Prattfolio Spring/Summer 2010 "Global Perspectives Issue"

PRATT INSTITUTE 200 Willoughby Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11205

spring/summer 2010

PRATTFOLIO

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID ST. CLOUD, MN PERMIT NO. 561

the maGaZiNe Of Pratt iNStitute

Pat Steir, Sunspots II, oil on canvas, 2007, 127 1/4 x 109 1/4 inches.

Private collection, Omaha, Nebraska.

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

Alumni Gallery

GLOBAL

Perspectives Korean Network

Sunspots II, 2007, by Pat Steir, B.F.A. ’62, reflects the artist’s strong interest in Asian art. The work belongs to the waterfall-and-drip series she started in the late 1980s and has been perfecting ever since. Influenced by the Chinese landscape painting tradition, the New York-based artist flung paint through the air from a saturated brush or poured it down the canvas to achieve the torrent of rich gold paint that flows over the emerald-green surface, much like sunshine spiraling off a current of water at close range. In Sunspots II Steir captures the transience of beauty and the fragility of nature, themes often addressed in Asian art. The monumental work was featured in “Dark and Light, Gravity and Levity,” a 2007 exhibition at Cheim & Read Gallery, New York City.

Today, it is held in a private collection in Omaha, Nebraska.

World-Changing Design Passport to Creativity Empathy for Culture Pratt Worldwide

spring/summer 2010

© Courtesy of Pat Steir Studio

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In Focus

Tulips bloom in the springtime as two students enter Pratt’s Brooklyn campus through the Hall Street gate with portfolio and canvas in hand. The flowering plants and bushes on the 25-acre campus complement the Pratt Sculpture Park that lies just beyond. Pratt’s campus, with its verdant lawns and century-old trees, its many pathways and lush Rose Garden set among historic buildings, provides an inspirational “home” to heighten the creativity of the talented students who come from all parts of the United States and across the globe.

Prattstore makes it easy to save on essential supplies and just-for-fun items.

Visit www.prattstore.net for deals on art supplies, Pratt apparel, textbooks, creative gifts, decorative paper, fine stationery, office supplies, portfolios, posters, prints, ready-made frames, and more.** BECOME A FAN Alumni are invited to become fans of the Prattstore on Facebook and receive weekly updates on what’s new and exciting along with our weekly sales list.

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Contents

Fe atures :

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Koreans at Pratt: A World-Class Education Social networking has made South Koreans Pratt’s largest body of international students and alumni.

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BEGINNING AT PRATT… CHANGING THE WORLD Innovative designs originating at Pratt impact healthcare, economies, personal comfort, and overall well-being in many parts of the world.

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PASSPORT TO CREATIVITY Pratt artists view the world with curious eyes, assimilating what they see in surprising ways.

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EMPATHY FOR CULTURE:

DESIGN FOR A GLOBAL AGE Pratt students practice cultural immersion to exhibit at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair.

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WHERE IN THE WORLD IS PRATT? Pratt’s presence across continents.

Departme n t s: 2 Mailbox 3 President’s Letter 4 Pratt People Textile designer John Robshaw; librarian Farideh Tehrani; artist Jean Claude Dominique; entrepreneur Doris Magsaysay Ho; fashion designers Andy and Debb; and film maker Isaac Kerlow.

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New and Noteworthy

38 Ryerson Walk President Schutte honored; Pratt named among top green colleges; Vogue editors, renowned architects speak at Pratt; students exhibit chair designs in Germany; MTV star attends Pratt; and more.

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42 Corporate Partnerships Third + Bond, Barnes & Noble, Umbra, and Wilsonart 44 Pratt Exhibitions 46 Supporting Pratt Trustee Profile: Bruce Newman; alumni Suzanna Simor, Betsy and Ted Lewin, and Berti Jones reveal why they have given to Pratt.

48 Special Events 50 Alumni News 53 Class Notes 59 Obituaries

About the Cover Designed by the Korean architectural firm Mass Studies, the Korean Pavilion at the 2010 Expo in Shanghai, China, (May–October) is covered in part by Pratt alumnus Ik-Joong Kang’s colorful design that displays the Korean alphabet (Han-guel) as a decorative motif painted on 40,000 aluminum panels. For more about the artist, see pages 10 and 22.

Photo by Jungyul Lee

For past issues of Prattfolio, visit www.pratt.edu/prattfolio

President’s Letter

the spaces issue fall/winter 2009

I was so impressed with the article, titled “Grand Illusions: Murals to Tease the Eye,” by Adrienne Gyongy and so proud to be among other prestigious alumni in the same field.

Equally impressive was the deft and eloquent manner in which she wove together all the fairly complicated information I sent! I’m grateful also that my fellow artists and teachers were mentioned accurately. Thank you for representing my accomplishments to the Pratt alumni community of which I am so proud to be a member.

Richard Taddei Architecture/Art and Design ’65–’69 I thought the Fall/Winter Prattfolio was superb, probably the best yet. It was the kind of publication to be expected from a visual arts leader. I appreciate the clear, inviting design; first-rate photography; inclusive coverage of students, alumni, and faculty; and news on contributions, administration, and issues. The theme approach of “Spaces” was sound and well carried out. I look forward to future issues at the same high level of competence.

John Morning, Trustee B.F.A. Advertising Design ’55 Your Fall/Winter issue of Prattfolio is really first class. The entire magazine is rich in content and superbly designed. Thank you for including my project with such fine work!

Hal Bromm B.F.A. Interior Design ’71

I thought the “Spaces” issue was fascinating. I also enjoy all the news and pictures of Pratt in the other issues of Prattfolio and Gateway.

Pratt has changed so much since I graduated.

I swell with pride when I meet someone from Pratt, or read about someone who graduated and has become a successful celebrity in the art world.

Norma J. Goldwyn B.F.A. Art and Design Education ’46 For a long time I have been disappointed at the little attention paid to the engineering part of the school, but the last issue of Prattfolio changed my view completely. As I read the story of Bob Diamond, I was surprised because it brings back memories to me [of my own Brooklyn experience].

Robert S. Little Mechanical Engineering ’54 The Fall/Winter Prattfolio is awesome.

Assembling the material to cover the editorial subject, the variety of information, the page layouts, and visuals represents a lot of creative thinking and professional workmanship. Congratulations to all involved and much luck for future Prattfolios.

Herb Meyers, Lifetime Trustee Advertising Design ’49 Prattfolio gives me such school pride. The graphics are stunning and the production values are up with design trends. It's such fun discovering artists around New York that I've heard about or seen in action and finding out they went to Pratt! It's imperative to stay connected and aware of the good that comes out of this school and of those who continue to enrich the world through their art Elke Reva Sudin B.F.A. Communications Design ’09 Please send letters for Mailbox to Abigail Beshkin at abeshkin@pratt.edu or to Prattfolio Editor, Office of Communications, Pratt Institute, 200 Willoughby Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205.

Corrections: Former Pratt Math Professor Gerson Sparer’s name was incorrectly spelled in the Bob Diamond “Pratt People” profile.

We regret the omission of JP Morgan Chase from the Honor Roll. The company should have been listed in the Organizations section of the Honor Roll at the $25,000-$49,999 contribution level for a gift to the Pratt Center for Community Development.

Rachael Krinsky was listed as an alumna of Pratt in the “Why We Gave” section and did not attend Pratt, but she is a loyal donor whose husband Herman taught at the Institute for many years.

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Mailbox The Magazine of Pratt Institute Spring/Summer 2010 Prattfolio is published by the Office of Communications in the Division of Institutional Advancement for the alumni and friends of Pratt Institute. ©2010 Pratt Institute Pratt Institute 200 Willoughby Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11205 www.pratt.edu Vice President for Institutional Advancement Todd Michael Galitz Executive Director of Public Relations and Communications Mara McGinnis Editorial Manager Abigail Beshkin Creative Director Christine Peterson Designers Eric Bet Anna Ostrovsky Editor Adrienne Gyongy

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Senior Production Manager Jennifer Ashlock Photography Manager Diana Pau

Photography Evelyn Diaz Armando Raphael Sigrid Estrada

Today, with more than 30,000 alumni worldwide, current students from 65 countries, and a

number of activities that address some of the most pressing global issues, Pratt has become a major international player in such diverse areas as healthcare, shipping, fashion, and filmmaking. From helping produce

Editorial Assistants Amy Aronoff Chanice Greenberg Kate Ünver Contributors Janet Kashuba Charlotte Savidge

ratt Institute has long been recognized globally for the excellence of its educational programs.

an HIV/AIDS testing device for use in remote parts of Sub-Saharan Africa to drawing on South Asian design motifs to create novel textiles, members of the Pratt community are influencing, and being influTess Schutte Jessica Tallman

Bob Handleman Diana Pau

René Perez Kevin Wick

Call for Ideas For the Fall/Winter 2010 issue of Prattfolio we are planning to explore our very own backyard with the theme “Brooklyn.” The issue will examine how Pratt has impacted the significant changes the borough has seen over the last decades, and how those changes have in turn impacted Pratt. We’ll look at the art and design that draws on Brooklyn for inspiration, and the Pratt-trained architects, librarians, and others who have applied their Pratt training to shape the future of Brooklyn. If your work is about Brooklyn, is created in Brooklyn, or if you have memories of Brooklyn to share, please submit your ideas for consideration to Abigail Beshkin at abeshkin@pratt.edu. All photos submitted for consideration must be highresolution, 300 dpi or greater.

To submit a change of address, please email jtallman@pratt.edu or call 718-399-4211.

enced by, the world beyond our campus, our city, and our country.

Our alumni around the world also play an important role in helping Pratt remain on the cutting edge of developments in the many disciplines and professional fields represented in our academic programs. In addition, through both formal and informal connections, our alumni help to strengthen the growing Pratt network that has helped open doors for so many of our students and graduates. In that regard, the Pratt Korean Alumni Association provides a wonderful model, and I encourage all of our alumni to stay in touch with each other—and with Pratt.

I hope you enjoy this issue of Prattfolio. As president of an institution committed to preparing creative professionals to benefit society at large, I am proud of the growing global connections highlighted in its pages.

Sincerely,

Thomas F. Schutte

Dr. Farideh Tehrani

M.S. Library and Information Science ’76

DIANA PAU

pratt people

Courtesy of John Robshaw

pratt people

Preservation and Middle Eastern Studies Librarian at Rutgers University Libraries, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Photographed in the Alexander Library at Rutgers University.

What inspired you to become a librarian?

We had no school library in my hometown, Shiraz, and books at home were not for children to touch for fear they might be damaged. So I found my source of happiness in Beladi Bookstore, where I spent all my allowance renting books, bound magazines, and journals. Three years ago I visited my hometown for the first time in 32 years. Mr. Beladi was the first one on my list to visit, and to my surprise he remembered me. I told him how important he was to my growing up.

My love of books stayed with me, and in my first year of college at Pahlavi [now Shiraz] University, I volunteered to work at a hospital library; its small patients’ library next to the medical library became my little heaven, and the American medical librarian there became my role model.

Why did you choose Pratt to study library science?

I met the dean of the School of Information and Library (SILS) at an international conference in Europe in 1970 and the rest is history.

John Robshaw M.F.A. Painting ’92

Owner of John Robshaw Textiles, a New York-based company founded in 2001 to reinterpret traditional craft techniques from Southeast Asia, with textiles carried by 400 stores nationwide, by an online store, and by the Home Shopping Network.

Photographed at his country home in Kent, Connecticut.

What took you to India in the first place?

I was a “sequin mule” for a friend of a Pratt professor who had a company in Bombay that made sequined runway dresses for fashion companies in New York. I would pick up patterns in New York, then stop in Paris for sequins, drop the sequins in Bombay, and tour India for 10 days before coming back to pick up the amazing hand-sequined dresses that had been made up in the interim for the fashion shows in New York. That’s when I really fell for India. I was in art school making things all day; then I went to India and saw the Indians doing the same. One could run around and commission any crazy ideas, which is perfect for an art student.

Were any Pratt professors especially helpful?

Juan Downey, my video professor, opened my eyes to different ways of looking at the world. I also had some great painting professors looking at my paintings in unusual ways.

What influenced you the most in India?

India’s craft traditions, traditional textiles, and color, color, color.

What’s your advice to creative people seeking to establish an art-related business like yours?

Try it! I think art school can focus only on one road to success, namely, the gallery route. But there are so many interesting things to do in this world that a creative person can really succeed in, so look outside the traditional paths and try to find creative solutions to making and marketing things that you love to do.

Was it difficult to switch from painting to textile design?

No, I was already making paintings with bleach and denim and using sewing machines to apply fabric swatches to my canvases, so I was half way there already. I had also studied printmaking in Italy and China, which related to and informed my print designs in textiles.

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Your success derives in part from your artistic ability to adapt South Asian style. How do you modernize ancient motifs, materials, and techniques?

By looking at them from a painter’s eye. Color, form, scale, and the history of the design all interest me and push me to come up with new materials and techniques for making textiles from printing, hand painting, and embroidery.

What’s the last thing you bought abroad and loved?

Art made from recycled junk by a local street artist.

As Pratt’s first Iranian student, did you find much interest in your homeland among your SILS classmates?

Yes, I felt warmly welcomed and was constantly asked, ‘do you have this or that in your country?’ or whether we have camels in the street. In a matter of three years, there were 12 Iranian students at SILS. Forty years have passed, and I still believe that Pratt Institute with its friendly atmosphere was the best thing that ever happened to me.

The American public later learned about Iran through the nightly news coverage of the hostage crisis [1979–1981]. As painful as the story was, I felt it was not about the real Iran and its people. I think of Iran’s 7,000 years of history and civilization, in light of which the last 30 years is only a temporary crisis.

Does your position as Rutgers’ librarian in charge of preservation and Middle Eastern Studies owe anything to your Persian heritage?

Certainly, my background and familiarity with the culture and languages of the Middle East are an asset. I hope someday to realize my vision for an Institute for Iranian Studies at Rutgers, though the current economic situation has understandably affected all new initiatives. My goal is to create a home-away-from-home for the second generation of Iranian Americans and a place to showcase Iranian art, history, and 7,000 years of civilization.

What is your advice to young people contemplating a career in library science?

Choose a profession that every morning you are eager to get to work. After half a century in my occupation, I still can’t wait to get to work in the morning.

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B.f.A. fine Arts ’95

Artist. Photographed in his studio in West orange, New Jersey.

diana Pau

Jean Claude Dominique

PRATT Pe OPLe

david Lee Ling wei

Pratt PEoPlE

What prompted your family to leave Haiti?

It was a hard decision to make, but my mother considered it in everyone’s best interest to come to the United States and start a new life; all the while, never forgetting our native land.

Have you returned to your homeland often since you left at age 13?

No, but I’m always in touch with what’s going on in my country.

When did you first establish your identity as an artist?

I always liked drawing. In primary school in Haiti, I traced pictures from my books and got in trouble for sketching all over my notebooks. When I came to the United States, I joined the Boy Scouts of America (Troop 101), where I made drawings for my patrol and moved on to doing some paintings. This captivated me so much that I got more involved in painting.

On what basis did you decide to attend pratt Institute?

I was doing well in my computer science studies at Hunter College for two-and-a-half years, but I never really enjoyed it and continued doing my artwork. When I decided to switch my major to fine arts, I realized that I needed to attend a well-known school for the arts. I resided in Brooklyn at the time, so I did not have to travel far to find what I was looking for; Pratt Institute offered everything that I needed, and my decision became that much easier.

What have been the most important influences on your work?

My Haitian culture and music. Some of my paintings relate to the Haitian folk art tradition, especially in terms of their subject matter and vivid use of color.

Has January’s catastrophic earthquake in Haiti affected you personally?

There are no words to describe how I felt. Trying to contact family and friends was a nightmare; seeing all the devastation on television footage just left a huge void in my heart. With each passing day, the feeling got worse and worse.

Can artists through their work be helpful in an international disaster?

Absolutely. We can make a difference by raising awareness in the way we treat, convey, and record the event in our artwork, and we can sell our work for the benefit of the victims of the disaster.

What are you doing to aid Haitian earthquake survivors?

I have donated funds to different organizations and become involved in several exhibitions in which a majority of the sales will benefit the victims of the earthquake. I also plan to join in the creation of a museum in Haiti to record and display the way the earthquake in seconds created total chaos in Haiti.

What do you most value about living in the United States?

I value all the opportunities and doors that are open to me. The only limitations I have are the ones that I have not ventured.

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Doris Magsaysay Ho M.i.D. ’75

President and CEo, Magsaysay Group of Companies, Philippines; Chair and CEo, multimedia design firm, CreativesAsia; founder, CreativesAsia Singapore. Photographed in the Philippines.

What role does your Filipino heritage play in your life and work?

Having been a colony of Spain for over 300 years and the United States for over 40, the Philippines has a multi-cultural society underpinned with our Malay/Chinese heritage. As such, it is not difficult for Filipinos to respond well to this amazing global era, expressing themselves successfully as artists, musicians, business executives, healthcare givers, etc. For myself, I have found it easy to feel comfortable wherever I am.

Does your background in art history, East asian Studies, and industrial design figure in your career?

My mother is a painter so she influenced me to love art and creative expression. But my father’s passion for shipping was also extremely attractive, so I ended up pursuing a career in business. I feel extremely privileged to have had an industrial design education and training because it taught me how to look and listen to conditions and needs around a problem, how to visualize the solution, and how to have the courage to express an idea even if there is a possibility that it would be knocked down. Someone told me that an education like I had helps one become a lateral rather than a linear thinker, which businesses are realizing is a good thing. I thank my professors, Mr. Parriott, Mr. Gulotta, and Rowena Reed for that.

How did “reaching out beyond borders and beliefs by transforming the world into a single workplace” come to be the vision for Creativesasia?

What is most exciting about technology is that it allows a level playing field in the global marketplace. Filipinos have a lot of

talent, and animation is a way to express it without the need for words. My son once told me that the most wonderful thing about the creative arts is that words are transcended until one communicates “heart to heart.”

Do you have a similar vision for the Magsaysay Group of Companies?

What globalization requires is one standard of excellence. In this way, being in such an international business as the maritime industry, one needs to see the world as one market and the highest standards as the minimum quality against which we measure our services. as recipient of the Ernst & Young Socially responsible Entrepreneur of the Year award for 2003, can you tell us what it means to be a socially responsible entrepreneur in the global age?

When I was a student, I remember being anxious about whether “survival of the fittest” meant that someone had to lose when one succeeded. I think one of the greatest ideas that came along since was the concept of “win, win,” and today three “wins” includes the environment. In developing countries like mine, it is tempting to interpret corporate social responsibility as charity or donating to NGOs. To me, corporate social responsibility is making inclusive decisions in one’s actions, allowing other stakeholders to also partake in one’s success. I heard it best described as “enlightened self-interest,” and I try to live by that belief.

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pratt people

pratt people Courtesy of isaac kerlow

Seokwon Andy Kim and Wonjeong Debbie Yoon B.F.A. Fashion Design ’96 and ’94

Award-winning fashion designers — and husband and wife team — who launched their label ANDY & DEBB in Seoul in 2000. They are well-known for designing the uniforms for McDonald’s employees in Korea. Andy is also a judge on Project Runway Korea. Photographed during New York Fashion Week, February, 2010.

Why do you think the fashion industry in Korea is growing so quickly and gaining so much attention?

It has always been a big industry. There are tons of fashionable people in Korea. During the past 10 years, many international brands have grown in Korea, so the Korean fashion industry is getting a lot of attention. Also, more Korean fashion designers are expanding their market globally as we are. ANDY & DEBB started showing in Korea in 2000. Now you can find the collection on NeimanMarcus.com.

How did you two meet, and how did your relationship evolve?

We were friends before we came to New York to go to Pratt. We met in Korea as classmates at the language school. It may not have been “love at first sight,” but rather a long-term friendshipturned-romance. We dated all through college. Then, while I was preparing the graduation fashion show, Andy asked me what I was going to do after graduation. I said I wanted to gain work experience then start my own boutique. He asked if we could do it together. We still have tension in a good way as friends, partners, lovers, husband and wife, and as parents of two.

What was your experience like at Pratt and how did it help you achieve your success?

We liked the artistic mood of Pratt’s campus. There were always exhibits everywhere. During the winter, sculpture majors would carve snow blocks outside. Even as fashion design majors, we were always stimulated by the fine arts. Now at ANDY & DEBB, we often collaborate with fine artists.

How did Andy get to be a judge on Project Runway Korea, and what has it meant for the success and popularity of ANDY & DEBB — and for your relationship?

After buying the program rights for Project Runway, the producers asked to meet with us. They were looking for another judge, and it made sense that the person had to be a man, because that was the role filled by Michael Kors in the American Project Runway. We never realized how powerful broadcasting was. Our brand was already extremely popular, but we gained a whole other level of popularity after Project Runway Korea became such a great hit. Andy gets mobbed in public places like airports, theaters — even at my son’s school! He did a great job judging and it was a good opportunity to show that we can also do something wonderful without each other.

DAN LECCA

Where do you see yourselves and your design work in five years?

Our dream is to make ANDY & DEBB a globally known and worn brand. We took a big step and moved our collection to New York two years ago. The world now is getting smaller so the origin of a designer or a brand doesn’t matter as much.

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Isaac Kerlow

M.S. Communications Design ’83 Artist-in-residence at Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University; former Pratt professor and founding chair, Department of Computer Graphics and Interactive Media. Photographed on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, near the Mayon volcano.

Describe your first documentary, People-Coral-Mentawai and how the scientists featured in the film may help predict earthquakes.

Earthquake research in the Mentawai Islands is uncovering the cyclical nature of earthquakes and tsunamis in Southeast Asia.

People-Coral-Mentawai shows how scientists extract information from coral reefs, allowing them to build a timeline of earthquakes going back several centuries. The deadly 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia had been expected, but the local governments failed to prepare. The documentary is being distributed to schools, community centers, and government agencies, and we believe it is raising awareness. Some of the Mentawai Islands are just 80 kilometers from Padang, the city in West Sumatra where a big earthquake is expected.

Describe the documentary you and the Earth Observatory scientists are currently working on in the Philippines.

Mayon: The Volcano Princess is about the people who live around the Mayon Volcano, the most active and destructive volcano in the Philippines.

How has being an artist-in-residence and the only non-scientist at the Earth Observatory at Singapore influenced the way you work?

Most scientists and engineers find it easier when projects are planned and executed in a methodical way. I like planning, but, as any artist knows, I also discover things along the way that often have a huge influence on the final results. In my opinion that is half the fun of being an artist. In working with scientists, I just need to make sure I share my discoveries as they come up. Sometimes, however, I just do my art thing, then come back to the team and find a way to make it work. At the same time, many of the researchers seem to appreciate the different points of view I bring to the institute.

How did your experience at Pratt as a student prepare you for the work you’re doing now?

Studying at Pratt exposed me to teachers and professionals who taught me a lot more than I realized at the time. Recently, while editing my documentaries, I remembered a guest lecture by a professional writer and sound editor who created commercials.

He played a commercial for the Jamaica Tourist Board. The sounds were so powerful, you craved to go to Jamaica! In addition, graduate students at Pratt were required to write quite a bit, and that developed my writing abilities.

What do you bring to documentary-making from your years of working in animation?

The basics of how you tell a story are very much the same. I have also brought animation itself to documentaries. For the Mayon Volcano documentary, for example, I created an animated sequence based on the legend of Princess Magayon, who is believed to be buried under the volcano.

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courtesy of john pai

Koreans at Pratt: A World-Class Education

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In the last three decades, South Korea’s art and design industries have undergone a renaissance.

Emerging from the postwar and industrialization years, Korean artists in the 1980s and 1990s blossomed as they began to travel, study, and exhibit their works abroad.

During that time, Pratt Institute became a sought-after destination for South Koreans, who represent the highest percentage of Pratt’s international students and alumni today.

In the early 1960s, there were only a handful of Korean students on campus. Most of them were scholars and administrators who came to observe Pratt’s programs to bring their newfound methodologies back to institutions in Seoul. But over the decades, mirroring the positive economy in South Korea and the rise in emigration to America, hundreds of students enrolled at Pratt each year.

Korean Pratt alumni filled prestigious professorial posts, advocating for their students to study at their alma mater.

As more Pratt alumni became prominent figures in the growing art and design-driven industries in South Korea, Pratt’s reputation grew. Koreans now make up nearly half the international student body and 25 percent of the Institute’s international alumni.

The Early Years

Professor Emeritus John Pai's In Whose Image from the upcoming show, “Floating Hours: Moon is the Oldest Clock,” at the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Deoksugung Palace in Seoul

Professor Emeritus and first Korean faculty member John Pai, B.I.D. ’62, M.F.A. ’64, was one of only two Korean students on campus when he arrived at Pratt in 1958. In the 1960s and 1970s, the numbers of Korean students increased—but only slightly—with the establishment of an informal exchange program with Seoul National University and Hongik University, two top universities in Korea. Faculty and administrators came to Pratt under Fulbright and Rockefeller Foundation scholarships to observe and learn teaching methods.

It was a particularly enlightening time to be at Pratt for these students. “I can’t overemphasize the importance of

By Katherine Yungmee Kim

New York as the center of the art and design world, especially during the 1950s and 1960s when the rest of the world was still recovering from the devastation of World War II,” says Pai. “Studying in New York at Pratt was a very special experience.”

During those decades, the Korean population at Pratt was sparse. “I remember Professor Pai having an annual party for the Korean students,” reminisces Myonggi Sul, M.S. Interior Design ’81, professor of interior design. “It was possible to do so in his carriage house on Vanderbilt Avenue since there were so few of us.”

Pai, who taught at Pratt from 1963 to 2000, said that during these convivial gatherings, which at times included such notable Korean art luminaries as video artist Nam June Paik and pianist Kun-Woo Paik, his wife would cook authentic Korean food. “It would end up like a house concert,” Pai recounts. Up until the late 1970s, all of the Korean students had dinner at his home as the students left Korea for Brooklyn armed with his name and address.

“We knew everybody,” he recalls. “But somewhere in the 1980s, there was just an explosion of students coming from Korea. It became impossible to know everybody.”

The Importance of Being Educated Boasting a literacy rate of near 100 percent, South Korea—with its inherent Confucian value of learning—has one of the highest education rates in the world. South Korea is now the world’s 13th largest economy, largely because of its well-educated populace.

The rise of the middle class in the latter half of the century, the country’s global business expansion, and the cutthroat college entrance exams fueled the study abroad movement. High-tech sector growth in the last 20 years— South Korea is considered one of the most wired countries—has only further increased the interest in enrolling at top universities to learn advanced technologies or design and to bring the knowledge back home.

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“I have no doubt, that these students will later on be an important part of the art and design industries in Korea in many ways.”

Courtesy: Debbie Han

— Young Hah, M.F.A. ’00, M.P.S. Arts and Cultural Management ’04

Debbie Han, M.F.A. New Forms, ’99, a Korean American artist working in Seoul 12

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With over 1,050 South Korean alumni, there is a strong network influencing students to attend Pratt for overseas studies. According to Katharine Jungah Kim, B.F.A. Film and Video ’86, CEO of CJ Entertainment, the largest entertainment company in Korea, Pratt alumni in South Korea have reunions twice a year. Kim, chair of the Korean Pratt Alumni Association, explains that the group’s main goal is to contribute to Pratt’s development, as well as to share and exchange information in their specialized areas. There are many privately held exhibitions, and the last Pratt alumni show was “Brooklyn Express” at the Kwanhoon Gallery in 2008.

Young J. Hah, M.F.A. ’00, M.P.S. Arts and Cultural Management ’04, who is Pratt’s graduate and international admissions director, travels to South Korea every other year to meet with prospective students. “Pratt has an excellent reputation in Korea,” she says. She explains that college admissions in Korea is very competitive and only a small number of schools are considered prestigious, prompting many students to study abroad.

“Every time I go back, I am more impressed at how much more global and well-versed the students are than from my previous visit. They are smarter, more independent and well spoken in Korean and English. Their work is becoming more diverse and reflective of their personalities.”

“I have no doubt,” Hah, who also is a visiting assistant professor in Arts and Cultural Management, adds, “that these students will later on be an important part of the art and design industries in Korea in many ways.”

Design Destination Seoul, with its population of over 10 million, is in the midst of a major transformation with its new mayor, Se-hoon Oh, at the helm. Retaining its ancient beauty while promoting its modern high-tech infrastructure, Seoul is working to build its reputation as a creative city. As the 2010 World Design Capital, organizers of the Seoul Design Fair are expecting millions of visitors.

Scheduled to open in 2011, the 115,000-meter Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Park, designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Zaha Hadid, will house a design museum, library, and educational facilities in the center of Seoul.

All of this prompted The New York Times earlier this year to declare: “Forget Tokyo. Design aficionados are now heading to Seoul.”

There are 30,000 design students graduating in Korea every year, and Korean companies now have chief design officers sitting alongside the CEOs. Mayor Oh believes that design and design-related industries are Korea’s key to economic growth. This policy, dubbed “culturenomics,” focuses on creating well-designed products that are distinctly Korean to expand international trade.

Myoung Oak Kim, M.S. Interior Design ’82, is involved in the revitalization of the Samchong-dong area, a historical neighborhood of traditional tile-roofed houses that now boasts art galleries and high-end restaurants. “Nowadays, Seoul is undergoing urban regeneration through culturenomics,” Kim, professor at Duksung Women’s University, explains. “Finding our cultural resources vitalizes the city and its economy. Art and design are the essential elements for Seoul to be a competitive city.”

The art movement in Korea has also expanded rapidly. Debbie Han, M.F.A. New Forms ’99, has worked in Seoul as a full-time artist for the last six years.

Her photography and sculpture, such as her ceramic piece Terms of Beauty that reconstructs Venus de Milo’s face into ethnically and racially different features, explores themes of identity, beauty, and perception. She arrived in Seoul in 2003 for a museum residency as an American artist when there were only two such programs in Korea. Today there are over 20. The Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, where she did an international residency last year, hosted the Res Artis International Conference for the first time in Asia.

John Pai's recent commission for the Seoul Institute of the Arts in Ansan, Korea, Notes from the Stars, is his tallest piece at 31 feet.

Courtesy of Debbie Yoon

Courtesy of Ik-Joong Kang

“We collaborated with Korean traditional painter O-Hyun Gwon to reveal the magnified texture of butterfly wings.”

— Wonjeong Debbie Yoon, B.F.A. Fashion Design ’94

Broadening Perspectives

The interior of the Korean Pavilion at the Expo 2010 Shanghai, China, features 40,000 art panels by Ik-Joong Kang, M.F.A. Fine Arts ’88.

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“very picky and always looking for something fresh, something they’ve never tried before.” Korean art, he says, will follow a similar global trajectory that Chinese artists have recently enjoyed.

“As long as we are open and willing to climb the highest mountain, we should not be afraid of being storytellers,” Kang advises thoughtfully, “so that one day we may tell our friends in the village what we saw at the summit.”

Courtesy of Ik-Joong Kang

“The art world here has gone through many positive changes,” Han says. “Korean artists are very skilled and hard-working and are slowly gaining exposure in the international art scene. Many museums and organizations in the West seem to be introducing Korean contemporary art for the first time.”

In 2009, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art exhibited “Your Bright Future: 12 Contemporary Artists from Korea.” Lynn Zelevansky, B.F.A. ’71, now the Henry J. Heinz II director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, curated the LACMA show that was co-organized with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and attributes the recent popularity of contemporary Korean art to the economic viability of Koreans and their eagerness for exposure. “They started traveling and almost immediately clicked into international trends and then started to take part in the creation of them,” she observes.

Another Korean Pratt alumnus who has found tremendous international success is Ik-Joong Kang, M.F.A. Fine Arts ’88. Since being awarded the Special Merit Award at the 47th Venice Biennale, Kang is one of Korea’s most renowned contemporary artists. He was commissioned in 2008 by the Korean government to decorate the Kwang Hwa Mun Gate, a symbol of national reunification that leads into the Gyeongbok Palace. This year, his work that incorporates Han-geul, the Korean alphabet, is represented at the Korean Pavilion at the Expo 2010 Shanghai, China.

Kang speaks of the Korean art boom and compares the international art audience to restaurant goers, who are

The aluminum panels are composed of art pixels incorporating Han-geul, the Korean alphabet, a recurring motif in Ik-Joong Kang's art.

A celadon dress from the “Butterfly” Fall/Winter 2009 ANDY&DEBB Collection

There were 327 Korean students on the Pratt campus during the 2009–2010 academic year and last fall there were 148 Korean applicants to graduate programs alone.

Communications Design, Fine Arts, and Interior Design are among the most popular fields among Korean applicants and there is now an official exchange program with the Korean National University of the Arts. Additionally, there are two Korean graduates of the School of Architecture— Young Woo, B.Arch. ’80, and Young Ho Kim, B.Arch. ’71 —who serve on the Board of Trustees.

According to Kim, his father Herman Hyung Nam Kim, B.S. Chem. Eng. ’28, is believed to be the first Korean alumnus of Pratt. At the time, Herman Kim was able to learn more at Pratt as an undergraduate than he was able to in the chemistry graduate programs in Korea. The elder Kim also received an honorary doctorate in 1966. On his father’s recommendation, Young Ho Kim met with the dean of Pratt’s School of Architecture who visited Korea in the mid-1960s. He later enrolled and became the first Korean legacy student at Pratt. In 1987, the younger Kim also received an honorary doctorate.

Drawn by the school’s outstanding reputation, the Korean alums also cite Pratt’s academics, intimacy, and location. Wonjeong Debbie Yoon, B.F.A. Fashion Design ’94, of the fashion label ANDY&DEBB, says, “Pratt has a unique artistic environment, with a beautiful campus that seems less commercial.” She attributes much of her label’s ethereally feminine creations to her “fine-art driven mood” and coursework during her Pratt years. “History of Art was a tough challenge, but I loved it,” she says. “As a result, I often get my design themes from art.”

The fine arts reputation attracted Katharine Kim to Pratt, who found her freshman year Foundation courses to revolutionize her thinking. “They were extraordinary, especially in the way they enhanced my ability to see and feel things differently.” She studied Film and Video, and claims that her junior year internship worked as a bridge to her first real job. “It really lead me to be where I am right now,” she says, regarding her role as the first female CEO— and head of the international business division—of South Korea’s largest movie company.

Kitai Park, Graduate Communications Design ’81, professor of environmental design at Yonsei University and founder of the eponymous Kitai Park Design Associates, one of the top design firms in Seoul, also recalls his learning experience in the Pratt classroom. In particular, he was inspired by typography, which was a completely new field for him, one that taught him how to 15

need photo credit

Courtesy of Pat Madeja

By Katherine Yungmee Kim Courtesy OF Pat Madeja

courtesy OF young ho kim

courtesy OF young ho kim

Korean Gems

Pratt designer Aram Moon, B.F.A. ’10, displaying her work on Tatiana Pages of Y&R NY, juror for the Senior Jewelry Show

and administrators in turn find the Korean students to be hard working and skilled, with an eagerness to learn.

This work ethic and sacrifice for education is inherent in the Korean culture. Pai cites an epiphany he had during a trip to Korea in the early 1960s, when Korea was still a struggling nation. “Anyone with a tool, with a pair of pliers, was making something,” he comments. “Families put education first.” People who weren’t artists still held the fine arts and music in high regard. “You see an amazing vitality in Korea now,” Pai observes, an energy that he believes came from decades of enduring the Japanese occupation.

“And that energy continued through Pratt,” Pai says “A small window through which a love of education, science, and the fine aspects of culture can be seen.” P

International Enrollment at Pratt

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Year

Total International Students

Total Students Students from South Korea

2010

751

327

2009

850

356

2008

857

428

2007

780

385

2006

784

379

Courtesy Pat Madeja

represent his work with nuances of quality, emotion, identity, and strategy. Park, who was the Korean Pratt Alumni Association chair from 1998 to 2000, was also inspired by a seminar that brought in speakers from the Metropolitan Opera and The New York Times. “They motivated me,” he says, “to change and broaden my perspective about different expressions in the delivery of art and design to the public.”

Compared to some of the methodologies taught in Korea, there is an openness and directness to the communication with the Pratt faculty. John Pai explains that “the teaching and learning environment was a refreshing alternative to what they have in Korea and even compared to some of the schools in America.” Students feel invited to question more and to be honest. Professors

Hello Mr. X by 1st Prize Rekha-Leigh Punch Alumna Award winner Aram Moon, B.F.A. ’10

Hye Yeon Park, B.F.A. ’10, says her Rice Paper Necklace #2 sounds like stepping on dried leaves around ancient Korean structures. need photo credit

“Families put education first. You see an amazing vitality in Korea now And that energy continued through Pratt.” — John Pai, B.I.D. ’62, M.F.A. ’64

Hye Yeon Park, who studied jewelry design at Pratt and graduated this past May, writes in her artist’s statement: “Living in New York made me realize how small my native country is. Wanting to further explore my roots, I began to research Korean culture and history. I found the mountaintop environment surrounding [Korean] architecture to be extremely moving … quiet, but visually stimulating, whimsical, and vivid.”

In creating her jewelry, Park uses pigments found on Buddhist temples, as well as rice paper, wood, and yellow ochre in making her necklaces, brooches, and bracelets.

Park is one of nine South Koreans out of 16 jewelry design graduates this year. The number of South Koreans concentrating in jewelry and metalsmithing within the Department of Fine Arts varies from year to year, but in 2010–2011 South Koreans will again make up more than half of the graduating class. This year, the top four 2010 Senior Jewelry Awards were bestowed upon Korean students.

Professor Patricia Madeja, who runs the jewelry program, says that the Korean students bring cultural, stylistic, and design differences to the studio. “They talk a lot about beauty and nature,” explains Madeja, who comments that sometimes the students are criticized for aesthetics, such as certain shapes and flowers, that are ubiquitous in South Korea.

“We’re asking them to push their boundaries,” says Madeja. “In their culture, they’re not asked to think outside of the box.” She says that the students have discussed difficulties at home explaining their artistic endeavors to their families. They explained that jewelry is not often regarded as art or design there, and this struggle is heightened as the students bump up against cultural norms and traditions.

Miok Yoo, winner of the Jewelers Resource Award, the Third Prize in the 2010 Senior Jewelry Awards, took the job to task with her brooches that examine the cellular structure of leaves. Pratt President Thomas Schutte and his wife, Tess, found Yoo’s work so captivating that they handpicked one of her pieces to purchase.

This year’s jewelry majors felt especially unified and the students have been recognized with invitations to show their work, acceptances to graduate schools, and lots of media attention, according to Madeja. “The group really pushed each other and decided they were going out on a limb whether their parents approved or not.”

Courtesy of Pat Madeja

Kim's son, Pratt Trustee Young Ho Kim, B.Arch. ’71, after receiving an honorary degree from Pratt in 1987

Courtesy of Pat Madeja

Herman Hyung Nam Kim, fourth from left, on Pratt's Brooklyn campus after receiving an honorary degree in 1966. He graduated from Pratt in 1928 and is believed to be Pratt's first Korean alumnus.

The work of Hyun Ji Kim, B.F.A. ’10, is based on a fusion of Art Nouveau and traditional Korean minhwa painting. 17

CourTesy of rebeCCa weLz

CourTesy of sMarT design

CourTesy of rebeCCa weLz

Processor for Lab on a Chip

BEgINNINg AT PrATT... chANgINg ThE WorlD

By ABIgAIl BEShKIN Liana Cane employee Carla de santo and Pratt graduate industrial design student ivey Lian, M.i.d. ’11

ThE PrATT INSTITUTE cAMPUS IS 25 AcrES IN ThE hEArT oF BrooKlyN. WAlK AcroSS ThE IDyllIc cAMPUS AND ThroUgh Th E S c U lP T U r E gA r D E N, AND IT’S EASy To Fo rgET Th AT WorlD-chANgINg IDEAS ArE BEINg coNcEIVED IN BUIlDINgS JUST A FEW FEET AWAy. These ideas will become designs that will have life-changing impacts on the health, lives, and well-being of millions of people across the globe. The changes will be felt from the most rural sections of Africa, to high-tech cities in china. These designs by Pratt professors, students, and alumni could revolutionize the way diagnoses are made and healthcare is delivered; they may alter the way children play and adults relax.

Many of the designs are still in the early stages, but they are undoubtedly the future.

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sara dierCk

Designers from Pratt’s Design incubator for Sustainable innovation have helped create a device that could revolutionize how quickly people in remote areas of the developing world get tested for hiV. Lab on a chip was conceived by columbia university molecular biologist Dr. Sam Sia. the “lab” itself is a chip about the size of a credit card that can analyze a drop of blood and determine within 20 minutes, whether someone has hiV or syphilis.

When Sia invented the chip, he realized he would need industrial designers to create a processor for it. “We initially approached the incubator because we really believed in the value of industrial design even from the very early stages of development,” says Sia. he asked incubator designers to come up with a hand-held device that would create a vacuum reaction and enable a blood sample to be pulled across the card and bind with the antibodies and antigens to show results. it would also protect the chip.

Debera johnson, director of the incubator and also Pratt institute’s academic director of sustainability, assembled designers Samuel cochran, b.i.D. ’05, Kevin Mcelroy, b.i.D. ’07, Samantha razook Murphy, and anhdao nguyen, b.i.D. ’09. johnson connected that team to the new york city-based industrial design firm Smart Design, which dedicated designers eric Freitag and jonathan cedar to the Lab on a chip project. the team agreed: they had to investigate the conditions in rwanda that would impact use of the Lab on a chip in africa.

Members of the Pratt incubator team traveled to rwanda, including Samuel cochran, who says the team learned almost everything they needed to in the field. “once we were going from clinic to clinic, we saw how access to electricity was sometimes unpredictable. We witnessed how most of the clinics lacked windows, allowing dust, water, and other elements in.

We were able to take that all back to the design table,” says cochran. the result was that the final design focused on integrating a lever into the front of the apparatus. it not only opens up and allows the user to put the chip in, it also starts the mechanism that draws the blood along the chip to give the results. in addition, it protects the chip from dust. the focus of the design is on the front, with a simple button and a light that flashes “yes” or “no” depending on whether the test is positive or negative. the device looks simple and approachable, yet it looks credible, which is crucial if people are to believe the test results. anthony Dibitonto, M.i.D. ’95 and a partner at Smart Design, says he was glad to have his company team up with his alma mater. “this project was a great social mission,” he says. “and Pratt is a great learning institution. What people from Pratt bring to design is this great tradition of education. For us it’s really important to contribute to the growth of that too.”

sara dierCk

Lab on a chiP

Top: wai wai weaver aiyo; bottom left to right: sara Mcbeen, ivey Lian, sahar ghaheri, all M.i.d. ’11, work with Liana Cane factory employee wahlo. at far right, weaving local materials

Guyana Project one year ago, industrial design professor rebecca Welz took 11 students to the South American country of guyana to work at the liana cane factory owned by a well-known female entrepreneur and social activist. The chairs, hammocks, and other goods manufactured in the factory are made from sustainably harvested rainforest materials.

“As designers, I feel it’s important to think about the rest of the world,” says Welz. “Most of what we design is for such a small percentage of the world, and I wanted my students to think about designing for the other 90%, the people who barely have access to food and water. I also wanted them to think about this project as a cultural exchange and collaboration.”

“in the tradition of Pratt industrial design, we really stretched the limit, and came up with totally new ideas and ways to work with the materials.”

—Professor rebecca Welz For 10 days, Welz and her students worked closely with liana cane’s artisan workers, and the region’s indigenous Wai Wai weavers. They learned to work with the kufa vine, and watched as the weavers deftly wove nibbi and mukra into seats and lighting. They worked until the daylight disappeared since electric lighting was scanty in the liana factory.

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ROBBIE PATRICK AND SARA DIERCK

The Millennium Villages project is an initiative headed by the Columbia Earth Institute at Columbia University, the Millennium Promise, and the United Nations Development Programme to help 14 villages in 10 African countries take sustainable steps toward pulling themselves out of poverty.

One key component of Millennium Villages is the Community Health Worker Program, which trains people in basic medical skills, including treating malaria, checking children for malnutrition, and teaching mothers to care for newborns.

For years, each group trained their health workers differently. Millennium

pages that needed to be pared down in terms of content, and it had to be communicated in a way that people could understand,” says Julia Frydman of the Earth Institute’s Center for Global Health and Economic Development.

“A lot of the medical experts were convinced it couldn’t be done,” Johnson remembers. “But once they saw our first design, the group was galvanized.”

This was the most exciting moment of the project for Johnson. “It was rewarding to watch a group of skeptics change their opinion in response to the Incubator’s clear and simple design.”

The first iteration was a field toolkit/ manual for the healthcare workers and a trainer-to-trainer manual. The illustrations, charts and decision-making trees, and step-by-step instructions are designed to visually reinforce the diagnostic process. The graphics are

opportunities for designers to work on world-changing projects that keep them connected to their hearts,” says Johnson. “We are connecting design to people in the field, working with communities, literally changing lives— and our designers get to be a part of making it happen. Besides,” Johnson adds, “how cool is it when an undergraduate student gets to say she was one of the lead designers on a project that is going to impact over a half a million people’s access to healthcare?”

COURTESY OF DESIGN INCUBATOR

Sara Dierck Diana Pau

ROBBIE PATRICK AND SARA DIERCK

Sara Dierck

Sara Dierck Diana Pau

Millennium Villages Community Health Worker Program

“It was rewarding to watch a group of skeptics change their opinion in response to the Incubator’s clear and simple design.”

—Pratt Academic Sustainability Director Deb Johnson

Top Row: L-R, Professor Rebecca Welz, Mike Jozewicz, Liana Cane factory employee BeBe works with Eve Fisher, B.I.D. ’10 Bottom Row: L-R, Knot by Catherine Merrick, Hand in Hand by Heléne Kenny, Undergrowth by Heléne Kenny

“In the tradition of Pratt industrial design, we really stretched the limit, and came up with totally new ideas and ways to work with the materials,” says Welz. “And the Liana Cane workers were not used to what we were doing either.

Although it was very hard work, I think they enjoyed seeing how we were stretching the limits.”

At the end of the their stay, the students also met with Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo who has made environmental initiatives a focus of his presidency.

In their 10 days in Guyana, the group produced almost two-dozen pieces. They exhibited them in conjunction with the 2010 International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) at a show called “Model Citizens.”

Welz says she hopes this furniture will eventually gain notice.

“We want to provide orders for the factory and we feel that will

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help the economy of the workers and contribute to the economy in the larger sense, as well as to the green initiative.”

“I wanted my students to think about designing for the other 90%, the people who barely have access to food and water.”

—Professor Rebecca Welz

Villages set out to standardize the process and introduce available technology. So what does that have to do with design? Everything.

That’s where Pratt’s Design Incubator for Sustainable Innovation came in.

Debera Johnson, director of the Incubator and Pratt’s academic director of sustainability, organized a “design jam” to look at how to create tools for the community health care workers.

She pulled together a diverse group of 40 designers and experts in healthcare and mobile technology, as well as medical practitioners.

The group explored the “day in the life” experience of a community heath care worker, then looked for opportunities where design could make their work more effective. They also considered the integration of mobile technology and opportunities for community engagement. They presented the concepts, then the core team went to work to design a prototype to present to the Earth Institute.

“We literally had thousands of

designed to convert easily onto a mobile phone platform. Johnson spent a week in Ruhira, Uganda, getting feedback and working alongside the healthcare workers. “One of the key takeaways was the importance of designing in co-creation in the field.

Each area was going to have its own set of local myths, stigmas, and attitudes,” Johnson says. “Those would have to be integrated into the training.”

The graphic design was done by a team of seven students, led by Carolyn Schaberle, M.I.D. ’09, and Mary Khoun, a sophomore in the industrial design program. “There were a massive number of illustrations to be done,” says Johnson, “so I called everyone I knew who could draw and asked them to help.” The result—35 volunteer illustrators, mostly Pratt alumni and faculty, who did close to 1,000 drawings in about a month.

Johnson says the work on the Millennium Villages Community Health Worker Program manuals typifies the incubator’s mission. “My goal is to find

Illustrations for the training manual

for the Millennium Villages Community Health Worker program

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Rachel Rabhan

Courtesy of Urban Movement Design.

Renderings for the “Ribbon of Movement” park in Liuzhou, China

Urban Movement Design

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The monkey bar bike racks also doubled as stretching mechanisms for before and after the athletes’ workouts, enabling the overworked athletes to get in more play time, while the structures along the core connector, which is still under construction, will be ideal places for Whistler residents to stretch and relax.

“Our designs had to be inclusive of ‘extreme athletes’ who, like New Yorkers, overwork their ‘stress response’ and do maintain a proper balance with the rest they need to nourish and balance the para-sympathetic nervous system. At the same time, we also had to design for everyday inhabitants, including moms with strollers, office workers, and the everyday athletes who live there.”

Now, Kassen and Gluck have another international project underway. They designed what they call a “ribbon of movement” for a public park that is part of a new development in the southern Chinese city Liuzhou.

The 14 structures in a 30,000-square-foot park “pop

Rachel Rabhan

Robyne Kassen, M. Arch. ’05, and Sarah Gluck, M. Arch. begun in 2002, met at Pratt’s Graduate School of Architecture and recognized their shared passion immediately.

“We were both investigating the body in architecture and design. We were asking the questions: ‘How do you design for the body?’ ‘How does it interact with space?’” says Gluck.

Gluck and Kassen continue to ask—and answer—these questions at their New York-based company Urban Movement Design, which designs interiors, furniture, and public infrastructure to mirror and inspire the way people naturally move. "How do we design in order to help people draw out the body in healthful ways?” says Kassen. “Healthy movement and relaxation ultimately lead to reduced health care costs; they energize people.”

Urban Movement Design recently completed two international projects. One that received significant attention was the Whistler Olympic Village project, for which they designed three bus shelters, benches, a “core connector” pathway, and 11 bike racks for the Athletes Village in Whistler, British Columbia, for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

They knew right away these would not just be any bus shelters, paths, benches, and bike racks. These would have to get people moving, playing, and resting.

Gluck is an expert in movement and kinesthetics, also teaching yoga and Pilates, who specializes in people with trauma and disabilities. The Whistler project was a perfect opportunity for Urban Movement Design to launch its interdisciplinary designs into the built world.

“High performance athletes are a special population,” says Gluck. “All the athletes were overworking, so it was important that in these bus shelters we provided the one thing they were not getting—rest.”

Gluck and Kassen designed the bus shelters with seats that enabled the athletes to rest in healthy positions with proper alignment. And, since the Athletes Village is expected eventually to be turned into a residential neighborhood, the infrastructure for health is designed for all. The shelters include spaces for wheelchairs, as well as gondola seating—higher seats more comfortable for arthritis sufferers.

“We were both investigating the body in architecture and design.

We were asking the questions: ‘How do you design for the body?”

—Sarah Gluck in and out of the landscape and provide spaces for rest or platforms to eat with friends,” explains Gluck.

Visitors have opportunities to stretch, since one structure allows a user to stretch into a deep lunge position, while another lets the user open his or her shoulder girdle. Still another lets people rest in zero gravity position, taking weight off the spine by holding the legs.

The park is under construction and is expected to be completed this year.

“We have a big vision,” says Kassen. “We believe strongly that there is a divide between the way people are living internally and externally, and design of public spaces can be a reflection and a healing opportunity.” P

Top: Bike racks in the Athletes Village, Whistler, British Columbia, 2010 Winter Olympics. At center, Urban Movement Design’s Sarah Gluck Bottom: Bus shelter in the Athletes Village, Whistler, British Columbia, 2010 Winter Olympics

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Courtesy of C. Grimaldis Gallery

Sarah shaw

PASSPORT TO CREATIVITY The truism that art transcends national boundaries now applies to many Pratt alumni and students as well. Travel has inspired some of history’s greatest artists, and the artworks featured here, culled from many fine submissions, confirm that seeing the world is still one of the great enticements to creativity. Whether assimilating works of art that have stood the test of time or absorbing the ways of another culture, Pratt artists view the world with curious eyes, recording their journeys of discovery in

Ik-Joong Kang

soaring flights of the imagination. Compiled by Adrienne Gyongy

Effie Halivopoulou, Sandglass Bending, 2009, acrylic, photos and resins on paper, 78 x 53.5 inches.

Effie Halivopoulou B.F.A.’85, M.F.A.’87 Sandglass Bending is a collage that overlaps different elements such as paint drippings, biological maps, enlarged blood cells, and photos of the human brain to reference the human body. These are organized around two wide white lines that represent the distorted contour of a sandglass, as it bends to measure time. By combining visual ideas about biotechnology issues with linguistic codes as well as alphabets taken from ancient Greek culture, the artist shows that different realities coexist in constant flow. Halivopoulou, who lives in Athens, has been teaching and exhibiting her work internationally for more than two decades. Since 2007, she has been coordinator of the Visual Arts Program at DEREE, The American College of Greece.

Ik-Joong Kang, Amazed World, 2001-2002, installation of 34,000 children’s pictures from 132 countries, commissioned by the Republic of Korea in association with the United Nations Children’s Fund and shown at the United Nations, N.Y.

Ik-Joong Kang M.F.A. Fine Arts ’88 A native of South Korea, Kang moved to Brooklyn in 1984 to attend Pratt, where he began painting on portable 3x3 inch canvases during his two-hour subway commutes to his various part-time jobs. By 1994, he was financially able to work full time on his art, and to this day continues to make the small canvases. Currently, he has painted over 200,000 paintings, utilizing them in many of his installations.

For Amazed World—a project based on the artist’s belief that “we are all connected”—Kang invited 34,000 children to send in their drawings by giving them a specific format and theme, “My Dream.” He then had each drawing mounted on one of his signature 3x3 inch wooden blocks, forming a gigantic maze installation displayed in the lobby of the United Nations building in 2001. He has currently collected over 500,000 children’s “dreams” from 149 countries and, with this theme, has completed and donated many public projects around the world.

Kang has exhibited worldwide in prestigious venues, including two shows at the Whitney Museum of American Art. He represented Korea at the 1997 Venice Biennale, where he was awarded the Special Merit Prize. Recently, Kang covered the entire Korean Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo with the Korean alphabet on 40,000 aluminum panels painted in bright Korean traditional colors. Ik-Joong Kang lives and works in New York City.

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Sarah Shaw, Map of Cuzco, Peru, 2009, acrylic and collage on canvas, 21 x 68 inches.

Sarah Shaw B.F.A. Art and Design Education/Painting ’10 Shaw expresses her fascination with travel, migration, and diverse cultures through work that depicts geographic imagery from an aerial viewpoint. She has lived and studied abroad in Cuzco, Peru (the inspiration for this map) and through Pratt’s exchange program at the Korea National University of Arts, where this work was displayed in a 2009 exhibition, titled “37"36'07.68" N-127"03'29.63."” In this map, Shaw created layers by adding and subtracting paint, as well as by drawing, sewing, and adding paper, ink, fabric, and gel to the canvas. Shaw’s immediate plans include living and teaching abroad.

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Courtesy of the artist

Sarah Nock

blackenhorn Photograph kate Middleton

Susann Minton M.F.A. Painting ’75 In this spirited scene of vacation revelers partying dockside, lanterns spin in the wind under a darkening sky. Minton’s paintings capture memories and images from her childhood, growing up on several military bases in the Caribbean and traveling in Hawaii, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. After moving often between countries, cultures, and climates, Minton in later life found painting similar to travel in expressing a desire to be taken out of the familiar and transported to a novel world. In adulthood, the remembrance of her travels sparked Minton’s creativity in merging scenes from her earlier years with the ever-changing vistas of the present time. She lived and worked in Brooklyn, near Prospect Park and passed away on June 27, 2006.

Katie Middleton, Study of the Chiesa di San Moisè in Venice, 2005, oil on canvas, 18 x 24 inches.

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Jennifer Dodson, I Was Born at the Bottom of a Wishing Well, 2009, ink, 22 x 30 inches.

Jennifer Dodson B.F.A. Painting ’10 This drawing was inspired by a weekend visit to Florence during Dodson’s first experience abroad as a student in the 2009 Pratt in Venice summer program. In the Piazza Santissima Annunziata she came upon an oxidized bronze fountain (c.

1640) by Pietro Tacca, chief apprentice to Giambologna. Its grotesque appearance fascinated her. She drew it with a ballpoint pen, imaginatively relocating it to a place that looks out towards the Ponte Vecchio and the Arno River, giving the gargoyle the greater prominence she felt it deserved.

Dodson, who also goes by the pseudonym “Odetta Dangerfield,” hopes to pursue a career in art therapy.

Katie Middleton B.F.A. Painting ’07 Middleton set up her easel outside of the Chiesa di San Moisè to paint this detail from its elaborate marble façade. She was a student in the 2005 Pratt in Venice summer program and it was her first time abroad. Middleton had always loved Baroque sculpture and enjoyed figure painting and drawing from life. Painting in the open air of Venice was especially exciting. Middleton recently completed a program in makeup for television and cinema at Vancouver Film School, Canada, where she won the December 2009 Achievement Award. She is now in Los Angeles seeking work as a makeup/special effects artist in the motion picture industry, while she continues to do her oil paintings.

Courtesy of the artist. Reproduced by permission

Debbie Han, Seated Three Graces, 2009, Lightjet print, aluminum, acrylic, 63 x 92.5 inches.

Susann Minton, Last Night of the Vacation, 1990, oil on canvas, 52 x 76 inches.

Debbie Han M.F.A. New Forms ’99 It took Han two years to complete Seated Three Graces, a work that challenges the standardized Eurocentric canon of beauty. Her method was to photograph bodies of actual, present-day Asian women and combine them with typically Western classical heads, portraying the women as seated marble statues in a classical pose. To generate the marble-like skin texture of each figure, Han applied a painstakingly meticulous digital rendering process, giving it the illusion of sculpture.

Seated Three Graces won Han the 2009 Sovereign Asian Art Prize ($25,000). The dissonance between head and body reflects the clashes of tradition and westernization in Asia today, as interpreted by the Korean American artist when she returned to her native Korea six years ago. Currently, Han is a full-time artist in Seoul.

Kathleen Migliore-Newton, School of Athens, 2005, oil on linen, 55 x 44 inches.

Kathleen Migliore-Newton B.F.A. Painting/Printmaking ’64 As an artist and grandchild of Italian immigrants, Migliore-Newton has investigated Italian culture through art and literature.

During a visit to Rome, she photographed tourists contemplating Raphael’s fresco the School of Athens (1510-1511) in the Vatican Museum and was inspired to create her own version of this celebrated work of art. Combining several photos, Migliore-Newton juxtaposed tourists holding their cell phones and guidebooks against the famed Renaissance painting. The viewers’ thoughtful gestures parallel those of Raphael’s philosophers, suggesting a modern-day continuum with the narrative scope of the fresco. Migliore-Newton teaches English as a Second Language to adults for the New York City Department of Education, which places her in contact with many people and cultures of the world.

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EMPATHY FOR CULTURE DESIGN FOR A GLOBAL AGE Compiled by Adrienne GyonGy photos by ArmAndo rAfAel photoGrAphy

For the second consecutive year, Pratt was among six of the world’s top design schools chosen to exhibit furniture, lighting, tabletop, and home accessories as part of the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), North America’s singular showcase for modern design.* Pratt’s Department of Industrial Design was selected for its theme “Empathy for Culture,” a concept introduced by Adjunct Professors Mark Goetz, B.I.D. ’86, Kimberly Snyder, and Tim Richartz, B.I.D. ’86, and developed in collaboration with U.S. furniture manufacturer Herman Miller, a respected leader in sustainability and ergonomics.

The theme was explored in three furniture courses offered in the spring semester to encourage students to consider the global impact of their projects.

The end results were shown at the 22nd annual ICFF, held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan in May 2010. On display in Pratt’s 200-square-foot booth were the culturally informed designs of 11 undergraduate and graduate students in the industrial design department, reflecting their insights into how the people of other cultures think, feel, and respond to the world around them.

Describing Pratt as “an international gathering place for talent,” Goetz said, “The students had to immerse themselves in other cultures and investigate design’s capacity in this global age to serve as a medium for sharing and integrating the unique ideas of a particular culture within the physicality of design. We are grateful to Herman Miller for guiding and advising us in this endeavor.”

sahar ghaheri, immigrant Culture: Unspoken

Laurent hildreth, Tibetan buddhist Monk Culture: Bloom Lamp

Chia Lin hsu, Taiwanese Culture: Caning Chair

Sahar Ghaheri (M.I.D. expected 2011)

Laurent Hildreth (B.I.D. expected 2012)

Chia Lin Hsu (B.I.D. expected 2011)

Unspoken is a collection of acrylic jewelry created

by Ghaheri from “letters that are left behind.” These letters are removed from words in many languages, because they are no longer pronounced in the immigrant’s new homeland. Though no longer spoken, these letters are at least not forgotten.

The lotus flower, a Buddhist symbol for the soul rising above worldly experience, is the inspiration for Hildreth’s Bloom Lamp, which draws on aspects of Tibetan Buddhist monk culture so anyone may experience similar feelings of tranquility. The lamplight represents the monks’ pointed focus in achieving serenity through spiritual practice.

The lampshade is formed of unprocessed wool that radiates a nourishing organic feel to the surrounding area and evokes both a sense of comfort and the monks’ practice of living close to the land.

Taipei-born Hsu’s project was inspired by the heat and humidity of her homeland, Taiwan. Hsu experienced a different climate during six months in Sweden, learning glass design and visiting six other European countries. Through her research, she found that most modern furniture traps more body heat than traditional furniture. In an era of global warming, Hsu’s seating unit uses a laminated traditional woven material to allow for better ventilation. The natural material is placed on a steel frame, creating a visually appealing and lightweight seating option that is comfortable in warm climes.

Stevenson Aung (M.I.D. expected 2011) The Hmong people, a minority ethnic group in Southeast Asia and Southern China, have for centuries maintained their own language, customs, and distinct culture. After the Vietnam War, many resettled in Canada, France, and the United States.

The title of Aung’s project, Dhos, means “coming together,” because the aluminum stools create a sense of community through color, line, and plane.

Though different in size and color, the stools remain connected and similar through production, form, and material. As such, Aung sees them as modern symbols of Hmong culture. stevenson aung, hmong Culture: Dhos

Sara McBeen (M.I.D. expected 2011) McBeen has traveled to Kuwait, Dubai, and Bahrain, where she experienced the generosity, goodness, and hospitality that are integrated into daily rituals. Her table design Aata reflects the joyous socializing so strongly exhibited in Middle Eastern culture. Aata is about understanding that two hands cupped together will always carry more water than one and about celebrating the act of sharing gifts with others. Aata’s form and colors take inspiration from traditional geometric patterns and vibrant colors experienced in the marketplace and the landscape of the Middle East. sara Mcbeen, Middle eastern Culture: Aata *The others were ArtFuture, Konstfack, Maryland Institute College of Art, Parsons the New School for Design, and Yale School of Architecture.

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ivey Lian, buddhist Meditation Culture: Enso wall Light

Ivey Lian (M.I.D. expected 2011) Born in Taiwan, Lian spent a life-changing 10 days at a silent Buddhist Meditation Retreat in Suan Mok, Thailand, during which she experienced the power of meditation. Enso wall light was inspired by Zen Buddhist painting and enso, which symbolizes a moment when the mind is free to simply let the body and spirit create. Each of the light’s paneled designs is unique, the creation of a moment when the painter and the paper unite; the result shows the expressive movement of the spirit at that time. Lian’s design creates calm in the midst of everyday stress.

nina d’amario, global education Culture: Parachute

Nina D’Amario (M.I.D. expected 2011) D’Amario’s marble maze and color wheel learning toys were developed to benefit the 72 million children worldwide who lack the opportunity or resources to attend primary school. She intends the toys to be universally appreciated and not culturally specific. The toys are part of her Parachute project, combining the Montessori educational approach with a philanthropic business model. A percentage of the sales of each product will go to a fund aimed at reaching the United Nation’s 2nd Millennium Development Goal, Universal Primary Education by 2015.

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W h er e i n the world is Pra t t ?

Pratt¹s community spans the globe. After receiving their Pratt education, alumni bring their skills, expertise,

Countries with most alumni United States–29,084 Malaysia–14 South Korea–444 Singapore–13 Taiwan–196 Australia–12 Japan–150 Nigeria–11 Thailand–132 Barbados–10 Canada–118 The Netherlands–10 Israel–90 US Virgin Islands–10 Puerto Rico–80 British Virgin Islands–9 Greece–50 Switzerland–9 United Kingdom–49 United Arab Emirates–9 Brazil–35 Argentina–8 India–30 China–8 Germany–28 Indonesia–8 Turkey–26 Pakistan–8 Mexico–25 Egypt–7 Italy–23 Iceland–7 France–20 South Africa–7 Jamaica–19 Sweden–7 Colombia–18 Chile–6 Cyprus–17 Saudi Arabia–6 Hong Kong–17 Austria–5 Trinidad and Tobago–17 Ireland–5 Philippines–15 Norway–5 Spain–15 Belgium–4 Venezuela–15

and creativity to their homelands or their adopted countries. Pratt students have the opportunity to study abroad in several European countries, as well as to participate in exchange programs all around the world.

Study Abroad Programs Copenhagen (Spring and Summer) Fashion in Europe Florentine Art and Culture London E-Publishing Rome (Spring and Summer) Tuscany Pratt in Venice (founded in 1984)

Top countries of residence: graduate students South Korea Taiwan India Canada China Japan Turkey Thailand Pakistan Colombia

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Exchange Programs Bauhaus University in Weimar, Germany Berlin University of the Arts in Berlin, Germany (pending) Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, Israel (the oldest exchange program) Central Saint Martins in London, England (the 2nd oldest exchange program) Folkwang University in Essen, Germany (pending) Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, The Netherlands Glasgow School of Art in Glasgow, Scotland Hogeschool Voor Dekunsten in Amsterdam, The Netherlands Kingston University London in London, England (pending) Korean National University of Arts “KNUA” in Seoul, Korea Linnaeus University in Kalmar, Sweden Musashino Art University “MAU” in Tokyo, Japan Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti “NABA” in Milan, Italy Southern Cross University in Lismore, Australia

Top countries of residence: undergraduate students South Korea Canada China Turkey Taiwan Japan Thailand Costa Rica Germany Indonesia

new and noteworthy

New and Noteworthy I tems i n th e m a r ke t p lac e c r e at ed by Pr at t A l u m n i , Fac ulty, and S t u de n t s

Ko ku C ut t ing Boar d Joe Casale, B.S. Industrial Design ’79 $39.99 Inspired by the need to keep cutting boards clean, Casale developed Koku, a cutting board that is built onto a base that contains hideaway measuring drawers. According to Casale, Koku meant one measure of rice that would feed one person for one year in ancient Japan. It seemed to him to be the perfect name for this product since it also measures food amounts. Dishwasher safe, Koku features a built-in grating system.

Available through kokuboard.com

B am b o o N est Ri n g Ward Kelvin, Class of ’86 $12,000 Influenced by Thirties Hollywood Regency style, this magnificent 18-karat gold cocktail ring in the shape of bamboo stems features a green tourmaline and diamonds. Kelvin delights in creating big, luxurious looks that have an openness and lightness to them. The ring is part of the 40-piece Ward Kelvin Collection, the designer’s debut fine jewelry line, called American Chinoise, which is made entirely in New York City.

Available at Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus San Francisco.

Couture Pape r G o o d s Kamal Patel, B.F.A. Communication Arts ’99 Mini-wraps ($6.50/1 roll) Starburst card ($20/6 pack) Gold starburst coaster ($16/8) London-born Patel takes cues from her Indian heritage in creating her boldly patterned, colorfully modern couture paper designs, which are printed up in a nearby factory to assure quality and eco-friendliness. Her popular collections lend an extra touch of whimsy and fun to gift giving.

Available at select retailers nationwide and through onkamal.com.

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Al l O u r C h a nge s : I m ag e s f r o m the Si xt i es G en er at i o n Gerry Kopelow, former Pratt lecturer $29.95 (University of Manitoba Press, 2009) Between 1968 and 1975, Gerry Kopelow traveled cross-country photographing political protests, concerts, musicians, and other people and events in the lives of the changing generation of that time.

This collection of 160 black-and-white images documents a period of discovery and evolution of thoughts and ideas, offering Kopelow’s youthful glimpse of that turbulent period. Available at bookstores.

Magn etic Kid s ™ Gaia Cornwall, B.F.A. Film/Media Arts ’01 $8.50 per set: 1 Kid, 1 Pet, 3 Outfits Cornwall came up with the idea of making a magnetic paper doll after one of her best friends adopted a three-year-old toddler. Magnetic Kids™ are very sturdy and suitable for sticking to metallic surfaces all over the home.

Like paper dolls, these magnetic dolls come with a whole line of outfits to dress them up in. They make great party favors and novelty gifts and can be custom drawn for large orders. Ten percent of each Magnetic Kids™ purchase goes to charitable organizations that benefit children. Available through magnetickids.com.

Jo h n Ro mbo l a : E c lect ic Eccent r ic Illustrations by John Rombola, Illustration ’54 $50 (Chronicle Books, 2009) Rombola’s spirited art is gathered in this first comprehensive monograph of his work. Authors Veronique Vienne and Melissa Tardiff explore Rombola’s career through selections from his best known series, including gouache and ink drawings from his travels, both real and imagined, to the tropics and to Europe. His artwork is part of the permanent collection of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.

Available through chroniclebooks.com.

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NeW aND NoTEWo RTHY

NEW AND NOteWOrtHY

pe t er seItz: d e s I Gn I nG a lI Fe Kolean Pitner, M.s. Communications Design ’82 $14.95 (MCaD, 2008) graphic design historian Pitner collaborated with walker art Center design director andrew blauvelt and writer bruce wright to co-author this volume about the influential german-born designer Peter seitz, who, in 1964, was hired by the walker in multiple design capacities. seitz went on to found one of the first interdisciplinary design firms in the country and taught at the Minneapolis College of art and design for 30 years.

Pitner, who teaches at the College of visual arts in saint Paul, Minnesota, also directs the insights Lecture series at the walker art Center. available through amazon.com. r a I n love o n man I l a t- s h Irts Deb Flores, Grad. Communications/Package Design ’11 $25.20 Pratt student deb flores came up with this catchy 100 percent cotton T-shirt to call attention to the typhoons in the Philippines, which claimed more than 800 lives in october 2009. flores coined the slogan “rain Love on Manila” to encourage compassion for typhoon victims and raise funds for disaster relief through sales of the T-shirts. her design includes teardrops of sympathy inside the letter “a” and hearts to symbolize love inside the letter “o.” above the logo, grey clouds represent the typhoon with strong diagonal lines suggesting the destructive forces of nature. available through rainloveonmanila.blogspot.com and etsy.com.

c h a rac ter anI matIo n cra s h co u rs e! eric Goldberg, Class of ’75 $35 (silman-James Press, 2008)

reF l ec t sh ow erh ead Nick Paget, B.I.D. Industrial Design ’04 $295

acclaimed disney animator eric goldberg designed, wrote, and illustrated this volume. The book and its accompanying Cd are packed with the insights and methods needed to bring pencil lines to extraordinary life, illuminating how to conceive characters “from the inside out” to create strong personalities. Classic animation techniques are analyzed to show goldberg’s principles at work. he was supervising animator for disney’s feature-length animated film The Princess and the Frog, which released during the 2009 holiday season. available at bookstores and through silmanjamespress.com.

Reflect is a showerhead and non-fogging shower mirror that uses incoming water to heat the reflective surface and prevent condensation.

Reflect makes the shower a perfect place to shave and shampoo, while viewing yourself in its mirror. Made almost entirely of recyclable aluminum, it harbors less bacteria than plastic and is manufactured locally in the san francisco bay area, where Paget’s independent design practice is based. (he himself appears in this mirror, using Reflect.) available through reflectshower.com.

c my k elekt r Ic bI ke Manuel saez, former Pratt faculty member $780 Created by industrial design guru Manuel saez, the prizewinning CMyk electric bike runs on a 110-volt battery and folds up in a few simple steps for easy storage. a two-hour charge is said to be enough for a 50-minute ride, making the bike ideal for short commutes between home, office, school, or train station. The bike’s use may aid in the quest for a greener world by reducing the number of cars on the street. available in stores nationwide.

s t I r sto o l Mark Goetz, B.I.D. Industrial Design ’86; Pratt faculty member $1,635 Stir is a sculptural stool with twisting legs created by adjunct Professor Mark goetz, designer of many products and award– winning seating for companies such as herman Miller and bernhardt design. Made of steel and a spinneybeck leather seat, Stir comes in heights of 30", 24", and 18" with a 16"-square seat for residential or commercial use. Custom color and finishes are offered as are indoor and outdoor versions. available through blankblank.net.

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new and noteworthy

velora candl e h o l d e r s Ana Linares, B.I.D. Industrial Design ’07 $30

NYC M etro Cu ff Tiffany Burnette, M.I.D. Industrial Design ’08 $25

Velora (candleflower in Spanish) is the name given to these candleholders, which were born of Linares’s fascination with the lightness of origami shapes and laser-cutting technology. For Velora she created a pattern that allows powder-coated steel to be transformed into a three-flower-shaped form that holds a tea light.

The candleholders were exhibited during N.Y. Design week 2009 in conjunction with the Industrial Designers Society of America.

Available through analinaresdesign.com and stores in New York City.

Burnette recently launched Designhype, Inc., a design firm dedicated to creating “intelligent, thoughtful objects for intelligent, thoughtful people.”

The company’s first product, the NYC Metro Cuff, depicts the Manhattan subway line as it appears on the MTA maps with subway lines and street numbers embossed into the surface of the metal. Beyond its handsome craftsmanship, the cuff serves a practical use for orientation in New York City. Available at the Prattstore and through designhypeinc.com.

F r in ge s o f E m p ir e : P e o p l e s, P l ac e s, & S pac e s in Co lo nia l I n dia Sameetah Agha, Pratt faculty member $61.50 (Oxford University Press, 2009) Sameetah Agha, chair of Pratt’s Social Science and Cultural Studies department, and co-editor Elizabeth Kolsky, a historian at Villanova University, examine the history of British rule in India in this interdisciplinary collection of 10 essays that focus on people, places, and time periods at the margins of the British Empire. The volume explores how those positioned at the empire's boundaries had the greatest freedom for initiative and innovation. Available at bookstores.

Va mpire Zero David Wellington, M.S. Library Science ’07 $13.95 (Three Rivers Press, 2008) In this action-packed third volume in his vampire trilogy that includes 13 Bullets and 99 Coffins, Wellington takes the Laura Caxton series to a whole new level by getting deeper into the minds of the characters than in his previous books. In Vampire Zero, Caxton is faced with the task of destroying a formidable enemy who knows all her tricks better than anyone—because Caxton’s foe himself taught her everything she knows about monsters. Available at bookstores.

La n dscap es T hr ough Ti me w ith Davi d Dunlop David Dunlop, M.F.A. Painting ’79 $129.95 for set of 3 DVDs $29.95 for single episode

Constructed from a tubular steel frame and nylon webbing, the nickelplated Through Lounge is intended for outdoor use. The chair’s rigid seat is inspired by a yoga position that relieves tension in the back and legs, but unlike the pose, the chair does not strain the body’s core.

Although its styling relates to a chaise, the actual seat is more like a recliner or dentist's chair, in which one can breathe deeply, read, or talk while sitting. Water, stain, and rust resistant, the lounge is available in various colors. Stern’s training in transportation and furniture design was gained, in part, at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad. Available through tideshome.com.

Connie Simmons

Thr ough Loun g e Thomas Stern, B.I.D. Industrial Design ’09 $3,000

In this 13-episode half-hour series, originally run on PBS, Emmy-award winning writer and artist David Dunlop takes viewers to revisit the places where Van Gogh, Monet, Cezanne, and other influential artists went to create their now-famous works. Dunlop first gives viewers a better understanding of the episode’s featured painter, then sets up his own easel to recapture the landscape in the style of the artist, taking time to explain each step of the process with artistic and technical insight. He is pictured here painting a vista of cypress trees in the South of France just as Van Gogh did during his stay at the asylum of St. Paul de Mausole.

Available through paintingclass.net.

WE INVITE SUBMISSIONS TO NEW AND NOTEWORTHY FROM ALUMNI, FACULTY, AND STUDENTS. SEND INFORMATION AND IMAGE(S ) OF YOUR LATEST C REATION IN THE MARK ETP LAC E TO agyongy@P RATT. EDU. 36

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RYERSON WALK

President Schutte and New York City Councilwoman Letitia James

President Schutte Honored with Special Award at Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project’s 10TH Anniversary Celebration

Two New Members Elected to Pratt Board of Trustees Roelfien Kuijpers is a managing director and global head of DB Advisors, the institutional business of Deutsche Asset Management (DeAM) and a member of DeAM’s Global Operating Committee. She leads a global business that manages assets for institutional investors worldwide, including pension funds, corporations, endowments, foundations, and financial institutions.

Dr. Susan Hakkarainen is a lighting industry expert whose career includes creating and leading international lighting manufacturers as well as developing products in the U.S. and abroad. Hakkarainen is currently vice president, architectural marketing and sales, of Lutron Electronics.

Hamish Bowles, Vogue European editor at large and fashion legend Iris Apfel

Anna Wintour, editor in chief of Vogue, spoke to a packed Memorial Hall as part of the 16th annual President’s Lecture Series on April 19. Wintour talked about working with the legendary photographer Irving Penn, who died last year at the age of 92.

“What Irving Penn gave this magazine went beyond the photographs,” she said. “He set the bar so high; he made all of us try harder: photographers, editors, writers, and certainly me. He made me a better editor.”

Then, she and Hamish Bowles, Vogue European editor at large, discussed several iconic Vogue photographs, detailing their histories and back-stories, and addressed questions from current Pratt fashion design students.

Graduate Interior Design in First Place

Pratt Receives Record Number of Applications

Pratt’s graduate program in interior design was recently ranked first in the country for the second year in a row, based on surveys completed by industry professionals and made available through the monthly architecture and design journal, DesignIntelligence (DI). Additionally, Pratt’s undergraduate interior and industrial design programs were ranked second; its graduate industrial design program was ranked fifth, and its undergraduate architecture program was ranked 15th in the nation.

Pratt received nearly 10,000 applications for the 2010–2011 academic year for both its undergraduate and graduate programs—the highest number of applications in the Institute’s 122-year history. Student enrollment at Pratt Institute has grown by 57 percent over the last 17 years and is now at 4,688 students—up from fewer than 3,000 students in 1993.

Ivan Shumkov

Roelfien Kuijpers

World-Famous Architects Speak at School of Architecture Lecture Series Architects Santiago Calatrava and Daniel Libeskind spoke at the Brooklyn campus as part of the School of Architecture’s annual lecture series.

At his April 5 talk, Libeskind, master planner of the World Trade Center site, told the audience: “I follow everything at Pratt. It’s rare to find a school so dedicated to architecture and design, not just to trends.” The conversation was sponsored by the Selz Foundation in honor of Arnold Syrop, B. Arch. ’61, and Joanne Syrop, who were both in attendance.

At Calatrava’s April 22 lecture, the famous Spanish architect, who is also a prolific sculptor and painter, gave an illustrated talk about his bridges, train stations, and public buildings.

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Anna Wintour, Vogue editor in chief

Vogue’s Anna Wintour Delivers Spring 2010 President’s Lecture

The Princeton Review Names Pratt Among Top Green Colleges

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Diana Pau

Pratt Institute’s Board of Trustees recently elected two new members.

The Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project (MARP) LDC celebrated 10 years of work in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill in December 2009 at the Caroline Ladd Pratt House. MARP presented an award to President Thomas F. Schutte, citing his leadership and dedication as chair of the MARP board of directors. The award was a streetscape of Myrtle Avenue drawn by local artist Lucy Sikes, B.F.A. ’58.

In its Guide to 286 Green Colleges The Princeton Review bestowed high praise on Pratt’s green initiatives: “Pratt Institute’s reputation as a prestigious art school makes it an obvious choice for students interested in green design, and its urban campus provides a unique challenge for putting green design into practice,” begins the article. It cites, as examples of Pratt’s sustainability efforts, the construction of the new sustainable building on Myrtle Avenue, slated to become the first LEED-certified academic building in New York City; the Center for Sustainable Design Studies; a class that is working with the facilities department to design greener dorm rooms; and the Institute’s commitment to reduce its carbon footprint by 2017.

©PMc

Courtesy of the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project

Ryerson Walk

L-R: Santiago Calatrava, Dilpreet Gill, and Samantha Picardal

Earlier in the day, Calatrava visited a class in the School of Architecture, and discussed the students’ projects.

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Diana Pau

Kasia Wisniewski shows her designs at the year-end juried review.

“ Making a planned gift to Pratt is easy to do. We’re delighted that we did. It’s a wonderful way to support the institution we all love.”

THREE FASHION DESIGN STUDENTS WIN SCHOLARSHIPS; SENIOR RECEIVES $25,000 AWARD

— Thomas F. Schutte, President, Pratt Institute, and Tess L. Schutte

Fashion design senior Kasia Wisniewski received a $25,000 scholarship from the YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund (FSF). One of four students nationally to win the annual FSF Geoffrey Beene National Scholarship Award, Wisniewski went through a rigorous application process that included creating a retail store concept. Two Pratt sophomores, Ruby Gertz and Tracey Li, each won $5,000 YMA FSF scholarships. The three were honored at the 2010 FSF Geoffrey Beene Fashion Scholarship Awards dinner in January in Manhattan.

Ingrid Fetell

Industrial Design Students Exhibit Work at Renowned International Design Fair in Germany

Evan Dewhirst

Adam Hutchins

ryerson WALK walk RYERSON

Pratt’s Department of Industrial Design partnered with the Folkwang Academy, a college of art and design in Germany, to exhibit chair designs as part of the international furniture and interior design fair imm cologne in Cologne, Germany, from January 19–24. It was the first time Pratt exhibited at imm cologne, one of the largest and most respected fairs of its kind.

Sami O’Keefe

Eighteen students from both institutions contributed to the exhibition “Take A Seat.” Adjunct Professor Mark Goetz, B.I.D. ’86, served as faculty advisor. The Pratt students whose work was represented were Michael Chuapoco, Binh Dang, Evan Dewhirst, Sara Ebert, Christina Fesmire, Ingrid Fetell, Tawny Hixson, Michael Roopenian, and Thomas Stern.

Amino Kid’s Chair by Ingrid Fetell, M.I.D. ’09.

Create a legacy

lead the way

The Buoy Chair by Evan Dewhirst, M.I.D. ’10.

MTV STAR COMES TO PRATT

A planned gift to Pratt is an easy way to create opportunities for tomorrow’s visionaries. Your investment in them can benefit you, too.

At the end of the first season of the hit MTV series My Life as Liz, Liz Lee makes a tough choice. She leaves her hometown of Burleson, Texas, to strike out on her own in New York City—at Pratt Institute.

Lee just finished her first semester. “The workload was unlike anything I’ve ever encountered,” she says. “But when I finished, the sense of accomplishment was 100 times better than anything I have ever experienced.”

Make a planned gift to Pratt today through a bequest or life income plan.

Now at Pratt, Lee feels right at home. “In Burleson I felt like an outcast because I was so different, and here I feel like I’m so normal. It’s just a beautiful community of artists. I’ve never experienced anything like it in my life. You walk around and know everyone is as dedicated—and sleep deprived—as you are.”

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Lee is studying art history, but plans to take film courses too. She also may have a camera crew accompanying her around campus in fall 2010, as MTV decides on a second season documenting Liz Lee’s life story.

matthew septimus

Lee is a self-described “geek,” and the first season of My Life as Liz was all about finding— and being—herself in her traditional Texas town.

There are many giving options that can help fulfill your charitable and financial goals. For more information, please contact us for a confidential conversation at 718-399-4296, or visit www.pratt.edu/planned_giving.

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CORPorate Partnerships

Pratt Students Design Barnes & Noble’s Backto-Campus Collection

Amanda Adams-Louis

For the second year in a row, Pratt graduate students collaborated with bookseller Barnes & Noble to design for the company’s Back-toCampus Collection under the direction of Sandie Maxa, visiting assistant professor of Graduate Communications and Package Design.

The Pratt contributions to the 2010 collection include designs for sketchbooks, journals, book covers, and pen cases, which will be available in bookstores nationwide in late July.

Fulbright Scholar and Industrial Design graduate student Esin Arsan won this year’s Wilsonart® Challenges annual student chair design competition.

Inspired by the idea of a support group, Arsan created a twoperson seat designed to “give the impression that the users offer their backrests to each other.”

Based in Temple, Texas, Wilsonart is a leading manufacturer of decorative surfacing products, including Wilsonart® Laminate.

The contest invites students to create a chair that incorporates the round-cornered rectangular shape of the Wilsonart® Laminate sample chip, now an icon in the design world.

Included in the 2010 collection are designs by Pratt students and recent graduates: Alexandra Kalouta, M.S. ’10, Communications/Package Design; Rebecca Wiener M.S. ’11, Communications /Package Design; Ivey Lian M.I.D. ’11; Stephanie Breed, M.S. ’09, Communications/ Package Design; and Lana Khayyat, M.S. ’11, Interior Design.

Pratt Institute has completely outfitted the interiors of two model residences in the new Third + Bond townhouses at 107 Third Street in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.

The residences at Third + Bond are on track to be the first Brooklyn mid-rise, luxury project to achieve both LEED-Gold and Energy Star Home green building certifications. Designed

by Rogers Marvel Architects as a modern interpretation of the traditional brownstone, the project showcases 44 units, many with private outdoor space. The display, which was curated by Pratt professor and alumnus Anthony Caradonna, B. Arch. ’86‚ will be on view until fall 2010.

Arsan won a $1,000 scholarship from Wilsonart and had her chair displayed at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF). Four runners up also showed their chairs in the Wilsonart booth at the ICFF.

Umbra Awards Prizes for Pratt Students’ Innovative Household Designs

DIANA PAU

A team of Pratt alumni, faculty, and student fine artists, designers, and architects created completely furnished, holistic interior home environments that include wall coverings, home accessories, furniture, textiles, art, lighting elements, and more.

Wilsonart® invited Pratt to participate as this year’s featured design college in their annual competiton. The participating students were drawn from the fall graduate furniture design course, taught by Adjunct Professor Mark Goetz, B.I.D. ’86, and in the senior undergraduate furniture design course, taught by Adjunct Assistant Professor Tim Richartz, B.I.D. ’86.

DIANA PAU

Pratt talent showcased at Brooklyn’s first mid-rise luxury green development

Umbra and Pratt Institute celebrated their sixth year of collaboration with the annual Umbra|Pratt Design Competition. Student finalists from the competition, coordinated by Adjunct Instructor Noah King, B.I.D. ’02, showed their designs for contemporary household products at the prestigious International Contemporary Furniture Fair at the Jacob K. Javits Center May 15–18. The winners were: 1st Prize Michael Liu Undercover Plunger

2nd Prize Jeni Tu Bubbles Soap Dish

3rd Prize Alvaro Uribe Batea Jewelry Stand

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Bubbles Soap Dish

This year’s judges included Annie Block, Articles Editor at Interior Design; Anne E. Collins, Managing Editor of ElleDecor.com and David Sokol, Contributing Editor at Architectural Record, Greensource, and Surface.

Matt Carr, Umbra’s Director of Design, awarded each student designer with a certificate and prize for their winning designs.

Since it began, the competition has allowed Umbra to introduce three successful products into its catalogue, including the Conceal bookshelf, the Wishbone soap dish, and the Talk bulletin board.

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Fulbright Scholar Wins Prestigious WILSONART® CHALLENGES Chair Design Competition

courtesy of umbra

Courtesy of Barnes & Noble

Corporate Partnerships

Undercover Plunger

Batea Jewelry Stand

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ETHICS + AESTHETICS

ENVELOPES

Pratt Library Archives

Weathers

Liz Hickok

spring 2010

Marry zernike photogrphy

Pratt Exhibitions

pratt exhibitions

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The Map as Art: Contemporary Artists Explore Cartography

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1. Installation Exhibited at the Pratt Manhattan Gallery 2. Wanderings, 2009 by Weathers 3. Jell-O Mold #2: 2009 by Liz Hickok 4. Scientific American, 1888 Exhibited in "Pratt and Its Gallery, The Arts and Crafts Years," 1998

Past Pratt Manhattan Gallery 2009–2010 Exhibition Season Design and Sustainability

Pratt’s continuing mission to lead in the integration of sustainable practices into the study of art, design and architecture was highlighted by three supporting exhibitions that explored issues of sustaining communities and our environment from the viewpoints of artists, designers, and architects.

Ethics + Aesthetics = Sustainable Fashion November 20, 2009–February 20, 2010

This survey of ways to integrate sustainable practices into the fashion system was guest-curated by Francesca Granata and Sarah Scaturro. The exhibition catalog is available for purchase.

Envelopes February 19–May 1, 2010

Guest-curated by Christopher Hight, this sustainable architecture exhibition with a focus on innovative, multidisciplinary research, will travel to the Muscarelle Museum of Art in Williamsburg, Va., in September 2010.

The Rubelle and Norman Schafler Gallery Pratt Students Respond: Sustainability February 10–March 10, 2010

A multi-disciplinary student exhibition inspired by the Pratt Manhattan Gallery exhibition season theme of “Design and Sustainability.” Over 50 students showed work in all media, with $1,000 in cash prizes awarded by guest judges Deb Johnson, academic director of sustainability and CSDS; Julie Lasky, editor, Change Observer; and Nick Battis, director of exhibitions, Pratt Institute.

Summer Invitational May 12–July 30, 2010

Upcoming Pratt Manhattan Gallery Mobile Voter Registration and Info Center Design Competition Exhibition August 31–September 7, 2010 Closing Reception: September 7, 6–8 PM

The goal of the competition sponsored by Pratt Manhattan Gallery, which is the first of its kind, is to provide visual political stimulation during the voter registration process and to inform the public about the democratic process. The winning entries will be selected by Nick Battis, director of

Exhibition Catalogs Catalogs for past exhibitions are available through Pratt Manhattan Gallery including Ethics + Aesthetics = Sustainable Fashion; Yun-Fei Ji: The Old One Hundred Names; The Optical Edge; Impermanent Markings; and Zones of Conflict. Please contact exhibits@pratt.edu for more information and a PDF order form or download the form from www.pratt.edu/exhibitions.

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About Pratt Manhattan Gallery: Pratt Manhattan Gallery is a public art gallery affiliated with Pratt Institute. The goals of the program are to present significant innovative and intellectually challenging work in the fields of art, architecture, fashion, and design from around the world and to provide a range of educational initiatives to help viewers relate contemporary art to their lives in a meaningful way. It is located on 144 West 14th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Chelsea and is open Tuesday–Saturday, 11 AM–6 PM. Phone: 212-647-7778.

exhibitions, Pratt Institute; Eleanor Heartney, arts writer, curator, and cultural critic; Larry Litt, writer, performer, and producer; and Robert Storr, dean, Yale School of Art. All submissions, including the three winning entries, will be displayed as part of the exhibition.

Map Art Exhibition September 24–November 6, 2010 Opening Reception: September 23, 6–8 PM

Katharine Harmon, author of The Map as Art: Contemporary Artists Explore Cartography (Princeton Architectural Press, 2009), will guest-curate an exhibition that involves mapping the angst of New York City life.

Blind Dates November 19–February 11, 2011 Opening Reception: November 18, 6–8 PM

This innovative, interdisciplinary, and cross-cultural exhibition and project, guest-curated by Defne Ayas and Neery Melkonian, will involve artists, writers, historians, and sociologists who aim to facilitate meaningful exchanges among those whose lives have been affected by the historical ruptures and legacies associated with the fall of the Ottoman Empire (1299–1922). For the exhibition portion of “Blind Dates” the curators have been “matchmaking” artists and architects whose backgrounds represent the estranged cultures to mediate through projects together.

About The Rubelle and Norman Schafler Gallery: The Schafler Gallery presents exhibitions by Pratt Institute faculty, students, and alumni from all departments. The gallery favors cross-disciplinary topics that reveal how ideas and issues affect our lives from many different perspectives, and provides an open forum for the presentation and discussion of contemporary culture. The Schafler Gallery is located on the first floor of the Chemistry Building on Pratt’s Brooklyn Campus and is open Monday–Friday, 9 AM–5 PM. Phone: 718-636-3517.

Doing Things with Words February 25–May 7, 2011 Opening Reception: February 24, 6–8 PM

Guest-curated by artist and writer Dave Beech, contributor to Art and Text (Black Dog Publishing, 2009), and fellow artist and writer Paul O’Neill, this exhibition will establish a dialogue between generations as well as draw lines between competing conceptions of the role of text in art.

Save The Date Pratt Falls/Election Night Watch Party Tuesday, November 20, 2010, 7 PM

Pratt Manhattan Gallery will hold its third annual Election Night Watch Party produced by writer, performer, democracy activist, and curator Larry Litt. This event is free and open to the public.

The Rubelle and Norman Schafler Gallery Schafler @ 25 October 7–January 21, 2010 Opening Reception; Wednesday, October 6, 4–6 PM

Celebrating a quarter century of exhibitions at The Rubelle and Norman Schafler Gallery and including recent work by alumni and students, this show will be guest-curated by former Director of Exhibitions Eleanor Moretta.

For updates to the schedule, please visit www.pratt.edu/exhibitions. Follow Pratt Manhattan Gallery on Facebook by searching “Pratt Manhattan Gallery” and follow Pratt Exhibitions on Twitter at “PrattGallery.”

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supporting pratt

supporting pratt

TRUSTEE

PROFILE BRUCE NEWMAN Todd Shalom

BRUCE NEWMAN ON WHY A BEAUTIFUL CAMPUS CAN INSPIRE STUDENTS when Newman studied at Pratt. “The campus simply wasn’t as conducive to sitting outside as it is today,” he recalls.

Why WE Gave

Pratt Institute’s reputation as one of the world’s leading art and design colleges, and the school’s ability to provide an educational environment that attract students from around the globe, relies, in large part, on the generosity of the extended Pratt community— alumni, faculty, staff, and friends. In this issue of Prattfolio, we are pleased to feature alumni and staff whose gifts to Pratt will help ensure that the Institute continues to offer the highest quality academic experience—now and for generations to come.

Still, says Newman, what Pratt lacked in beauty, it more than made up for in education. When he arrived at Pratt in 1949 to study interior design, he already worked for his father, who rented furniture to Broadway set-designers.

Bruce Newman could have taken over the business without attending college. But his father insisted Newman earn a degree. To this day, Newman could not be happier with his choice of Pratt.

“My Pratt education gave me an enormous amount of confidence when I finally faced the reality of working with designers and architects,” he says.

In addition to growing his father’s business into a premiere decorative arts and antiques dealership, Newman has also authored two books.

In his bestselling Fantasy Furniture (Rizzoli International, 1989), Newman coined the term fantasy furniture to refer to ornate pieces that incorporate animals and mythological creatures. Before Newman’s book, fantasy furniture had never been catalogued and described as a category; the phrase is still used today by auction houses.

Newman’s second book Don’t Come Back Until You Find It (Beaufort Books, 2006) is an autobiography.

Trustee Emeritus Bruce Newman at the Newman Mall and Amphitheater, on an amphitheater bench named for his father

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s an antiques dealer, Bruce Newman, B.F.A. ’53, has devoted his career to helping people create beautiful places to live and work.

For decades, Newman owned the Manhattan antiques and decorative arts powerhouse, Newel Art Galleries. His list of famous clients is seemingly endless. He helped First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy furnish the White House. He helped celebrities—including singer Barbra Streisand, designer Ralph Lauren, and actors Alec Baldwin, Dustin Hoffman, and Jane Fonda—decorate their homes. His pieces graced the sets of hundreds of movies and Broadway plays.

Now, as a Pratt trustee emeritus, Newman is making sure Pratt students live and work in beautiful surroundings.

“It gives the students inspiration to be walking around a pretty campus,” says Newman, who also earned an honorary doctorate of fine arts from Pratt in 1997.

Newman has most recently funded the Walkways Project. This project replaced the asphalt paths on North Walk alongside the Engineering building, and on the East Mall, with brick pavers. It completed the re-design of South Walk by replacing the stretch of asphalt along the Juliana Curran Terian Design Center, with brick pavers. As part of the South Walk phase of the project, foliage was planted and bike racks were installed. More walkway improvements are scheduled for the near future.

With the arrival of warm weather, students have been enjoying two earlier Newman landscaping projects, the Newman Mall and Amphitheatre. It’s a popular area Newman continues to support with new plantings, and which he hopes to enhance with a decorative clock.

Campus beautification was not as much of a priority in the early 1950s,

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In one chapter, Newman recounts making the find of his career. In 1984, he discovered a 32-panel mural that had been on the Normandie luxury liner, and later on the Ile de France ship. The panels had been created by masters of the Art Deco era-designer Jean Dupas and lacquerer Jean Dunand.

“ It gives the students inspiration to be walking around a pretty campus.”

- Bruce Newman, B.F.A. ’53, Trustee Emeritus The panels had been hidden for decades, bought by a reclusive French family after the ships were scrapped. Meantime, Newman had tracked down this family to buy other pieces. As soon as they showed him the mural, he knew he had made a major discovery. He convinced them to sell him the panels, now on display in the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh.

For his own collection, Newman’s tastes tend toward the neoclassic.

He and his wife Judy collect “caricature candlesticks,” with animals, mythological creatures, and grotesque figures. Newman’s unabashed defense of antiques did not at first stand him in good stead with his professors who, like most designers at that time, favored the MidCentury Modern look.

But in every room he designed for a class project, Newman would insist on including an antique; then he would debate his professor about the merits of antiques. He loved every minute of it.

“The professors didn’t agree with me, but they taught me how to be myself. When I’d put an antique into one of my designs, they didn’t think it was a great idea, but they respected the fact that I did.”

Suzanna Simor Library and Information Science ’77

Betsy and Ted Lewin Graphic Arts/Illustration ’59 and Illustration ’56

Berti Jones M.F.A. Painting ’70

Desiring to continue her late husband’s support for students in Pratt’s School of Information and Library Science, alumna Suzanna Simor, Library and Information Science ’77, has provided significant gifts for the George Simor Merit Award in Archival Management—an endowed scholarship to which George Simor’s friends, colleagues, and students have also contributed.

To help young people receive the benefits of a Pratt education that they themselves enjoyed, alumni Ted and Betsy Lewin established the Ted and Betsy Lewin Endowed Scholarship to support needy and deserving illustration students in Pratt Institute’s School of Art and Design.

To express her belief in Pratt Institute’s mission and her gratitude for the financial aid she received, alumna and longtime Pratt employee Berti Jones has become an ongoing contributor to the Annual Fund and, for the past 13 years, has been a member of the President’s Circle, which recognizes donors who give $1,000 or more to the Annual Fund each year.

A native of Hungary and expert in philosophy and the history of religion, as well as librarianship, George Simor taught at Pratt from 1967 until his death in 1996. The recipient of the 1973 Outstanding Educator of America Award, he developed the New York metropolitan area’s first programs in preservation and conservation of archival and library materials and archives and records management at Pratt.

“The outpouring of affection from his former students and colleagues put the force of his contributions to Pratt in perspective,” says Simor.

“It is a privilege and deeply satisfying to help keep his legacy alive in continuing to do what he loved most—helping students enter the profession.

Giving back to the school that gave me my start is the right thing to do and a joy.”

Born in Czechoslovakia, Suzanna Simor came to Pratt seeking professional training to combine with an M.A. in art history in preparation for a career in art librarianship. The recipient of the 2002 Pratt Institute Alumni Achievement Award for accomplishments in the field of library science, she is associate professor at CUNY’s Queens College, where she heads the Art Library, directs the Art Center, and teaches.

Encouraged by their grammar and high school teachers to attend Pratt, both Ted and Betsy credit their Pratt experience and, in particular, nurturing professors with helping lay the groundwork for the direction they would take.

Since meeting as students at Pratt, the couple has worked, both separately and as collaborators, on more than 200 books for children and young adults, garnering such awards as the Caldecott Honor and the Society of Illustrator’s Hamilton King Award.

“Pratt helped me gain confidence,” says Betsy.

“My professors saw a unique quality in my work, encouraged me to continue, and, ultimately, to make my contribution to the field of illustration.”

Ted adds, “The scholarship was something concrete we could do because of what Pratt gave us: It’s a give-back.”

In addition to establishing the scholarship, the Lewins, who received the 2000 Alumni Achievement Award, have remained active in the life of Pratt Institute. In the fall 2008 Pratt exhibition, Around the World with Ted and Betsy Lewin, they presented a sampling of their illustrated books, many of which are based on their extensive world travels. Their upcoming book, “Puffling Patrol,” will describe their 2008 expedition to Iceland.

“As a staff member you give blood, sweat, and tears, but it takes more than that,” said Jones, who began her career at Pratt in 1970 as assistant registrar and is now director of enterprise systems in the Division of Information Technology. “I have a strong belief in Pratt, and I give to show my confidence in the Institute, its students, and its leadership.”

Jones knows from her own experience the difference that unrestricted resources such as those provided through the Annual Fund can make at Pratt. As a graduate student in the School of Art and Design, Jones benefited from a scholarship and from on-campus employment in the Registrar’s Office. After earning her M.F.A., a full-time position in the Registrar’s Office became available, and she’s been at Pratt ever since. “Pratt has a family atmosphere. You are not lost. You establish a rapport with people on campus.”

Support Pratt

and its Talented student body, award-winning faculty, and vibrant artistic community with your gift to the Annual Fund today.

718-399-4211 afund@pratt.edu www.pratt.edu/give

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special events

Special Events

Artist Eric Fischl, speaker at 16th annual President’s Lecture. Fischl's paintings, scuptures, drawings, and prints are held in numerous public and private art collections in the United States and abroad including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Preservation League of New President’s Lecture Series: York State Pillar of New York Eric Fischl Awards Gala December 3, 2009 November 18, 2009 The Pratt family was honored for its proud tradition of stewardship and preservation of New York’s irreplaceable buildings and landscapes at the 2009 Preservation League of New York State Pillar of New York Awards Gala held at The WaldorfAstoria. The League began presenting the Pillar of New York Award in 1992 to recognize those who have demonstrated a deep understanding of the value of New York’s historic resources by taking extraordinary actions to protect, preserve, and promote those assets, and whose unwavering commitment to New York’s cultural and architectural heritage have made them role models throughout New York State and beyond.

The League honored the Pratt family for its founding and leadership of Pratt Institute and for their efforts to promote design excellence and historic preservation. David P. Hunt accepted the award on behalf of the Pratt family. Other Pratt family members in attendance were Erin Gray; Pratt Trustee David O. Pratt; Mary O. Pratt; Pratt Board Chair Mike Pratt and his wife, Carol; Deming Pratt Holleran; and Anne Van Ingen, director of the New York State Council on the Arts’ Architecture, Planning and Design Program.

Artist Eric Fischl spoke on “How Painting Died” at the 16th annual President’s Lecture in Memorial Hall in December.

Fischl illustrated his talk with a comparative analysis of works by more than 40 artists, covering the period in avant-garde thinking from the 1880s—the decade Van Gogh twice painted his Self-portrait with Bandaged Ear—to the 1970s, when Chris Burden had himself shot in the arm.

Legends 2009 Gala Honors Marc Jacobs, David Rockwell, and Patti Smith

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Marc Jacobs with Pratt students

Patti Smith and Edward Mapplethorpe

Mike Pratt, Marjorie Kuhn, Kurt Andersen, Thomas F. Schutte, and Amy Cappellazzo

David Rockwell, Patti Smith, and Marc Jacobs

L-R: Charlotte Kreitmann, recipient of the 2009 student Rowena Reed Kostellow Award; President Thomas F. Schutte; Pratt alumni Pamela Waters and Tucker Viemeister; and honoree Tom Patti at the Rowena Reed Kostellow Award ceremony.

Reed Kostellow, who taught in Pratt’s Department of Industrial Design for more than 50 years. Two Rowena Reed Kostellow Awards—one to a student and one to a professional—are presented annually.

Black Alumni of Pratt/School of Architecture Symposium February 18, 2010 Julie skarratt

L-R: Jay DiLorenzo, president, Preservation League of N.Y. State; Mike Pratt, chair of the Pratt Board of Trustees; Pratt family members Anne H. Van Ingen and David P. Hunt; and Arete Swartz Warren, chair, Preservation League of N.Y. State at The Pillar of New York Awards Gala.

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Corice Arman, Chuck Storer, and June Kelly

Anita Cooney, Richard Meier, and Sally Wu

Carlos Zapata (B. Arch. ’84), David Rockwell, and Melissa Koff

Patti Smith with Pratt students

Rowena Reed Kostellow Award January 28, 2010 Artist and designer Tom Patti, B.I.D. ’67, M.I.D. ’69, was presented with the 2009 Rowena Reed Kostellow Award for advancing and extending the principles of three-dimensional design developed by Rowena Reed Kostellow. The ceremony was attended by Pratt Department of Industrial Design faculty and students, industry leaders, and friends, family, and colleagues of the honoree. Among the guests were Tucker Viemeister, B.I.D. ’74, and Louis Nelson, M.I.D. ’64, chair and chair emeritus, respectively, of the Rowena Reed Kostellow Fund; Charles Pollack, B.I.D. ’53; and Harry Allen, M.I.D. ’95.

The Fund and Awards were established to celebrate and communicate the contributions and philosophy of Rowena

David Adjaye, School of Architecture Dean Thomas Hanrahan and alumnus Rodney Leon.

Distinguished architects David Adjaye, Peter Cook, and Pratt alumnus Rodney Leon, B.Arch ’92, shared their design projects relating to African American heritage as part of a symposium, “Designing An Enduring Legacy,” which was presented by the Black Alumni of Pratt and the Pratt School of Architecture in celebration of Black History Month.

A panel discussion was moderated by Thelma Golden, chief curator and director of the Studio Museum in Harlem. David Adjaye, noted author, public speaker, and founder of Adjaye Associates, gave the keynote address.

Ivana Puric, Karim Rashid, and Peter Barna

Helena Christensen and Amy Cappellazzo

More than 400 guests attended Legends 2009—Pratt Institute’s largest annual scholarship benefit—held at 7 World Trade Center in Manhattan. Pratt honored fashion designer Marc Jacobs; architect and designer David Rockwell; and performer, poet, and visual artist Patti Smith as distinguished individuals whose accomplishments and values resonate with those of Pratt. The festive, glamorous, and sustainable event was hosted by Pratt President Thomas F. Schutte and Chair of the Board Mike Pratt and co-chaired by Pratt Trustees Kurt Andersen and Amy Cappellazzo along with Marjorie Kuhn. Legends 2009 raised $350,000 in contributions and ticket sales.

Patti Smith was presented her award by photographer Edward Mapplethorpe, brother of Pratt alumnus and artist Robert Mapplethorpe and son of Pratt alumnus Harry Mapplethorpe.

Accepting her award, Smith spoke of living on Hall Street in Brooklyn with collaborator Robert Mapplethorpe and befriending his fellow Pratt students: “Even though I never attended Pratt I was touched by the world of Pratt, by the campus, by the students, by the professors, and I’m very happy to be part of a night that builds resources for scholarships.”

Former Legends Award recipient and architect Richard Meier delivered a warm introduction to his friend David Rockwell by acknowledging his many accomplishments before presenting him with his award. Model and photographer Helena Christensen introduced and presented Marc Jacobs with his award. She quoted the words of Pratt founder Charles Pratt: “Be true to your work and your work will be true to you,” remarking that the phrase is “the essence of what Marc stands for.”

Current undergraduate industrial design student Kyle Solá designed the Pratt Legends Awards, and was on hand to present the honorees with the awards he worked to create months in advance of the event. The Legends 2009 ceremony came to a triumphant close when Legends honoree Patti Smith gave a special four-song performance for event attendees, including a sing-along of “Because the Night,” which she dedicated to Robert Mapplethorpe.

“The future is in your hands, not only the visionary, but the social aspects,” she told the students in the crowd as she wrapped up her set.

Photos 1, 5, 6, 7 by Kevin Wick; Photos 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10 © Patrick McMullan company.

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Alumni news

photos by kevin wick

Alumni News

Thelma Golden, director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem, with Lehmann Maupin Gallery co-owner, David Maupin.

“Redefining the Good Life” symposium presenters, from left to right, bottom: David de Rothschild; Pratt Trustee Kurt Andersen; top: Jean Shin, Carlos Zapata, Mary Temple, Arun Chaudhary, Provost Peter Barna, and President Thomas F. Schutte.

President Schutte, honoree Michael Inman, and Ken Soehner, chief librarian of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a member of Pratt’s SILS faculty.

A book signing with Pratt Trustee Kurt Andersen followed the “Redefining the Good Life” symposium. His new book, titled Reset: How This Crisis Can Restore Our Values and Renew America, was published

by Random House in 2009.

Alumni enjoy reconnecting as part of ReIGNITE! A neighborhood walking tour enables them to catch up on changes in Clinton Hill and Fort Greene while getting some fresh air. A tour of the Pratt Sculpture Park is also available.

Alumni Achievement Award Luncheon September 25, 2009 Pratt Institute celebrated the 2009 Alumni Achievement Award recipients on September 25, 2009 at a private luncheon held in the Hazel and Robert H. Siegel Gallery in Higgins Hall. Honorees for 2009 were as follows: Michael Inman, M.L.S. ’02, curator of rare books for The New York Public Library, administers the Rare Book Division, George Arents Collection, and Historic Children’s Book Collection, among others.

He also serves as a visiting professor at Pratt’s School of Information and Library Science.

Robert Sabuda, B.F.A. ’87, twice a recipient of The New York Times Best Illustrated Book Award, is a children’s book creator with over

Young Woo, B.Arch. ’80, is founder and principal of Young Woo & Associates, LLC, developers of commercial, industrial, and technology real estate properties throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. The firm played a leading role in the acquisition of the AIG headquarters building in lower Manhattan and recently was designated as the developer for the historic Pier 57.

Reignite! 2010 SEPTEMBER 25 save the date A Pratt Institute event for students, alumni, faculty, and friends. For more information, please contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 718-399-4447 or alumni@pratt.edu.

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December 22, 2009

five million books in print, among them the Encyclopedia Prehistorica pop-up trilogy, co-created with Matthew Reinhart, M.I.D. ’98.

Mickalene Thomas, B.F.A. ’00, is best known for work that celebrates female beauty and power. In elaborate paintings composed of rhinestones, enamel, and acrylic, Thomas’s critically acclaimed work introduces a complex vision of what it means to be a woman and expands common definitions of beauty.

Black Alumni of Pratt (BAP) Holiday Party

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Distinguished Pratt alumni artists Mickalene Thomas and Ik-Joong Kang.

and author of the new book Reset: How This Crisis Can Restore Our Values and Renew America. His lecture was followed by talks from compelling thought leaders including director of video field production for President Barack Obama, Arun Chaudhary; nationally recognized installation artist Jean Shin, B.F.A. ’94, M.S. ’96; contemporary artist Mary Temple; world-famous architect Carlos Zapata, B.Arch ’84; expert in global foresight and innovation, Andrew Zolli; and environmentalist David de Rothschild.

SILS alumni gathered for the school’s annual lecture-celebration.

The 22nd Annual Pratt Institute Nasser Sharify Lecture September 25, 2009 The School of Information and Library Science welcomed James G. Neal as the guest speaker for the 22nd Annual Pratt Institute Nasser Sharify Lecture. Neal, vice president for information services and university librarian at Columbia University, delivered an address at Pratt Manhattan on “Primal Innovation and Radical Collaboration: Deconstructing the Academic Research Library for Future Survival.”

In celebration of its 20th Anniversary, the Black Alumni of Pratt (BAP), under the leadership of Dwight Johnson, rang in the holiday season by presenting gifts to Brooklyn youth from Sister S.A.G.E. and the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation’s New York City Justice Corps at a party held on December 22 at the Brooklyn Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Center. Prior to the party, BAP staff, alumni, and friends used wish lists provided by the organizations’ participants to shop for and wrap hundreds of presents for the teens and young adults. In addition, BAP Advisory Council members Malaak Compton-Rock and Marva Smalls donated toys, books, and educational games. Among the BAP friends and alumni who supported this initiative were Shahara-Ahmed Llewellyn, Joyce and David Dinkins, Hazel Dukes, June Kelly, Joshua Smith, and Tess and Dr. Thomas F. Schutte, president of Pratt Institute.

Thirty Pratt alumni gathered on Saturday, January 30, 2010, for the Sixth Annual Black vs. Gold Alumni Basketball game held in the ARC building on the Brooklyn Campus.

Evelyn Diaz

President Thomas F. Schutte (center) with alumni honorees Young Woo, Mickalene Thomas, Robert Sabuda, and Michael Inman.

For the second year, Pratt welcomed graduates and former students back to campus for the all-alumni reunion-event, ReIGNITE! The centerpiece of ReIGNITE! 2009 was “Redefining the Good Life,” a symposium that brought world-class social innovators together in Memorial Hall on September 26 to discuss the meaning of creative value in the 21st century. The program began with a keynote address by Pratt Trustee Kurt Andersen, the critically acclaimed novelist, host of the public radio show Studio 360,

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photos by kevin wick

ReIGNITE! 2009 September 25–26, 2009

2009 Alumni Achievement Award winner Mickalene Thomas exhibited at Pratt in September 2009.

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Class Notes diana Pau

B y g i v i n g t o t h e F u n d F o r P ra t t , yo u s u p p o r t t h e f a c u l t y, p r o g ra m m i n g , a n d c r e a t i ve e n v i r o n m e n t t h a t i n s p i r e s t u d e n t s l i ke l a u r e n wa l l e r ( B . F. a . Fa s h i o n ’ 1 2 ) t o p u r s u e t h e i r a r t i s t i c g o a l s eve r y d ay.

We welcome news items from all pratt alumni. To submit a class note, please include your name, address, email address, degree, and year of graduation with each submission. Mail to: Pratt institute alumni office, attn: Class notes, 200 willoughby avenue, brooklyn, ny 11205 or email us at alumni@pratt.edu.

1930s Maida Heatter, Fashion Illustration ’36, was featured in an article in The Washington Post on November 18, 2009. The article featured her date pecan pie recipe from her cookbook, Maida Heatter’s Book of Great American Desserts (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1985).

1940s Agnes “Suzie” DePoo-Zuzek, Textile Design ’49, had a retrospective of her work in 2009 at the Gallery on Greene in Key West, Fla. Herbert Meyers, Advertising Design ’49, had his 1949 Christmas Seal in an ad for the American Lung Association in the December 2009 issue of Time magazine.

1950s Roger “Rajie” Cook, Advertising Design ’53, was part of the “reVision & Voice” exhibition at the Princeton Artists Alliance in Princeton, N.J.

Council. During October 2009, Hal had a display of 25 of his works at the Gallery of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington.

Isaiah Zagar, B.F.A. ’59, had a documentary of his life and work made by his son, Jeremiah. Titled In A Dream, it has been shown at various film festivals, including the Woodstock and Philadelphia Film Festivals.

Thomas Patti, B.I.D. ’67, received the Rowena Reed Kostellow Award of the Rowena Reed Kostellow Fund, Pratt Institute, in January 2010. The award was presented at the Knoll showroom in New York City.

Francis “Frank” Cusack, B.F.A. Advertising Design and Visual Communication ’68, and Margaret Cusack, B.F.A, Graphic Arts ’68, had an exhibition, titled “Stitch It – Click It – Zip It,” at The Packer Collegiate Institute’s Carol Shen Gallery in Brooklyn, N.Y. in fall 2009. The exhibition included stitched artwork by Margaret, photographs by Frank, and jewelry created from zippers by their daughter, Kate.

1960s Class of 1960 50th Reunion Reminder Saturday, September 25, 2010 Roman Verostko, M.S. Arts Education ’61, was named as one of two recipients of ACM SIGGRAPH's first Distinguished Artist Awards for Lifetime Achievement in Digital Art in July 2009. The award recognizes the intersection of arts and computing.

Norman Gardner, Package Design ’62, recently had his semi-abstract sculptures, depicting pregnant women and their unborn babies in utero, displayed at the World Erotic Art Museum in Miami Beach, Fla. Patricia Steir, B.F.A. Graphic Arts/ Illustration ’62, was honored by Artwalk NY in November 2009 at their annual event. She also had an exhibition, titled “Self Portrait: Reprise, 1987-2009,” at the New York Studio of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture in New York City in winter 2009.

Russell Dunbar, Industrial Design ’53, won an award at the Alden B. Dow Museum of Art and Science's “47th Annual Greater Michigan Art Exhibition” held in winter 2008.

The museum further honored Russell by mounting a solo exhibition of his work in summer 2009.

PRINCETON ARTISTS ALLIANCE IN DIALOGUE WITH Rosemary Rehak Connor, B.F.A. Stanford (Stan) Richards, Advertising Design ’66, had an POETRY Advertising Design ’53, and founder exhibition at The 30 Bridge Street

Brett PurMaL

B.F.a. Computer Graphics ’02, recently worked on the animation for James Cameron’s science-fiction epic Avatar (2009), which won oscars for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects at the 82nd Academy Awards. Avatar also won 2010 Golden Globe Awards for Best Motion Picture Drama and Best Directing.

“Two of the most fascinating and rewarding experiences i got from animating on Avatar was learning in great detail how anatomically the face creates emotion as well as working for the first time in stereo 3-D,” says Purmal. He and his colleagues animated over unrefined motion capture on each shot for every character’s body and face as well as animated from scratch all Na’vi extremities, eyes, breathing, and physical interactions.

“Avatar was a beautiful marriage of technical and artistic problem solving using the most advanced and anatomically accurate facial and body systems created to date,” Purmal explains. He relished working with some of the world’s best artists, seeing his name in the credits with theirs, and knowing that his efforts contributed to viewers’ enjoyment.

REVISION&VO

of the Dallas-based Richards Group, was featured in the August 2009 issue of Success magazine.

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11th assistant secretary for fossil energy. Dr. Markowsky will serve as the primary policy advisor to the secretary of energy and the department on issues involving federal coal, oil, and natural gas programs.

heaTher soMerviLLe

I N S P I r at I O N | T H E F u N D F O R P R AT T

Harold Halvorsen, B.M.E. ’58, participated in the July Huntington Arts Council Membership Show at the Melville Gallery in Huntington, N.Y. He also was involved in the autumn 2009 auction for the benefit of the Huntington Arts

Building in New Milford, Conn., in November 2009.

David Jeffrey Frank, B.F.A. Advertising Design ’66, exhibited his painting, Sensorial Realities, last fall at the Agora Gallery in Chelsea, New York City.

James J. Markowsky, B.E. Mech.

Eng. ’67, was confirmed by the Senate on August 7, 2009, as the

OPENING RECEPTION

Purmal got his start in feature animation working on Peter Jackson’s film King Kong (2005), also created by Weta Digital, after gaining experience as a freelance animator with local N.Y.C. studios Psyop, Betelgeuse, and larger Than life Productions.

Purmal credits Pratt with teaching him to think creatively by looking for original solutions to artistic challenges, and never giving up. “Even when someone tells me that something is impossible,” he says, “i know there’s always a solution to any challenge.”

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CLASS notes

Class Notes 1970s Lynn Zelevansky, B.F.A. ’71, became the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh in August 2009.

June Wilson-Annitto, M.F.A. ’72, had an exhibition, titled “Tasting Shape,” at the Brodsky Gallery in the Chauncey Conference Center at the Education Testing Service in Princeton, N.J. last spring.

Edward Krent, M.I.D. ’73, had a show titled, “Intermingling Senses,” at Caladan Gallery in Cambridge, Mass., in autumn 2009.

His work was also accepted in the Fuller Craft Museum Biennial Exhibition 2009-2010.

Barbara (De Palma) Nesin, B.F.A. ’74, was elected president of the College Art Association for a two-year term beginning in May 2010. She is also the department chair of art foundations at the Art Institute of Atlanta.

Benedict de Lisi, Foundation Art ’75, led a panel of experts to judge Britian's Next Top Interior Designer. Students from Liverpool John Moores University and London’s KLC School of Design were tasked with designing two studio apartments. The winner was announced in February 2010.

Peter Fiore, Illustration ’76, displayed his paintings in a fall 2009 exhibition, titled “Awakening,” at the Travis Gallery in New Hope, Pa.

William Pope L., Foundation Art ’73-’74, was one of six finalists for the 2010 Ordway Prize given by Creative Link for the Arts and the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City.

Lynn Saville, M.F.A.’76, curated an exhibition, titled “Partners in Art and Life,” at the Brooklyn Public Library in September 2009. The show featured artistic couples and how their art impacts each other’s lives. Saville had a book signing and talk for her new book Night/Shift in July 2009 at the Barnes & Noble, Tribeca, N.Y., and an artist dialogue with Authur Danto at the New York Public Library in October. She also had an exhibition of her photos connected to her new book at Yancey Richardson Gallery, New York City.

Saberah Hafeez Malik, M.I.D. ’73, worked on a labor of love in crafting almost 300 bottles out of fabric remnants and using discarded bottles from friends’ recycling bins as molds. The resulting work was in a solo exhibition at Chapel Gallery in Providence, R.I., in summer 2009.

Stephen Valentine, B.Arch. ’77, launched his new book in September at Rizzoli bookstore in Manhattan. In Timeship: The Architecture of Immortality (2009), Valentine presents his design for the Timeship building, which will serve as the world’s foremost laboratory for anti-aging research.

Marjorie Williams-Smith, M.F.A. ’77, participated in a unique exhibition, titled, “The Luster of Silver,” at the Evansville Museum of Arts, History, and Science in Evansville, Ind. The exhibition focused on 27 artists who use the silverpoint technique. WilliamsSmith’s silverpoint drawings are also included in the permanent collections of the Arkansas Arts Center Foundation Collection, the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, and the Central Arkansas Library System.

Ralph Choeff, B.Arch. ’78, recently completed the Mondrian Hotel in South Beach, Fla. His design for the hotel was a finalist in the HD Awards sponsored by Hospitality and Design magazine.

Kathleen Edwards, Illustration/ Comm.D. ’78, recently had her book Holy Stars!: Favorite Deities, Prophets, Saints and Sages From Around the World (2009) reviewed

by National Book Network.

Edward’s book contains beautifully illustrated biographies of 27 of the world's most prominent religious icons.

Thomas D. Faulkner, M.F.A. ’78, exhibited his installation, Water Fall, at Saunders Farm in Garrison, N.Y., in October 2009.

Tobi Kahn, M.F.A. ’78, had a solo show last fall at the The Museum of Biblical Art, titled “Tobi Kahn: Sacred Spaces for the 21st Century,” which displayed 30 recent paintings, sculptures, and objects.

It was the first exhibition to explore Kahn’s notion of sacred space.

Lynn Shaler, M.F.A. ’79, had a one-woman exhibition of her etching-aquatints at Gallery 71 in New York City last fall.

Christine Twomey, M.F.A. ’79, and Jeanne Wilkinson, M.F.A. ’90, were both part of an exhibition, titled “Exposed,” that was presented at Creon Gallery in New York City in September 2009.

1980s Class of 1985 25th Reunion Reminder Saturday, September 25, 2010 Jung Hyang Kim, M.F.A. ’80, had a showing of her paintings at Anthony Giordano Gallery at Dowling College in Oakdale, N.Y., last fall.

Donald Fram, B.Arch. ’81, has been chief architect at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey since August 2004. During his 27-year Port Authority career, he has worked on many programs, most recently the design of a new Harrison PATH Station. His leadership led to the adoption of the agency’s Sustainable Design Guideline (2006) and the ongoing development of a new Sustainable Infrastructure Guideline.

Elizabeth Goldberg-Johnson, M.F.A. ’81, had an exhibition of her paintings in December at Amsterdam Whitney Gallery in Chelsea, New York City.

Lori Nozick, M.F.A. ’82, has completed her installation, Riverwalk Markers and Monoliths, which was commissioned by the City of Ferndale, Washington, and the Ferndale Arts Commission as public art at the Riverwalk Park and Plaza, Nooksack River.

courtesy lifetime courtesy of of lifetime

B.F.A. Communications Design ’85, loved her work in advertising and illustration, but by the mid ’90s was ready for new challenges. So she left her job at Grey Advertising and retrained for fashion design. For several years she worked with private clients before being hired by the design house Chado Ralph Rucci for freelance sewing and embellishing. Then, after a season of patternmaking for downtown designer Shelley Steffee, she started developing her ready-to-wear fashion line, Pamela Ptak. This season she presented 17 looks from her Fall/Winter collection as part of New York Fashion Week 2010. In February, she was one of 16 design contestants among the thousands who auditioned to compete in Season 7 of Lifetime television’s hit series, Project Runway,

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George Hirose, M.F.A ’84, participated in a group show that included eight of his nighttime photographs. The exhibition was held in fall 2009 at Ernden Fine Art Gallery in Provincetown, Mass.

Hirose recently published a book of his photographs, titled Blue Night: Photographs by George Hirose (2008), which includes an introduction by Norman Mailer.

Myoung Oak Kim, M.S. ’82, attended a Korean Pratt alumni party in 2009.

Pamela Ptak

54

Mark Wagner, B.F.A. CommDesign ’83, has achieved a place in the Guinness World Records for creating the largest chalk drawing.

The project took 6,000 people and was 90,000 square feet. Help in creating this project came through Wagner's nonprofit organization, Re-Enchanting the World Through Art. He also has published a children's book, titled The Art of Being a Dad (2009). Wagner’s new global storybook project involves traveling around the world to work with kids and communities to create large chalk drawings that are connected to one story line. This five-year project’s end goal is to set a world record for the largest illustrated storybook and then to give the published book to the United Nations and world leaders.

“I am grateful that my life opened before me in the way it did,” says Ptak, adding: “You must absolutely hold to your personal vision as an artist.” She recalls her study of form, light, anatomy, and fine arts at Pratt to be strongly influential on her later work as a designer. A favorite memory of her student days is of meeting her future husband Scott Hanna, B.F.A. Illustration’84, during Pratt’s Orientation week in 1982 and later getting her illustrations critiqued by all his roommates. The couple now reside in Riegelsville, Pa., not far from the Baum School of Art in Allentown and Drexel University in Philadelphia, where Ptak teaches courses in fashion.

“I have always embraced the beauty of color harmonies that are not American in origin,” Ptak declares. “The global view frees us to reach for connections that we could never have dreamed of just 20 or 30 years ago.”

Stephanie (Pfaff ) Strickland, M.S. Library and Information Science ’85, had her book of poetry, titled Zone : Zero, published by Ahsahta Press in 2008. Her new book comes with an interactive CD containing two digital poems. She creates poems and media arts together.

Miriam Mirna Korolkovas, M.F.A. ’86, was a member of a group of jewelers that presented a Jewelry Study Day at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York City, in September 2009.

Ik-Joong Kang, M.F.A. ’87, is creating white panels, with a relief of letters in four different sizes, and around 40,000 aluminum panels decorated in bright colors that will cover the Korea Pavilion for the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, China. The shape of the pavilion will be derived from letter forms of the Korean alphabet, Han-geul.

Earl Mowatt, B.F.A. ’87, was invited

by The Delta Chapter of the International Sociology Honor Society, Alpha Kappa Delta, to become a lifetime member of the University of Central Florida’s chapter. Mowatt is a design associate at Massey Communications, whose eligibility was based upon his outstanding academic performance and his commitment to the study of sociology at the University of Central Florida.

Rachelle (Gersh) Krieger, B.F.A. Art Direction/Comm-Design ’89, recently exhibited some of her paintings at the Susan Eley Fine Arts Gallery in New York City.

Edwin Tatem, B. Eng. ’84, was part of the team from Parsons Brinckerhoff Michigan that designed and managed the construction activities for the Rosa Parks Transit Center in Detroit, which opened in July 2009.

Kevin Downs, B.F.A. Painting ’85, is currently teaching a documentary photography workshop, called Coney Island: Different Perspectives, that has students documenting the changing conditions of this historic and magical place.

Mary (Rieser) Heintjes, B.F.A. ’79, M.F.A. ’85, is participating in Vol. 4 of The Sketchbook Project, a collection of artists’ sketchbooks that will travel as an exhibition to various cities throughout the United States. It was at 303Grand, a revolving storefront in Brooklyn, N.Y., in February 2010.

Carrie Moyer, B.F.A ’85, received a Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant in Painting in the December 2009.

Marc Van Cauwenbergh, M.F.A. ’89, exhibited his new work, Together Separate, at the Simon Gallery in Morristown, N.J., in January 2010.

1990s Laurie Belinda Haefele, B.Arch. ’90, was the winner of the award for Best Sustainable Kitchen at the National Kitchen & Bath Association in Atlanta in spring 2009. The kitchen is part of a new house in Corona Del Mar, Calif., and demonstrates good practices that other home owners can learn from and may desire in their own residences.

Mark T. Smith, B.F.A. Illustration ’90, had an exhibition of new work at Pop International Gallery/SoHo, New York City, in August 2009.

Alex Wilhite, M.F.A. ’90, showed his paintings, Sunset Time and Sunset in the Desert, in “Perceptions of Reality,” an exhibition at Ico Gallery in New York City in autumn 2009.

Sook-Jin Jo, M.F.A. ’91, recently finished the installation of her public art project, Wishing Bells/ To Protect & To Serve, for the public plaza at the new Los Angeles Detention Center in Los Angeles, Calif.

Kathleen Marinaccio, B.F.A Graphic Art/Comm-Design ’91, completed her second summer of teaching graphic design at Otis College of Art and Design’s Summer of Art. She wrote the course and taught approximately 36 high school students, ages 15–20. The program ended with a gallery show. Marinaccio has been teaching graphic design and computer graphics at Otis since January 2003. She is also senior partner, along with Dana Moreshead, B.F.A. Graphic Art/ Comm-Design ’90, at Fishbrain, LLC, a Los Angeles-based, award winning creative firm.

Mila Wilson, M.I.D. ’91, had her work on view at Comerford Hennessy in Bridgehampton, N.Y. in fall 2009. Wilson is a visual artist who translates her interest in the nature of thought and symbols into contemporary paintings using watercolor, gouache, and chalk on paper.

Gisela Romero, M.F.A. ’92, participated in the PINTA 09 Art Fair, which had exhibitions at both the Altman Building and the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City. She also exhibited at Galería Artepuy in Caracas, Venezuela, at the same time.

Irwin Gordon-YaShad, M.S. Library and Information Science ’93, presented a lecture, titled “I Want My Daddy’s (and Mommy’s) Work Records!–Social Security Detailed (Itemized) Employment Earnings Statements,” at the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies’ 29th Annual Conference, held in Philadelphia, Pa., in August 2009.

Matthew Mitchell, B.F.A. Sculpture ’93, will have his portrait, Rick Yarosh, displayed at the National Gallery of Art through August 2010. The portrait is one of the finalists to be exhibited for one year at the National Portrait Gallery as part of the Outwin Boochever portrait competition. This artwork comes from Mitchell's 100 Faces of War Experience project, which was sponsored by the Veterans Education Project of Amherst, Mass. His portraits are a unique presentation of the American experience of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Larry “Robie” Brown, B.F.A. Painting ’94, Matthew Deleget, M.S./ M.F.A. ’97, Jeffrey Dreiblatt, M.S. Library and Information Science ’04, Nicholas Hamilton, M.F.A. '09, Robert James, B.Arch. ’74, David Jelinek, M.S. Art and 55

pratt people CLASS notes presented a related workshop at the 2009 American Library Association Annual Conference.

James Hawk Krall, B.F.A. Illustration/Comm-Design ’99, had a busy 2009 summer. He wrote for seriouseats.com about lesser known regional hot dogs in Hawaii and drawingforfood.blogspot.com, where he shared his various culinary journeys of discovery.

Krall’s illustrations were promoted on thrillist.com and his comic about apartment living appeared in Big

2000s James Byrne, B.F.A. Art DirectionComm-Design ’00, Karyn Cernera, M.F.A. ’06, Lee Heekin, M.F.A. ’08, Rachel Hines, M.F.A. ’08, Anthony Ingrisano, M.F.A. ’08, Richard Smith, B.Arch. ’70, and Flint Weisser, M.F.A. ’08, were participants in the Patchogue Arts Biennial exhibition held in October 2009 at Briarcliffe College, Patchogue, N.Y. Beth Giacummo, M.F.A. ’09, was co-curator.

PARTNERS+LIFE

Tokyo-based boutique, Nubian, to celebrate Nubian’s fifth year anniversary. This collaborative effort features a T-shirt with Wood’s iconic “Count” taking on the form of a coloring bookinspired design.

Ronald “Ron” Grosinger, B.I.D. ’02, is an alternative fuel teacher in Memorial York High School, in West New York, N.J. As a teacher he has worked with his students to build full size electric cars.

Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao, B.F.A. ’03, showed his recent work as part of the exhibition, “Urban Panoramas,” at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, Calif., in February 2010.

Jeffery Dodson, B.F.A, Computer Graphics ’04, spoke on a panel at the OFF 2009 festival in Portugal.

He shared his expertise in sound, composition, and motion graphics.

SEPTEMBER 15 - NOVEMBER 5, 2009 CURATED BY LYNN SAVILLE

Bau-chu Chen, M.I.D. ’95, designed the exterior and interior of the Luxgen, a Taiwanese car brand.

Chen is currently chief designer of this project, which includes MPV, SUV, and MPV-CEO style of cars.

Joseph Minuta, B.Arch. ’96, was selected as one of Orange County's 2009 Rising Stars. Minuta is lead architect at Minuta Architecture PLLC, the firm he founded eight years ago. For the past two years, Minuta Architecture has been named the fourth largest architectural firm in the Hudson Valley by the weekly news publication HV Biz. The annual Rising Star awards are bestowed upon individuals under the age of 40 who are leaders in the community.

Jean Shin, B.F.A. Painting ’94, M.S. History of Art ’96, and Brian Ripel, B.Arch. ’96, had their sculpture, Transplanted Ornament, exhibited at the Brooklyn Public Library in September 2009.

Amy DiGi Yedowitz, B.F.A. Art and Design Education ’96, was part of the “New York Cityscapes” exhibition held at the Publicis Healthcare Communications Group in New York City in summer 2009.

Susannah “Suskey” Tamarkin, M.S. Library and Information Science ’98, has been chosen as a MetLife Fellow in the Teachers Network Leadership Institute, an honor shared by several hundred exemplary public school teachers across the nation. Her action research addresses the impact of the American Association of School Librarians’ Standards for the 21st-Century Learner on library teacher practice. Tamarkin 56

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Funny, a new comics newspaper.

He also contributed to the Las Vegas Weekly with a piece, titled “The 2012 Radiohead Football Apocalypse,” and his artwork was part of a show, titled “2 Pieces & a Biscuit,” in Baltimore, Md.

William Rihel, B.F.A. ’00, had an exhibition, “Lifeboat + William Rihel,” at the Virtuoso Studios in Portand, Oregon, in December 2009.

Mickalene Thomas, B.F.A. ’00, had a recent project commissioned by MoMA, titled Le Dejeuner sur l'Herbe: Les Trois Femmes Noires, which will remain in the museum’s 53rd Street window until December 2010. Thomas also exhibited in “Dress Codes: The Third ICP Triennial of Photography and Video,” at the International Center of Photography in New York City.

John Ullman, B.Arch. ’00, and his New York City-based non-profit, Architecture for Tibet, hosted AFT’s first significant fundraiser to generate financial backing and raise awareness about its plans to provide aid, via architecture, to the children of Manjushree Orphanage in Tawang, India in October 2009.

Hadieh Shafie, M.F.A. ’99, was part of a visual arts event in July 2009 in Baltimore, Md. In autumn 2009, Hadieh also participated in various exhibitions: “Cross-Currents: Trends in Contemporary Art Media” at Sarah Silberman Art Gallery in Bethesda, Md.; “I RAN Home (In America)” at The Fridge DC in Washington, D.C.; and “Hidden Wounds, Paper Bullets: Iranian Contemporary Art” at the Grand Central Art Center in Fullerton, Calif.

Chris Wright, M.F.A. ’99, had his piece, Takeout, included in a group exhibition, titled “What's the Rush: Topics on Convenience,” at California State University, Fullerton in winter 2009.

Jeffery Woodbury, M.F.A. ’00, participated in the exhibition, “The Map as Art: Contemporary Artists Explore Cartography,” which was held at the Christopher Henry Gallery in New York City in November 2009.

Brian H. Wood, B.F.A. Fashion Design ’01, collaborates with musician Mickey Factz and

Sarah Morgan, M.I.D. ’04, had her handbag collection eenamaria on bagtrends.com and celebrated her collaboration with Wathne Ltd. at an August 2009 party.

Monica Paez Perez, M.F.A. ’05, was part of the collaborative artist team, Tangrama Collective, who presented Contra la validez del espacio (Against Space Validity) at Cámara de Comercio in Bogotá, Colombia, in fall 2009. Perez is a multidisciplinary artist who currently lives and works in her hometown of Bogotá, Columbia.

She will soon be part of an artist residency in Rio de Janeiro.

Sharmistha Ray, M.S./M.F.A. ’05, was selected as one of 103 Fellows for TEDIndia for 2009. Ray also published two articles in December 2009; one in Vogue India, titled “Launch Pad,” and the other in Verve, titled “The Business in Art.” Kristina “Krissy” Wedo, B.F.A. ’05, graphics designer at MZBerger & Company, was part of a team that won the 2009 Best New Disney Product from the Walt Disney Co. The award was presented for a line of bubble baths based on Disney characters.

Erin Treacy, B.F.A. Painting ’04, is a 2009-2010 awardee for a Fulbright Fellowship to Ireland.

She will have a painting residency in Ballyvauaghan, where she will develop her abstract work with interpretation of the Irish natural landscape.

Jeremy Alden, M.I.D. ’05, exhibited his 50 Dozen chair at an exhibition of architecturally inspired art, modern furniture design, and textiles at FL!PP in San Francisco, Calif., in December 2009.

Samuel Cochran, B.I.D. ’05, Kevin McElroy, B.I.D. ’09, and Diane Ruengsorn, M.P.S. ’05, were presenters at the World Usability Day 2009 Conference held at the School of Visual Arts in New York City in November. The conference explored the challenge of sustainable design with leaders in social entrepreneurship, product design, and interaction design.

Simeon Gilmer, B.F.A. Painting ’05, was a participating artist in a show, titled “Economy,” which was held at Compton-Goethals Art Gallery in New York City. The exhibition was part of a series sponsored by the Northern Manhattan Photography Group.

Save the Date Friday, September 24, 2010 School of Information and Library Science

The 23rd Annual Pratt Institute Nasser Sharify Lecture For more information, please contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 718.399.4447 or alumni@pratt.edu.

Tracy Llewellyn, B.I.D. ’06, recently traveled to Uganda to do volunteer work. Pratt’s Office of Alumni Relations sent Pratt tote bags for her to distribute to children in the schools and villages she visited. She volunteered with 13 others from Forefront Church and a non-profit program called LEAD Uganda, an organization that gives children there a chance at a great education at the best schools in Uganda. All the children in the program are AIDS orphans, former child soldiers, former child laborers, or former sex slaves. She went there to teach academic and creative seminars during their summer break.

Eve Mosher, M.F.A. ’06, planted over 600 plants in 100 modules through her organization, Seeding the City, with the help of staff and kids from Covenant House New York. She also was invited to be a visiting artist at the Eugene Lang College at the New School, New York City, where she explored visionary and alternative methods for urban architecture. The final public project was part of Art in

Odd Places, a festival in October 2009.

Diana Pau

Design Education ’06, Rossana Martinez, M.F.A. ’96, Brian Ripel, B.Arch. ’96, Jean Shin, B.F.A. Painting ’94, M.S. History of Art ’96, and Michael Volonakis, B.F.A. ’74, were all part of an exhibition, titled “Partners in Art and Life,” presented by the Brooklyn Public Library in September 2009.

The exhibition, featuring artistic couples and how their art impacts upon each other's lives, was curated by Lynn Saville, M.F.A. ’76.

pratt CLASS people notes

Jacob Selvidio, M.F.A. ’06, was a participating artist at Hendershot Gallery, New York City, last August.

His photographs were included in a video, titled Indecisive Moments: Photographers Using Video.

Shannon South, M.I.D ’06, founded reMade USA in summer 2009 after she saw an opportunity to use her skills and newfound knowledge to be a leader for sustainability in the fashion world. Her company upcycles used materials to make one-of-a-kind objects.

Reed Korch, Assoc. in Occupational Studies ’07, was a production assistant for the film Pelham 123, which was released in summer 2009 and starred John Travolta and Denzel Washington.

Bibiana Medkova, B.F.A. Photography ’07, had her documentary, Czech Republic 1998-2008: Perspectives from an Immigrant Child, presented at MediaNoche in New York City in autumn 2009.

Philip Duke Riley, M.F.A. ’07, presented a performance event, “Those About to Die Salute You,” on August 13 at the Queens Museum of Art. Duke flooded one of the remaining structures from the former World’s Fairgrounds in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, N.Y., and hosted a naumachia, a recreation of an ancient Roman naval battle. Art dignitaries and others were forced to battle from boats representing the five boroughs of New York City.

All of the boats where made directly from materials recovered from the abandoned World’s Fair Ice Rink and trash from the park. Riley also had an exhibition, by the same name, at the museum in November 2009.

Sebastian “Lou” Ambrogio B. Arch. ’76, is vice president of Global Engineering at Pfizer, Inc., the world's largest research-based pharmaceutical company, which he joined in 1980 as a construction engineer. Today he has engineering, maintenance, and utility operational responsibilities for 27 production sites across the world. “Nearly 30 years later, I’m still enjoying working at Pfizer as much as I did when I first started,” he says. “I have had the opportunity to interact with many cultures around the world and have visited more countries than I could ever have imagined.”

He credits Pratt’s architecture curriculum with training him effectively for his subsequent success: Many of the projects he worked on at Pratt were based on group effort, which prepared him well for leading teams later in his career. “Working with Associate Professor Jerzy Glowczewski in his regional planning courses formed a strong basis for skills I needed in site selection and master planning,” he recalls, “and Adjunct Associate Professor Brent Porter, who is still at Pratt, was teaching sustainability before the word was invented.”

Recently, energy conservation has been an area of key focus for Ambrogio. His sites have reduced energy consumption by 20% in the last two years with a goal of 20% in the next two years. His sites worldwide are using renewable forms of energy and have aggressive plans for water conservation. “Through the Pratt Center for Community Development I had the unique experience of supporting a sweat equity group in the East Village as they installed the first solar hot water system in New York City,” he remembers, citing it as an experience that helped instill the importance of sustainable principles in the operations he is responsible for today.

Born in Sicily, Ambrogio immigrated to the United States as a teenager, and attended Pratt at the suggestion of a high school substitute physics teacher, who was an alumnus of Pratt’s School of Engineering. At the wedding of his Pratt roommate, Jeff Mangiat, B.F.A. Illustration ’75, Ambrogio met his future wife, Cindi, whom he married in 1978. The couple reside in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, where they raised two boys, Francesco (26) and Tom (21).

Theodore Southern, M.F.A. ’07, captured the second prize in the 2009 Astronaut Glove Challenge sponsored by NASA and Volanz Aerospace, Inc. The Astronaut Glove Challenge seeks innovative

In the ensuing years, Ambrogio has been active in alumni affairs, has taught international project management in Pratt’s School of Architecture, Facilities Management graduate program, and has chaired his local chapter of the New York Construction Users Council.

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pratt people CLASS notes

Brandon Gibbs, B.Arch. ’08, had his animated film, Peace, Be Still, screened at the Quickflic London in June 2009. The film was a runner-up. It was also screened at the California International Animation Festival in September 2009 and the Indie Memphis Film Festival in October.

Julia Green, M.I.D ’08, and Kandice Levero, M.I.D. ’09, were grand prize winners in the Jell-O Mold competition in June 2009.

Kegan Fisher and Elizabeth Kinnmark, both B.I.D ’07, were runners up for creativity in the same competition. An exhibition of the winning designs was held at the Gowanus Studio Space in Brooklyn, N.Y. Laura Meli, M.F.A. ’08, joined the ArtTable staff as their new development and special events director in October 2009. She will be focusing on national events and development efforts, particularly as they pertain to ArtTable’s upcoming 30th anniversary, including the annual luncheon and gala celebrations.

Deirdre Sargent, B.F.A. Sculpture ’08, created the world's longest picnic table, which was exhibited in late October as part of the Voodoo Fest in New Orleans, La. The project was developed for the Life is Art Foundation/KKProjects. The final measurement was 248 feet, 2 1/4 inches, smashing the last world record by 122 feet, 1/4 inches.

Courtesy of Ashley Berger

Taylor Cook, B.F.A. Digital Arts ’09, was featured in both the movies and stills categories of the 2009 Movies & Stills international competition for his senior capstone project, a

digitally animated short film, titled Employee of the Month. Taylor's film also appeared in the 2009 SIGGRAPH SpaceTime Competition in New Orleans, La., and at 2009 MetroCAF, the Metropolitan Area College Computer Animation Festival in New York City.

Talitha James, B.I.D. ’09, won a complimentary space for her Sola desk at the 2009 ICFF exhibition, courtesy of Bernhardt's ICFF Studio, and she was featured on the CBS Early Show in August 2009.

Paraskevas (Paris) Mavroidis, M.F.A. ’09, animated a short film, Divers, which was featured in “Introductions 5” at Irvine Contemporary Gallery, Washington, D.C. in August 2009 and was included last December in the Electronic Theater at the 2009 SIGGRAPH Asia in Yokohama, Japan.

Naotaka Minami, M.F.A. Digital Arts ’09, was awarded second prize for his thesis film in the movies category of the 2009 Movies and Stills international competition.

The digitally animated short film was titled Reminiscence, the Place to Return. Minami was invited to receive his prize at an awards ceremony in November 2009 in Rödermark, Germany. The film was screened last October in New York City at 2009 MetroCAF, the Metropolitan Area College Computer Animation Festival.

Obituaries

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Are you receiving Pratt alumni emails? If not, we may not have your current email address. Email your name, degree, and year of graduation to alumni@pratt.edu.

Festival in Los Angeles. Without Arms was also selected for screening at the Canadian Film Centre's SHORTSNONSTOP Festival, the 11th Puchon International Student Animation Festival (PISAF2009) in South Korea, and the 4th Animarte 09 International Animation Festival, which will tour South America. Without Arms won First Place in the animation

category of the 2009 SIGGRAPH SpaceTime Competition in New Orleans, and was recently screened at the 2009 Metropolitan Area College Computer Animation Festival (MetroCAF) in New York City.

Oliver Vranesh, B.I.D. ’09, became junior footwear designer for Fila in Korea in January 2010.

Photo Ren rox

glove design concepts to reduce the effort needed to perform tasks during spacewalks.

John Renaud, B.F.A. Fashion Design ’09, created the costumes for a music video for the song, “I Feel Cream,” by the band Peaches.

Alek Vacura, M.F.A. ’09, won Best Student Animated Short for his thesis animation, Without Arms, at the 2009 AniMazing Spotlight

Anica Taneja

B.Arch. ’05, (2nd from left) was married to Kabir Kochhar (not pictured) in New Delhi, India, in February 2010. The Hindu wedding ceremony was attended by Pratt friends Ashley Berger, B.F.A. Art Direction ’06, (far right) from New York, Amro Z. Ghazzawi, B. Arch. ’06 of Saudi Arabia (2nd from right), who came from London, and Jacob Keampf, B.F.A., Art Direction ’06 (far left), who came from Hawaii.

The couple, who spent their honeymoon traveling in Japan and Vietnam, will live in a modern two-level house in Chattarpur (New Delhi), designed by the bride to accommodate the groom’s family on one level and themselves on the other. The bride received her master’s degree in architecture in the DRL (Design Research Lab) program at the Architecture Association in London in December 2009 and was one of the few people to receive a distinction that year. Her new husband is working as a documentary filmmaker in New Delhi.

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1930s

1950s

Robert B. Fiala Master of Fine Arts, 1965

Ardis W. Hughes Pictorial Illustration, 1934

Seymour Fiance Production Supervision, 1950

William E. Farrington Master of Fine Arts, 1968

George C. Lay Architecture, 1934

John B. Makinson Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, 1950

Robert L. Doremus Pictorial Illustration, 1936

James Robert Byron Bachelor of Chemical Engineering, 1951

Alice Imre O’Rourk Bachelor of Fine Arts, Art and Design Education, 1969

Margaret Pitsch Krebs Costume Design, 1937

George E. Copeland Master of Library Science, 1951

Theodore A. Gough, Jr. Bachelor of Electrical Engineering, 1939

Nancy Akers Goss Master of Library Science, 1951

Elizabeth Manchester Dietetics, 1939

Lawrence Velkoff Bachelor of Electrical Engineering, 1951

Kenneth F. Henderek Bachelor of Fine Arts, Art and Design Education, 1970

Philip Stein Evening School of Science and Technology, 1939

Eugene S. Bence Bachelor of Fine Arts, Interior Design, 1954

Charles T. Morrongiello Master of Fine Arts, 1970

1940s

Louise Holbert Guanzini Bachelor of Science, Home Economics, 1954

Donna H. Deasey Bachelor of Architecture, 1971

Justus E. Requa Industrial Design, 1941

Martin M. Erlebacher Bachelor of Architecture, 1955

Harald Tonnessen Advertising Design, 1941

Eugene “Gene” B. Kaletsky Bachelor of Architecture, 1955

Morton Flaum Master of Science, Library and Information Science, 1971

Reynold E. Witte Bachelor of Electrical Engineering, 1941

David S. Brown Illustration, 1956

Charles W. Pelzer Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, 1942

Berthold “Bert” Huebener Advertising Design, 1956

Jack Borgos, Ph.D. Industrial Design, 1943

Bernard Ehrlich Bachelor of Architecture, 1957

William Carleton Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, 1943

Philip J. Kowalski Building and Construction, 1957

Ida Ames McKay Bachelor of Science, Home Economics, 1943

Henry “Hank” N. Wazan Bachelor of Architecture, 1957

Richard “Rick” Goodwin Master of Industrial Design, 1997

Michael Solenick Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, 1943

Anthony S. Heywood Master of Library Science, 1958

Patricia Dawson-Benson Bachelor of Fine Arts, Painting/Fine Arts, 1992

Eunice DeVries Bolt Industrial Design, 1947

Janet Empie Kane Bachelor of Fine Arts, Interior Design, 1958

Bertha Axworthy Gerard Illustration, 1948

Constantine Raitzky Bachelor of Industrial Design, 1958

Faculty

Eleanor Carper Loecher Illustration, 1948

Samuel F. Arnone Bachelor of Electrical Engineering, 1959

Theodore H. Schult Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, 1948

Allen L. Carlsen Bachelor of Industrial Design, 1959

Murray V. Belsky Advertising Design, 1949

Carl J. Lange Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, 1959

Wales S. Buell, Jr. Advertising Design, 1949

1960s

Agnes Geist Hausenbauer Bachelor of Library Science, 1949

Lester Glassner Bachelor of Fine Arts, Graphic Arts and Illustration, 1961

Hubert E. Kreinheder Advertising Design, 1949 David W. Mills Illustration, 1949 Rudolph Wurtz Advertising Design, 1949

Leonard R. Bacich Bachelor of Industrial Design, 1963 Master of Industrial Design, 1971 Barry S. Herstein Bachelor of Industrial Design, 1964 Lowell Bodger Bachelor of Fine Arts, Advertising Design, 1965

1970s Linda Pearl Bynum Bachelor of Fine Arts, Merchandising, 1970

Agnes Karlin Mills Bachelor of Fine Arts, Fine Arts, 1972

1980s

Ardyth A. Cope Bachelor of Fine Arts, Graphic Design, 1983

1990s Suzanne Fiol Master of Fine Arts, 1990

Leonard R. Bacich Industrial Design Alumnus and former Faculty Trustee David Lee Crawford Former faculty, Digital Arts Robert B. Fiala Media Arts, Alumnus Richard “Rick” Goodwin Industrial Design, Alumnus Irving Kriesberg Former faculty, Painting John T. Rice School of Architecture James S. Rossant Former faculty, Architecture

Friends Charles Gwathmey Mary M. Warburg

Pratt Institute mourns the loss of these individuals who have touched the lives of so many, both within our community and beyond.

Although we will miss their presence, they leave a permanent mark through their contributions to their fields and to society.

Gifts to Pratt’s Annual Fund can be made to honor the memory of a loved one. Please contact the Office of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving at 718-399-4211 for more information.

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The Pratt Institute Photo Contest If you look hard enough, you can find Pratt’s colors — yellow and black* — everywhere. Alumni Relations wants you to find yellow and black out in the world and send us your best photographs.

Winning photographs will be announced and posted on the Alumni Relations website on September 22, 2010.

To enter, visit www.facebook.com/prattalumni, become a fan of Pratt Institute Alumni, and post your photos to our wall. Or email your photographs to alumni@pratt.edu for consideration.

Entries must be received by September 15, 2010. All submitted photos will retain the copyright of the original photographer. We will contact contestants to ensure that proper credit is given.

Questions? Visit www.pratt.edu/alumni for more information, or email alumni@pratt.edu. *Did you know? Pratt’s official color is not actually yellow. It’s a more specific type of yellow called cadmium yellow. Cadmium yellow was originally developed as a pigment for artists’ paints in the 1840s. The color is reproduced in many of Pratt’s publications and logos, along with black, which is often used unofficially.

For this photo contest— you don’t need to find cadmium yellow out in the world.

Any yellow will do.

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Save 10% when you purchase online at www.prattstore.net*

CANAL strEEt PriCEs ON MyrtLE AvENuE

In Focus

Tulips bloom in the springtime as two students enter Pratt’s Brooklyn campus through the Hall Street gate with portfolio and canvas in hand. The flowering plants and bushes on the 25-acre campus complement the Pratt Sculpture Park that lies just beyond. Pratt’s campus, with its verdant lawns and century-old trees, its many pathways and lush Rose Garden set among historic buildings, provides an inspirational “home” to heighten the creativity of the talented students who come from all parts of the United States and across the globe.

Prattstore makes it easy to save on essential supplies and just-for-fun items.

Visit www.prattstore.net for deals on art supplies, Pratt apparel, textbooks, creative gifts, decorative paper, fine stationery, office supplies, portfolios, posters, prints, ready-made frames, and more.** BECOME A FAN Alumni are invited to become fans of the Prattstore on Facebook and receive weekly updates on what’s new and exciting along with our weekly sales list.

* Alumni, faculty, and staff: Use the code 2008 at checkout.

Students: Use the code 2009 at checkout. ** Adobe supplies excluded.

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the maGaZiNe Of Pratt iNStitute

Pat Steir, Sunspots II, oil on canvas, 2007, 127 1/4 x 109 1/4 inches.

Private collection, Omaha, Nebraska.

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

Alumni Gallery

GLOBAL

Perspectives Korean Network

Sunspots II, 2007, by Pat Steir, B.F.A. ’62, reflects the artist’s strong interest in Asian art. The work belongs to the waterfall-and-drip series she started in the late 1980s and has been perfecting ever since. Influenced by the Chinese landscape painting tradition, the New York-based artist flung paint through the air from a saturated brush or poured it down the canvas to achieve the torrent of rich gold paint that flows over the emerald-green surface, much like sunshine spiraling off a current of water at close range. In Sunspots II Steir captures the transience of beauty and the fragility of nature, themes often addressed in Asian art. The monumental work was featured in “Dark and Light, Gravity and Levity,” a 2007 exhibition at Cheim & Read Gallery, New York City.

Today, it is held in a private collection in Omaha, Nebraska.

World-Changing Design Passport to Creativity Empathy for Culture Pratt Worldwide

spring/summer 2010

© Courtesy of Pat Steir Studio