Circa '69 Curator's Statement

Curator's Statement

I just wanted to hold a reunion, that's all. The exhibition "EMU - circa '69," followed naturally.

King Calkins was Department Chair in the late 60's when we were all there.

Richard Fairfield had set me in a most positive direction; because of him, I was exhibiting in National Juried Print Exhibitions as an undergraduate student.

One day, probably in 1968, I was printing a lithograph when all of a sudden a young man dressed in brilliant blue slacks and an orange tweed sport coat showed up out of nowhere. He was quick. "Hi, my name is Jay Yager, I'm interviewing for a faculty position."

"Go to Bennington College in Vermont. Kenneth Noland goes there some times;" this was Roger Mayer's advice. I wrote and ask for their Graduate Catalog; a few weeks later I saw Roger in the hallway in Sill Hall. "Roger," I said, "Bennington College doesn't have a Graduate Program." Roger replied, "That doesn't matter, Kenneth Noland goes there some times."

Lynne Cohen was at EMU making intaglio prints, I don't know when she and Andrew Lugg married, but he was at the U of M studying philosophy and they lived in an apartment above Schlenker's Hardware in Ann Arbor. One day Andrew showed me one of the books he was studying - Ludwig Wittgenstein's Tactatus-Logico-Philosophicus. I think he knew two things about me: one that I would be interested in the book , and two, that at the time, I was distant from it.

It seemed that Tom Sherman and I continually battled over who would win the Annual Student Show in Sill Hall. In retrospect, I don't know that it mattered, however, Andrea Joseph playing her guitar and singing folk songs did matter. Just prior to my move to Bloomington, IN, Sherman asked, "Have you heard of this new band, The Allman Brothers?" I hadn't, but I made a cassette tape from vinyl last week that included a few cuts from Greg's "Laid Back" album.

Bob Chew invited me into his studio one day; he showed me the vacuum table he had made. "I drilled 28,000 holes in this piece of masonite," he told me. Printmakers do such things and I'm quite certain that 28,000 was the number.

I returned to Michigan in 1971, Another new faculty member had arrived - John Orentlicher. He was my introduction to not just Performance Art, but to art - as art. I was fortunate to have been the tractor driver in John's "Plow, Drag, Skid," the film that Andrew made. Of course, it was my tractor and barnyard, nonetheless, I was fortunate.

Memories will continue to surface, more than enough to bore the reader. It was an incredible time and it was an incredible cast of characters in and around EMU.

I thank each of them, and a special thank you to Jay Yager for this 'on-line' catalog. The idea was his and he designed and constructed it.

Tom Adair
Richmond, August 31, 2005

		Curator's Statement I just wanted to hold a reunion, that's all. The exhibition "EMU - circa '69," followed naturally. King Calkins was Department Chair in the late 60's when we were all there. Richard Fairfield had set me in a most positive direction; because of him, I was exhibiting in National Juried Print Exhibitions as an undergraduate student. One day, probably in 1968, I was printing a lithograph when all of a sudden a young man dressed in brilliant blue slacks and an orange tweed sport coat showed up out of nowhere. He was quick. "Hi, my name is Jay Yager, I'm interviewing for a faculty position." "Go to Bennington College in Vermont. Kenneth Noland goes there some times;" this was Roger Mayer's advice. I wrote and ask for their Graduate Catalog; a few weeks later I saw Roger in the hallway in Sill Hall. "Roger," I said, "Bennington College doesn't have a Graduate Program." Roger replied, "That doesn't matter, Kenneth Noland goes there some times." Lynne Cohen was at EMU making intaglio prints, I don't know when she and Andrew Lugg married, but he was at the U of M studying philosophy and they lived in an apartment above Schlenker's Hardware in Ann Arbor. One day Andrew showed me one of the books he was studying - Ludwig Wittgenstein's Tactatus-Logico-Philosophicus. I think he knew two things about me: one that I would be interested in the book , and two, that at the time, I was distant from it. It seemed that Tom Sherman and I continually battled over who would win the Annual Student Show in Sill Hall. In retrospect, I don't know that it mattered, however, Andrea Joseph playing her guitar and singing folk songs did matter. Just prior to my move to Bloomington, IN, Sherman asked, "Have you heard of this new band, The Allman Brothers?" I hadn't, but I made a cassette tape from vinyl last week that included a few cuts from Greg's "Laid Back" album. Bob Chew invited me into his studio one day; he showed me the vacuum table he had made. "I drilled 28,000 holes in this piece of masonite," he told me. Printmakers do such things and I'm quite certain that 28,000 was the number. I returned to Michigan in 1971, Another new faculty member had arrived - John Orentlicher. He was my introduction to not just Performance Art, but to art - as art. I was fortunate to have been the tractor driver in John's "Plow, Drag, Skid," the film that Andrew made. Of course, it was my tractor and barnyard, nonetheless, I was fortunate. Memories will continue to surface, more than enough to bore the reader. It was an incredible time and it was an incredible cast of characters in and around EMU. I thank each of them, and a special thank you to Jay Yager for this 'on-line' catalog. The idea was his and he designed and constructed it. Tom Adair Richmond, August 31, 2005