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• sweet spots

This Issue 02/01/2007

Also in this issue

• Rooters
• Daytripper: First Friday
• Brewmaster's Corner
• Ego of the week
• Street beats

Fisher Fine Arts is like Van Pelt's well-behaved, socially awkward, yet pretty older sister. With beautifully carved red stone and intricate stained glass windows, its architecture puts all other Penn buildings to shame. If you crave that real Ivy League-y, Hogwarts-esque, old school feeling, Fisher is the place to go. In spite of its glowing reputation (it was, after all, used in the Tom Hanks film Philadelphia), inside the library the air is quiet and cold. For people who procrastinates their procrastinating and need constant distraction, Fisher has an eerie silence. When writing about or researching art history however, it is the ideal environment. There is an osmotic quality to the library that allows knowledge of artists ranging from Michelangelo to Warhol to seep into the skin.

Fisher is not the place to come with friends. Everyone occupies her own separate sphere, and each whispered "hello" or word of conversation uttered brings the glare of at least five sets of evil eyes. It's perfect if you are looking for uninterrupted concentration or a text on the life of Vermeer, but if you want that social library scene, stick to Van Pelt.