RISD's Commencement Speech Class 2022 (5th draft)

PROVOS KLEINMAN: Julius Cavira grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He took free art classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), where he later earned his Bachelor’s of Fine Art. After two tours to Iraq, he was honorably discharged from the US Army. His work in the Sculpture MFA program—which recently earned him a prestigious St. Botolph Emerging Artist Award—translates his experiences with the military, religion, and identity into potent, poignant forms. 

JULIUS CAVIRA: Thank you for the kind introduction, PROVOS Kleinman.  How about that folks, the very pillars of this institution sitting among us right before our eyes. Thank you for being here with us today! Let’s be nice to them! They could've mailed our diplomas! Seriously, it’s amazing to be here together today, after two years without graduation ceremonies. But this made the pressure that much greater as I considered possible topics as your grad student speaker.

First, I thought I could talk about the twisted apocalyptic thriller of our world today: natural disasters, polar political strife, incorrigible conspiracists, technological advancements that bind us to blinking screens and stealthy digital voyeurism, capitalist subliminal messaging draining our bank account apps; war-torn lands, bloodstained pavements, the hungry, neglected foster kids, the lonely elderly, the forgotten disabled. and the rest of us with the company of death that we call a Pandemic.

 

But that’s no fun. Then, I considered talking about Unicorns. That's right! UNICORNS! You know, the white one-horned mythical horse. In such trying times, is it wrong to think that a unicorn could appear, bringing hope and good cheer? Like an oasis in the desert.

 

But that’s too fun. So, I landed with writing a letter to my 3rd-grade art teacher, Mr. Yanna. It’s the early 90s, north side of Chicago.  I was a little hellion who climbed rooftops and signed my name across brick walls while looking upon sunrises and sunsets that blanketed our monolithic metropolis. One afternoon, Mr. Yanna found me outside the school, literally on the ground, broken after a little mischievous mishap. That was the beginning.

 

Dear Mr. Yanna,

My name is Julius Cavira, I can't imagine you would remember me, but you were my very first art teacher! From the bottom of my heart, thank you. You were the first to see an artist inside a frail, short child with glasses and a learning disability. To you, I wasn’t just another troubled kid from a single-parent household. I was an artist.

Under your wing, I felt I could do no wrong and had nothing to lose. Art was my only frontier. Through it, I wrestled with the nuances of identity complexes, culture clashes, and ethnic stigmas. Visual narratives invigorated my curiosity. The masterpieces you showed us were a welcome escape from the monotony of tedious tasks at school. Hours, days, and weeks flew by while I saw art, made art, and met its presence head-on, forgiving my tendencies toward self-doubt.

Suffice to say, you made the biggest difference in my life, and your influence lasted. I didn’t want to let your support go to waste. Together, we won competitions that got me free summer art classes year after year. I vowed to live out that potential you saw in me, even when life got hard.

As an undergraduate at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, I remember one day I had to pause to collect my thoughts. The immensity of financial, educational, and personal strains was almost impossible. But I had a promise to keep to you, and nothing.  else. mattered. 

I wanted to see in the mirror the virtuoso you saw looking back at me. So, I kept trying. And while trying, I practiced. The practice made me skilled but I still didn’t feel that I had made art. the kind of art that probes the mind and engages with its viewers, leaving them changed.

So, for twenty years, I tried and failed at other things. First, I was canned as a summer camp leader, then fired from a cashier job. My night owl roadie position was given away. My custodian job was too laborious. I was laid off as a stage technician, my contract was up with AmeriCorps, and I was medically discharged as a US Army Soldier. 

 

There is an old, wise saying:

 

“Failure should be…

 our teacher, not our undertaker. 

Failure is a delay, not defeat. 

It is a temporary detour, not a dead end.”

 

For me, this really is true. In 2020, I came to RISD as a graduate student in Sculpture, and after two years, I finally feel right in my skin when I say I am the very thing that eluded me all these years, a true conceptual artist. Luckily, RISD has evolved alongside me. Today, we see a proud art school appoint its first Black President and usher in new hires focusing on race and identity. We see an art museum trailblaze the path to purchase underrepresented artists and research those who are missing from euro-centric encyclopedias.

With all this change, I can foresee my own chance in the art world. Mr. Yanna, it's been a helluva time since 3rd grade. Maybe you only meant to inspire a street kid to stay out of trouble, but you did so much more. Today is a sweet and momentous day as I stand among my peers graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design.

 

From the bottom of my heart, thank you, wherever you are.

 

Sincerely,  Julius Cavira

 

Thank you.

 

But let’s get back to those Unicorns!  You might say it would take a miracle to solve the predictable and unpredictable tragedies that fall on our doorstep every sobering morning. But what we really need are Unicorns— VISIONARIES! 

 

You know, that ideas person who won’t speak up or shut up! That lonely loony-toon wallflower concocting their next revelation in the back corner. Where is that creature of the night? Or the self-driven early bird? Where do we find that character?

 

Look around, look within you—the search is over. 

 

We are the unicorns—the people who can envision the possible when everything seems so impossible. We made it this far and today, we shine. We earned the right to be called RISD alumni. 

 

Let the record show, before our acceptance into RISD we told ourselves it would probably take a miracle to get in. Rainbows would glisten in the bright sky! POTS of gold would appear on the other side! And on the horizon, galloping towards great expectations, —-US! the Unicorns!

Congratulations, Class of 2022.

 

I salute you all. Thank you.

 

 

Self-inflicted leash

            My friend was sporting a refurbished smart watch from a used web-based store. The smart watch had the capabilities of doing some of the major abilities that a smart phone can do, although you would need the smart phone on your person so that the watch could access the information. My wife was pickled green with envy, and so chose to buy a used one as well. Meanwhile, after purchasing the expensive item, my wife felt guilty and asked me to get one as well or at least upgrade my iPhone, considering I had an upgrade waiting for me to use. I explained to her that I would consider upgrading my rickety iPhone when starving people from Africa find it necessary to buy iPhones like food itself. When the smart watch came she was so smitten of the thing that for a couple of days she didn’t even try to sync the smart watch to her phone. Long story short, we both realized that Apple products do not sync with PC products—it was meant that way. So now we have this expensive paperweight and a guilt-stricken wife. To solve this very frustrating moment, I decided to use my iPhone upgrade to switch to a smart phone that would sync well with the smart watch; then, I would trade my new phone for her phone so that she could use her watch. We made it out to a store to help us with the upgrade but not without the opportunity of hearing the latest and greatest junk they had available. Turns out, people cannot stop talking of all the new-&-improved lumps-of-metal with dizzying lights and sounds that will bend to your every will! After everything was said and done, we made it back home and my wife ran to her corner with her new smart phone and smart watch to see all the pretty little things it could do. As I went to my corner of jimmy-rigged whatnots and my wife’s old iPhone5; then it hits me… I realized that none of my power cords, charging cases, iHomes and whatever iGadget I had once enjoyed, no longer fits with the iPhone5. If anybody hasn’t realized by now, technology conglomerates have installed an ancient-old technique under our watch and they really got us by the cojones, to the point that in recent events the US President explained that America have fetishized these products! Technology receives nothing more but praises in our daily life, historically speaking. Although, in recent years the industry developed a way to shut the doors of both hardware and software that would allow you to expand, reconfigure and improve the gadgets we own, as well as developed new gadgets that would force us to upgrade former products to current products—very sneaky! What we face is that we have several tech companies that we could choose from, but if we cross into another tech company’s product, it would be useless. If you don’t see this as a threat, consider this event: while in class I heard students belt out release dates, improved software and fancy designs of certain sugar-candied-lumps-of-metal gadgets that will be available; and then my teacher chimed in with his knowledge, as he dusted off his new iPad Mini. In disbelief, I explained that college students are already considered the future unemployed straight out of college statistically speaking for a short while; it takes time to find the right career. To purchase new hardware using your newly activated credit cards with incredibly high interest rates, as well as, having educators flaunt these new products, is simply throwing wood into a forest fire. Remember the gypsy curse: I wish you get what you want, and want what you get! Go ahead, take it …and PAY!

Illegal Money

Towards the end of class the other day, a classmate chimed in something about booting illegals out of US, and considering he served in the US military he felt that he had a say in the issue. Apparently this classmate was talking to our teacher of which agreed whole-heartedly. Now, being the little devil I had always been known for, I had to chime in and play devil’s advocate just for kicks! My instructor explained that all illegals must be taken OUT of the United States and have all of them come back into the US system fairly through the proper channels and with a nod, my classmate explained, “and their children as well, even though they were born here or brought here, they must all get out.” “Where would all of them go?” I asked. They both passionately said, “from back where they’re from!” I then slipped in, “back to war-torn Middle-East, Africa, Ukraine and drug cartel lands in South America-- how the hell will they know where to put all of those displaced people?” I replied.  Of course, with this realization they had a perplexed expression. They insisted, “What’s right is right! Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

            My perspective is simply this: I don’t want to get frustrated over something that is out of my control. I’ll let those who have high paying jobs for this situation to deal with this nightmare! This is truly an ethical and moral debate that has huge consequences. With all the gridlock in our government, the low manpower in these government departments, this dogfight won’t go away anytime soon.

            Then it hits me—Social Security. Simply put, the more people that work, own homes and buys all that stuff that piles sky high in landfills across Americana- were all taxed AND our taxes go into Social Security, someway and somehow. “As of June 2005, 6.2 percent of a worker's wages are diverted into the Social Security trust funds (one for retirement benefits and one for disability). Employers put in an additional 6.2 percent, resulting in a total payroll tax of 12.4 percent. Self-employed workers pay all 12.4 percent themselves. Income greater than $90,000 is not subject to Social Security taxation -- this is known as the "maximum amount." (WHERE DOES THE MONEY COME FROM? Money. How Stuff Works.com/ personal - finance).

            Furthermore, if we need money to expand this public fund, wouldn’t we want more people to help this situation, i.e. pay into Social Security? “If you groan about tax day, you’re certainly not alone. But what if tax day was something we could be proud of as members of a democracy? Would you feel differently about paying taxes if you knew they were going to support public services that you, your family and your community rely on — such as public safety, roads and bridges, schools, health care, social services and national parks?” (“The Surprising Truth about Tax Day: Where Your Taxes Go”, SPOTLIGHT: Economy & Work: By Robin Claremont).

            Here’s the sobering point I like to address, if all Americans pay into Social Security and the government realizes that we need more funds to support the foreseeable elderly, disabled, national construction repair, etc. then why the hell should we kick out people who want to stay and work in America of which pays taxes already? “Unauthorized Immigrants Paid $100 Billion Into Social Security Over Last Decade… unauthorized workers are paying an estimated $13 billion a year in social security taxes and only getting around $1 billion back, according to a senior government statistician.” (“Unauthorized Immigrants Paid $100 Billion Into Social Security Over Last Decade” By Roy Germano; August 4, 2014; news.vice.com/article)

            The solution is so clear and simple, yet somehow very controversial! Let them stay and become US Citizens! Let them suffer and regret, whine and complain about everyone else-- just because they could (free speech). And if you think that they are taking your jobs away from you— I say, let the best competent citizen win. And if you were born and raised here, you should know that our public and college education is sufficient enough for US born citizens to acquire better, substantial, financial secured careers that immigrants could never possibly acquire—Americans have always had the edge, So why all the fuss? Lets keep them! Cause we all want a better and financially stable future!!

An American Way

                  Every so often I get a chill when I walk through the meat isle, and gaze upon the various slabs of tasty succulent meats and recall coming back from my first deployment in 2006, I looked upon the chilled bloody slabs as I do now—I felt tears roll freely down my cheeks, while keeping a stern face under my maroon beret. It was when I started to shake as an officer snatch a steak or two from the stretched out cooler in my flanking peripheral view—I had to break myself out of whatever I was in and rub out my eyes and face as I tried to play it off. You see, you rarely take the literal implications of common statements like “Life and Limb.” Usually, in the after-the-fact moments of clarity, in a more stable and sane world, you start to be grateful of your lucky nine lives.

                  Piecing together fragments of your own precious history and logically find reasons for putting your life on the line for patriotic principles is an enigma that will baffle me for the rest of my years. My latest best guess for enlisting ‘life and limb’ principles was pride. I had the privilege to help the unfortunate by way of organizations of such missions, i.e. YMCA, AmeriCorps, CampHill, Legion of Mary, etc. for serving the young, the developmental disabled, the elderly, the fundraising for these non-profits, etc. I might have assumed that I should enlist considering that I developed a small string of accolades in helping noble causes. And so blinded, by pride, I signed my life away into the brotherhood of war—it was that easy.

                  Previously, I was desperate to find a solid financial solution to my school debt. Volunteering would forbear my loans and I would earn an education award but that wasn’t enough. I was bouncing from one low paying job to the next and to be honest, I didn’t want a job… I wanted a career. Enlisting to the US Army was the ultimate tactical move to build a strong financial foundation and experience my own independence from my mom’s regime (ha-ha), but I digress. The lower enlisted brotherhood didn’t take nicely to the older peers AND college graduate Asian brother like myself that they have to support. We all have our quips but after a year or two, things didn’t get better for me, rather, it got worse. I can’t say I didn’t have good Ol’ times with my peers in the Army but it was overshadowed by conflicts. So, I feel strongly that there must be some kind of change throughout the military, I’m sure other veterans would agree.

                  When deployed to Iraq, I would read the Stars & Stripes paper and find various wartime images, I came across an image that really spoke to me and invigorated my faith in my military mission, even after being exposed to the overflowing of negative military responses and soldiers being wartime fatigued. The depiction was a Staff-Sargent completely exhausted, passed out on a chair after a mission, tightly cradling a small sleeping malnourished Iraqi child who lost her entire family in a gunfight. That little child felt safe enough to fall asleep in this stranger’s arms. That picture haunts me to this day; I ask myself, “…Have I done enough?” I wanted to be that Staff-Sargent helping the helpless. It reminded me of all my good buddies who volunteered with me in AmeriCorps, YMCA, Save the Children, Camphill Communities—they all cared as much as I do to make that much of a difference; we worked tirelessly and passionately around the clock. And all the volunteers that I came across were college educated, as well as heavily in debt! It would be ideal to merge the two worlds together. Rather than molding high school graduates who are easily recruited from lower middle class / poverty areas, it would be ideal to pitch to college GRADUATES who seem to not find the right job/career, even after a college education. Give these college volunteers what they want… an incentive to make a real significance to the nation and the financial help they need to build a solid future.

                   What I am saying is that the US Military should consider expanding its mission strategies to a more humanitarian aid effort for its own people for a lightning-quick response to environmental events such as Katrina, Iowa, Flint and many others across the world as well as other missions. I mean that we should be able to answer environmental issues… air, land and sea. You and I know the weather is getting rougher every waking day and it is high time that the US Military should consider the hypothetical threat to be a real ugly one. That would mean we must train the enlisted to be nurturers and NOT warmongers, working side by side with the local officials.

I dare anyone who can make something happen to merge similar parts of various organizations like AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, US Coast Guard, Red Cross, among others to get trained and certified to perform in and out of the fold. And required to maintain their certifications for future careers outside the military (there are vets who fail to get any job/career that would logically mirror to their military service just because of their certifications).

                  The military should highlight and offer their “LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM” to all enlisted personnel as well as the GI Bill, it’s only fair. And all newly discharged veterans should have a required yearlong veteran-run job as counselors (instead of National Guard) to put aside all the stigma of the military life, to fully integrate them into their chosen community, to be monitored for negative behavior, therapy guidance and to prevent veterans from isolating themselves and becoming depressed. This would be a good time for job training, picking up a trade or considering college applications and testing for college entrance exams.  By year’s end the veterans would, I hope, be confidently integrated into their communities.

                  I also believe that an American-born college student that enlisted into the US Military who comes from an illegal immigrant family, that their family should become citizens immediately. They have made an ultimate sacrifice for our country. It’s only fair. Americans are from a first world country, and we all take for granted the privileges from the women and men who lay down their lives for our nation regardless the situation, cause and issues. It’s a thankless job. Nationally, the citizens do not understand the true nature of the enlisted military; we all come humble parts, dark corners and unknown pockets of our society to hope for a better situation when we complete our time with the fold. This could be an incentive for all college graduates and soon to be college students should consider. These candidates should not only pay off their entire college education but also earn money for furthering their education (GI Bill)! No American should be denied this right. I would suggest to anyone who would get hired in such a position that they appoint staff that would work specifically for this cause for a speedy application process. This should be a bold new American way of life, just think of all the possibilities!