Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Stephanie Koenig

-----Original Message-----
From: Stephanie Koenig [mailto:stephanie_a_koenig@yahoo.com]
Sent: Mon 9/17/2007 10:42 PM
To: Carole Brzozowski; Eric F Spina; Nancy Cantor
Cc: Jeffrey Joseph Hoone; Ann C Clarke; Joanna Spitzner; Astria Suparak; Samuel J. Van Aken; Lewis Colburn; Lewis Colburn; Arjan Zazueta; Jenny Marsh
Subject: RE: In support of the Warehouse Gallery

To all-
I feel that Astria's role on my thesis committeee has,
at least, gotten some attention. So, let me make my
point again.

I have absolutely no doubt that my thesis committee
without Astria will support and embrace me. That is
not my concern.j

I take issue with the unquestioned support of the
decision to remove her as gallery director and
curator. I do not understand it, and all of your
replies have not informed me satisfactorily. Please
refer to this link to understand the full amount of
community support Astria has. I have no choice but to
forward these emails to this blog. I only ask that
you, as administrators, publicly justify your actions.


http://syracuse-warehouse.blogspot.com/

Thank You
Stephanie


--- Carole Brzozowski wrote:

> Dear Stephanie,
>
> Let me echo what Dr. Spina has written to you. I
> suggest that you make an appointment to see
> Associate Dean Ann Clarke as soon as possible to
> discuss your committee and other concerns which
> pertain to the completion of your graduate degree.
> I'm glad to be a part of the discussion if
> necessary. Feel free to contact me directly.
>
> Dean Brzozowski
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: Eric F Spina
> Sent: Mon 9/17/2007 7:44 PM
> To: Nancy Cantor; 'Stephanie Koenig'
> Cc: Jeffrey Joseph Hoone; Carole Brzozowski; Ann C
> Clarke
> Subject: RE: In support of the Warehouse Gallery
>
>
>
> Dear Ms. Koenig:
> In response to the Chancellor's, I know that Dean
> Brzozowski and Associate Dean Clarke will work with
> you to ensure that your committee is properly
> constituted and supportive of you as you pursue your
> graduate degree. If there are any issues or
> concerns that arise, please let me know.
>
> Regards,
> Eric Spina
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------
> Eric F. Spina
> Vice Chancellor and Provost
> Syracuse University
> 500 Crouse-Hinds Hall
> 315-443-2494
> Fax: 315-443-1839
> http://provost.syr.edu
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nancy Cantor
> Sent: Monday, September 17, 2007 6:27 PM
> To: 'Stephanie Koenig'
> Cc: Jeffrey Joseph Hoone; Eric F Spina; Carole
> Brzozowski
> Subject: RE: In support of the Warehouse Gallery
>
>
> Dear Ms. Koenig,
>
> Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me about
> changes at the Warehouse Gallery. I have asked
> Jeffrey Hoone, executive director of the Coalition
> of Museum and Art Centers, to more fully respond to
> your concerns, as I trust his leadership, and this
> is a departmental personnel issue. I have copied
> him on this e-mail to facilitate his quick response
> to you.
>
> Also, I ask Provost Spina and Dean Brzozowski to
> respond to your concern about your committee.
>
> Nancy Cantor
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Stephanie Koenig
> [mailto: stephanie_a_koenig@yahoo.com]
> Sent: Monday, September 17, 2007 8:13 PM
> To: Jeffrey Joseph Hoone
> Cc: Nancy Cantor; Eric F Spina; Carole Brzozowski
> Subject: In support of the Warehouse Gallery
>
> To whom it may concern,
>
> I am writing in support of Astria Suparak. The
> recent
> decision to cancel the Yes Men exhibition and the
> possibility of the removal of Astria alarms me. The
>
> work she has done here has been invaluable to me as
> a
> graduate student. Her work has been pivotal in my
> understanding of the place of feminist discourse in
> the contemporary art world. By extension, this has
> helped me to understand my own place in the art
> world.
>
>
> I do not presume to understand why exactly this
> decision was made, but I can tell you how it will be
>
> perceived. Syracuse will have the reputation of a
> place of intolerance. We are already a city that
> does
> not have much culture. There isn't much here to
> draw
> anyone to visit, or to stay once a degree is earned.
>
> I say this bluntly because apparently this isn't
> evident. That someone as valuable as Astria would
> be
> dispensed with shows how little this is understood.
> Other repercussions seem obvious, what message does
> this send to the person to fill her position? What
> does this say to students, faculty and the community
>
> at large? It implies that this community cannot
> handle difference.
>
> In addition to these concerns, Astria is on my
> thesis
> committee. I have been looking forward to working
> with her. Without her input, I will miss out on an
> irreplaceable perspective.
>
> I ask that these decisions be reconsidered, for the
> community and for the university.
>
>
> Sincerely,
> Stephanie Koenig
>
> Graduate Student
> Sculpture, Studio Arts, VPA
> Syracuse University

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cantor's email is a form letter, I got the same one... I have a Hoone form letter too I'll post it later.

Anonymous said...

The letters are the standard organizational closing of ranks.

To summarize...

Jeff Hoone-- I made a decision and I'm the boss so that's that.

Nancy Cantor--I trust my Staff, at least the ones who we're not firing for no apparent reason.



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BACKGROUND

Syracuse has lost one its greatest assets. Astria Suparak, Inaugural Director of The Warehouse Gallery of Syracuse University, was removed from her position as of Sept. 30th, 2007, despite widespread support from community members, students, faculty, and the international art community. This decision was made unilaterally by Jeffrey Hoone, Executive Director of the Coalition of Museum and Art Centers (CMAC).

At the time of Suparak's dismissal, Hoone also canceled her forthcoming exhibitions, including "Keep It Slick: Infiltrating Capitalism with The Yes Men," due to open in November 2007.