Oral History Interview with Dennis Hlynsky, April 3, 2022

Authors

Dennis Hlynsky, Rhode Island School of Design, Professor EmeritusFollow
Andrew Martinez, Rhode Island School of DesignFollow
RISD Archives, Rhode Island School of DesignFollow

Files

Description

Interview of Dennis Hlynsky, conducted by Andrew Martinez on Zoom from Hlynsky's home in Providence, RI, on April 14, 2022 for the RISD Oral History Project. Hlynsky speaks about growing up in Painesville, Ohio and his time as a film student at RISD while changes were being made to the emerging Film/Animation/Video department. Hlynsky also recalls being a member of Electron Movers and different projects he worked on, such as recording children who were cancer victims at the Rhode Island Hospital. He speaks about the controversies surrounding Private Parts, the 1978 exhibition of student work from the Photography department featuring nude subjects. Along with this, Hlynsky discusses changes he saw in RISD students during his 37 years teaching and the difficulties he faced while teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Biographical/Historical Note

Dennis Hlynsky is an emeritus professor in the Film / Animation / Video Department at the Rhode Island School of Design, teaching from 1987-2020. In 2009, Hlynsky became the Department Head. He received a BFA in graphic design, photography, and video from RISD in 1974, one of the first students in the FAV Department. Hlynsky co-founded Electron Movers in 1974, a regional media center and performance space, and a principal in the Video Analysis Project.

Hlynsky is interviewed by Andrew Martinez, Archivist at the Rhode Island School of Design, in 2022.

Recommended Citation

Hlynsky, Dennis; Martinez, Andrew; and Archives, RISD, "Oral History Interview with Dennis Hlynsky, April 3, 2022" (2022). RISD Oral History Project. 25.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/archives_oralhistories/25