Spring Break
The Daily OrangeProfessor aims to help turn Syracuse into art powerhouse
By Nic Corbett
Posted: 9/8/06, 12:22 AM EST Section: Feature
Seeing the crumbling edifices of Europe's glorious past reminded artist Carrie Mae Weems of the once-thriving industrial cities of upstate New York.
"Once you start to see city after city after city that has fallen into historic ruin - that has actually been a ruin for 2,000 years - you start to understand that certain things don't come back," Weems said. "There is something called ruins, that people change, that populations move, that they abandon, that they move on."
The former College of Visual and Performing Arts artist-in-residence drew a parallel to Syracuse, noting how greatly the city has changed since the '50s and '60s.
"While we may lament it at our own moment, because it's sad to see something die, we also know that things don't always come back because we want them to, no matter how hard we work for them," Weems said. "I think that's a very interesting lesson. It's a lesson not only for Syracuse, it's a lesson for the United States."
Weems began her residency in spring 2005, working on her art and delivering lectures to Syracuse University students and community members, but her tenure was cut short when she was awarded the Rome Prize. The class she intended to teach that fall remained on hold until this semester.
The prize allowed her to participate in a fellowship for 11 months at the American Academy in Rome, where she studied the collapsing of states and building of empires and produced a film on Italian cinema.
Weems said Rome taught her how the arts could revitalize a city like Syracuse.
"(Rome is) in ruins but you can see Caravaggio, you can see Raphael, you can see a painting that will drop you to your knees," she said. "That's how powerful it is. And people from all over the world are coming to that place to see it. Well, can we convince people to come to Syracuse to see what we produce? Can we become that sort of artistic powerhouse that says there's a reason to come to the city because we're doing something important here?"
"Once you start to see city after city after city that has fallen into historic ruin - that has actually been a ruin for 2,000 years - you start to understand that certain things don't come back," Weems said. "There is something called ruins, that people change, that populations move, that they abandon, that they move on."
The former College of Visual and Performing Arts artist-in-residence drew a parallel to Syracuse, noting how greatly the city has changed since the '50s and '60s.
"While we may lament it at our own moment, because it's sad to see something die, we also know that things don't always come back because we want them to, no matter how hard we work for them," Weems said. "I think that's a very interesting lesson. It's a lesson not only for Syracuse, it's a lesson for the United States."
Weems began her residency in spring 2005, working on her art and delivering lectures to Syracuse University students and community members, but her tenure was cut short when she was awarded the Rome Prize. The class she intended to teach that fall remained on hold until this semester.
The prize allowed her to participate in a fellowship for 11 months at the American Academy in Rome, where she studied the collapsing of states and building of empires and produced a film on Italian cinema.
Weems said Rome taught her how the arts could revitalize a city like Syracuse.
"(Rome is) in ruins but you can see Caravaggio, you can see Raphael, you can see a painting that will drop you to your knees," she said. "That's how powerful it is. And people from all over the world are coming to that place to see it. Well, can we convince people to come to Syracuse to see what we produce? Can we become that sort of artistic powerhouse that says there's a reason to come to the city because we're doing something important here?"
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