Vassar Sukkot Project 5772 builds on Community's Common Ground

MISCELLANY NEWS
By Rachael Borné

Studio art majors gather material for the roof of a sukkah, while Noah Lourie-Mosher ’12 saws wood for the construction.

NEW YORK - This year, in honor of the sesquicentennial, five studio art majors have worked on an independent study entitled The Vassar Sukkot Project 5772, a reference to the Hebrew New Year. The group was commissioned to construct and design two large-scale sukkot for students, faculty and members of the Poughkeepsie community to use. One will stand between the All Campus Dining Center and Lathrop on the open grassy lawn and the other near the College Center, right outside of the Aula. Since the end of last fall, the artists have worked in collaboration with the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life and the Vassar Jewish Union to develop a design that not only abides by the confines of traditional sukkah parameters, but also serves as an aesthetically innovative approach to the traditional structure. [link]