Pratt Institute - Prattonia Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

Page 9 text:

What We Love About Prat -— emapamememen,: fe ie The Bookstore e Asking fashion designers to show us their intimate apparel. e Ridiculing those two-bit venders who always peddle scarves and trinkets in the hallway. e Sneaking into the women’s locker room in the ARC. e Putting a “Back at 1:00” sign on the door and puffin’ a doobie in the PI shop. e Placing items on a low shelf so we can watch young coeds bend over. e Pilfering Swedish meatballs at the com- mencement buffet. e When students come in at the last min- ute and don’t know what they want. e Blasting WNEW. e How John’s cigar gets smaller and smaller although it’s never lit.

Page 8 text:

Now in its 98th year, Pratt Institute re- mains one of the country’s leading design schools. Uniquely isolated between the quaint Ft. Greene and Bed-Stuy ghettoes of Brooklyn, the campus is an educa- tional island surrounded by man-eating sharks. Twenty-two buildings in various stages of disrepair are scattered across 18 acres of prime real estate. Close proximity to Man- hattan (30 minutes underground or 3% as the pigeon flies) lures students into the full splash of Sin City excitement. From Central Park to SoHo, and Chris- topher Street in between, all can delight in seeing original works of the Old Mas- ters, surveying the latest scandals of architecture, or simply learning to ignore a street beggar. Founded in 1887 by Charles Pratt (1830- 1891), the Institute was established to give anybody a chance at admissions regard- less of SAT scores. This was a radical move in the 1800s, and is no less so today. Admissions counselors regularly jet across the country in search of mathe- matically inept youths to place in the Art Design Schools. Likewise, culturally deprived youngsters are eagerly recruited 4 into the Engineering and Liberal Arts curriculum. Charles Pratt dreamed of creating an educational balance between practical skills and artistic self-discovery. It is an uneasy tension. As one chemical engi- neering student said, ‘““Why can’t we have a normal school?! Normal parties with normal women. Everything with these artsy types has to have a special meaning!” One recent study suggests that 94 per- cent of the art programs at “‘normal” American colleges offer a faculty of pseudo-artists lacking any creative diver- sity. Homecoming weekend, football vic- tories, and noisy frat houses are respected standards of their educational process. Students of any genuine talent and energy are routinely patted on the head and pointed toward Brooklyn. Pratt is unique because dynamic ideas are freely discussed and argued in rooms of chipped paint and missing tiles. Most arriving freshmen endure a two-semester boot camp, known simply as Foundation. An intense period, Foundation forces a young mind to question everything, to view the universe freshly by learning to un- learn. Students are often heard mumbling phrases such as, “emotional baggage;’ or ‘Bauhaus brainwashing?’ Undergraduate study is the ultimate test of physical and mental limits. Hous- ing is served primarily by the Willough- by dormitory, an around-the-clock designer’s commune. Often referred to as “Brooklyn’s 17-story lightbulb;’ students stay awake all night finishing tomorrow’s projects. Creativity doesn’t punch a time- card. Inspiration may strike at 3:00 A.M. from unlikely sources. As Lex Luthor said, “Some people can read War and Peace and come away with a simple ad- venture story. Others will glance at the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper, and unlock the secrets of the universe?’ It would require more than a few pages (Continued on page 6.)

Page 10 text:

(Continued from page 4.) to list the accomplishments of the esteem- ed faculty. Most conduct only a handful of courses each week, and few walk into class with any formal teaching degree. They contribute fresh opinions and direc- tion, shared from experience as working professionals. Scathing critiques are common, student work is regularly torn from the wall, thrown across rooms, and in one extreme case, was even set on fire in disgust. Of course, tyrannical instructors are demanding in the students’ best inter- ests. Future clients will be even more unforgiving. Pratt Institute graduates have helped shape America, making unique contri- butions to our society. Charles Lind- bergh might have splashed to his death if not for his faith in Donald A. Hall (Mechanical Engineering, 1919) and his designs for the Spirit of St. Louis. We learned the art of public humiliation through the candid camera of Allen Funt (Industrial Design, 1935), and even Robert Redford did a brief stint on cam- pus (Fine Arts, 1958) before moving on to larger concerns. Old man Pratt said it best, “‘There is no inherent reason why man should con- sider his daily labor as disagreeable and burdensome. The right view is one which makes work a delight, a source of real satisfaction, and even pleasure’’ The next time you pass a construction site, appreciate a sculpture, or pick up a magazine, know that along the lines of its creation, a Pratt grad was probably some- how involved. It is the world’s largest design fraternity, one that forsaked tradi- tional university serenity for the rigors of Brooklyn. A brotherhood with one com- mon, unforgettable experience—their days spent ON THIS CAMPUS. O We knew Barbara Carr when... ..-when she was a drug-crazed Bohemian during the 1960's Hippie movement. A fixture of the Greenwich Village subculture, Barbara Carr was a pioneer in the abuse of amphetamines. She won fame on the lecture circuit extolling the virtues of “Life at Twice its Normal Speed’ Today, Barbara zips around Higgins Hall as Visiting Professor of Architecture. Pratt’s administration admires a fast talker, and Barbara Carr is just their speed. Pratt Institute LOOK HOW FAR YOU CAN GO AT PRATT 200 Willoughby Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11205