To the Editor:
Mysterious as I find the claim from Charlie Clark '11 that the arts presented at Dartmouth are of no interest to the "cultural mainstream" ("Art for Our Sake," May 10), it is easier to understand his personal disinterest. Clark evidences no curiosity about how art addresses the culture in which it is made or seeks to expand upon what has already been done. His hostility to the unfamiliar parallels John Ruskin's accusation that Whistler was a "willful imposter flinging a pot of paint in the public's face."
Clark says we "might expect the arts to consistently pursue forms of excellence such as beauty, realism or narrative " Is he not aware that the arts still do exactly that, and more? We can enjoy traditional forms of art while broadening our experience with new ones. We can think of change as an addition rather than a corruption. A glance in any of our studios would show that students are grounded in traditional practice while seeking their own form of expression. En route to his mailbox, surely Clark has seen the wide range of work in our halls and galleries. The house of art has many rooms, with new doors always opening and few permanently closed.
I cordially invite Clark (and the whole Dartmouth community) to the Jaffe-Friede and Straus Galleries in the Hopkins Center to see our senior majors' exhibition, which opened this week. We hope that all viewers will take time to experience the work and appreciate the invention, exploration, talent, complexity, wit, refinement and pure exuberance of spirit evidenced in this lively sampling of just one of the arts at Dartmouth.
