University of Virginia Library

Corks And Curls 1970

Annual 'Singularly Unimpressive'

By Peter Shea
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Corks & Curls, 1970, has arrived
and the University's 424-page yearbook
again proves that it is difficult
to provide a large University with
an exciting annual.

The editors of this year's edition
explain that C&C attempts "to
capture the flavor and personality"
of the preceding year, to "give a
picture of the University today."
Except for a few sections, however,
the attempt has been fruitless.

Without doubt, the best section
of the publication runs from the
front cover through the first 31
pages. After that the quality of the
yearbook falls off rapidly.

The front cover combines a
simple design of the Rotunda and
Lawn with a Spanish grain texture
and gives C&C an inviting appeal.
Following the format of last year's
annual, the first section is dedicated
to pictures of the University scene.

Photo Essay

A type of photo essay, this
section fulfills the editors promise
to capture the true personality of
the University. Using quotes from
some famous and some less well
known characters, the book admirable
describes the conditions
around Charlottesville which confront
the students at the University.

This casual photo section is the
sole part of the annual which holds
the readers interest during the first
reading; likewise, it is the only part
which need be looked at more than
once.

The following sections on Administrators
and Government are
singularly unimpressive, featuring
mostly bland, posed pictures.
Former Student Council President
Arthur Bud Ogle provides one of
the too rare breaks in the monotony
with his concise history of
student activism and outlook for
the future.

C&C attempts one of its few
innovations by printing the names
of the members of the honorary
societies superimposed over pictures
around the Grounds. The idea
works well for some of the pages
but many of the pictures printed
too light to produce the desired
effect.

Amateurish Trick

One of the problems facing the
editors of C&C is to add some meat
to the annual. The 1970 edition
tries to accomplish this in the
Athletic section by running summaries
of the action of the past
years and giving a rosy view of the
upcoming season. This amateurish
trick gives the section a high school
look and detracts sharply from the
success of the publication.

The sports pictures show an
extreme lack of either photographic
ability or imagination, or both.
Again, as in the Administration and
Government sections, the predominance
of posed shots results in a
fatal lack of life.

The Organizations section attempts
briefly to provide some
candid shots and offers good
descriptions of the major University
groups. However, the sheer volume
of faces and names, detailed in
unimaginative arrangements, finally
proves too overwhelming.

Not Bizarre

For the first time in a while, the
Fraternities section fails to offer
the usual bizarre which, if sometimes
macabre, at least add visual
interest. Instead, it provides unexceptional
casual pictures with photographically
inept forma shots.

A Dorms section was included
for the first time and must be rated
easily one of the best parts of the
book. Like the first part, it
successfully depicts student life,
bringing back the memory of what
horror really is.

'Bacchanalia'

"Bacchanalia," the party section,
offers nothing out of the
ordinary and is even less daring that
last year's version.

As mediocre as it was, the party
section provides the last segments
of interest in the annual. The
Schools portion drowns the reader
in a sea of faces, despite the casual
shots which appear between the
names. Unless you are a degree
candidate, the impulse is to jump
ahead.

Unfortunately, the only parts
left are the advertising section and
the lists of activities for the degree
candidates. The occasional candid
shot does not offer enough interest
to warrant even a brisk perusal.

Judging by the editors' self-expressed
goals, Corks & Curls falls
disappointingly short. Changes
must be made to avoid the same
difficulties in the future.

The photography of the yearbook
lacks imagination and quality.
The Fraternities section is ruined
by the number of pictures shot in
poor light, a problem which is
easily avoided. Trying to cut back
on expense, the staff apparently
used few professional photographers,
despite a paucity of
skilled amateurs.

The layout of the entire book
borrows heavily from those of
recent years and thus seems too
familiar. The failure to space copy
and pictures appropriately on the
pages detracts greatly from the
overall appearance. The resulting
surplus of white lets the reader
sweep through the pages without
grabbing his attention.

Typos

Printing errors were few but
glaring. The names of the brothers
of one fraternity were absent and
sports copy in the soccer section
was reprinted.

Besides the opening and Dorms
sections, the C&C's originality is
extremely limited. Several printing
techniques were tried, such as
developing through screens and the
use of non-black and white pages.
The use of color helps make the
first section, and the dividers
between sections, combining poignant
copy, novel pictures and gray
pages, are also outstanding.

The Corks and Curls faces many
problems which must be met before
the quality of the publication will
improve. The major obstacle is to
determine a way to provide a
yearbook that will satisfy all in a
large University while still being
interesting to the average reader.

Difficulties

An early printing deadline, a
lack of photographers, and too
many pictures of degree applicants
added up block much originality in
the C&C. Publishing a yearbook is
more difficult than one would
expect and next year's staff will
have to initiate major changes to
assure an improvement.

Perhaps the pictures of degree
applicants will have to be reduced
to take up less space, or maybe
even be eliminated entirely, to
avoid the normally dry section.
Some way must be found to
continue the informal format of the
first section throughout the entire
book and eliminate the rigid layout
which followed it this year. Or
maybe special insert sections will
have to be included to add spice to
the pages. Whatever the answer, it
better be found soon, for the sake
of the Corks and Curls and its
subscribers.