Keith Campbell BARCH ‘78 hosted a reception for President Maeda at RTKL Architects in Chicago last night.  It had been some time since the Chicago alumni had gotten together, and the air was full of the energy created by alumni and parents connecting with each other. The President shared some of his thoughts about his paths of discovery as he looks to articulate RISD’s core beliefs, and his experiences meeting new alumni, many of whom do not fit into traditional molds - words that resonated with many of the alumni in attendance, among them an artist residency administrator, a painter and fashion designer who teach in an after school arts program, and an architect turned architectural photographer. Proof that a RISD education allows for endless possibilities!

Photos by John Weinstein ‘78 PH

How exciting to see John Maeda, Grad Studies faculty member Amber Frid-Jiminez and grad research assistant Kate Hollenbach MFA ’11 GD on Bloomberg Television last weekend. They were interviewed as part of an Innovators episode called Turning Point, which focuses on the g-speak spatial operating environment (SOE) currently under development by Oblong Industries. RISD is one of three schools beta-testing g-speak and is running a second studio using the SOE this fall. In addition to suggesting the huge ramifications of Oblong’s venture, the Bloomberg piece points to the value of working with artists in the development of groundbreaking technologies like this one.

Imagine our delight walking the streets of New York to happen upon the AIGA’s 365 exhibit honoring the year’s best in Communication Design. And our further delight at seeing RISD’s graduate viewbook among the honorees again this year!  The viewbook was designed by RISD’s own Isaac Gertman MFA ‘07 GD as The Independent Group in Brooklyn, with our very own Liisa Silander as editorial lead. The only thing more wonderful than the catalog is all of the graduate students it helps to bring us!

I caught the Foundation Studies exhibition in the Waterman Gallery with work by students of Prof. Alba Corrado (left) and Prof. Thomas Mills (right). It was an excellent juxtaposition of three-dimensional work and two-dimensional work. What struck me most deeply was the RISD emphasis on process such that the critical thinking and critical making on display was absolutely sublime in both 2D and 3D representations. -JM

After beating out two other talented finalists, Philadelphia-based artist Ryan Trecartin ’04 FAV has just been named the first winner of the Jack Wolgin International Competition in the Fine Arts, which comes with a $150,000 cash prize – the world’s largest given to a visual artist in a juried competition.

Created earlier this year by Jack Wolgin, a real estate developer, banker and philanthropist in Philadelphia, the competition was established at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art “to recognize an emerging artist with a significant studio practice who critically and creatively engages with existing histories and images, and whose work transcends traditional boundaries.”

Ryan certainly fits the description. Through both his amazing video output and a collaborative sculpture practice with artist Lizzie Fitch, he produces outlandish but bizarrely true-to-life work that you just may want to check out on Ubuweb and Vimeo. Way to go, Ryan!

RISD Professor of Architecture Kyna Leski spoke this past weekend at Pop!Tech. Here is Ethan Zuckerman’s summary of Kyna’s talk on creativity.

At their meeting earlier this month, The RISD Parents’ Council participated in a “play date” with students and faculty involved in an interdisciplinary studio sponsored by local toy giant Hasbro. After parents played and interacted with prototypes-in-progress (see above photo by Jennifer Garza-Cuen MFA ‘10 PH), they gave students feedback that will be helpful as they continue their semester-long investigation of the intriguing concept of play.

Parents also engaged in a discussion about how they can continue to create and support more internships for RISD students. Janie and Leland Wong, parents of Sarah Wong ‘11, shared details about Sarah’s experience working with alumna Michelle Martini ‘95 FAV last summer in New York, whose clients include Macy’s and the New York State Lottery. Sarah worked on the costume and set design for this spot - check it out!

From thoughtful presentations, studio tours, faculty demonstrations and  lively workshops to John Maeda’s discussion on critical thinking and critical making, the alumni entrepreneurship panel and the warmth of the reunion dinners, there was a lot packed in to this year’s RISD by Design celebration for Parents and Alumni. Attendance at reunion dinners was more than double that of previous years, with special events for many of the reunion classes.  Click here for a glimpse of the fun, selected from the thousands of photos taken during the weekend!

Photo: Linda Coulombe MAT ‘86 explores visual math in Carl Fasano’s hands-on class Design Science.

Scott Indermauer Photography