pratt people
Class Notes
Philomena Marano, B.F.A ’74, showed images from her American Dreamland series in the recent exhibition, “Amusement Park Scene,” at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan. With Richard Eagan, she also created a piece for the show “All Roads Lead to Coney Island,” which was held at the A.M. Richard Gallery in Brooklyn, N.Y. Marano was one of the artists for the mural on the gate of the Coney Island History Project, which is located underneath the landmark Cyclone roller coaster.
Linda Strong
Ted Muehling, B.I.D. ’75, exhibited porcelain work in “Object Factory: The Art of Industrial Ceramics,” an international survey at the Museum of Arts and Design that showed how more than 50 artists and industrial designers are re-imagining the possibilities of this ancient medium in the 21st century. Muehling is also among the 10 leading designers featured in “Design for a Living World,” on view through January 4, 2010 at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. For the exhibition, he was commissioned by The Nature Conservancy to travel to Micronesia to create a series of jewelry pieces using sustainably harvested vegetable ivory and black pearls.
R. Robert Pollak, B.F.A. CommDesign ’75, recently completed illustrations for a children’s book for Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, N.Y. Pollak’s cartoons and illustrations appear regularly in upstate New York’s weekly Shawangunk Journal. For the Nature Conservancy-Eastern New York Chapter, Pollak created postcards illustrating colonial times. Over the past year his paintings and black-and-white illustrations have been shown in Ellenville, N.Y., as part of their arts wave movement. Yuda Acco, B.F.A. Comm-Design ’76, was nominated by the Art Directors Guild for outstanding achievement for his work in production design on the 2008 movie Lone Rider. Joseph T. Burns, B.F.A. ’76, had the fourth solo exhibition of his oil paintings at the National Arts Club in New York City from May 21–30, 2009.
Kevork (Corky) Cholakian, B.F.A. Comm-Design ’77, had an exhibition of new work last summer at the Lawrence Asher Gallery in Los Angeles, Calif.
COURTESY MATHEW STRONG
Vancouver, British Columbia in February. Pollack’s remarks focused on aspects of workspace design, including technology, intergenerational workforce, and flexibility, that interior designers and architects need to consider in the current economic climate. Pollack frequently speaks at events held by the International Interior Design Association, the American Institute of Architects, CoreNet Global, and related professional organizations.
Maritza Davila, M.F.A. ’77, is participating in the “Monumental Ideas in Miniature Books” traveling exhibition, which has been shown at the Southern Graphics Council in Chicago and the Morgan Conservatory in Cleveland.
“Sustainability” issue. She also was artistic and project director for the primary interpretive display at Hulls Cove Visitor Center in Acadia National Park, Maine.
Peter Fiore, Illustration ’77, started a blog (http://peterfiore.blogspot. com) where he posts painted studies for his larger paintings. Listed as an “Artist to Watch” in Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine, he also won first place for his landscape painting in The Artist’s Magazine and was a finalist in the Art Renewal Center’s Annual Competition. He teaches at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.
George O. Brome, M.S. Computer Science/Decision Science ’78, has penned Another Man’s Poison, a new play described as a schizophrenic blend of comedy and drama, which had a limited Off-Broadway run at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater in Manhattan in August 2009. Over the last 20 years Brome has served as a winning Pratt varsity tennis coach, amassing nine conference championships.
Lynn Saville, M.F.A. ’76, curated “Partners in Art and Life” a group show at the Brooklyn Public Library this fall (through Nov. 5), which featured the work of 30 visual artists, including nine Pratt alumni who are also life partners. The individual artworks were displayed along with a portrait photograph of each couple taken by Saville.
Elizabeth Abrams Thompson, M.F.A. ’78, was honored at the National Organization for Women’s annual Women of Power and Influence Awards. Her artwork, which has been displayed throughout the U.S. and Europe, has defined her as a role model at the top of her career field.
Cathey Billian, M.F.A. ’78, was featured in the article “Cathey Billian: Structural Retrofits,” which appeared in the Public Art Review
Steven Assael, B.F.A. ’79, had a show of his work in March 2009 at the Forum Gallery in New York City. The Art Newspaper hailed him as “the foremost figurative painter of his generation.”
MatThew J. strong B.F.A. Communcations Design ’99, has been a visiting instructor at Pratt since 2004, teaching Package Design and Senior Project Graphic Design in the department from which he graduated only a decade ago. His career began in the sports and entertainment industry at SME Branding, where one of his first projects was to design the 2000 NBA Playoffs and NBA Finals logos. “They appeared on everything,” he recalls, “from the Madison Square Garden marquee in midtown Manhattan to nationally televised games on NBC and ESPN.” Within a year of finishing Pratt, his work was gaining worldwide exposure. A few years later, Strong joined the in-house Advertising + Design group at Madison Square Garden, where he worked with the Knicks and Rangers on projects such as season ticket packaging, billboards, and ad campaigns. Since graduation, Strong had always taken on freelance assignments as well and by 2005 felt ready to follow his dream of starting his own studio. “I really enjoy running my own business and am very glad that I took that next step,” he says. “It’s hard work and long hours, but when you love what you do, it’s not a job, it’s a way of life.” Running Strong Studio has enabled him to extend his range of design disciplines into environmental and editorial design. “Designers need to work in so many different mediums that we could not have even imagined years ago,” he adds. “Teaching has certainly helped me stay fresh and relevant.” As a professional in the creative field, Strong feels compelled to always look with a professional eye at what’s around him. In New York, he derives inspiration from the space that surrounds him whenever he leaves his Lower East Side studio. Strong urges, “Your world should not be defined by the four walls around you or what you are staring at on a monitor. Wherever your space may be, break out of it and take your sketchbook and a camera along for the ride.”
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