audio, directional speaker, floor signage
Advice from a Former Student is a new sound piece commissioned by Brown University for the new Stephen Robert '62 Campus Center at Faunce House, slated to reopen in fall 2010.
I graduated from Brown in '89, and also taught there in the art department from 2001-2004. As a student, there were many times when I was stuck in a situation--personally, academically, romantically, ethically, socially--and craved some input from another voice, even one simply to react against. Much more recently, I spontaneously asked a number of my friends to "Give me the best bit of advice they knew." The sixty-plus responses were both fascinating and useful. These two experiences have become the seed of this project.
If you were a student at Brown, you will remember Faunce House which is currently being renovated to become the new student center. At a site still to be finalized, a highly directional speaker will play a soundtrack of past alumni offering short pieces of advice, like someone talking directly to you. The final manifestation of the project will embody a few hundred different voices, with at least one person from each class, and enough advice that you'd be unlikely to hear the same voice twice. Advice from a Former Student might act like an oracle, or a wise older friend, but it might also sound like equally confused peer. Irreverence, sincerity and humor are all welcome here, and a range of temperaments and experience is important.
How to Get Involved:
Over Commencement and Reunion Weekend (May 28th-30th, 2010), I will be at Brown with a team of interviewers to record advice from alums. If you planning on attending and would like to participate, I AM CURRENTLY REGISTERING VOLUNTEERS. The interviews will be very short (15 minutes maximum) and conducted from a central campus location. All advice will be given anonymously, but you will be credited as part of a list of all alums who contributed advice. Your voice will become part of a public art work that will be part of the Brown campus for decades.
To register, or for more information, please email Advicefromaformerstudent@gmail.com. Be sure to mention your name and class year, and if you'd like, a short preview of the advice you might want to offer. Even if you are not attending commencement, there may be a way to include you. Please get in touch!
Click here for an audio sketch.
These voices were recorded over the phone, but for the project, interviews will be conducted in person. Some exceprts: "Don't alienate everybody. You can alienate most people, but don't alienate your best friend." "Take a foreign language: It really wakes up the power of English." And a story that starts, "Brown University was the site of all my early lessons in unrequited love..."
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Advice From a Former Student was selected and commissioned by The Public Art Committee, responsible for bringing works of art to the Brown campus for display in public spaces. The committee includes University President Ruth J. Simmons; Chancellor Emeritus Artemis Joukowsky; Jo-Ann Conklin, director, David Winton Bell Gallery; Robert Emlen, university curator and senior lecturer in American civilization; Richard Fishman, director of the Creative Arts Council and professor of visual arts; Susan Freedman '82, president of the Public Art Fund in New York; Stephen Maiorisi, vice president of facilities management; and Dietrich Neumann, professor of the history of art and architecture.
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