facelift."
Collis Center is also open for performances, like the Brave New Combo this summer, and Rollins Chapel is available, though Crickard said "a lot of thought" goes into which events are appropriate for the space.
Workshops
One of the College's best-kept secrets is its woodworking and jewelry workshops hidden in the basement of the Hop and the Davidson's Pottery Studio across the Connecticut River.
The workshops are most frequently used by beginners, who successfully create anything from engagement rings to CD racks after much practice and patience.
"We really cater to beginners," said Karen Williamson, who directs the pottery studio. "Ninety-eight percent of students haven't had any experience. I really encourage people to try it out and add something new to their lives."
Williamson said the pottery studio has a "cozy, relaxed atmosphere" in its little red brick building just across from the Ledyard Canoe Club.
"We're part of the student workshops -- we're outside of the arts curriculum," Williamson said. "It's really student-directed ... an informal teaching atmosphere."
About 85 students used the pottery studio Spring term, Williamson said, and around 30 students are using it this term.
All of the College's workshops are well-equipped with tools and instructors.
Using the studio's numerous pottery wheels and resources, students have made bowls, teapots and even entire table settings.
The jewelry shop has many workstations and tools, including kilns, casting equipment and burnishing and etching supplies.
The woodworking shop contains planers, sanders, saws and drills, along with hand tools that can perform all of the machine functions manually and many different types of wood.
Novices get one term of free use of the shops, although a onetime wood shop orientation session costs $5. After that, there is a per-term fee of $10 that covers all student workshops. Materials are purchased on a pay-as-you-go basis.
The workshops, though not a part of the curriculum, do support academic programs at the College, Williamson said. For instance, the jewelry shop has worked with students in the engineering department.
The Music Rooms
One of the College's more unique facilities is nestled behind Topliff residence hall, near the steam plant.
Hallgarten Hall is home to the Bregman Electro-Acoustic music studio, where graduates and undergraduates alike can experiment with computers and music.
"The electro-acoustic music program started 30 years ago and in 1967, Dartmouth made a commitment to put in an electric music studio," Music Department Chair Jon Appleton said.
"We don't make much of a distinction here between students who participate in music for credit and those who do so casually," Appleton said. "So someone might be a member of the Chamber Singers and just go to three rehearsals a week, or they might be doing a senior composition thesis in Hallgarten and be there 12 hours a day."
The first digital synthesizer was developed here, Appleton said, and former College President John Kemeny also helped develop music technology.
The College also has a number of music facilities in the Hop.
"There are a lot of practice rooms," Appleton said. "They're usually pretty booked most of the time, but I think if students make an effort, they can get in."
The Hop features rehearsal spaces and the Faulkner Recital Hall, which holds about 90 people.
Appleton said the loss of Webster Hall took away the space for music events too big for Faulkner, but not big enough for Spaulding.
"Of course everyone misses Webster," Crickard said.
"Conversations are under way now to see if it's possible to renovate Alumni Hall to extend its use as a concert venue," Crickard said. If that were to take place, he added, Alumni Hall would still be able to host the events it currently does.
Appleton said the music department is "stretched to capacity," in almost all its facilities. They offer instrumental lessons for credit and have to turn away students from every discipline but bassoon playing.
The Hood Museum
Although it is closed for renovations until fall, the Hood Museum of Art normally houses the College's art collection, as well as the area's biggest art collection.
"The museum has a mission both to serve the students and faculty of Dartmouth College -- that is really our top priority," Hood Director Timothy Rub said. "We also have a mission to serve the public of the Upper Valley, since we're the only art museum of any size within a 75-mile radius of Hanover."
The Hood Museum rotates pieces of art in its collection into different exhibits each term. Rub said there are usually one to three exhibits per term.
"We have, in my opinion, pretty good student attendance," Rub said, though "I'd like them to know more about it and obviously use it more."
Rub said the Hood is about to implement a new marketing plan which will inform students about displays through BlitzMail and mailed calendars.
In addition to the rotating displays, Rub said some popular works "will always remain on display," such as the Assyrian reliefs and a work by abstract expressionist Mark Rothko.
Between six and eight thousand visitors a year stop by the exhibition gallery, Rub said, while about 2,000, mostly students, visit for research purposes.
The Hood will reopen September 15 with an exhibition of 18th century French painting. Rub called the Hood "a really sympathetic place to show art."
A majority of the museum's collection comes from donated gifts, Rub said, although in the past several years, acquisitions through purchase have increased.
The Hood maintains other works of art on campus, such as Jose Clemente Orozco's colorful mural "The Epic of America" in the Baker Library Reserve Corridor.
"We are the stewards of that material as well," Rub said. "That's an important responsibility."
Orozco painted his famous murals while he was at the College between 1932 and 1934, under the stewardship of Hopkins.
Orozco had originally come to paint a smaller fresco panel, but when he saw the bare walls of the Reserve Corridor he reportedly declared, "These are the walls for my best mural, my 'Epic of America.'"
The Hood is also responsible for works like Beverly Pepper's "Thel," the white steel structure in the ground in front of the Fairchild Science Center, and Mark DiSuvero's "X-Delta," the wood and steel swing-like piece behind the Hood.
The Loew Auditorium, which serves as both a classroom and a movie theater, is located within the Hood, though most of its programming goes through the Dartmouth Film Society and Film Studies department.
