Every March, approximately one quarter of the Princeton community seems to disappear. Seniors become a rare commodity as they slave away in Firestone, typing the last few pages (or for some, the first few words) of that Princeton trademark: the senior thesis.
Many Princeton students dread the entire process of thesis-writing and even try to deny the existence of such academic torture through procrastination and indirect terms such as "the T-word" or "that unpleasant graduation requirement."
Therefore, it's hard to imagine a student who would willingly sign up to do two. But a handful of especially busy seniors who are earning certificates in the visual arts and theater and dance programs are doing exactly that. Along with a written thesis, they are creating and exhibiting a painting or photography portfolio, writing and directing a theatrical production or choreographing and producing a dance recital.
"A large part of the time, you think you're insane," said Lispeth Nutt '06, who is earning a visual arts certificate in photography. "But if you do it, it's definitely because you really want to, not because you have to."
The certificate project is no small task. Many seniors said their projects were the culmination of years of work and study. And for some, meeting the deadline required as many as 30 hours a week toward the end of the process. This spring, the certificate students' hard work will be rewarded when they put the products of their efforts on display for the University community to see.
Nutt and two other photography students — seniors Michael White and Lauren Bush — opened a joint photography show March 28, at the Lucas Art Gallery at 185 Nassau St. The exhibit, which will be open until April 7, features three different rooms, one for each student photographer. Both the variety and quality of art on display are truly admirable.
White's exhibit, entitled "Entering the Landscape," contains large, vivid shots of landscapes from the Boston skyline at night to an aerial view of a public beach. White wrote in his artist's statement that the sentiment he hoped to capture with the collection was the relationship between a space and the reality of those who occupy it.
"It's not really purposeful, but you end up shooting the places where you are," White said. "All of these places have specific meaning to me."
Nutt also chose to work in landscapes, but approached them from a different angle. Her exhibit "Terrain" includes photos of a more abstract and rustic nature: intricate geological formations, vast prairies, sky and seascapes.
"They're studies, so by nature they're not supposed to be encapsulating," Nutt said of her work. "If anything, they're about making you slow down and look."
Bush's exhibit, "The Humanity of Hunger: Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Chad," diverges from the landscape theme. Her photos focus on the people she met while traveling around the world with the United Nations World Food Program over the past two years, what she calls in her artist's statement "the best learning experience of my life."
Though Bush was unavailable for comment, her photos speak for themselves. One in particular — a shot of a toddler in a hanging scale, the needle of which points to only eight kilograms — is enough to move one to tears. The photos show the full range of human emotion, from the terrible sadness in the eyes of an AIDS victim on his deathbed to the laughter of Sri Lankan women helping their community recover from the recent tsunami.
"Throughout my travels, my camera has been my trusty companion, allowing me to feel engaged with people and places that were so surreal and foreign at first glance," Bush wrote in her statement. "Though it has been a heartbreaking journey, I have come away from my travels with a stronger sense of humanity."
Prior to spring break, painting students Jennifer Rea '06 and Hans Plukas '06 each held individual four-day shows entitled "Oil & Fabric: Recent Paintings from Italy and Princeton" and "Painting: Parable," respectively.
Rea said composing her certificate exhibit, which involved experimenting with new media, was a learning experience — one that took her to Italy.
"I had to learn to be a bit more accepting and find ways to make things work," she said. "This was my first solo exhibition, so it was a great humbling experience to put all of my work up on a wall and ask people to look at it."
On the other end of campus from 185 Nassau, students in the program for theater and dance are hard at work in Berlind Theatre preparing for their senior certificate performances.
Seniors Lara Ionescu, Kristen Arnold, Mariah Steele and Silas Riener have been working since last fall on their nine-piece show that debuts this weekend. Each of the four students choreographed and directed two or three pieces of the show entirely on their own. For the first time in the students' undergraduate performance careers, the program professors did not see or hear a word of rehearsal until only a week before the show.
In addition to their own pieces, the dancers will appear together in a half-hour long modern piece entitled "Falling Awake," staged and originally choreographed by program director Rebecca Lazier. Described by Ionescu as "just really hard," the piece consists of a contrasting mix of long-held limb extensions and quick acrobatic movements, often involving unusual angles of the body. It demands extreme balance and strength as well as precision of movement.
Facial expressions and the interplay between dancers are also key, as is coordination across the quartet: timing ranges from perfect unison to approaching chaos. And Lazier runs rehearsal with perfection as her goal. Commands of "Inhale more there!" and "Head not so low" echo throughout the run-through. At the end of the piece, the dancers collapse on the floor, exhausted.
In addition to dancing in Lazier's piece and doing their own choreography, the four dancers are responsible for all the production components as well.
"That's the biggest thing: producing it!" said Ionescu. "Making the posters and the press releases, coordinating the lighting, the costumes — everything is up to us."
Arnold agreed the dancers were very much on their own, an autonomy that is a little unsettling. "The four of us just kind of convened on our own and made some decisions," she said.
As opening night approaches, the dancers say they're nervous but excited. "We want to have a big crowd to show how strong the dance program is," said Ionescu. "This is the first time they've trusted us with doing a performance in a professional theater entirely on our own."
If the rehearsal is even remotely indicative of the performance, the dancers are sure to impress.
While many of the students are relieved that the end of their creative processes are drawing near, almost all said they have greatly appreciated their experience in the arts programs at Princeton and are interested to see what the programs will produce in the future.
"We have a really strong freshman class," said Ionescu, who is full of confidence in the dance program. "I feel like we're leaving the department in good hands."
But for now, the seniors are ready for a break. And a return to their other theses.
"Tomorrow is going to be a big physics day," said White.
SENIOR THESIS PERFORMANCES:
VISUAL ARTS:
Jennifer Rea, "Oil & Fabric: Recent Paintings from Italy & Princeton," Lucas Art Gallery, March 7-10.
Hans Plukas, "Painting: Parable," Lucas Art Gallery, March 14-18, 2006-03-29.
Lauren Bush, Lispeth Nutt, Michael White. Senior Thesis Photography Show, March 28 – April 7, M-F 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (Free & open to the public)
THEATER:
"A New Play" Written & Directed by Ruby Xuequn Pan '06, With Sarah Adeyinka '06, April 28-29 & May 4-6, 2006, The Armory.
DANCE:
Senior Thesis Performance. Kristen Arnold, Lara Ionescu, Silas Riener & Mariah Steele, March 31-April 1, 2006, Berlind Theatre
Site Specific Senior Thesis Performance, Silas Riener, April 21-22, 2006, Chancellor Green.
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