“There is a plague of noise in the library! Let’s infect the lounge upstairs and eradicate it here!”

Current BSHEC librarian Stephen Tunney has become widely and affectionately known throughout the student body for his hilarious library announcements, which vary from comparisons of noise level and body temperature to warnings detailing how the printer paper will mysteriously disappear due to inappropriate library behavior. However, Mr. Tunney’s quiet poetry is only one facet among his many artistic outlets. Beyond the boisterous library Mr. Tunney leads a life filled with art, literature, and music.

Most students were mistaken in their preconceptions of Mr. Tunney’s occupation. “I am not a librarian,” he states, clarifying that for the past few years, much of his career, aside from music, has been in freelance illustration and writing work. “It pays well, but I would really like to teach. I am in the process of becoming a licensed teacher.” In fact, Mr. Tunney has taught at both New York University and Long Island University, where he lectured on the correlation of text, art, and rock and roll and conducted a creative writing class.

This past teaching both reflects and incorporates his education. “Back when punk rock was king” (if that helps pinpoint a year), Mr. Tunney received a BFA in Illustration from Parsons, The New School for Design and a Masters from City College. Since college he has had his artwork in many exhibitions. His paintings and drawings feature surreal worlds and situations, though his most recent paintings are more realistic than his earlier work. He is also a published novelist, having written the book Flan in 1992. Flan features a strange and chaotic conception of a holocaust during an unknown time, complete with talking fish and dogs with human heads. The book received mixed reviews.

Musically, Mr. Tunney was one of the founding members of King Missile, “a strange poetry noise experiment” whose style is somewhere between Man Man and Cat Power; soft but absurd. Tunney recorded two albums with the band, Fluting on the Hump in 1987 and They in 1988, and then left to pursue a solo career under the name Dogbowl. His first album was released in 1989, and was then followed by eleven other releases. “I still record, I still do music, but I don’t pursue it.” His website, www.dogbowl.com, features all of his artistic work, as well as other articles about his music, art, and writing.

Outside of his artistic achievements, Mr. Tunney is a husband and a father of two. “Kids are funny. Power Rangers and Pokemon cards. I generally like these things,” he says.

Tunney's position at BHSEC is temporary. “In two weeks I may be a gym teacher at an elementary school. However, my degree, painting, doesn’t really cut the cake for that.” Despite his imminent departure, Tunney seems to have enjoyed the time he has spent at Bard. “The kids have more adult-like personalities. I don’t feel like I am talking to teenagers.”

We Bardians have at least given him the opportunity to create the most absurd explanations of the need for quiet in the library.

“Now that we are deep into fourth period, it is time for us to fly into a moment of quiet observation, occasionally dipping into the waters of knowledge, which we glide over, like an albatross.”