Class Notes
William J. Martin, B. Arch. ’88, was a featured speaker on Green, Better, Best, a part of The Green Talk Network online.
Anil C.S. Rao, B.E. Electrical Engineering ’88, exhibited a solo show of 55 works at the Museum of Computer Art in Brooklyn, N.Y. Nicholas Battis, M.F.A. Fine Arts ’89, exhibited his paintings at Judy Saslow Gallery in Chicago in November and December 2010. Rachelle Krieger Gersh, B.F.A. Art Direction/Com-D ’ 89, was featured in Long Island Pulse magazine (Sept 2010) as part of their coverage of The Heckscher Museum's Inaugural
Long Island Biennial. Also in the fall of 2010, Gersh showed her paintings at the Kathleen Bernhardt Gallery's grand-opening art exhibit in Sarasota, Florida. Gersh’s recent work started as a series about air and breath and has evolved into the exploration of “sudden storms” and “shifts in weather ” as metaphors, and was partially inspired by the recent New York City tornados.
1990s James P. Murray, B.I.D. ’90, M.P.S. Design Management ’97, was appointed executive director of design and product development at Simon Pearce, Inc. of Windsor, Vt. Murray will oversee design and product development, expand business category leadership, and provide input for product lines and retail merchandising presentation. Peter Wachtel, M.I.D. ’92, is the founder of KID Toyology, a creative toy and entertainment design “innovention” and design education company in Southern California. Wachtel is a contributing editor for numerous toy industry publications, has founded two toy blogs with over 2,500 toy and entertainment professional members worldwide, and appeared in the “Smarty Pants” episode of the A&E program Gene Simmons Family Jewels.
DIANE HOYT-GOLDSMITH Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith, B.F.A. ’73, is the art director at Square Moon Productions, a book design and packaging firm in the Bay Area that she founded in 1979. Since 1990, she has collaborated with photographer Lawrence Migdale to create a series of award-winning young-reader books about contemporary Native American children and ethnic celebrations. In creating the books, she spent time with real families, covering topics ranging from lacrosse and the Iroquois to seal hunting in the Arctic. The series allowed her to wear many hats—adventurer, journalist, writer, editor, and designer—and she savored every role. Hoyt-Goldsmith did not intend to work in publishing. At Pratt, she wanted to be a painter but ended up studying graphic design. She still remembers a two-dimensional design class where her only tools for the semester were a pad of newsprint, a wine bottle cork, and a bottle of black paint. “We even did self-portraits,” she recalls. “I kept mine because it looked like me, even with just 200 dots.” Having loved books as a child, Hoyt-Goldsmith took courses in book arts at Pratt. Her first publishing job came as the result of a Pratt connection: Her professor, Werner Pfeiffer, mentioned her to a guest at a wedding, who ended up becoming her first boss at Macmillan Publishing Company. Hoyt-Goldsmith worked as a book designer and art director at Macmillan and later at Harcourt, Brace & Jovanovich. Now, even from three time zones away, Hoyt-Goldsmith still feels connected to Pratt. Through her annual contribution to The Fund for Pratt, she helps other students experience the same great beginning to their careers and the thrill of being in the city. “Studying in New York is such a plus,” she says. “Everywhere you look—art, architecture, fashion—you’re exposed to all the great designers.” 6 0 p ratt f o lio
Mark Anthony Lacy, B.F.A. Photography ’93, announced the creation of his digital pinup magazine, UNLIMITED. Lacy uses a combination of his photographic and design skills to create a collection of pictorials, articles, music and movie reviews, cartoons, vintage ads, and more. The publication is available through the website www.lacyunlimited.com. Mannix Gordon, B. Arch. ’95, announced his position as director of the Wyandanch Community Resource Center for the town of Babylon in Long Island, N.Y. Gordon leads the town’s economic development program focusing on Wyandanch revitalization, and heads an information, resource, and referral agency, based there. The center provides residents with
comprehensive services including workforce development, small business development, and social and life services. Gordon formerly served as Flatbush Development Corporation’s economic development director and as senior planner, associate professor, and IT director at the Pratt Center for Community Development. He is a technology specialist and urban planner with over 15 years of experience working with community-based organizations in New York City and the surrounding suburbs. Luz Soraya Marcano, M.F.A. Fine Arts ’95, participated in “See What I Mean,” a group exhibition that brought together visual artists and Nuyorican poets to explore the elastic nature of verbal and visual language. The exhibition incorporated multimedia installations of drawing, collage, and found objects as well as digital and traditional printmaking that provoked an expansive dialogue on familiar sociopolitical realities and constructs of everyday life such as identity, economics, interpersonal relationships, public media, and government practices. Amy Digi Yedowitz, B.F.A. Art and Design Education ’96, became the first recipient of the Kenise Barnes Art Award presented at the Larchmont Arts Festival in October 2010. She also showed work in the U.S. Coast Guard’s 2010 Permanent Collection at Federal Hall in New
York City; the “Self Portrait Exhibition” at Publicis Healthcare Communications Group; and announced the launch of her new website www.amydigi.com, featuring images of work she created at Coney Island, The Hamptons, The New York Botanical Garden, and South Street Seaport.
photos: courtesy of THE artists, Lawrence Migdale/photpix (hoyt-goldsmith)
American Planning Association (APA) to serve as its national president for a two-year term beginning in 2011. Silver, a longtime member and officer of APA’s board, will be responsible for leading the 13-member board of directors in governing the association and setting strategic goals.