{"id":8095,"date":"2022-05-26T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-26T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=8095"},"modified":"2022-08-01T16:42:37","modified_gmt":"2022-08-01T20:42:37","slug":"mortarboard-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/mortarboard-art\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mortarboard: Canvas for Self-Expression"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Big Red graduates have long festooned their caps with personal messages, political statements, artistic decorations, and more<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Joe Wilensky<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Measuring just over nine inches square, the graduation cap\u2014also known as a mortarboard\u2014has for decades been used as a miniature canvas for self-expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"a
The cap d\u00e9cor can be meaningful\u2014or simply whimsical. (Photo by Cornell University)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n

Often, they\u2019re simple: hand-lettered, masking-tape missives comprising Greek letters, inside jokes, or call-outs to friends and family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They can be provocative\u2014in the form of political statements, philosophical musings, even wry commentary on the cost of a college education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most artistic and\/or ambitious grads create elaborate, three-dimensional sculptures that defy gravity atop the wearer\u2019s cranium.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen many creative designs over the years\u2014many sparkly designs; words thanking family members or asking for money or jobs; detailed, intricate 3D objects,\u201d says Connie Mabry, who has directed the Office of University Commencement Events since 1989. \u201cThey\u2019re truly masterful art pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The graduation cap itself dates back centuries. The mortarboard, paired with gown, originated in Europe around the 15th century\u2014having evolved from the \u201cbiretta,\u201d a peaked, tufted cap worn by Catholic clergy and scholars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019re truly masterful art pieces.<\/p>Connie Mabry<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

On the Hill, bedecking one\u2019s mortarboard has been officially sanctioned for years; decorating sessions, complete with supplies, are even held during Senior Week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But overall, the phenomenon is relatively recent\u2014and as longtime faculty member Glenn Altschuler, PhD \u201976, observes, for about the University\u2019s first century, graduation on the Hill was a buttoned-down affair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"collage
Mortarboards can reflect a grad’s studies, passions, or Big Red spirit. (Photos by Cornell University)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCommencements at Cornell, and other colleges and universities, were almost always staid and scripted,\u201d says Altschuler, the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy the 1960s\u2014in response to the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and critiques of corporatization and \u2018outer-directed\u2019 Americans\u2014students began to incorporate, display, and celebrate individual and group identity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the 1960s, students began to incorporate, display, and celebrate individual and group identity.<\/p>Glenn Altschuler, PhD \u201976<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Across the country, dress codes began to loosen\u2014and that extended to commencement ceremonies. The first mortarboard decoration to appear with regularity was likely the peace sign, created with tape to protest the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1970, a \u201ccommittee of concerned seniors\u201d at Cornell organized a concerted effort to eschew graduation regalia altogether. Ultimately, the University chose not to enforce a dress code. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while the vast majority of marchers opted for traditional garb, the door had opened to evolving interpretations of graduation fashion\u2014and the mortarboard became an outlet for personalization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Scroll down for a gallery of mortarboard art from Commencements past! (All photos by Cornell University)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"a<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"mortarboard<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"decorated<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Top image: A mortarboard<\/em><\/em> collage. (Photos by Cornell University)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published May 26, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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