SWEENEY ARTS DAY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE NOVEMBER 11, 2002
Founded in 1963, the UCR Sweeney Art Gallery serves the campus and the community through temporary exhibitions and a small but growing collection. Chancellor Córdova took part in the annual celebration of the gallery. More than 2000 years ago, the physician Hippocrates said: Ars Longa, Vita Brevis - Art (is) Long, Life (is) Short Today we celebrate the long life of art. Art is something that not only artists do, but physicians and physicists do as well, each in a different way. In fact, Einstein said: I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. On behalf of the university, let me welcome you to Sweeney Arts Day, a day in which we celebrate the imagination. This day was made possible by the generous gift of two very special friends of our campus, Jack and Marilyn Sweeney. They established this day, which has now become a UCR tradition, four years ago. The Sweeneys wanted to make the arts a central focus at UCR. And they wanted to honor students who care about the arts and who have the talent to become the next generation of artists. Here is what Pablo Picasso said about his youth: “My mother said to me, 'If you become a soldier, you'll be a general; if you become a monk, you'll end up as the pope.' Instead, I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.” Picasso later said: Every child is an artist, the problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. Today, because of the Sweeneys, we don’t have to grow up too quickly. We can enjoy the youth, the timelessness of art. For, as dancer Martha Graham said, “No artists is ahead of his time. He is in his time. It is just that the others are behind the time.” Please join me in thanking the Sweeneys for their commitment to the arts, and to UCR’s celebration of the arts. [other stuff goes here] UCR ranks among the fastest rising public research universities in the nation, and was rated first among public research institutions for per capita faculty productivity. The arts and humanities are something near and dear to my heart. I began my university career as an English major and wrote a small book based on my experiences living abroad. I wrote articles for newspapers and magazines and to this day, although most of the literature I study is scientific literature, I still save time for poetry, for inspiration.
U.S. novelist Katherine Anne Porter said: “Human life itself may be almost pure chaos, but the work of the artist is take these handfuls of confusion and disparate things, things that seem to irreconcilable, and put them together in a frame to give them some kind of shape and meaning.” My favorite definition of good writing can also be applied to good art. It is from Harold Bloom of Yale, who when asked, what makes good writing said, “that which surprises well.” I hope you enjoy yourselves today, on Sweeney Arts Day. I’ve quoted a few physicists, poets, dancers, and writers in my welcome today, but my favorite quote is from a comedian, Tony Follari, who said: Art is just a pigment of your imagination. UCR is a university with an international reputation in the arts. We are working with the city, with local schools, colleges and universities, to develop an arts center and arts school in the heart of Riverside. I invite you to learn more about UCR and hope you will get in touch with us if you have questions about our admissions requirements. We are looking forward to your day with us, and your return to our campus.