“The building is special not only because it is unique but because it is an art building,” Rodowick said. “It was meant to be an artistic capstone to his career.”
But when Mouris first toured Harvard’s campus, he said he that—despite the building’s status as a Le Corbusier original—the Carpenter Center looked like “a fat concrete wedge.”
But Talisman said that the rejection of the Carpenter Center was a hesitation to changing architectural styles.
“I thought that the whole thing was amusing, honestly. These protests were little more than half-baked discussions about shifting architectural norms,” Talisman said.
The building’s design also allowed some students to use the structure for unorthodox purposes.
“People would drive their Volkswagons off of the ramps for fun some days. We had some exciting times at the Carpenter Center after hours,” Mouris said.
Despite any disliked the building’s aesthetic, Mouris explained that the cause to create a space for artists “was so hard fought,” the building’s appearance “didn’t matter.”
FORM INFORMING CONTENT
Harvard’s art curriculum slowly began to change with the addition of the Carpenter Center, culminating in the creation of the Visual and Environmental Studies Department in 1968. The space allowed for the creation of more studio classes as well a gallery for student art.
“The Carpenter Center was always meant to be an exhibition space. We feature work by students, faculty, and visiting artists on a regular basement in our galleries,” Rodowick said.
The building itself was a momentous step in the evolution of student art at Harvard.
“There exists a spark deep inside students, and it is the College’s duty to ennoble and enlarge this spark. Art should never ever be suppressed by necessity or space constraints,” Talisman said.
The program expanded with time in order to accommodate digital media, and students were eventually showcasing both live-action and animated films. Mouris would go on from the Graduate School of Design architecture program offered jointly with the Carpenter Center to teach animation to future Visual and Environmental Studies students and win an Oscar for his animated short “Frank Film”.
“I owe all of that to the Carpenter Center. It changed my life,” Mouris said.
—Staff writer Charlotte D. Smith can be reached at charlottesmith@college.harvard.edu.