2007 spring parsons red
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THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF
a century of re-imagining interior design
LETTER FROM THE DEAN
In this issue of RE:D we pay tribute to interior design, a field of study
and practice that has been a vital part of Parsons The New School for
Design’s reputation for 100 years. The school’s early leaders, especial-
ly Frank Alvah Parsons, William Odom, Van Day Truex, and Jean-Michel
Frank, foresaw the potential and the importance of interior design as
both a critical design discipline and a powerful social and economic
force. They shaped an interior design program that was visionary for its
time and has an ongoing influence on interior design theory and prac-
tice. We continue to lead the field, as demonstrated by the achieve-
ments of our illustrious alumni—such as Albert Hadley ’49, Betty
Sherrill ’51, Mario Buatta ’61, and following generations including
Victoria Hagan ’84 (see page 32) and Jamie Drake ’78 (page 33).
Interior design engages the complex interactions of the body and space, the human being, and habitat
and enacts social, personal, and cultural meaning. Interior design stages relationships among many
design fields, including furniture and product design; lighting, architecture, and fashion; domestic and
media technologies; and the fine arts. You can read more about these intersections—and the ways in
which the interior design program at Parsons is responding and helping to shape them—in the dialogue
between Kent Kleinman, chair of the Department of Architecture, Interior Design, and Lighting, and Lois
Weinthal, the new director of the interior design program, that appears on page 20.
We are also delighted to feature a profile of the Parsons lighting design program (page 18); photos from
the “Little Houses” project in Hällefors, Sweden (page 16); and news on The Design Workshop’s recent
project in DeLisle, Mississippi (page 5). While these stories may highlight the disciplines of product
design, lighting, and architecture at Parsons, it’s clear that the “interior” is central to these multifaceted
projects, in which students develop lighting concepts for specific environments, build a portable living
space, or create a laundry facility and information center to serve a community’s particular needs.
We’re proud of the interior design program at Parsons and to commemorate its centennial with this issue
of RE:D. It is a pleasure to stay in touch with all of our alumni from across Parsons and to bring you the
latest news from the school. I hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as our contributors have
enjoyed putting it together.
Best regards,
Tim Marshall, Dean
above: Dean Tim Marshall. Photo by Matthew Sussmanfront and back cover: The Angelo Donghia Materials Library and Study Center, home of the Department of Architecture, Interior Design, and Lighting. Front cover photo by Paula Giraldo, back cover photo by Bob Handelman inside front cover: Selections from a collection of sketches for Metropolitan Home magazine by Illustration chair Steven Guarnaccia.
CONTRIBUTORS CONTENTS
features 10 The Inside Story 100 Years of Interior Design at Parsons
16 Track Housing Little Houses on the Black River
18 Illuminating Education A Look at Parsons’ MFA Lighting Program
20 Expanding the Theory of Interiors Architecture, interior design, and lighting’s new chair, Kent Kleinman, and interior design’s new director, Lois Weinthal, discuss the present and future of the department.
30 The Gift of Education Interior Design Scholarships at Parsons
news at parsons 5 Design Workshop in Mississippi . . .Parsons Journals . . . Target: Grocery . . . The Sims. . . Empowering Kosovar Women . . . Weiss Lectures
alumni profiles 32 Victoria Hagan ’84 33 RE:SPOND Jamie Drake ’78
in every issue 1 Letter from the Dean 4 Letters to the RE:DITOR 8 RE:TINA 22 RE:CORD Alumni News, Upcoming Alumni Events, and Class Notes 28 RE:COGNITION Gifts to Parsons in 2006
matthew sussman is a photographer,
director, and producer whose work has
ranged from international documentary
television to makeover reality shows. He
is currently on staff at The New School
as special project producer.
karissa krenz is a New York–based
arts and entertainment writer and for-
mer Editor-in-Chief of Chamber Music
magazine. Her writing appears fre-
quently in publications including Time
Out New York and Playbill. She also
designs and fabricates one-of-a-kind
and limited-edition jewelry sculpted
from found objects and wire.
david j. lewis is associate professor
and director of the master of architec-
ture program. He received his BA from
Carleton College, holds an MA in History
of Architecture and Urbanism from
Cornell, and an MArch from Princeton.
Lewis is partner in the New York–based
architecture firm Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis.
Illustration department chair steven
guarnaccia is a frequent contributor to
publications including Time, Rolling
Stone, and BLAB! and was previously art
director of the New York Times op-ed
page. Co-author of Black and White and
author/illustrator of numerous chil-
dren’s books, Guarnaccia hosted the
hugely successful Illustration Today
symposium at Parsons in November.
lisa zeiger (not pictured) was decora-
tive arts editor for the quarterly interiors
publication nest and a freelance arts
writer in Glasgow, London, and
Cologne. She studied decorative arts at
Sotheby’s London and the University of
Glasgow and holds degrees from
Barnard and Columbia Law School.
Zeiger is at work on her first book,
Blanquita: A Memoir of the Bronx.
paula giraldo, Graphic Design ’05
(AAS), studied photography and graphic
design in her native Colombia before
moving to New York to attend Parsons.
She is currently on staff at The New
School as a graphic designer.
re:d magazine
Guest Editor
Karissa Krenz
Managing Editor
Lindy Regan
Alumni Relations
Jessica Arnold
Rachel Denny
Assistant Editor
Sarah Kricheff
Creative Director
Meg Callery
Designers
Anna Ostrovskaya
Paula Giraldo
Production
Tina Moskin
Copy Editor
Ellen Davidson
Letters to the editor
We want to hear from you. RE:D welcomes
letters to the editor regarding published
articles, alumni news, opinions, commen-
tary, and suggestions for features. Letters
may be edited for content and/or length.
Please include your year of graduation,
degree completed, and major.
submissions
Original manuscripts, photo submissions,
and/or artwork will be considered for
publication. Unsolicited manuscripts,
related materials, photography, and
artwork will not be returned.
address changes
Please submit address changes at:
www.newschool.edu/alumni.
re:d
Parsons The New School for Design
66 Fifth Ave., 7th floor
New York, NY 10011
www.parsons.newschool.edu/RE:D
this page: MFA Lighting Design, Erin De Vries
� �
news at parsonsMississippi ReturningThe Design Workshop 2006: 39751 InfoWash by david j. lewis
In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a conversation
about The Design Workshop between DeLisle, Mississippi, resi-
dent Martha Murphy and Parsons MArch graduate Federico
Negro ’04 led to the program’s most ambitious effort since its
inception nearly ten years ago. Negro, now a member of
Manhattan-based SHoP Architects, was consulting with Murphy
while working on the firm’s rebuilding efforts in DeLisle, a town
hit hard and dead-center by the storm. Murphy saw an opportu-
nity to engage Parsons in the DeLisle community’s need for basic
amenities and communication and envisioned a solution.
The result was 39751 InfoWash, a combination information cen-
ter and laundromat designed and built in the spring and summer
of 2006 by 12 graduate students and one undergraduate from
Parsons’ architecture programs, with SHoP providing critical
input and support.
During the spring semester, students collectively worked to
research and design 39751 InfoWash, traveling twice to
Mississippi to meet with the client and members of the commu-
nity. By the conclusion of the semester, the students had created
a compelling design, developed a complete set of construction
documents, assembled material orders for the project, and
worked with structural engineer and faculty member Harriet
Markis to execute the structural drawings.
The students spent the summer in DeLisle, living in FEMA trailers
and working 12-hour days on the job site. Under the supervision
of Terry Erickson, the summer studio instructor, who insures that
the students are able to translate their designs into built form,
the group erected the steel structure by hand, installed
structural panels and waterproofing, constructed and insulated
the roof, clad the building in aluminum mesh and stained cedar,
and outfitted the interior spaces with custom-made interior fur-
niture and wall systems. By early fall, the building was in opera-
tion, providing the community with a vital centerpiece for the
area’s rebuilding efforts.
The Design Workshop is the Department of Architecture, Interior Design, and Lighting’s annual
design-build program, in which students work collaboratively with a nonprofit client to conceive,
design, negotiate, and construct a built solution to a real-world urban/environmental challenge.
A feature article on the DeLisle project appeared last fall in the New York Times. Generous sup-
port was provided by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, SOM, Voronado Realty Trust, Sal
La Rosa, Heuer Foundation, and the Dean’s Office at Parsons. www.parsonsdesignworkshop.org.
this page: Laura Lyon, SHoP Architects
you teLL usLetters to the RE:DITORIn the last issue we asked, “Which interior space has had the greatest influence on your work?”
the next issue celebrates the communication design centennial.
you tell us: What is the most interesting change in communication
design you’ve seen since you graduated? Send your letters to
[email protected] or RE:D Editors, Parsons The New School for Design,
66 Fifth Ave., 6th floor, New York, NY 10011.
Help shape the future of RE:D: Fill out our reader survey online at
www.newschool.edu/alumni/REDsurvey.html.
My mom and I used to play a
game: We would visit the pow-
der rooms in homes, restau-
rants, stores, and hotels, and
rate their level of luxury and
design on a scale of one to
ten. It was just for fun, but my
observation of these spaces
and my memory of them influ-
enced my ability to “see”
rooms. jennifer watty ’93
photo courtesy of jennifer watty
The interior space that most
influences my work is Antoni
Gaudi’s Casa Batlló in
Barcelona. Not afraid to take
risks, he mastered freedom of
expression while contradicting
perceptions of the norm, to
create spaces so bizarre and
expressive, yet so beautifully
unique. The use of geometrics,
color, carved woods, walls,
ceiling, and parabolic arches
are astonishing. lyn henry ’8�
I once saw a picture of a bed-
room Mario Buatta designed
for the 1984 Kips Bay Boys’
and Girls’ Club Decorator Show
House. At first, one sees a typi-
cal blue-and-white bedroom,
but the walls are actually pale
lavender with touches of salm-
on pink. Instead of a blue can-
opy for the bed, Buatta used a
sheer white fabric that lets in
light. Whenever I am timid
about mixing colors and add-
ing whimsy, I remember this
room. anna wolcott ’0�
San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy,
a domed Romanesque cathe-
dral full of elaborate details
and diffused natural light. The
organized, clean surfaces
adorned with mosaics and the
warmth of the space make it
striking, despite the austere
structure. Though it dates back
to the early sixth century, it
has the fundamental values of
the contemporary aesthetic:
simplicity framed in complex
and surprising details and
inspiring lighting solutions.
angelika wrzesinska ’0�
photo courtesy of angelika
wrzesinska
Growing up in a townhouse in
New York City, the theater and
the colors and textures in
museum exhibitions (and the
spaces in which they’re held)
are among my many sources of
inspiration. Others include
design associates who have
worked for me and have pre-
sented “new ideas” with a
fresher, younger approach.
marguerite franco ’�1
My childhood home in
Colombia continues to influ-
ence me. The house’s architec-
ture, inspired by the modern
movement, was a combination
of glass and steel, juxtaposed
with natural stone and terra-
cotta floors. Most of the rooms
had access to the outdoors,
providing natural light, open
air, and the occasional flood.
Modern furniture combined
with Spanish colonial antiques
created a unique space.
courtney (murray)
goldsmith ’97 aas
� 7
Helping Hands in KosovoBuilding on a collaboration with women in Rwanda in 2005, last fall Parsons continued
its involvement with Women for Women International (WFWI), a nonprofit aid organiza-
tion that helps women in war-torn countries cultivate job skills in design, production,
and marketing. Integrated Design Curriculum students in the Core Colloquium: Cross-
Cultural Collaborations class worked with women in Kosovo to help them achieve a sus-
tainable source of income. Students developed products that the women could easily
produce themselves and sell through WFWI’s online bazaar and retailers in the United
States. Several designs will be available by Mother’s Day, including an apron and place
settings accented with traditional embroidery. Visit www.womenforwomen.org.
Off the ShelfParsons publishes two journals that highlight the scholarly discourse and discoveries
emerging from the school. Since 2002 the Department of Architecture, Interior Design,
and Lighting has published Scapes, which discusses “global, metropolitan, and
departmental perspectives on architecture.” Edited by Joanna Merwood, it is available
in print and online at www2.parsons.edu/architecture/aidl/scapes.html. The Journal of
Design & Management, launched in the spring of 2006, examines and explores the
intersection of design and business. Each issue will highlight people, projects,
approaches, and events fundamental to the development of pioneering ideas, while
focusing on economy, society, and the marketplace. Funded by a grant from the Karan-
Weiss Foundation, it will appear annually in print and online at www.parsons.edu/dm.
Machinima, Mods, and More Parsons takes on The Sims, the popular video game in which players control the
lives of virtual people, in an exhibition at the Chelsea Art Museum. Communication
design, design and technology, and illustration students have created pieces utiliz-
ing traditional and technology-driven art forms including machinima (using a game
engine to produce animation or film), interactive media, and three-dimensional
printing. The exhibit is among several the Department of Communication Design
and Technology will present at the museum: Ten Years Running, featuring work by
faculty and alumni (April 5–14), The Sims (April 19–May 12), and thesis exhibits
(May 17–26, BFA, and May 31–June 9, MFA).
�
Addressing InnovationThe Department of Design and Management’s Stephan Weiss Visiting Lectureship on
Business Strategy, Negotiation, and Innovation addresses the dynamic synthesis of
creative vision and strong business sense. Speakers this fall were Peter Laundy of
Doblin, Inc., and Tucker Viemeister (pictured), VP of Creative at Rockwell Group and
founder of Smart Design. The spring semester’s lectures feature Jean Rogers, an associ-
ate principal with the consulting engineering firm Ove Arup and Partners (February 27);
Bruce Nussbaum, essayist, commentator on economic issues, and assistant managing
editor for BusinessWeek (March 15); and ethnographer Genevieve Bell, senior principal
engineer and director of user experience for Intel’s Digital Home Group (April 3). For
information visit www.parsons.newschool.edu/events/.
Target: GroceryOver the course of the 2006–07 academic year, a team of students, supervised by fac-
ulty and Target Corporation representatives, is conceptualizing a 50,000-square-foot
prototype grocery store that would be integrated into an urban SuperTarget. Through
the company’s internship and recruitment collaborations with Parsons Career Services,
Target Vice President of Store Design Rich Varda realized that Parsons’ interest in sus-
tainability, focus on cutting-edge design, and student professionalism would make the
school an ideal partner for the upscale discount store. Members of the Departments of
Product Design, Communication Design and Technology, Design and Management, and
Architecture, Interior Design, and Lighting are conceiving all layers of the project: mar-
ket research and branding strategies, environmental impact and sustainability studies,
store flow and mapping, mobile technologies, and product development.
TARGET
TARGET
TARGET
8 9
speed of light, october 23, 200�, at tishman auditorium 1. Presented with the Museum of Arts & Design, this interdisciplinary international design conference brought together innovators in the fields of physics, architecture and interior design, and theatrical lighting 2. Lighting Designer Ingo Maurer in conversation with Murray Moss, founder of the SoHo design store, Moss. Photos by Alan Klein
illustration today symposium, november 11, 200� 1. At Tishman Auditorium: Illustration Chair Steven Guarnaccia, Maira Kalman, Peter de Seve ’80, Peter Sis 2. At the reception: Assistant Professor Dan Nadel, illustrators Kim and Gene Deitch 3. Guarnaccia (center) with Friends With You. Photos by Crissie Ferrara
board of governors holiday party hosted by sheila c. johnson at saks fifth avenue, november 29, 200� 1. A tree-lighting toast to Sheila C. Johnson 2. Peter Darrow, board member Denise Seegal, and Fashion Design Chair Tim Gunn 3. Patti Butler, Judge William Newman 4. Parsons Dean Tim Marshall, Fine Arts Chair Donald Porcaro, and Sheila C. Johnson. Photos by David Minder
second annual parsons centurion award for design excellence luncheon honoring interior designer betty sherrill ’�1 and mcmillen inc., april 11, 200�, at the mandarin oriental, new york 1. Former Dean Paul Goldberger, Betty Sherrill, and Victoria Hagan ’84 2. Victoria Hagan, Tess Dempsey ’88, and Anne Pyne 3. Paul Goldberger, Betty Sherrill, and New School President Bob Kerrey 4. James Borynack ’67 and Michael Vollbracht ’68 5. Anne Pyne speaks about her mother, Betty Sherrill. Photos by Patrick McMullan and Matthew Sussman
paolo soleri, october 1�, 200�, swayduck auditorium Renowned architect Paolo Soleri spoke about his work on the occasion of receiv-ing the National Design Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award. Photo by Yong Kim
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re:tina
Making a Scene in New York
parsons �8th annual benefit and fashion show honoring oscar de la renta, may 8, 200�, at pier �0, chelsea piers 1. Honoree Oscar de la Renta and former President Bill Clinton 2. Annette de la Renta and Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour 3. A student design from the Fashion Centennial Collection 4. New School President Bob Kerrey, Bill Clinton, Parsons Board of Governors Chair Sheila Johnson, and Judge William Newman. Photos by Patrick McMullan
the reunion reception for architecture, interior and environmental design, and lighting graduates, october 23, 200�, at the häfele showroom 1. Parsons Dean Tim Marshall, Madeleine Moore ’64, and AIDL Chair Kent Kleinman 2. Wid Chapman, Ronald Bricke ’61 3. Katherine Bragg ’07, Erin Brandariz ’06, Florence Guiraud ’06 4. Angelina Wrzesinska ’04, George Lyall, Anna Lee Wolcott ’04. Photos by Nick Ferrari ’03
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10 11
The demands of
preparing students
for the profession
have dramatically
changed in the past
80 years.
While expertise in styles of earlier centuries
was a hallmark of the department through
the mid-20th century, it has been eclipsed by
a modernist focus in the last 30 years, though
a revival is emerging. Residential designer
Danielle Galland ’95, acting director of inte-
rior design from January 2005 to December
2006, has sought to restore a greater balance
of connoisseurship and technique.
“We have not forgotten the foundations from
which the department made the most strik-
ing contributions to the field,” says Galland.
“The demands of preparing students for the
profession have dramatically changed over
the past 80 years. As a result, knowing the
European tradition is not sufficient to create
a well-qualified and diverse designer nimble
enough to work in the varied areas of the
field. Historically, we have the benefit of hav-
ing lived through the modernist revolution
and can question and incorporate the les-
sons learned from that time into a broad
approach encompassing history, theory, and
practice. Training today’s interior designer is
a great responsibility and one that is continu-
ally questioned by the faculty.”
Parsons’ second great player, star graduate
William Odom, joined the faculty in 1909 and
became Frank Alvah Parsons’ business part-
ner in 1920. He launched his pet project, the
Grand Tour, a six-week summer trip through
France and Italy, through which he acquaint-
ed himself with Europe’s wealthy aesthetes.
A Parsons’ atelier was established in Paris,
granting students entrée to magnificent pri-
vate houses and collections. Exalted Americans living in Paris
became devotees: Edith Wharton, Ogden Codman, Jr., Elsie de
Wolfe, and Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt. In 1918, Odom published
his highly-respected History of Italian Furniture, and for his devo-
tion to the decorative arts of France he was anointed a Chevalier
de la Legion d’Honneur.
The next great Parsons prodigy was Van Day Truex, who enrolled
as a student in 1923. Born in Kansas into a family who managed
a J.C. Penney outlet, Truex was a classic misfit artist whose father
refused to support his design studies. Frank Parsons became not
only Truex’s teacher but his social shepherd, inducting this Dust
Bowl aristocrat into New York high society. By 1924 he was
named top student, in 1925 he received a
Paris scholarship, and upon his gradua-
tion in 1927 Truex became an instructor,
dividing his time between the New York
and Paris schools.
“He became my mentor and good friend
and was nice enough to give me a partial
working scholarship,” says Melvin Dwork
’41. “It was a great school and a privilege
to be there. Van had a sense of style we
all looked up to—he gave the school a
sort of aura.”
Upon Parsons’ death in 1930, Odom took
charge and appointed Truex head of the
Paris program and associate director of
the New York school. Truex was a brilliant
fundraiser, ensuring the institution’s sur-
vival. He never abandoned his predeces-
The story of interior design at Parsons The New School for Design is central to the his-
tory of the school itself. It is an intriguing genealogy of mentorship, revealing that
human relationships and personal preferences have been as influential as theory in
shaping the curriculum over many generations. While Frank Alvah Parsons initially cre-
ated a department that reflected his own passion for the decorative arts, today’s stu-
dents study architecture as a foundation, learning to blend technical skills with
aesthetics, business knowledge, cultural imperatives, and scholarship—a progression
that can be charted through the succession of personalities that have animated the
program from then until now.
In 1904 the New York School of Art, founded in 1896 by painter Willliam Merritt Chase,
hired Frank Alvah Parsons, who introduced courses in design, color theory, and interior
decoration—the first such program in the United States. Chase retired in 1907, and 39-
year-old Parsons purchased the school, which officially adopted his name. He elevated
decorative arts to the same level as fine art and convened powerful names in interior
design, making the school a formidable
resource for those aspiring to a career in
the field. Within a decade the board
boasted design luminaries Lady Elsie de
Wolfe Mendl, Elsie Cobb Wilson, and Lady
Duff Gordon, who were joined in 1922 by
Heyworth Campbell, Vogue’s art director,
Eleanor Brown, founder of McMillen, Inc.,
and Ogden Codman, Jr., co-author with
Edith Wharton of The Decoration of
Houses. The aura Parsons spun around
his school, through his unwavering con-
victions about period style and his social
connections, made it the most prestigious
institution of its kind in the country.
Parsons was ahead of his time in promot-
ing the commercial fields of interior design,
fashion, and advertising, as he correctly
foresaw image as playing an important
role in the expansion of art and design in
America. Although he was not interested
in the modernist revolution taking shape
in Europe at the start of the 20th century,
the curriculum developed students’ under-
standing of the tenets of furniture design,
architectural composition, and color use
through exposure to the highest building
craftsmanship in the European classical
tradition. His aim was “to train [students’]
eye, instill in them an idea of quality, and
develop their sense of style.”
The Inside StoryCelebrating 100 years of interior design at Parsons,
RE:D recounts some of the notable events, trends, and
personalities that make up the department’s history.by lisa zeiger
this page: “Empire Chair,” circa 1930, by Ina Dell Marvin, a student of the Interior, Architecture, and Decoration Department, Parsons Paris (courtesy of the Kellen Archives Center); the Donghia Materials Library (photo by Paula Giraldo); students at work in the Donghia Center (photo by Bob Handelman).
12 13
Is it sustainable? How will people
behave in this environment? Can
design elevate the human spirit?
above: Judges of the Pini di San Miniato Scholarship Award Competition, 1961. This award enabled a graduating student of interior decoration to study in Italy. Robert J. Castle (far left), chair of the Department of Interior Design, looks on as the judges, (left to right) Salvador Dali, the Duchess of Windsor, and Mrs. Arthur A. Houghton, Jr., survey the entries. Ronald Bricke ’61 won the award. Photo courtesy of the Kellen Archives Center.
Mary Louise Gertler ’61 recalls her three-month
European study trip with Barrows as a privi-
leged glimpse at “fascinating, private places.”
She learned the secrets of proportion through
Barrows’s weekly sketching excursions out-
doors and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
During what Gertler calls a “transitional time”
for the school, Barrows fused a love of the past
with exposure to “well-designed contemporary
furniture, which he encouraged us to use in our
projects. Our floor plans were traditional:
Everybody had a table to put a drink on and a
place to sit.”
In 1964 the Department of Interior Design was
reworked into a new discipline, environmental
design. Some graduates bemoan this era,
which lasted until 1992, but Jimmy Gubelmann
’73, architect and head of Windigo Design in
New Jersey, strongly disagrees. He experienced
environmental design as the disciplined libera-
tion of each student’s innermost gifts.
“We were given a broad base of classes to
choose from,” says Gubelmann, “and in your
first year, known as the ‘base year,’ you were
required to take general classes: a 3-D design
studio, an elective in color run by artist Hector
Leonardi, 2-D design, and lecture courses on
applied arts from antiquity to modernism.”
According to Gubelmann, the past was not ignored, but set
forth as the seed of contemporary forms. He especially recalls
his teacher Ian McCarg, author of Designing with Nature,
required reading for all students. McCarg’s philosophy was a
powerful call for congruity in all design endeavors.
“The book taught you not to design separately from the envi-
ronment but to be inclusive in your products, whether build-
ing a house, room, or desk,” says Gubelmann. “You had to
respect what existed, and design new elements that harmo-
nized. You don’t erect a Le Corbusier in a Georgian town. We
also learned self-evident technical principles, which all too
often are ignored: Don’t build on a ravine, don’t build on a
slope with morning light, but one with afternoon light. Ian was
the catalyst who enabled us to become sympathetic to the
world around us.”
I had just hung wall
brackets supporting
blue-and-white Delft
jars. Stanley urged me
to take this penchant
as far as it would go.
–Mario Buatta
president of the school. Parsons flourished:
New members joined the faculty, Truex
acquired prestigious patrons from high soci-
ety and the world of design, and the student
demographic was dramatically altered by an
influx of male war veterans. Academically,
Truex championed freedom in interior
design while still honoring the legacy of
Odom and Parsons. His famous lectures to
the student body were lessons in the art of
living, from omelettes to boiserie.
Among Truex’s famous prodigies was Albert
Hadley ’49, who would go on to become the “Dean of American Decorating.” It was
under Truex that Hadley was hired to teach at Parsons immediately following his gradu-
ation. He went on to work for Mrs. Brown at McMillen, and eventually began his famous
partnership with Sister Parish at their firm, Parish Hadley.
“I had been with [Roslyn Rosier’s shop] three months when Van Truex called and asked
me to join the interior design faculty at Parsons,” says Hadley in Adam Lewis’s Albert
Hadley: The Story of America’s Preeminent Interior Designer. “During the remaining
days that I worked for [Roslyn], she tried to convince me to decline the teaching posi-
tion, but I had made up my mind. I knew that a faculty position at Parsons, and the
opportunity to have extended exposure to the Parsons philosophy of design, could only
benefit my future.”
But after a complex series of events, Truex was
ousted by the board of directors in 1954. At 50, he
was out of a job and shunned by the school to
which he had devoted his life. He soon triumphed
as design director of Tiffany & Co., whose décor
and merchandise retain his imprint to this day.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s the department
was led by the designer Stanley Barrows, who is
still venerated by former students.
“Stanley would make you look into yourself and
express what was inside you,” recalls Mario Buatta
’61. “He once came by for a drink, and I had just
hung wall brackets supporting blue-and-white Delft
jars. Stanley urged me to take this penchant as far
as it would go.”
sors’ insistence on art history, period
design, and academic drawing and faith-
fully transmitted the neoclassical tradition
as the pinnacle of interior design.
Privately and subtly Truex escaped his
mentors’ 18th-century taste and devel-
oped his own style, partly through a bond
with Jean-Michel Frank. (Frank, widely
acknowledged as one of the most influen-
tial designers of the thirties, is credited
with designing the clean and simple lines
of the ubiquitous Parsons table while
working with Truex and students at the
Paris school.) Truex learned the business
side of decorating from Lady Mendl, who
was above all a businesswoman (a “gang-
ster,” as Truex called her, and “the White
Queen” to Dwork). This affiliation would
serve Truex well as he entered the field
later in his career.
At the onset of World War II in Europe,
Odom told Truex to close the Paris school.
Truex joined the faculty in New York—at its
new location at 136 East 57th Street—and
became vice president. After Odom passed
away in 1942, Eleanor Brown led the board
of trustees to unanimously elect Truex
this page: Classroom at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (Parsons School of Design) at 80th Street and Broadway, circa 1933–34. Photo courtesy of the Kellen Archives Center.
1�
While the client of
Odom’s time was
always understood as
the wealthy urbanite,
it is no longer enough
to design for this
constituency.
The designer Luis Rey ’67, who attended
Parsons during this period of dramatic
change, thoroughly relished this clash of
interior design training with a new empha-
sis on architecture. Barrows represented
the first camp, and the new dean, Alan
Tate (appointed in 1964), the second.
“I was very lucky,” Rey says of this odd
couple, “I had the old, I had the new. I
admired both. Once we were assigned to
design a dining room, and Barrows hung
my plan on the wall and gave me an ‘A.’
The next day, Alan Tate scratched out the
‘A’ and changed it to an ‘F.’ But Alan Tate
made you design things you’d never get
to do in your life.”
Under a seemingly radical banner, environmental design had a conservative strain,
retaining the basic tenets of Frank Parsons while promoting the new forms students
invented. Gubelmann still cherishes the freedom instructors permitted students to fol-
low their unique obsessions, even if this meant total rejection of a given assignment.
“The instructors would say, we’re building a church in a community with three different
religions,” he says. “Four of us would then get together and declare we wanted to
make a tramway through Central Park. We’d go to Alan Tate and he would facilitate
our proposal.”
In the early nineties interior design was again established as a distinct department.
The program continues to evolve to meet the imperatives of the times. Galland speaks
of four elements that are considered to be the essence of interior design: structure,
proportion, social purpose, and context.
“While each could encompass design ele-
ments within one room,” says Galland,
“we are continually challenging students to
think of not only the visual effect of their
designs, but the larger social and econom-
ic impact. Is it sustainable? How will peo-
ple behave in this environment? Can the
design elevate the human spirit? How will
a particular demographic respond in this
environment? We ask these questions
while considering the shape, color, and
composition of the elements within the
design. Today we focus on students’ abili-
ty to work at widely divergent scales, from
a single room to a Target prototype store.
Economics and function are always vari-
ables students are required to navigate as
well. While the client of William Odom’s
time was always understood as the
wealthy urbanite, it is no longer enough to
design for this one constituency.”
“While Parsons’ roots were established in
residential design,” Galland continues, “a
graduate of Parsons The New School for
Design today is as likely to work on corpo-
rate, public, or hospitality design, as well
as for the most influential residential
design firms. The amazing diversity of the
program’s student demographics broad-
ens Parsons’ educational influence well
beyond the United States. The future of
the program engages new technologies
and arenas that are suddenly under the
umbrella of the interior, effecting changes
in the field that could never have been
imagined even 30 years ago.”
With additional contributions by Danielle Galland and Karissa Krenz.
opposite: “Colour Spectrum Chart,” 1928, by Ina Dell Marvin, a student at Parsons Paris. While the original Paris school closed at the onset of World War II, Paris studies remain available to Parsons students today. Courtesy of the Kellen Archives Center.
this page: Students visiting the showroom of the interior design firm McMillen, Inc., 1955. Eleanor S. Brown (class of ’18), president of the firm, is at left. Photo by Clemens Kalischer.
track HousingLittle Houses on the Black River is an ingeniously adaptable clutch of temporary dwellings
designed to accommodate visiting designers in Hällefors, Sweden. The project won the top honor
in the design school category at the 2006 International Contemporary Furniture Fair for students
in Parsons The New School for Design’s product design program in collaboration with France’s St.
Etienne School of Art and Design and Sweden’s Konstfack University College of Arts, Craft and
Design. (Visit bridgefriggebod.blogspot.com for more photos and info.) More than 100 sustain-
able, problem-solving collaborations calling on design integration, community engagement, and
nonprofit and corporate partnerships have been spearheaded by Product Design in the past four
years under the guidance of chair Tony Whitfield. This year, students take on the flood-crippled
town of Margaretville, New York, addressing business and main street renewal and a community
center redesign. Follow their progress at the “Revitalizing Margaretville, New York” blog at
margaretvilleny.blogspot.com. Photos by Åke E:son Lindman.
19
Light is as elusive an element of human existence as it is ubiqui-
tous; as much a variable as it is a constant. It has a significant
effect on the way we live and think and feel, yet lighting is often
designed with little regard for aesthetic consequences or emo-
tional effect. The Master of Fine Arts in Lighting program at
Parsons The New School for Design is a torchbearer of lighting
education and experimentation in relation to human experience,
attracting students determined to expose and explore the ways
in which individuals perceive and interact with light.
The study of lighting has been part of Parsons, in various forms,
for more than 30 years. In the 1970s, pioneering Professor James
Nuckolls spearheaded the program, which in 1984–85 evolved
into a two-year master of fine arts degree (as a component of the
Continuing Education department). In 1996–97 the program
became part of the Department of Architecture, Interior Design,
and Lighting. It was briefly altered to a one-year (three-semester)
structure offering a master of arts degree and then returned to
the more robust two-year MFA program in 2004.
While most academic programs concentrate primarily on the
technical considerations of “illumination engineering,” Parsons
focuses on design and social practice, integrating strong techni-
cal coursework with studies in culture, history and theory, sociol-
ogy and psychology, perception, and design components of
lighting. The emphasis on the importance of social responsibility
and sustainability is a common thread throughout all courses,
and further encourages interaction with architecture and interior
design students in order to give complete consideration to the
holistic understanding of the built environment.
The buzz on lighting’s high-quality and unique approach has
attracted top students from across the globe, and the program
has quickly become the most culturally diverse at Parsons: 45
students represent 17 different countries and as many distinct
professional backgrounds and undergraduate degrees—from the
obvious fields of architecture, interior design, theater, product
design, environmental studies, and fine arts to the less predict-
able areas of anthropology, psychology, journalism, mathemat-
ics, and economics.
“I’m intrigued by how the topic of light can bring together such a
diverse group of individuals,” says Derek Porter, director of the
lighting program. “I tend to think about these human relation-
ships more abstractly: Light exists at peripheral boundaries, on
surfaces, the edges, as a spatial catalyst, a binder of foreign
matter. It simultaneously exists everywhere but yet nowhere
until it touches something.”
This cultural and professional diversity brings an uncommon
richness to the studio that complements the formal education
offered in class. “Individuals that grow up in Sweden versus
Greece are biologically conditioned through the unique environ-
mental exposures of their respective geographical regions to
understand light differently,” says Porter. “In addition to these
biological factors, they each carry a distinct cultural identity with
light through color and symbology.”
The caliber of the education students receive from the lighting
program is apparent in the success of its alumni. Parsons
Lighting graduates are highly sought after in manufacturing,
research, architecture and interior design, and theatrical and
exhibition lighting, and a number have started private practices.
opposite (clockwise from upper left): Chanel Ginza, LED/Electrochromic Glass Media Wall by Parsons graduate Matthew Tanteri (’92) of Tanteri + Associates (photo by Vincent Knapp); energy-efficient lighting for Boston University’s Agganis Arena and Recreation Center lobby by Mark Loeffler, IALD (MFA ’90); a 25-foot table designed by lighting students for a dinner following Architectural Lighting maga-zine’s Light & Architecture Design Awards roundtable discussion; Loeffler’s design for the Boston University Life Science and Engineering Building.
Illuminating EducationA Look at the MFA Lighting Program
18
20 21
that’s new to Parsons, and Lois is perfect-
ly situated through her training and her
work in Austin to do that in a way that very
few people could. We’re really excited
about having Lois on board.
Another interesting subject on the table is
a graduate studies program for interior
design. We are quite determined to put
one in place by fall 2009. What it’ll look
like, we don’t know. We’re determined to
do it in a way that’s ahead of the curve, so
we have to tackle questions that can’t be
addressed on the undergraduate level.
lw: I always meet potential students who
have finished undergraduate degrees and
realized that they’re actually interested in
interiors. I think the knowledge such peo-
ple bring from having studied other disci-
plines first often makes a program much
richer; it begins to link not just to Parsons,
but to the rest of The New School.
kk: As we start thinking about expanding
into the graduate realm, the need for sup-
port for students is huge. We’re compet-
ing for the best in the world—that’s our
market—and we don’t want financial need
to be a limiting factor. One of the needs
that we have—and it’s an urgent one—is
to build scholarships for students.
lw: It’s also important to mention the
support that the materials library has
been given, not just as a source for stu-
dents to reference, but also as a place to
supply materials for full-scale experi-
ments. The materials are a necessary tool
that students need for the experience of
working with them.
kk: You can’t represent the sensual touch
of a certain fabric, or the relationship of a
body to a piece of furniture—you have to
build it. The beautiful thing about interior
design is that you can build it; it’s not like
you’re designing a city. We need help to
support that kind of activity. Here I want
to express our profound gratitude toward
the Angelo Donghia Foundation, without
whose support for the current materials
library, we couldn’t really be thinking
about these experiments—we wouldn’t
have the infrastructure. Donghia’s sup-
lois weinthal, who comes to
parsons from the university of
texas at austin, is particularly
interested in the relationships
between architecture, interiors,
and objects. she has received
grants from the graham
foundation, a fulbright award,
and a daad (german academic
exchange service) award. she has
lectured, published, and exhibit-
ed widely, and is principal of the
design practice weinthal works.
port has been so productive in advancing
the program.
We’re planning a symposium in March
on the state of interior design, to look
at it with a view toward developing a
curriculum for the graduate program.
There will be lots of details forthcoming,
but we just want everyone to know that
it’s going to be an exciting event. We’re
going to put lots of questions on the
table, and we’re inviting lots of people
to come and talk to us.
lw: The event is so important, especially
for the discipline, and I’m so excited for
what will come out of it. It promises to be
one of the collaborations that will lead to
a new definition of interior design.
kk: I want to add how much we’re going to
need the faculty’s advice as we move for-
ward into terrain that is pretty unknown.
There aren’t that many interior design
graduate programs in the world, and we
want to be the best. We are lucky that we
have very, very successful alums that can
guide, direct, and prevent us from falling
off a cliff. We want to communicate to the
alumni that we really need their help. It’s
not just that we’re going forward and leav-
ing the past behind. It’s very much a con-
solidation of the past, so that we move
forward collectively.
As an introduction to the Parsons commu-
nity, RE:D asked Kleinman and Weinthal
to discuss their new bailiwick, its needs,
and goals for the future.
kk: To begin, it is important to emphasize
that the department is made up of three
unique disciplines: lighting, architecture,
and interior design. What’s exciting is that
we’re knitting those three disciplines
together in novel ways, which raises all
sorts of questions about their common-
alities and differences. Asking questions
is one thing that we have started to do
very well, and we want to continue to do it
much more aggressively.
lw: This is a great opportunity for us to
be thinking about what interior design
means at the present and how we can
start cultivating a program that responds
to where it is situated right now. We also
need to look at where it is going, because
there’s so much interaction between
interiors, architecture, lighting, and textile
and furniture design. One thing I’m really
looking forward to is actually building
those bridges, not only within our pro-
gram, but also to the rest of Parsons.
Expanding the Theory of InteriorsThis year, the Department of Architecture, Interior Design, and Lighting
welcomes a new chair, architect and scholar Kent Kleinman, and a new
director of the interior design program, Lois Weinthal.
kent kleinman, whose scholarly
focus is 20th-century european
modernism, was previously
professor and chair at the
department of architecture at
suny, buffalo. a recipient of
numerous grants and awards, he
has exhibited worldwide and has
published works including
rudolf arnheim: revealing vision,
the villa müller: a work of adolf
loos, and mies van der rohe: the
krefeld villas.
kk: The question of what constitutes the
interior is interesting. What kind of clients
will we be serving in the future? What do
the demographics mean for the profes-
sion of interior design? What new sites
and practices are available for future
interior designers? What new kinds of
hybrid bodies are we housing? I think
the future of the discipline, at least at
Parsons, has to address these kinds
of questions.
lw: This is true. Interiors is filling so many
gaps that architects and industrial design-
ers may have done in the past. Now the
interior designer is becoming the person
who coordinates everything. The disci-
pline encompasses much more.
I’m also very interested in what a theory
of interior design might be. It’s one of the
elements of the curriculum that has been
lacking in the academic realm, and pro-
fessionally it’s never really discussed. I’m
hoping that it will surface more through-
out the undergraduate and graduate inte-
rior design programs, as well as the
overall discipline.
kk: Lois is bringing both creative energy
and scholarly rigor to the table, and I think
it’s going to be exciting to try to write a
theory for interior design. It’s an agenda
Invitations will be mailed for all of these
events. If you do not receive one, please call
212.229.5662 x3784 or email
[email protected]. You may also visit the
events page at www.newschool.edu/alumni for
full details.
NEW YORK CITY april 12–13 16th annual symposium on the decorative
arts and design
Target National Design Education Center at
Cooper-Hewitt.
2 East 91st Street, ground floor
New York, New York
The History of Decorative Arts and Design
MA program hosts its annual graduate student
symposium, bringing together rising scholars
of the history of decorative arts, material
culture, and design from universities across
America and Europe.
upcoming aLumni events
april 30 runway show for alumni, press,
and students
Grand Hyatt New York
Park Avenue at Grand Central
New York, New York
Featuring the work of Parsons’ graduating
fashion design students.
may 19 communication design centennial celebration
55 West 13th Street, 2nd floor
New York, New York
For communication design and design and
technology alumni.
may 22, 2007
parsons odd class-years reunion for those who
graduated in a year ending in 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9.
Theresa Lang Student and
Community Center
55 West 13th Street, 2nd floor
New York, New York
CALIFORNIA april 9, 2007 reception for Los angeles alumni and parents
Mulholland Tennis Club
2555 Crest View Drive
Los Angeles, California
If you live in the LA area, make sure we have
up-to-date contact information for you.
august �-9
siggrapH 2007
the 34th international conference on
computer graphics and interactive techniques
San Diego, California
We will be holding an alumni reception in San
Diego during SIGGRAPH 2007. All alumni
attending the convention as well as those living
in the San Diego area are welcome. Stay tuned
for more details, and if you are planning to
attend the convention, please let us know!
rsvp early for alumni reunion 2007Invitations for Reunion 2007 (see above) will be mailed in late March, but you can register early and save on the ticket price!
Tickets purchased by March 30: $20 for 1 ticket or $30 for 2.* Tickets purchased after March 30: $25 for 1 ticket or $40 for 2.*
The early registration deadline is Friday, March 30, 2007. Send the form below and your payment to the Office of Alumni Relations,
The New School, 55 West 13th St., 7th floor, New York, NY 10001, or call 212.229.5662 x3784 to RSVP with a credit card.
You may also fax this form to 212.229.5588.
.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .first name last name (maiden name) class year
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A check for $ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . is enclosed, made payable to Parsons The New School for Design.
Please charge $ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . to my Visa, MasterCard, American Express
.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .card number exp. date
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For more information, call 212.229.5662 x3784 or email [email protected].
*If you buy a ticket and are unable to attend, the amount paid will be counted as a gift to the Parsons annual fund.
( ) ms( ) mrs( ) mr
re:cognition
rachel e. denny ’0�, Associate for Alumni Relations, and jessica l. arnold ’0� (ms), Director of Alumni Relations
Dear Alumni,
To keep ourselves warm this winter, we decided to crunch
some numbers:
21,500+: The number of Parsons alumni in all 50 states and more
than 75 countries around the world.
100: The age of our interior design, fashion design, and commu-
nication design programs. We’d like to thank the interior design
alumni who attended the reunion reception in October and invite
you to check out selected photos from that event on page 8 (the
complete set is available on our Web site). Communication Design celebrates its
anniversary this semester with many exciting activities including the Timeline
Project, an interactive Web site where alumni can contribute their experiences in the
program, and a centennial celebration event on May 19.
7,000+: The number of alumni who will receive invitations to Parsons The New
School for Design’s Reunion 2007 (for those who graduated in a year ending in 1, 3,
5, 7, or 9). You can make this number higher by helping us locate alumni who’ve
dropped off our radar. If you would like to help us track down those incommunicado
class members or share any leads you might have, please get in touch with us. The
reunion will take place on May 22; invitations will be mailed soon!
1,097: The number of 2006 graduates who are being asked to complete a very
important employment and professional practices survey, which will inform the
Office of Career Services how best to serve students and alumni. The survey will be
posted online in March.
275: The number of graduates who attended alumni functions in 2006. We hope to
increase that number significantly in 2007 with more events, a larger reunion, and
the advent of regional activities. If you live outside the New York City area and are
interested in hosting an alumni reception, let us know! For those of you in New York
City or California (or if you’re planning to be in either of those areas) check out our
list of upcoming events.
150: The number of class notes received from Parsons alumni in 2006. Keep them
coming and stay tuned for another RE:D supplement this summer.
14,000+: The number of Parsons alumni the Office of Alumni Relations corresponded
with via mail, telephone, or email in 2006. To contact us, call 212.229.5662 x3784,
email [email protected], or visit www.newschool.edu/alumni.
Hope to see you in 2007.
2� 2�
DESIgN & TECHNOLOgYsiddharth jatia ’02 (MFA) has been
working with the design firm Razorfish for
the last year as senior Web strategist and
user experience lead. He previously
worked for Electronic Arts for more than
four years leading the production of
games like NCAA Football and Madden
NFL Football.
FASHION DESIgNellen (howard) burkhart ’81 worked at
Donnkenny Apparel for 16 years as
designer, senior designer, and then direc-
tor of technical design. She currently has
her own soap company in Florida.
lela rose ’93 (AAS) has recently signed a
deal with Payless ShoeSource to create
the Lela Rose for Payless collection, a line
of original footwear and accessory designs.
The new line had its debut at Lela’s New
York Fashion Week show in February and
will be available for purchase at Payless
stores next fall. Lela designs ready-to-
wear apparel under the Lela Rose label,
which is sold in more than 70 specialty
stores nationwide, as well as Bergdorf
Goodman, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus,
Bloomingdale’s, and internationally in
Canada, France, Italy, Russia, Taiwan,
and Japan.
leah benjamin ’98 is senior designer of
the women’s clothing collection at Calvin
Klein in New York.
aneta genova ’00 is involved in building
a helpful Web site for fashion students,
www.fashionstudentsource.com/ny,
which lists a variety of sources for fabrics,
trims, leather, knitting, fashion, and art
supplies.
FASHION MARKETINgsumit kumar ’01 (AAS) has successfully
combined his Parsons degree with his
engineering background from MIT in
Supply Chain Management. He currently
works in operations and logistics as a
consultant with Capgemini Consulting
(formerly Ernst & Young).
jada (casteel) loveless ’01 (AAS)
launched a luxury handbag line in
September 2006. Within six weeks it was
picked up by Jeffrey New York and Atlanta,
and she has met with other major luxury
retailers. The collection includes clutches
and minaudieres made of exotic skins,
and jewelry of vermeil encrusted with pre-
cious and semi-precious stones. Visit
jadaloveless.com for complete details.
FINE ARTSleslie wayne ’85 received the 2006 New
York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in
Painting. This year her work has been
shown in Selections from the Permanent
Collection Since the 1950s at the Corcoran
Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; Poesie
at the Jack Shainman Gallery in New York
City; Peace Tower/Whitney Biennial at the
Whitney Museum of American Art in New
York; and Pull at the Red Gallery at
Savannah College of Art and Design. Her
solo show, Trouble in Paradise, will be at
the Jack Shainman Gallery in 2007.
lisa petker-mintz ’87 has exhibited her
artwork in New York City and Long Island
for the past 20 years. Her most recent
show was at the Plainview-Old Bethpage
Library in November and December 2006,
which featured her floral collages and
highly intricate linear graphite studies.
michelle haim ’00 (Interior Design)
is a senior designer at the North Miami-
based design firm Fanny Haim &
Associates. Haim’s designs for Centro, a
new 4,500-square-foot restaurant and
lounge in Miami’s new Espiritu Santo
Plaza in the Brickell Key area, won a first-
place award in the Hospitality category of
the 2006 design competition sponsored
by the American Society of Interior
Designers’ Florida South chapter. Her
work on the Miami restaurant Q Lounge
was highlighted in Architectural Lighting
magazine and the Miami Herald (which
also did a cover story on her work on a Bal
Harbour residence), and she has been
featured in Casa & Estilo magazine.
re:cord
ARCHITECTURE/ARCHITECTURAL DESIgNjeffrey olinger ’03 received a fellow-
ship from EDAW London to work on the
2012 Olympic Games. He was also a final-
ist in the 2005 Green Builders Design
Competition hosted by the U.S. Green
Building Council.
sarah schwaber ’05 worked on a project
that appeared as the “featured idea
house” in the November issue of Coastal
Living magazine.
COMMUNICATION DESIgNsusan mendola angelo ’85 currently
does freelance special publications work
for major corporations including Gannett.
Prior to this she worked for Savvy maga-
zine and Arista Records (for eight years),
until taking a break to spend time with her
children.
mimi so ’88 was recently profiled in
Elements magazine for her success as a
jewelry designer. Her accomplishments
include designing Neiman Marcus’ fastest
growing precious jewelry launch in histo-
ry, opening stores internationally, and
adorning red carpet celebrities.
rosemary simpkins ’88 exhibited her
interactive sculptural “bookwork,” Twin
Books, for two months this fall at the Cape
Cod Museum of Art. First shown in 2002,
the piece contains clippings and photo-
copies of news articles and other memo-
rabilia about the attacks on the World
Trade Center, which she collected from
September 2001 to September 2002.
Each “tower” is 24” high and comprises
55 accordion-shaped books (totaling 110,
the number of floors each building had).
Simpkins received an MA in Book Arts
from the London Institute’s Camberwell
College of Arts in 1996.
moulsari jain ’04 worked with Real
Design in New York City for two years,
creating branding and materials for The
Silk Road Project, Bill T. Jones Dance
Company, Rubin Museum of Art, and
others. She recently moved to
Amsterdam, “for a new experience.”
HISTORY OF DECORATIVE ARTS AND DESIgNanne woodworth ’92 (MA) is editing
and design supervisor of APA Books at the
American Psychological Association.
diane wachs ’05 (MA) is a decorative arts
specialist at Cowan’s Auctions in
Linwood, Ohio. Previously she was execu-
tive director of the Headley-Whitney
Museum in Lexington, Ohio. She has also
held curatorial positions with King Manor
in Queens, and the O’Connell Gallery at
Trinity College in Washington, D.C.
DESIgN AND MANAgEMENTelizabeth clark billipp ’05 is an
advertising account executive for People
Newspapers.
panteleimon “pantelis” melissinos
’85 (Illustration), ’87 (MFA, Painting)
is a painter, playwright, set and costume
designer, composer, and third-generation
sandal-maker (son of Stavros Melissinos,
the famed “Poet Sandal-Maker of
Athens”). Since the early 1920s,
Melissinos Art in Athens’ Monistiraki dis-
trict has been a destination for artists,
intellectuals, and seekers of the family’s
custom-made footwear. It has been
visited by the likes of Sophia Loren,
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and The
Beatles and was featured in Vogue maga-
zine and by NBC during the 2004 Athens
Olympics. Pantelis has served as the artis-
tic director of the Greek Cultural Center in
New York City, and reviews of his recent
hit play Bacchus named it among the best
modern Greek comedies.
2� 27
Image Courtesy of Interior Design magazine
paul siskin ’79 (Interior Design) believes
the substance of space and its ability to
function matter as much as its style, and
all should reflect its inhabitants. He
launched the New York–based interior
design firm Siskin Valls in 1984 and was
ranked among the country’s top 100
designers by both New York and House
Beautiful magazines. He was inducted
into the Interior Design magazine Hall of
Fame in November.
“I try to express what my clients want,”
says Siskin. “But often what they want are
design fantasies. One aspect of my job is
to bring them back to reality about the
way they actually live.”
INTERIOR DESIgNcharles rutherford ’51 was elected
Life Member of the Interior Designers
Guild, the oldest interior designers group
in Texas.
zoya bograd ’87 and scott sanders
’98 participated in the 2006 Designer
Showhouse of New Jersey, where more
than 20 professionals collaborated to
“create a masterpiece in interior design
and landscaping for a modern-day man-
sion in Saddle River.”
sheila bridges ’93 is currently embark-
ing on a new Internet venture, www.
thenestmaker.com, to keep design-
conscious consumers privy to notable
interior design trends, products, and
resources. She is an accomplished interi-
or designer, perhaps best known for
designing Bill Clinton’s New York offices.
marina shevelev ’95 is co-creator of the
family-run real estate development com-
pany Princeton Development Associates.
She and her husband, Michael Shevelev,
work together, combining her interior
design skills with his woodworking and
business background to create desirable
homes in the Princeton, New Jersey, area.
anna wolcott ’04 works for Sarah Smith
Interiors, Inc.
PHOTOgRAPHYgina cassese ’06 is working as a graphic
designer for LiveTechnology, a provider of
marketing communications technology
offering an array of online business solu-
tions. Gina has recently designed an
application for voice-over IP communica-
tions geared toward the online gaming
community.
IN MEMORIAMflorence klotz ’41 died November 1,
2006, at age 86. Six-time Tony award win-
ner Klotz designed some of Broadway’s
most memorable costumes: The beaded
showgirl togs for Follies, the ornate
Japanese robes of Pacific Overtures, and
the iconic webbed dress worn by Chita
Rivera in Kiss of the Spider Woman.
stuart shedletsky (faculty) died on
May 29, 2006, age 62. Shedletsky was a
beloved and influential member of the
Parsons fine arts faculty for more than 30
years. An artist and curator, he has had
work in numerous solo and group exhibi-
tions and is represented in the permanent
collections of the Whitney Museum of
American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and
the Albright Knox Gallery, among others.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, he studied at
Parsons and the University of New Mexico
before receiving his MFA from Yale.
adrienne “adri” steckling-coen ’58
died November 5, 2006. A sportswear
designer known for clean lines and color-
ful patterns, she began in the studios of
designers including Oleg Cassini and
Anne Fogarty and at retailer B.H. Wragge.
She launched her own collection, Adri
Designs, Inc., in 1966, and created lines
under several different labels, including
Collectors Items and Clothes Circuit. In
1976 she opened Adri Studio Limited on
Seventh Avenue, which is now a private
client, buy-and-order-based company run
from Adri’s loft on West 20th Street. The
studio plans to issue a spring collection.
A memorial service was held at Parsons
on February 9.
ethel clark smith ’27 (Interior Design).
During her extraordinary 70-year career in
interior design, Smith (with Betty Sherrill
’51, above) created rooms in the White
House, the Ritz Carlton in Boston, and the
Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck,
New York. After studying at the New York
School of Fine and Applied Arts (now
Parsons), Smith worked under the direc-
tion of Eleanor Brown (’20), the legendary
founder of McMillen, Inc. Among Smith’s
clients were Douglas Dillon, George
Abbott, Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy, Doris
Duke, and Marshall Field.
juri morioka ’90 presented a collection
of paintings, Pure Love, in June 2006 at
Butters Gallery in Portland, Oregon. Her
newest works, Compositions in Four
Dimensions, are on display this February
and March at Merge Gallery in New York
City. (www.juri.org)
olja stipanovi ’98 (BFA) and ’00 (MFA)
exhibited photographs at the Centre
Culturel Français de Turin in Turin, Italy,
this December and January. The show,
Video Dia Logh, featured several interna-
tional artists.
gRAPHIC DESIgNjack looney ’56 (AAS) recently published
a book titled Now Batting, Number…
The Mystique, Superstition, and Lore
of Baseball’s Uniform Numbers (Black
Dog & Leventhal Publishers). It took
him 14 years to compile this passionate
look at the numbers in the game of
baseball that includes dream teams,
boyhood idols, history, retired numbers,
behind-the-scenes tales, complete ros-
ters, and hundreds of photographs. Jack
and his book were featured on the front
page of the sports section of the Bergen
County Record in August, on ESPN2’s
Cold Pizza in July, and on more than 50
radio shows nationwide.
peter fasano ’72 (AAS) is a wallpaper
and fabric designer with a showroom in
Dallas, whose celebrity clients include
Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart, and Tiger
Woods. He was recently summoned to the
White House by Laura Bush to work on the
wallpaper and upholstery in several
rooms, including the Lincoln and master
bedrooms. His distinctive hand-printed
designs, available only to the design
trade, are carried in 14 showrooms across
the country.
hillary vermont ’72 (AAS) has her own
manufacturing business, Tic Toc Rocks, in
Sante Fe, New Mexico. Inspired by the
beauty of the Southwest, Vermont etches
rocks with ancient motifs and her own
designs, transforming them into afford-
able home accessories including clocks,
coasters, and tables. Previously she
worked for ten years in advertising at large
agencies and CBS Records and then start-
ed her own graphic licensing business,
Hillary Vermont Designs, whose licensees
include MoMA, the Metropolitan Opera,
and the Smithsonian. Contact her via
email at [email protected],
and visit www.tictocrocks.com and www.
oakcreekprintworks.com/artistprofiles/
hillaryvermont.
ILLUSTRATIONmichael chesworth ’86 is a children’s
book illustrator. His most recent work,
Inventor McGregor, follows Rainy Day
Dream (1992), Archibald Frisby (1994) and
Alphaboat (2002), all published by Farrar
Straus & Giroux. For more information,
visit www.crashbangboom.com.
joseph dunn ’01 writes a comic series
about “crappy movies” titled Joe Loves
Crappy Movies. It has been published for
the past year online at www.digital
pimponline.com.
Doo Young and Chan Kyung Lee (P)
Enid S. Lee ’83
Michael W. Lehr ’87
Joseph R. Lembo ’77
Paul T. and Brenda Liistro (P)
Deanna Littell ’60
Warren Liu
Eugenie Livanos ’95
Mark Loeffler IALD ’90
Mary Ann ’80 and
Salvatore Lomonaco MD
Hector E. Lopez ’87
David C. Lubman ’91
Lynda L. MacDonald ’95
Lisa Maddox ’96
Aila M. Main ’99
Robert B. Mang
Umberto A. Marcucci ’57
Brenda Mason (P)
Emily P. Maxwell ’42
Susan L. McCardell ’47
Cynthia J. McLoughlin ’84
Terry McQuillin ’76
William A. McRobbie ’73
Walter Mehr ’48
John T. Melton ’66
Judith E. Messina
Joel Michalek
James H. Millis Jr. (P)
Elena Miranda ’99
Abigail Moore ’87
Patricia Muhilly ’73
Yoshiye E. Murase ’52
Robert B. Neubecker ’75
Mary C. Newell ’84
Joshua Niedelman ’02
Louis and Anna Niedelman (P)
Debora Nilssen ’68
Kenneth H. Nilssen ’67
James O. Noel ’55
Northwestern Mutual Foundation
Kalman Noselson
Richard Obus ’62*
Candy O’Donel-Browne ’63
Jane B. Oh ’92
Young Cho Ok
Masayoshi N. and Kayoka Osawa (P)
Annabelle R. Osmena ’58
Jo Ellen Panton ’66
Sungyon Park ’97
Susan Parr ’86
Anthony Pellino ASID ’86
Meredith Waga Perez ’91
Jeffrey A. and Nancie Perlowitz ’93
John R. Peterson
James Pickman (P)
Aileen Piffard (P)
Michael J. Pinto ’87
Peter J. Pioli ’69
Mary Pisarkiewicz ’79
Platinum Design
Nataliya Ponomaryova
Richard and Barbara Pool (P)
PVM Designs
Margaret Rather Curlet ’68
Susan Refsnes ’75
Martha B. Reinken ’50
Reverb
Christian Rodriguez ’05
Elizabeth J. Rosen ’88
Richard A. Rosenfeld ’67
Geoffrey M. Roth ’97
Jacqueline E. Rothman ’91
Valeriy Ryadchikov (P)
Mary E. Sabbatino ’80
Rose Lou T. Saldana (P)
Kathleen D. ’87 and William Samuelson
Laura F. Santisi-Johnson ’76
Carla M. Sardeira ’93
K. J. Sayler ’76
Carole A. Schaffer ’86
John C. Scribner (P)
Jenny Shiu Yen Lee (P)
Harold R. Simmons, Jr. ’65
Robert C. Simon ’66
Trudy Slater ’93
Louisa Smith ’82
Nulsen Smith
Cynthia S. Sobel ’62
Lorna Soh ’05
Ann D. Sole ’83
Sylvia C. Soler Armstrong ’78
Roger D. Soman
Piyada A. Sookdee ’93
Mark Stern ’83
Mary Ellen B. Stottmann ’65
Frances G. Suder ’47
Issac Suder
Kyouichi Takeishi
Kazumi Tanimura ’96
Jo Ann Tansman ’77
Terrence Comella Design Studio
John H. Thomas, Jr. ’74
Hang J. Tsao (P)
Irene N. Vandervoort ’92
Ashleigh Verrier ’04
Verrier LLC
Helene R. Walker ’87
Wallace Church Associates, Inc.
Mary E. Weinmann
Claire S. Werner-O’Brien ’83
Cedric C. and Coleen Whittington
Sharon R. Wilkes ’75
Nan Ruvel and Sheldon Winner (P)
Yiu Tung B. Wong
Lydia B. Yaslow ’74
Suk K. Yim
Chin Y Yu
Mitchell T. Yu (P)
Rebecca L. Zaslow ’88
Gifts of $1–$99 totaled almost $14,000.
Every gift helps and we thank each of you
for your contribution.
Key:
*=Deceased
P=Parent of a Parsons student
We made every attempt to ensure
this list is as accurate as possible.
If you notice an error, please contact
the Parsons Development Office at
212.229.8590 x4396.
parsons the new school for design scholarships/departments
architecture
Anderson Scholarship
Robert Hoerle Scholarship
Michael Kalil Endowment
communication design
Joyce DiMauro Memorial Scholarship
Kathy Dunn Memorial Scholarship
Pride K. Leong Scholarship
Willard and Aura Levitas Scholarship
Cipe Pineles Scholarship
Henry Wolf Communication Design
Scholarship
decorative arts
Ruth F. Meyers Weinberg Scholarship
design and management
Robert Hoerle Scholarship
fashion
A/X Armani Exchange Scholarship
Perry Ellis CFDA Scholarship
Perry Ellis Estate Scholarship
John Fresco Scholarship
Herbert Gallen Scholarship
Stanley Heller Award for Excellence in
Menswear Design
Melanie Kahane Scholarship
Gene Kahn Scholarship
R.M. Kaplan Scholarship
Adolf Klein Scholarship
Vincent Knoll Scholarship
Carole Little Scholarship
Claire McCardell Scholarship
NAMSB Scholarship
Norman Norell Scholarship
Samuel Brent Robinson Scholarship
Saks Fifth Avenue Scholarship
Isabel and Irving Tolkin Scholarship
David Warren Memorial Scholarship
fine arts
Lester Martin Scholarship
Blanche Sussman Scholarship
fine arts mfa
Chaim Gross Sculpture Scholarship
Oscar Kolin Fellowship
Blanche Sussman Scholarship
general
Stanley Curtis Scholarship
Mr. & Mrs. F. Burrall Hoffman Scholarship
Berthold and Erna Mechur Scholarship
Laverne Neil Scholarship
Michael Tebbs Nunn
Emergency Loan Fund
Parsons General Scholarship Fund
Charles Paterson Scholarship
Laura and John Pomerantz Scholarship
Natalie Pion Scholarship
Alice Robinson Scholarship
Malcolm and Betty Smith Scholarship
C.V. Starr Scholarship
Myrtle Whitehill Scholarship
illustration
Alice Boldt Shifman Memorial
Scholarship
interior design
Anderson Scholarship
Mary Brandt Scholarship
Brunschwig & Fils Scholarships
Tom Fox Scholarship
Adelaide H. Gadde Scholarship
Ruth F. Meyers Weinberg Scholarship
photography
Marty Forscher Photo Award
Photo Award Dinner Scholarship
programmatic support
We would like to acknowledge the
William Randolph Hearst Foundation for
its generous support of the Student
Industry Partnership Program, which
funds stipends to students working with
nonprofit organizations, and the Estate
of Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence for
their dedication to Parsons’ pre-college
program by supporting the Lawrence
Scholars Program, which provides schol-
arships for high-school students.
donors to parsons
parsons thanks the following
donors for their contributions to
the annual fund in 200�.
$50,000+
The Brown Foundation Inc.
Alice Dorn
Nancy Dorn
$25,000–$49,999
David B. Ford
Reed D. Krakoff ’89
Eck Meng Goh
$10,000–$24,999
president’s associates
Paul R. Aaron
The Jayne and Leonard Abess Family
Foundation, Inc.
Pamela Bell
Estée Lauder Companies, Inc.
Gubelmann Family Foundation, Inc.
James Gubelmann ’73
Hans-Peter Hamm (P)
Andrew S. and Fatima Ng (P)
Sally Susman
Cora and Douglas Thomas (P)
$5,000–$9,999
parsons table society
Cherie and Bruce Burton (P)
Henza and Nuri Colakoglu (P)
The Corita Charitable Trust
Andra B. Ehrenkranz
Fresh Inc.
The Godfrey Family Foundation
Jay Godfrey ’04
Goldman Sachs & Co.
Joseph R. Gromek
Earl S. Kluft (P)
Anand G. and Anuradha Mahindra (P)
Cora ’51 and Clarence Michalis
Alina Roytberg ’84
Franz-Josef and Petra Schwarz (P)
Jessica M. Weber ’66
$1,000–$4,999
frank alvah parsons society
Francis H. Abbott (P)
Lucia T. Benton ’00
James Borynack ’67
The Boston Foundation
Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, Inc.
Rosalind Cohen ’29
Rosalind G. Cohen Trust
College Central Network Inc.
CRE Fund
Juan Del Rivero (P)
Lucille A. Diorio ’75
Jamie D. Drake ’78
Jeffery and Evie Engler (P)
Marjorie Feeney ’51 and Robert Feeney
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
Ann ’76 and Joel Horowitz
Jewish Communal Fund of New York
Jewish Community Foundation
Kei Kin and Stephen Chin Jo (P)
Michele Kahn ’04
KMW USA, Inc.
Debbie Kuo ’85
Pauline and Robert W. Kwan (P)
Derek Lam ’90
Ki Sang and Sang Eun Lee (P)
Natalie K. Loggins ’95
W. Bruce Lunsford (P)
Mark Mancini ’85
Thomas Milo (P)
Robert Mundheim
Samuel Plimpton and
Wendy Shattuck (P)
Princeton Development Associates
Diane D. and Steven Reynolds (P)
Cathy Weiss Siegal
Jessica Slavin ’09
Sumner A. and Sharon G. Slavin (P)
Margaret Smith ’89
Celina Stabell ’98
Marcy Syms
Sy Syms Foundation
The Teck Foundation
J. Nicholson and Kakuko O. Thomas (P)
Wally Findlay Galleries International, Inc.
Ding Y. Yang (P)
Glenn Yusuf (P)
$500–$999
Anthony Mason Associates, Inc.
Paulette L. Bogan-Johnston ’83
Dolores C. Braxton ’50
Timothy S. Button ’75
John F. Byers IV ’96
Dorothea K. Darden ’97
Barbara D. Etherington ’46
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
Janice W. Gewirtz ’78
The Henry B. Plant Memorial Fund, Inc.
Connie and Kevin C. Howe (P)
Linda M. Kane (P)
Barbara M. ’99 and Edward J. Laux
Behna M. Levin
John A. ’75 and Laura F. Lijewski
Robert S. Lu ’79
Ann-Lindsay Marsh (P)
The Marsh Family Trust
Anthony Mason (P)
The Dominic Mondavi Family (P)
Ralph and Sandra D. Owen ’57
Phyllis Oxman ’71
Rosemarie A. Rawson ’85
Danielle Roberts ’88
Timothy Shepard and Andra Georges (P)
Elizabeth A. Terrell ’76
Marshall and Sally K. Tycher (P)
Delores Viarengo ’95
Andrew H. Weigel
Marjorie J. Wright ’82
David Zackin
$100–$499
Jane E. Aaron ’88
Jill Alanko (P)
Barbara Alley-Simon ’58
Jorge Alva ’88
Hanay K. Angell ’90
Atelier Lumiere Inc.
Ellen and Richard Babcock (P)
David C. Barrineau ’97
David B. Barritt ’77
David S. Baskin (P)
Karen W. Baumann ’00
Aldo A. Becci ’49
Laurie Beckelman
Belle Fleur LLC
Thomas Bezucha ’88
Anna Bickford ’88
Bonnie Birnbaum ’77
Bonnie Birnbaum Interiors
Gisa Botbol
Stephanie B. ’58 and F. Bruce Bradshaw
Patricia P. Brett ’92
Elena S. Brown ’00
Kathrin Brown (P)
David C. Burger
Bruce and Berlita Calumpong (P)
Francis and Sandra P. Cannon
Kristin A. Caskey ’87
Katharina E. Castiblanco Grammer ’84
Jack F. Ceglic ’53
Ronnie S. ’53 and Seymour Chalif
Sil K. and Ping Chon (P)
Jee Y. Choung ’64
Yookyung C. Chung ’01
Stanley Church ’63
Terrence Comella ’80
Computer Associates International, Inc.
Leonard R. and Maria Corwin (P)
Rachael B. Cronin ’87
Odette T. de Bruniere ’41
Peter de Seve ’80
Anna M. Deluca ’85
Margaret J. El ’83
Anne T. Elbaqali ’75
June Ellien ‘94
Rochelle G. Etingin ’54
Jose and Tania Fano (P)
Paul A. Farris ’83
Sally J. ’90 and Peter M. Finnican
Daniel and Elizabeth Fitzsimmons (P)
Milco Flores
Linda R. Foa ’64
Barry Folsom and Tracey Stewart (P)
Erica S. Forester
Alyce A. Fountaine ’45
Alfred Geller (P)
Geller Media Management, Inc.
Carl Gewirz
Gabriel W. Gigliotti ‘03
Patrick and Judith Gigliotti (P)
Flora Gill ’02
Gloria Gleason ’52
Engte C. Go (P)
Larry G. Goldstein
Peter Gong ’97
Paul H. Gregory ’92
Mary Louise Guertler ’61
Anne E. Hall ’74 and William Sorin
Young Jo Ham (P)
Gina I. Han (P)
Jennifer S. Harris ’94
Myka J. Harris ’02
Joann P. Hill ’90
Lynn S. Hock ’02
Craig ’74 and Gail L. ’77 Hollenback
Konrad Huber ’93
Hughes Family Rev. Trust Agreement
for Jointly Owned Prop.
Rosemary Hughes ’53
Victoria Hyman ’76
Interior Details, Ltd.
Marilyn Jeffrey
Richard Johnson ’76
Mary L. Kates ’90
Robin K. Kelly ‘96
Erica M. Kim ’03
Sung Sik Kim
Wak Gun and Young Hee Kim (P)
Young Ho Kim and Jae Suk Baek (P)
Katarina Kirilcuk-Kojak ’82
Soteria ’92 and George N. Kledaras
Beatrice Kovich ’75
Paul R. Kuhn ’85
Jessie and Tony Kwan (P)
Helene R. Lanster ’50
Mary N. Lantzounis ’60
Chih-Shan Lee
Parsons The New School for Design relies on the generosity
of dedicated individuals and organizations to provide students
with merit- and need-based competitive scholarships to pursue
their educations. The gift of endowed scholarship support is a
wonderful way to have a lasting impression on the lives of stu-
dents and create a legacy that lives on for many years.
In honor of the program’s centennial, we are proud to highlight
the 2006–07 interior design scholarship recipients:
Katherine Bragg: Tom Fox Scholarship and
Ruth F. Meyers Weinberg Scholarship
Alba Contreras: Mary Brandt Scholarship
Martina Sencakova: Adelaide Gadde Scholarship
Laura Cheung: Brunschwig & Fils Scholarship
To learn more about how to make a gift of a scholarship to any
of Parsons’ departments, please contact Lucretia Cavan in the
development office at 212.229.8590 x4218 or
The Gift of Education
Katherine Bragg
Katherine Bragg
Katherine Bragg
Martina Sencakova
Ling-Zhi Hew
Martina Sencakova
Ling-Zhi Hew
Laura Cheung
Laura Cheung
Laura Cheung
katherine bragg is the recipient of both the Tom Fox and the Ruth F. Meyers Weinberg scholarships. She is involved in Parsons’ Target collaboration, has interned with Tsao and McKown Architects, and is currently interning with interior designer Danielle Galland. In December 2006 she received the Rising Star Award at the Women in Design Award Luncheon.
martina sencakova is the recipient of the Adelaide Gadde Scholarship. She is a junior studying commercial interior design, and is eyeing a future in the healthcare industry.
laura cheung received the Brunschwig & Fils Scholarship, which allowed her to study in Paris. She is a senior graduating in May.
We are pleased to announce that two Parsons students were selected to receive the prestigious full-tuition scholarship supported by the Angelo Donghia Foundation. Schools may submit only two students for consideration, and out of 80-plus candidates across the country, both of Parsons’ entrants, paula rodriguez and ling-zhi hew, won.
32
The New School Board of Trustees presents the
Distinguished Service Award to individuals who
have shown exceptional dedication to the uni-
versity. Interior designer and board of governors
member Victoria Hagan (along with four others)
was presented with the award at the President’s
Council reception on October 25, 2006. This is
the citation read in her honor:
Victoria Hagan is an exemplary member of the extended commu-
nity of Parsons The New School for Design. She is someone
whose engagement with the school spans many years and many
roles: she is an alumna of Parsons, a member of the board of
governors, and a generous supporter of the school.
aLumni spotLigHtVictoria Hagan ’84
Victoria graduated from Parsons in 1984, in what was then the
environmental design program. She wasted no time making a
mark for herself professionally, and, by 1991, she had started her
own design firm, Victoria Hagan Interiors. Her talent was recog-
nized early on by many and in 1995 New York magazine named
her one of the “10 Top Trend-Setting Designers.” In 2002 she
was cited by Architectural Digest as one of the “AD 100,” the 100
most important and influential interior and architectural design-
ers. Two years later, she was inducted into the Interior Design
Hall of Fame.
Her work as a designer is characterized by a clear understanding
of the relationships of interiors, architecture, fine art, furnish-
ings, and products. Her portfolio includes an impressive range of
residential and commercial interiors, a signature line of home
furnishings, and, most recently, a product line with Target that
has launched her name and her design sensibilities into the
public realm in a whole new, broadly accessible way.
As her success has soared, Victoria has remained committed to
her alma mater, in particular to helping the school continually
build its strengths in interior design studies. Most recently, she
has been a wise and forward-thinking proponent of extending
the interior design curriculum by strengthening its connections
with the architecture and lighting programs. Victoria has also
been an enthusiastic supporter of the Centurion Award event,
which in its first two years celebrated the lives and work of
Parsons alumni Albert Hadley and Betty Sherrill, and brought
new public and media attention to the interior design program.
Beyond her time, good counsel, and enthusiasm, Victoria has
also generously supported Parsons through her financial gifts for
programs, scholarships, and special projects.
For her remarkable dedication to Parsons, for the pride she has
fostered as one of the school’s most distinguished and involved
alumni, and for her commitment to the highest standards of
education at Parsons, The New School is honored to present
Victoria Hagan with the Distinguished Service Award.
Photo by Peter Freed
32
re:spondJamie Drake ’78
Known for dynamic interiors that are
beautifully bold yet exceptionally livable,
New York-based interior designer Jamie
Drake has created spaces for high-profile
clients around the world. At Parsons he
earned his degree in three years, received
the Decorators Club Award, and interned
with the late Angelo Donghia. Drake was
inducted into the Interior Design Hall of
Fame in 2003, and in 2005 he published
Jamie Drake’s New American Glamour
(Bulfinch Press). He is currently working
on a private foundation’s home in a land-
marked New York City townhouse, a
25,000-square-foot government project,
and a new house in the Hamptons. His
fabric collection for Schumacher launches
this spring.
Photos by Matthew Sussman
what is your best parsons memory?
The excitement of my first day—wearing
a jumpsuit, ready to be a designer and
a New Yorker.
is there one piece of advice you wish
you’d had then? Yes, and that would
have been, don’t go out dancing ’til the
wee hours the night before deadlines.
what was your first job after
college? I started my own firm right
away. Literally, two days after graduation
I got a call asking me if I would take on
the design of two apartments in the
same building for a friend and his father.
what’s the best part of your job
now? My favorite part is truly getting to
know my clients, then finding the solu-
tions that express their personalities.
what did your mother want you to
be when you grew up? A lawyer, doctor,
or architect. I guess I ended up fulfilling
all three in a way.
when did you know that you wanted
to be an interior designer? I first
knew it was my calling when I was about
six. I was in charge of decorating and
antiques for the backyard fort I had built
with my best friend.
if you hadn’t taken up interior
design, what would you have been?
A criminal trial lawyer, either defense
or prosecution. Think Law and Order.
what do you think is the most
exciting trend in your field today?
New materials and technological
advances are the industry trends that
most excite and fascinate me.
what is your most marked charac-
teristic? Optimism. My glass is always
half full. And forgiveness; I can have a
meltdown, but get over it in 15 minutes.
what’s your current obsession?
Creating a new baroque vocabulary. I am
fascinated with voluptuous forms, from
the 17th century to the 1940s, and how to
transform those into a modern language.
what’s the last book you read?
The Beautiful Fall, a fantastic read about
the rivalry between Yves St. Laurent and
Karl Lagerfeld.
who would you invite to your ideal
dinner party? I’d fill my table with
Louis Kahn, Charles de Bestegui, Marie
Antoinette, Busby Berkeley, Mahatma
Gandhi, Beau Brummel, Faye Dunaway,
and Nostradamus.
if you could re-imagine any space in
the world, which one would it be?
The White House, politically, as the inte-
rior is quite beautiful.
what is your favorite red thing?
A searing hot summer sunset sky.
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