Text and photos by Miyls Bleu Hill.
On Friday, October 2nd, Carla Yanni, Professor and Rutgers Art History Department Chair, led us across the New Brunswick campus. Gathered at Old Queens, students from visual arts, design, and art history departments began to embark on a tour where some of us got to know our school better geographically, but ultimately where we all learned about the rich architectural history of Rutgers University.
The Observatory is our first stop, and it sets the pace. We gather close, ears tuned to Carla, and begin to see the campus as something built and layered rather than something we simply walk through. Then we make our way to the Geology Museum.
We stood in the geology museum, where my ears hung on every word by Carla. Through the windows, you hear the Rutgers marching band outside, almost in competition. A democratic wonder falls over so many adults in one room as they look through the cases at old specimens.
From there, we carry that wonder to the Gardner A. Sage Library. With multiple departments in one group. As we walked around exploring the beautiful and very quiet room I noticed each student fixated on something different, from the actual books to the space itself. Conversation follows with Carla in a whisper speaking of the architectural and somewhat political significance of the theological library.
When the library tour ends, we keep walking. Outside, Carla points to the tilework on the buildings around us, an ode to Rutgers’ long history with ceramic technology. For a group of artists, designers, and art historians, it feels like the right ending. The history of this campus is not only in the plans and facades, but in the materials themselves.
