Scope and Contents In this audio interview with Martica Sawin, Stanley Barrows recalls his experiences teaching at Parsons School of Design, particularly his role in leading summer trips to Europe in the 1950s and into the 1960s. He identifies and tells stories about memorable students and faculty, including Robert Castle, Glenn Boyles, Grace Fakes, Elsie Brown Barnes, Betty Carter, and Leo Steinberg. Barrows discusses the upheaval within the Interior Design Department during the late 1960s, the destruction of the school's interior design research collections, and his eventual move to the Fashion Institute of Technology in 1968. He reviews the history of Parsons School of Design based on stories handed down to him, as well as his own interactions with William M. Odom and Van Day Truex, both of whom he encountered as a student in the 1930s. Barrows relates his experiences studying at the Paris Ateliers in 1939 during the escalation of hostilities during World War Two, the eventual evacuation of...

Scope and Contents

In this audio interview with Martica Sawin, Suzanne Cole, an instructor and later Chair of the Illustration Department at Parsons School of Design, discusses transitioning the department from a fashion illustration focus to a more general illustration focus during her tenure. Cole describes faculty members she and co-chair Murray Tinkelman hired, including J.C. Suarez, Randy Enos, and Maurice Sendak, and recounts her teaching strategies and those of her colleagues.

Scope and Contents

In this audio interview with Martica Sawin, Mildred Constantine discusses joining the Graphic Design Department as an art and design history instructor at Parsons School of Design while also serving as a curator at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). She also describes her teaching methodologies and pedagogical philosophies during her time as an instructor of first-year students.

Scope and Contents

In this audio interview with Martica Sawin, Benedict J. Fernandez recounts joining the staff of Parsons School of Design, initially as a darkroom technician in the Graphic Design Department under the leadership of James Frangides, and subsequently establishing the Photography Department in 1978. He mentions recruiting Richard Avedon to teach Alexey Brodovitch’s “Design Laboratory” course. Fernandez discusses photographing Martin Luther King, Jr. in the early 1960s and later anti-war protest movements, including the "My God! We're Losing a Great Country" exhibition held at Parsons. Also discussed in the interview is the FOCUS program, a student exchange between Parsons students and Russian photography students between 1988 and 1993.

Scope and Contents

In this audio interview, Albert Greenberg, Chair of the Communication Design Department (formerly Graphic Design) of Parsons School of Design, discusses overseeing departmental transitions during his tenure, including the shift to computer-based design and changing student demographics. He also describes the initiatives he instituted to increase professionalism and develop career opportunities for students.

Scope and Contents

Audio recording of a hastily-organized meeting of the Parsons School of Design community to announce the affiliation of Parsons with the New School for Social Research. Speakers (in order of appearance): Francis Ruzicka (President, Parsons School of Design); Richard M. Paget (Chairman, Board of Trustees, Parsons School of Design); and Orin Lehman (Chairman, Board of Trustees, the New School). Also on the speaker platform and responding to questions are Allen Austill (Dean of Adult Division, the New School) and John Everett (President, the New School).

Scope and Contents The recording starts with an introduction to Milton Glaser by Randy Swearer, dean of Parsons School of Design. Swearer describes Glaser as defining "entire genres of design," especially his work in "institutional identity planning," including the "I Heart New York" design. Swearer says that Glaser has designed over 300 posters, and has worked with the Washington Post, The Nation, the Village Voice, and other publications. He's had one man shows at the Museum of Modern Art, Centre Pompidou, and the Gallery at Lincoln Center. Glaser shows samples of his work and talks about his process, how this work relates to his broader approach to design, and the larger discussion on illustration. The use of light, issues of authorship and preservation, and the process of design are recurrent themes throughout the lecture. Glaser shows slides of posters,...

Scope and Contents

Henry Wolf introduces Ivan Chermayeff as a partner in one of the world's "best" design firms, Chermayeff & Geismar (later Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv.) Wolf relates personal anecdotes from the 1970s, when he subletted an office from Chermayeff and worked with Chernayeff on a project basis. These projects included Pan Am, Xerox, AT&T, and Philip Morris. Wolf also emphasizes Chernayeff's influence in the world of design, as well as the ubiquity of Chernayeff's designs themselves.

Chermayeff proposes a kind of discourse on "what design is": whether it's a profession; what do designers do; the changing practice of design; the difference between art and design. He likens graphic design to plumbing and surgery. He emphasizes that design is about communication generally, and the effective communication of the mundane and banal in particular. He discusses his fixation with garbage, ephemera, and expresses an appreciation for "amateur" design.

Scope and Contents Dean of Parsons School of Design Randy Swearer introduces Henry Wolf, calling him "revolutionary," and "an architect" of design. He describes Wolf as equally impactful in the worlds of photography and design, as well as deeply influential within the institution of Parsons itself. In reflecting on his fity-plus year career in design, Wolf asks himself and the audience "why me?" Along the way, he gives a kind of informal history of the magazine world (he worked for Esquire and Show, and shows slides of his magazine work over the years.)An exhibition of Wolf's photographs corresponds with the lecture series. Wolf delivers a very detailed autobiography, incluing a discussion of his rejection from (and subsequent teaching appointment at) Cooper Union, his night classes at The New School, and his time in World War II. Wolf jokes that "Hitler threw me out of Vienna," noting...

Scope and Contents

In the first of three segments, Bethann Hardison discusses her modeling agency, Click. Presenting a slideshow of fashion photographs, Hardison outlines the various activities associated with building a career in fashion photography. She relates stories about her career, responding to questions from participants throughout the workshop. In the second and third segments, Hardison continues discussing her profession with workshop participants and offers career advice. The workshop concludes with a question and answer session.

Container

Bethann Hardison - Communication and Fashion Modeling - 5/20/85 - Tape 1; Fashion Focus 5/20/85 - Bethann Hardison - Tape 2 - Side A / Walter Thomas - Tape 1 - Side A & B

Item Label

Bethann Hardison 5/20/85 - Tape 1[1B]; Bethann Hardison - Tape 2A - 5/20/85 / Walter Thomas - 1A - 5/20/85