EDITOR
Liisa Silander lsilande@risd.edu 401 454 6349 DESIGNER/ P R O D U C T I O N C O O R D I N AT O R
Elizabeth Eddins 00 GD F E AT U R E S D E S I G N E R
Sarah Rainwater LEAD WRITERS
Liisa Silander Simone Solondz CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Anna Cousins Abigail Crocker Greg Kanaan 02 FAV Francie Latour CLASS NOTES
Anna Cousins Gillian Kiley D I R E C T O R O F A L U M N I R E L AT I O N S
Christina Hartley 74 IL PRINTING
Lane Press Burlington, VT printed on 70# Opus Satin (R) FSC text and 80# Sterling Dull (R) FSC cover
cover »
word photo illustration (1) »
Foster’s Pond, 1990 is one of the many self-portraits Finnish photographer Arno Rafael Minkkinen MFA 74 PH has made at his waterfront home in Andover, MA since he first began photographing his feet, fingers, hands, arms, legs and other body parts in the 1970s. Mouth of the River, 2014, the image above, is another. Wherever he photographs his own body interfacing with the world—in the woods, on mountaintops, in cities, in
the snow, submerged in water—Arno uses a light touch to make meaningful work. See and read more about it on pages 20–21 and 42–47. As his new studio assistant, recent graduate Rachel Jump 14 PH helped with pulling together various bits and pieces for this issue. “I feel incredibly lucky to have ended up in this position,” she says, adding: “Arno’s work has always been very influential to my practice.”
Listen (10) »
feature writing (32) »
back cover »
Sculptor and painter Annie Weatherwax 84 SC now writes full-time and has discovered that making art with words is remarkably similar to working with clay, paint and other visual media. Just released in August, her debut novel All We Had is a funny, visceral story about a feisty girl growing up with a mess of a mother who uses her body to get by financially. The novel earned an Editor’s Pick from Oprah’s Book Club and has been optioned by Katie Holmes, who plans to star in and direct the film version.
An experience designer at Mad*Pow in Boston, Samantha Dempsey 13 IL works to improve our interactions with the healthcare industry. Her background in illustration informs her approach to experience design as she incorporates narrative flow, visual storytelling and sequential art into her work. Samantha also conducts research into visualizing patient narratives and creates tools to help facilitate visual communication between patients and clinicians. In her spare time, she embroiders patterns of bacteria onto household objects.
Chocolate Truffle (2013, oil on linen, 6 ½ x 5" / private collection) by Andrew Stevovich 70 PT is a prime example of the many abstract humanist paintings he makes—of people alone, in pairs or in groups. Seeing his work as “very much like mirrors,” the artist points to two major influences: the early Italian Renaissance and Expressionism (which, for him, includes Gauguin). Andrew is now preparing for solo shows coming up in late winter and early spring at two Adelson Galleries locations—in Boston and New York.
Esther Eunsun Lee 16 GD looked to the graceful movement of American Sign Language in creating her “human alphabet” for a RISD Form + Communications workshop. An avid photographer, the Graphic Design major loves when she can incorporate her photos into her design work. After RISD she hopes to work in the film/TV industry creating opening credits and intro clips. “Sometimes, I literally wish I had all the time in the world to learn and do everything,” Esther says.
FONTS
Quiosco + Antenna by Cyrus Highsmith 97 GD RISD XYZ
Two College Street Providence, Rhode Island 02903-2784 USA risd.edu/xyz Published two times a year by RISD’s Media Group, in conjunction with Alumni Relations.
Postmaster: Send address changes to Office of Advancement Services RISD, Two College Street Providence, RI 02903 USA Or email gduarte@risd.edu
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cover and above left: photographs ©Arno Rafael Minkkinen
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