The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD, pronounced /ˈrɪzdi/) is one of the premier fine arts institutions in the United States. It was founded in 1877 and is located in Providence, Rhode Island at the base of College Hill and contiguous with the Brown
University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources. They offer joint courses, and
students at each institution may cross-register in courses offered by the other institution.
RISD is widely regarded as one of the best art schools in the country. It has been
consistently named the best Master of Fine Arts program, along with Yale and the School of the Art Institute of
Chicago by U.S. News & World Report and has the lowest
admissions rate of all art schools in the United States, except for the tuition-free Cooper
Union.[1]
In May 2006 the RISD Board of Trustees approved this mission statement:
The mission of the Rhode Island School of Design, through its college and museum, is to educate its students and the public in
the creation and appreciation of works of art and design, to discover and transmit knowledge and to make lasting contributions to
a global society through critical thinking, scholarship and innovation.
The school includes about 350 faculty and curators, and 400 staff members. About 1,880 undergraduates and 370 graduate
students enroll from all over the United States and 50 other countries. It offers 16 undergraduate majors and 17 graduate majors.
RISD is a member of the Association of Independent
Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), a consortium of thirty-six leading art schools in the United States. It also maintains
over 80,000 works of art in the RISD Museum.
History
The Centennial Women were a group formed to raise funds for Rhode Island's exhibit at the Centennial Exposition in 1876. The group had $1,675 left over after the exposition, and, inspired
by foreign exhibits on design and interior decorating, Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf persuaded the
group to donate the money to found what would become the Rhode Island School of Design. The school was incorporated in 1877 and
opened its doors the following fall. Metcalf directed the school until her death in 1895. Her daughter, Eliza Greene Metcalf
Radeke, then took over until her death in 1931.[2]
The Rhode Island General Assembly ratified “An Act to Incorporate the
Rhode Island School of Design” on March 22, 1877. “For the
purpose of aiding in the cultivation of the arts of design.” Over the next 129 years, the following original by-laws set forth
these following primary objectives:
- First. The instruction of artisans in drawing, painting, modeling, and designing, that they may successfully apply the
principles of Art to the requirements of trade and manufacture.
- Second. The systematic training of students in the practice of Art, in order that they may understand its principles,
give instruction to others, or become artists.
- Third. The general advancement of public Art Education, by the exhibition of works of Art and of Art school studies,
and by lectures on Art.
Sports
Sports are not the focus of campus life but do provide a rare sense of school spirit. RISD sports have fluctuated over the
years with the RISD archives containing photos of football, baseball, and basketball teams spanning the very early 20th century.
Yearbooks and alumni reveal the RISD Student Association funded basketball teams throughout the 1950s and 1960s that were called
the 'Nads'. An ice hockey team formed soon after using the same name, 'Nads'. The ice hockey team played through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s with little record of other athletics.
In 2000, a new basketball team was formed under the name 'Balls' to complement the ice hockey
team, each with its own slogan: "When the heat is on, the Balls stick together", and "Go
Nads" (deliberately sounding like "gonads"). Currently, these are
the two most active and organized sports teams at RISD, with basketball the only sport played at varsity-level competition.
Together, both teams provide a rally ground for students, faculty, administration, and staff alike. Intramural level teams round out the offering in rock climbing, men's and women's soccer, volleyball,
and biking.
RISD students claim Cooper Union and Pratt
Institute as their archrivals in sporting events, and the two hold an annual basketball match in both Providence and New
York.
Notable alumni
Before 1970
1970s
- Joanna Priestley (attended 1972–3) – independent animator
- Walt Simonson (B.F.A. 1972) – comic book writer/artist
- Mary Boone (B.F.A. 1973) – gallery owner
- Nicole Miller (B.F.A. 1973) – fashion designer
- Chris Frantz (B.F.A. 1974) – musician, Talking
Heads
- Mary Lambert (B.F.A 1974) – film director: Pet
Sematary (1989), The In Crowd (2000)
- Starr Ockenga (M.F.A. 1974) – photographer
- Tina Weymouth (B.F.A. 1974) – musician, Talking
Heads, Tom Tom Club
- Eric Alan Edwards (B.F.A. 1975) – cinematographer: My Own Private Idaho (1991), To Die For (1995),
- Deborah Berke (B.F.A. 1975, B.Arch. 1977) – architect
- Roni Horn (B.F.A. 1975) – artist
- Gus Van Sant (B.F.A. 1975) – film director: My Own Private Idaho (1991), Good Will
Hunting (1997), Finding Forrester (2000), Elephant (2003) Last Days (2006)
- Peter Niemitz (B.Arch 1976) – Architect and designer
- Mark Pollack (B.F.A. 1976) – textile designer
- Barbara A. Nadel, FAIA (B.F.A. 1977, B.Arch. 1978) - architect, author, journalist
- Jenny Holzer (M.F.A. 1977) – installation artist, famous for her "Truisms"
- Jim Childress (B.Arch 1978) – Architect
- Peter Van Lancker (B.F.A. 1978) – renowned boat designer and builder
- Francesca Woodman (B.F.A. 1978) – photographer
- Stuart Karten – (B.F.A. 1979) – industrial designer
- Alex O'neal (B.F.A. 1979) – artist
- Michael McPherson (M.F.A. 1979) – graphic designer
- Robert Richardson – (B.F.A. 1979) Academy Award winning cinematographer.
1980s
- Howard Ben Tre (M.F.A. 1980) – artist
- Lucy Puls (M.F.A. 1980) – artist
- Michael Scheiner (B.F.A. 1980) – glass sculptor/ RISD professor
- Michael Gabellini (B.Arch 1981) – Architect and restorer, teacher at the
Parsons School of Design
- Karin Campbell (B.F.A 1984) – artist
- Cheryl Donegan (B.F.A. 1984) – video artist and painter
- Glenn Gissler (B.Arch 1984) – Architect
- Kenneth Goldsmith (B.F.A. 1984) – poet, WFMU DJ,
founding editor of UbuWeb
- Michael Maltzan (B.Arch 1985) – Architect
- Sheila Sofian (B.F.A. 1985) – Animator
- Michael Yurgeles (M.F.A. 1985) – photographer/arts educator
- Nader Tehrani (B.Arch 1986) – Architect, adjunct associate professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design
- Zack Stratis (B.F.A. 1987) – Film director
- Michele Macrakis (B.F.A. 198?) – photographer Fulbright
Fellow
- Josiah McElheny (B.F.A. 1988) – artist/sculptor, 2006 MacArthur Fellow
- Janine Antoni (M.F.A. 1989) – artist
- Eli Bonerz (B.Arch. 1989) – co–founder, X–Large
- Jon Foster (1989) – illustrator
- Heather Nova (B.F.A. 1989) – singer/songwriter
- Susan Sellers (B.F.A. 1989) – graphic designer
- Charles Stone III (B.F.A. 1988) – film director: Drumline (2002), creator of Whassup? Anheuser–Busch Budweiser commercial campaign
- Yvonne Force Villareal (B.F.A 1988) – art patron and socialite
- Georgie Stout (B.F.A. 1989) – graphic designer
1990s
- James Jaxxa (attended 199?) – Multi–media artist
- Jesse Sykes (B.F.A. 199?) – singer/songwriter
- Keira Alexandra (B.F.A. 1990) – graphic designer
- Jose Clemente Orozco (MFA 1990) – graphic designer, illustrator, book designer,
grandson of Mexican muralist
- Scott Stowell (B.F.A. 1990) – graphic designer, former designer M&Co./Colors
Magazine
- Andrea Zittel (M.F.A. 1990) – artist
- Imraan Aziz (B.F.A. 1991) – industrial designer
- Joseph Coates (M.F.A. 1991) – university professor, designer
- Matthew Monk (M.F.A. 1991) – RISD design professor, graphic designer
- Jane Pallera (B.F.A. 1991) – industrial designer
- Claudia Bruno (M.F.A. 1992) – former Associate Art Director Martha Stewart Living magazine, now Creative Director Dwell
Magazine
- Natalia Ilyin (M.F.A. 1991) – design critic, author, educator
- Helen Stickler (B.F.A. 1991) – film director
- Shepard Fairey (B.F.A. 1992) – graphic designer, creator of the Obey Giant campaign
- Tobias Frere–Jones (B.F.A. 1992) – type designer
- Nicole Murray (B.F.A. 1992) – fashion designer, CEO at NM70/Candy
- Laura Owens (B.F.A. 1992) – painter
- Denyse Schmidt (B.F.A. 1992) – modern quilt entrepreneur, founder Denyse Schmidt Quilts
- Sonya Sklaroff (B.F.A. 1992) – artist/painter
- Jennifer Kellogg (B.F.A. 1993) – jewelry designer
- Kristen Hassenfeld (B.F.A. 1994) – artist
- Sung Ho Kim (B.Arch 1994) – Architect, teacher at Washington University in St. Louis School of Architecture
- Kara Walker (M.F.A. 1994) – artist, MacArthur Fellow
- Seth MacFarlane (B.F.A. 1995) – creator of the animated series Family Guy and American Dad
- Shazia Sikander (M.F.A. 1995) – artist, MacArthur Fellow
- Tess Giberson (B.F.A. 1996) – Fashion designer
- Grace Lin (B.F.A. 1996) – author/illustrator
- Ben Coccio (B.F.A. 1997) – director of Zero Day
- Matt Brinkman (B.F.A. 1997) – artist, part of collective Force Field, musician,
founded Fort Thunder
- Benjamin Edwards (M.F.A. 1997) – artist
- David Hanson (B.F.A. 1997) - robotics designer
- Julie Mehretu (M.F.A. 1997) – artist, 2005 MacArthur Fellow
- Whitney Bedford (B.F.A. 1998) – artist
- Jim Drain (B.F.A. 1998) – artist, part of collective Force Field
- Anna Schuleit (B.F.A. 1998) - artist, 2006 MacArthur Fellow
- Alissa Imre Geis (class of 1998), children's book author and illustrator
- Bryan Konietzko (B.F.A. 1998) co–creator and executive producer, Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Clare Rojas (B.F.A. 1998) – artist
- Fran Krause (B.F.A. 1999) – Animator
- Jarrett J. Krosoczka (B.F.A. 1999) – author/illustrator
- Justin Lo (B.F.A. 1999) – Hong Kong singer, composer and record producer.
- Matthew Yapchaian (B.F.A. 1999) – Film/Animation/Video
2000s
- Kevin Zucker (B.F.A. 2000) – painter
- Brooke Bernstein (B.F.A. 2001) – Fashion industry graphic designer (Bonne Belle & Limited Too)
- Katherine Gerdes (B.F.A. 2003) – fashion designer and contestant on Project Runway
- Cara Campagnoli (B.F.A. 2004)– Knitwear Developer T.S.E.
- Ryan Trecartin (B.F.A. 2004) – artist
- Diana Eng (B.F.A. 2005) – fashion designer and contestant on Project Runway
- Marissa Nadler (attended 200?)– singer/songwriter
- Tiffany Laine De Mott (M.F.A. 2005) - professor, designer, filmmaker
Groups formed at RISD
Notable current and past faculty
- Yvonne Andersen – Professor Emerita, Department of Animation/Film/Video
- Thomas Bosworth - former Chair of Department of Architecture, now Seattle architect,
Professor Emeritus University of Washington
- Harry Callahan – photographer, former Chair of the Department of Photography
- Henry Ferreira - printmaker, Printmaking Department Head
- Joseph Goto - Sculptor, Painter
- Malcolm Grear – former RISD professor, graphic designer
- Barry Gerson - avant-garde filmmaker
- Henry Horenstein – photographer
- Mikyoung Kim – chair, Department of Landscape Architecture
- Jhumpa Lahiri – creative writing, author of The
Namesake (film)
- Krzysztof Lenk – designer, founder Dynamic Diagrams
information design
- David Macaulay (B.Arch. 1969) – Illustrator and author
- Rodolfo Machado – former Head of the Department of Architecture, now Professor in Practice
and Chair, Department of Urban Design and Planning, Harvard University
- Marian Marzynski – Independent filmmaker
- Richard Merkin (M.F.A. 1963) – former RISD professor, painter, appears on the cover of The
Beatles album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- Mihai Nadin – theorist, semiotics, computational design
- Tom Ockerse – former Head, Graphic Design Department and MFA graphic design program
- Ootje Oxenaar – Dutch graphic designer, designer of acclaimed but now vanished Dutch
currency
- Waldemar Raemisch – former Head, Sculpture Department, refugee from Nazi Germany
- Karim Rashid – industrial designer, formerly of industrial design department
(1992)
- Michael Rock – graphic designer, writer, now design professor at Yale University MFA graphic
design program
- Douglas G. A. Scott – Designer Director WGBH, design historian
- Nancy Skolos – Graphic Design Department Head
- Steven Subotnick – former Head, professor in animation
- Friedrich St. Florian – architect, designer of National World War II Memorial
- Chris Van Allsburg – children's book author/illustrator, Caldecott winner for The Polar Express
- Jan Van Toorn – Dutch graphic designer
- Wendy S. Walters – English professor, poet, and lyricist; author of Birds of Los Angeles and Golden Motors, a musical with composer
Derek Bermel
- Tom Wedell – Skolos + Wedell
- Whitney Anderson (2005) – professional ventriloquist
- Ann Fessler – artist, author of "The Girls Who Went Away"
References
External links
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