To be within The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is to be within a spiritual place, an authentic place. An institution that is lovingly held in trust. A place that believes one of society’s prime social responsibilities is towards learning and education in the deepest sense. It’s a place that contributes to thought, free thought, thought that is exploratory thought, founded by Peter Cooper, a man with a vision that still sustains and maintains the spirit of place and cares for enlightenment.
I don’t think there are many things more important than being a teacher and being a student. That, to me, is the deepest social contract, to understand the idea that individual creativity within a willing community is a profound social act. The privilege of being teachers and students within this remarkable place—to be teachers in a place of spirit, to be teachers of spirit, and to be with spirited students.
All one can do is to celebrate one’s discipline.
—
John Hejduk.
Thanks, Casey Gollan!
