Rhode Island School of Design - Portfolio Yearbook (Providence, RI)

Page 11 text:

opinion-makers of the city. The Museum of the School of Design houses a magnif- icent collection that can be looked upon with pride by every citizen of the state. And what citizen or visitor to Providence is not impressed by the architecture of the new structural complex that sits on the hill, overlooking and dominating the city? When a visitor of the School of Design attempts to penetrate into the Society itself, he is confronted with an image of fantastic panoply that operates on innumerable levels of artistic endeavor and design. The areas and activities run the gamut from unlimited artistic freedom and expression of forms in the fabled sculpture pit to the measured, ordered and categorized discipline of the Architecture Department. With a guide, the visitor may begin his series of visual impressions with the chaos of clay and metal forms emerging from the dust and noise of the sculpture pit. If he is not already overwhelmed by this, he can move on to intrude upon the clay-covered student intently absorbed over a revolving potters wheel or working with the kiln in the Ceramics Department. On this level of work, he cannot overlook the stu- dents who are completely immersed in the physical realities and properties of the materials they work with. Moving on, he comes upon the quiet concentration of a drawing class, where a walk between the easels of the students causes little notice, since each student is bent on applying his personality and ability to a sheet of news- print. The atmosphere of quiet and intense concentration in a painting class differs only in that it is presented to us in the complete spectrum of colors, on the canvases as well as on the jeans, hands, and faces of the student. These are the areas of ac- tivity that the visitor traditionally associates with his image of an art school. However, changing his direction of movement, he can move across yet another level, that of the area of the liberal arts. Here the school attempts both to acquaint

Page 13 text:

the student with and relate him to the artistic and literary traditions of which he is in the process of becoming an integral part. From this temporary respite, the visitor must once again proceed to further levels of activity in design and endeavour. He can see the inner workings of one of the newest and most contemporary modes of “seeing’’—the discipline and technique of the photographic eye. He comes upon the rigorously scheduled and rigid training program of Freshman Foundation. He can glimpse briefly into the world of fabric, pins, and dummies of the Fashion De- partment, and he can walk among the work-desks to get some idea of the multi- plicity of the projects and the ideas that come within the reach of Graphic and Industrial Designers. On yet another level, he can view that discipline that is farthest from the chaos of the sculpture pit. This is the ordered, measured and geometric world of the Archi- tect. These designers in their jackets and ties appear as if they could never bring themselves to mingle, yet alone merge, with the denizens of the sculpture pit, or even remotely share similiar aims and ideals. Yet they do. Perhaps there is really no way that a stranger can resolve the curious dichotomy that he finds here. He is, after all, ““on the outside looking in.” It is this strange-yet-plausible environment that set us, the students, apart from the people that daily surround us. We are a part of that curious society, the Rhode Island School of Design, who strive for excellence, who strive to relate our aspira- tions and ideals to Design in a contemporary world. In this goal we are united. Frank Best