RISD is participating in the 2009 edition of the BEYOND MEDIA festival in Florence (through July 17), more specifically in the exhibition SPOT ON SCHOOLS, an exploration of state-of-the-art and cutting edge researches on the influence of the new media on the discipline of architecture.

SPOT ON SCHOOLS, curated by Paola Giaconia, involves some twenty architecture and design schools (from around the world) known for their research and experimentation in the field of new media communication. The schools’ installations demonstrate how new technologies influence various phases of a design, starting from the very act of creative conception. The exhibition highlights energetic lines of research that fuel architectural education with new life. Some of the most innovative and prestigious architecture programs in the world have been invited to showcase work that investigates recent developments of the use of digital technologies for design research.

RISD’s installation tells the story of the relationship between thought process and artifact in the RISD Architecture program. The department is exhibiting work from studios engaging in sociocultural issues in architecture, presented via several hundred pre-addressed and pre-stamped bi-fold postcards, each marked with a unique QR/datamatrix pattern. The code can be photographed with cell phones equipped with readers, allowing the user to retrieve additional information and data-links for an individual project via the web. The postcards will then be exhibited at RISD in the fall of 2009.

» more images and video here

I bumped into RISD Illustration ‘05 Alison Paul this evening who let me know she has her second illustrated children’s book coming out in January 2010. It can be pre-ordered on Amazon.com right now! -JM

Today I sat in Watermark Cafe here at RISD for a brief moment between meetings. I was fortunate to sit with three pre-college program students who are in 11th grade. Two were from New York, the other was from Boston. I asked them how they were doing here at RISD. The comments were quite interesting.

• Most of their schools only had athletic programs, and art was something they might do quite sparingly in their day to day academic lives. They seemed to absolutely love making art for hours on end – “You mean I can just make art? really?”
• One student commented that she enjoyed how her peers in the program never referred to themselves as “artists” – and that they all came with the fresh attitude that they simply make art and by doing so they believe that the values of making art can be translated to any aspect of their lives. It made me think about our Provost Shefrin speaking to what we do here at RISD as “thinking is a kind of making, and making is a kind of thinking.”
• Lastly they all were impressed with each others’ different set of techniques. Since at their respective high schools they may only have the opportunity to learn a single way of painting, they are all highly enthused that they are sharing a variety of styles of thinking across peers and from their instructors.

So all in all, I felt affirmed that stopping by the cafeteria always reveals some sort of core insight about what makes RISD tick. And I also manage to eat something healthy — which is pretty important too. -JM

I have a long backlog of podcasts and photos I’ve been meaning to post. This is one of my favorite ones during May from a few months back when final projects were being completed and moved around campus. I’m not sure how I could explain this to anyone really. -JM

RISD’s commitment to community service is once again in evidence around Providence this summer. As part of a spring semester Typography course in the Illustration Department, students had an assignment to design a poster for a local not-for-profit organization. A poster designed by Illustration student Anna Horowitz was selected by the Rhode Island Community Food Bank to promote this summer’s food drive, which will run through August 28 and has a goal of collecting 200,000 pounds of food for needy Rhode Islanders.

Anna’s classmate Susanna Vagt created her design for Youth in Action - an extraordinary organization where the students actually run the programming (with adult advisors). Programs provide support for Providence high school students to organize community programs (like STD education, public works projects, and education about local political issues) and coordinate tutoring for students in need. Congratulations and keep up the good work (and good deeds), Anna and Susanna.

I had the chance to meet with RISD alum Tae Ashida at her studio in Tokyo on my recent Asia trip. Tae’s elegant couture collections known as Miss Ashida are ambitious and inspired explorations in form, pattern, and personality. What impressed me most in my chat with Tae was her ability to speak to the confluence of international culture, emerging business opportunities, the importance of education, and in an especially loving way about her experience at RISD. In many Japanese periodicals Tae speaks of her alma mater – written here in Japanese as “ロードアイランド造形大学” – I think I feel a new Japanese T-shirt coming on. Be sure to catch Tae’s new upcoming collections! -JM

I received a postcard from Zio Ziegler who has started a new business in Mill Valley, CA. In the event that you are anywhere near 87 E Blithedale then you know where to go! -JM

Earlier this year when designer Andrea Valentini ’95 IA was invited to direct the Gail Cahalan Gallery at Conley’s Wharf in Providence, she jumped at the opportunity – not only because it came with great studio/gallery/showroom space for her own business, but because she immediately thought of showing RISD student work there.

An award-winning designer, Andrea creates sculptural textiles, bags, jewelry and lighting, transforming industrial materials into sensual functional objects. Last week, when she re-opened Andrea Valentini for business at the Cahalan space, she mounted her first exhibition there, too – featuring works by two recent Painting graduates, Annabeth Marks ’09 PT (that’s a painting by Annabeth) and Hugh Zeigler ’09 PT.

Called simply LAUNCH, the student exhibition space was conceived “to help graduating students transition from the campus to the community” by introducing their work to a regional audience, Andrea explains. “As a student, I can remember desperately wanting to exhibit in a real art gallery,” she added in an article in The Providence Journal. “My hope is that LAUNCH will be that kind of place for today’s RISD students.”

A portion of the proceeds from gallery sales will go to a new RISD scholarship fund known as a “RISH come true” (the acronym stands for Rhode Island High School Students), which will help Rhode Islanders attending RISD. The show at 200 Allens Avenue can be seen Tuesday through Saturday from 11am to 6pm through August 7 or by appointment.

Last week I stopped by Cheil – the largest advertising company in Korea – to see Nack Hoi Kim. It’s amazing to see how Mr. Kim is inventing new venues for the many creatives that work in his agency. There I also came across some a RISD grad and also a current RISD student interning there. It’s nice to see RISD everywhere I go. -JM