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December 2, 2016.
VOL. XVIII NO. 4 "Light" (the Sculptor) and Much Veritas To comment, use our comments board by clicking here ART All The Light You Might Be Glad to See More Of Wit, too. Rick Light adds the insights of his sculptures (below, and click for more) to public spaces, museums and private collections. His work is in National Gallery of Art in Washington and collections from Paris to Kalamazoo, including those of Presidents Carter, Clinton and Reagan. He is now at work on a portrait of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish businessman and humanitarian who saved thousands of Jews in Hungary during World War II. Click on each image here to enlarge it and read more. Then use the Return to Yale '62 link to come back. As one critic wrote about his Women of Industry series, "the combination of solidity and sensitivity... is terrific."
Comment here. Return to top of page. POLITICS Is Our World Welcoming Walls? Watch Out for Groundswells Here's the famous, or infamous, separation barrier that Israel built to wall off the West Bank. Is it a model for more border barriers between the US and Mexico? And for the hedges that increasingly immure the mansions that used to be visible from the streets in my town of East Hampton, NY? Welcome to our neighborhoods. Next: back to moats and portcullises? Or to acknowledging Robert Frost: "Something there is that doesn't love a wall,/ That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it...."? (These photos were taken by Dave Hummel's wife, Cindy, on the couple's most recent tour. Of the 195 sovereign countries in the UN, they've now hit 151, or 77 percent. This fall it was Andorra, Cypress, Luxembourg and Israel.) 
Comment here. Return to top of page. GOVERNMENT A Caution for Trump  In a November 20 New York Times article on Donald Trump's potential for "putting the brakes on climate programs"...William K. Reilly, a Republican who was E.P.A. administrator under President George Bush, said Mr. Trump needed to be careful about whom he picked for the top jobs in each department. He cited the Reagan administration's experience with Anne Gorsuch, who incurred the wrath of politicians of both parties when, as administrator of the E.P.A., she cut the agency's budget by more than 20 percent, gutting research and regulatory enforcement. She resigned under fire in 1983 in the midst of accusations that she had mismanaged a hazardous waste cleanup program. "The administration got badly burned by discounting the sensitivities and public support for what the E.P.A. protects us from," Mr. Reilly said. "It's a public health agency above all." Comment here. Return to top of page. NETWORKING Reune in June? Hear This Tune We have "more yesterdays than tomorrows," as Bill Clinton once said about himself. That gives us every reason to celebrate our "now," and to enjoy and reflect on both our pasts and our futures, ideally with companions whom we know in advance are smart and thoughtful. In other words, at our 55th class reunion June 1-4 in New Haven. Some classmates will arrive trailing quiet, private achievements; others, louder public ones. Disappointments, too. Still, our early days together will have created a reassuring basis for mutual trust. We can build on that to have fun, enjoy old memories, stir new reflections, and if we want, tap new vibes from the lively present-day Yale campus. Hotel rush. The theme is "Reconnect, Reflect, and Renew." We'll be headquartered in Jonathan Edwards. Our reunion "tri-chairs," as they call themselves, tell us:
Think about it: the odds are that in this group, as opposed to everyday life, each additional person will add something worthwhile. Mellow yesterdays and good tomorrows are not a bad promise. Do give it some thought. Comment here. Return to top of page. TIME AND SEX "Women Then and Now"  Fred Appell mused in October on sex, nude sculpture, and illusion during a recent trip to Spain: This photo was taken from a rubber-neck bus tour of Barcelona. The age of the sculptural figures is unknown to me, but my guess is pre-war, the Great War, that is. I lament that we have somehow as a culture forgotten to celebrate that the creation of humans includes the joyful gift of sexuality which is fundamental to our beings, and much, much more than what is now known as recreational sex. Who knows for how much longer the Beaux Arts tradition in the arts will survive. Certainly, figurative sculpture is dead in the US and existing examples are "politically incorrect." I've noticed the politically safe replacements for public sculpture seem to be boulders (sometimes wrapped in steel rods or cables so we know they are art). Comment here. Return to top of page. HOSPITALITY Sprinting Toward the Finn-ish Immigrants, and a thousand blue and white chairs Heated by aircraft engines in a tent, "the world's largest sauna" was offered in 1996 at that year's annual Finnish-American gathering, or "Finn Fest." Hundreds of the 6500 registrants sat on benches soaking in the heat, and the local fire department provided the requisite cooling shower from the top of a ladder! The experiences of the thousands of Finns who emigrated to the United States after 1880 and their descendants are an "illuminating foil" for current immigrants and our apparently-declining confidence that we can absorb and assimilate them, says Jon Saari, a third-generation Finnish American.  His ideas are worth knowing in 2017, the 100th anniversary of Finland's independence from Russia. You can find short excerpts from Jon's recent essay on Finnish-Americans here, including the role played by over a thousand chairs painted the blue and white colors of the Finnish flag. Click here. STATE OF THE CAMPUS Finkle Finds his Accent Chakra On Momentarily-Despondent Campus By David Finkle Ed note: David, our class representative to the Association of Yale Alumni (AYA), seemed stimulated by today's campus, as seen through his participation in the annual AYA Assembly. Here's his report:  Not unlike AYA Assembly LXXV, which unspooled on a campus nervously quiet after severe racial protests, AYA Assembly LXXVI unfolded on a campus still nervously quiet, yet autumnally beautiful, after an election that had clearly rocked the community. As returning alumni roamed around, identity badges drooping from their necks on blue lanyards, they passed multiple outside bulletin boards covered with signs declaring "You Matter," "Stronger Together," "You Are Loved." On the pavements leading across the Sterling Memorial Library green, more admonitions had been scrawled in pastel chalks. They exhorted, "Keep Breathing," "You Matter," "Be Resilient," "Keep Fighting," "We Are Significant" and more in the frightened, defiant mode.... Click here for the accent chakra, other recent developments, and the arts. NECROLOGY We report with sorrow the deaths of Don Bagley, Gus Hedlund and Klaus Kertess. Obituaries will be posted on this site in due course. NOTIFYING CLASSMATES OF SERVICES If you would like classmates to be notified about your funeral or memorial activities, if we get the information in time the Class of 1962 will send information to the names on our class email list. Please ask those who will be in charge to send the details to Bob Oliver at oliver@moglaw.com, 203-624-5111, and for backup to John Stewart, Co-Corresponding Secretary, at johnhargerstewart@gmail.com, 845-789-1407. We will not send out information unless someone makes this request. |
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