Yesterday I got off the train from New York to Providence and a young woman asked me, “Where is RISD?” I proceeded to walk her over to RISD and learned that she was a student that had gotten into RISD and was considering whether she wanted to attend. We visited the many sights that I do enjoy, like the Fleet Library and the beautiful risd|works shop. I had to leave for a meeting but upon parting suggested that she visit Nature Lab. I do hope she checked it out.

Later that day I attended the honorary degree dinner. The honorees were Yo-Yo Ma, Laurie Anderson, Edward Ruscha, and Roberta Smith. At the dinner I spoke of the four morsels of wisdom I received form Yo-Yo at a dinner in Davos. We were also able to celebrate the excellence of RISD’s educators: the faculty and curators that make RISD a learner’s paradise.

And today was RISD commencement. I had heard that the custom gowns were quite unique. The rumors were true. I saw everything from an upside-down-person realized as a hat, to a fairy complete with wings, to a completely transparent gown, to silkscreened gowns, to Edward-scissorhands gowns … the variety was quite remarkable. Unfortunately my camera battery ran out when it got to the funky gowns, but nonetheless I provide the visual documentation that I have right here.

Alan Tracy, Event Coordinator in Career Services, is busy this week handing out caps and gowns to graduating students, and collecting updated information from these soon-to-be new alumni. 

They are also provided with information about the on-going services available to alumni from Career Services, including Artworks, a searchable database with job postings, internships, residencies and more.  This service is available to all alumni, not just those graduating this year.  Register in the on-line directory for access.

Designers from Samsung visited RISD today including alum Kyoungwoon Hahm (on the right). It’s always nice to show off RISD to guests as there is so much to see and enjoy.

An old friend from MIT and former head of software development for the One Laptop Per Child program, Walter Bender, came and visited me today at RISD. It was great to connect Walter with the talented RISD student Adam Meyer (ID) of RISDpedia fame. Adam aims to create a national repository of knowledge about different art and design materials using WIKI technology. I hope to seed more interactions between MIT and RISD over the coming years.

Today I attended a dinner where Senator Jack Reed (second from the left) gave a talk about his various experiences in the Senate. I found his encyclopedic mind absolutely incredible. Senator Reed seemed to be able to vividly recall events from decades ago in a completely effortless and personable manner. I was impressed.

At the dinner, I noted that everyone seems to wear a necktie at these kind of occasions. Since I don’t have a single necktie in my wardrobe, I am beginning to feel that I may be suffering from NDS (Necktie Deficit Syndrome). I’m sure there are other NDS sufferers out there. My thoughts are with you (smile). Know that Issey Miyake doesn’t wear a necktie either.

My life was literally transformed when I visited the RISD Textiles show. I was told that I had to go and upon my gallery-hop I immediately knew why. You have to see it to believe it. Unfortunately … it’s gone now. But next year when May rolls around I suggest you definitely put it into your Google calendar. Hmmmmm. That’s an idea. It would be nice if RISD had a public Google calendar that RISD fans could subscribe to so that they could come and visit. Taking note …

I spent part of the day walking around campus snapping photos with Aaron Meshon ‘95 IL, who was in town to discuss a possible mapping project for my office.  Aaron’s work is fanciful and whimsical, full of color and activity.  His work has been recognized in a several illustration annuals and juried awards including; Graphics, Society of Illustrators, RSVP, 3×3, AltPick, and American Illustration 23, 24, and 25. Our lunch was filled with reminiscences of his years at RISD  - rollerblading on Benefit Street, wintersession in New Zealand with Franz Werner, lots of hard work,  and the inspiration he found from faculty and classmates. 

For this podcast (8Mb) I had the chance to watch Prof. Henry Ferreira (Printmaking) talk about the “ultimate screen,” Prof. Susan Doyle (Illustration) teaching us about life in the RISD fast lane, Claudia Ford on a vision for RISD’s international interactions, and the head of the RISD Student Alliance talking about leadership.

This podcast (4Mb) includes a quick interview with Prof. Larry Bush (Ceramics), a couple of students talking about what makes for great teaching and also the Silk Road collaboration, and closes with an interview with a wandering grad student at the recent RISD Grad show.

Last night I moderated an AIGA NY panel of three designer/artists: NYT’s Steve Duenes, RISD Alum Andrew Kuo, and IBM’s Fernanda Viegas. All panelists made excellent contributions that spanned the serious (Duenes), the playful (Kuo), and the scientific (Viegas). I recommend your visiting IBM’s Many Eyes system that Dr. Viegas presented as a new open approach for anyone to do advanced visualizations on their favorite data.