On was an interdisciplinary graduate periodical established by RISD graduate students in 2006. It featured essays and student work that related to a general issue theme. On was intended as a quarterly publication, but it is unclear if further issues beyond the first were ever published.
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Found in Translation
Francie Latour and RISD XYZ
Four international alumni find a common language between their RISD education and their own rich, evolving cultures. Ng'endo Mukii 05 FAV of Kenya, Anjali Mody 09 ID of India, and architecture/design team Eduardo Sucre BArch 01 and Karina (Schrappe) Sucre BArch 00 of Brazil returned to their native countries to find the cross-cultural lessons and adaptability learned at RISD have proven critical to their success back home.
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Cultural Context | RISD President
John Maeda and RISD XYZ
"Art and design remind us to look at things from different angles and to value what is unique about ourselves and our culture…". John Maeda, RISD President 2008-12
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Influence of Global Aesthetics on Chinese Aesthetics: The Adaptation of Moxie and the Case of Dafen Cun
Eva Kit Wah Man
This article examines the practice of moxie or imitation in art in Chinese aesthetics, compares it with the Platonic notion of mimesis, and explicates its original meaning. I then trace its development from traditional painting to the late Qing export paintings in which traditional Chinese aesthetics was combined with Western perspectives to satisfy Western tastes. The discussion extends to the contemporary development of moxie in China by considering the case of Dafen Cun, an art village in Shenzhen that is famous for its copycat art practices. It explores how Dafen Cun has become a major exporter of copies of Western and Chinese paintings and how its artists achieve techniques comparable to the traditional methods of moxie while losing its original spirit. The final section reviews how global consumerism has exerted influences on moxie, which can only be justifiably approached in respective cultural and historical contexts.
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Moonset Cordiero
Kyoko Matsunaga, Special Collections, and Fleet Library
1 volume (unpaged) : chiefly color illustrations. Title from artist's website; publication information from 23 Sandy Gallery Booksellers' website. Limited edition of 15 copies, signed and numbered by the artist. "'Moonset Cordiero' is an ancient site of typography, mentioned on a television show in the artist's dreams of June 16th, 2012. This book is an assemblage of connections between this imaginary locale and realtime experiences. She traces memories, recalling scenes from her domestic and international travels. Viewers observe the dream's reflection from the mirror, which includes a glimpse of their own eye"--23 Sandy Gallery Booksellers' website, viewed on March 4, 2015. "Inkjet print, laser print on Japanese paper. Bugra paper (Black), bees wax, mirror"--Artist's website, viewed on August 21, 2014. Images are inkjet and laser printed on Kozo, Mitsumata, and Bugra Japanese paper. The book opens into a tunnel book with a small hole in the front and a mirror at the back. When viewers look through the hole, they can see four illustrated panels and a reflection of their own eye. The colophon is collaged to the bookboard backing next to the mirror. Library has copy no. 11. Signed by the artist 2013. Sally Hume Lincoln Memorial Fund.
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The Definition of Everyday Aesthetics
Kevin Melchionne
This article responds to recent controversy in the aesthetics of everyday life with a succinct definition designed to clarify the domain of study. The article is intentionally designed for brevity and accessibility in order to facilitate usage.
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Materials Collection Creation and Administration: A New Role for Libraries (White Paper)
Mark Pompelia
The Problem/Opportunity: To define, identify, and guide design-based materials collections in academic settings and foster community among those with existing collections and/or those considering creating and supporting one.
Contents and topics:
- What is a materials collection?
- Why have a materials collection?
- Acquisition strategies
- Organizational approaches
- Programming possibilities
- Symposium summary
- Resources
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Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries - Session 1. Librarians
Mark Pompelia, Sydney Mainster, Alix Reiskind, Carolyn Schaeberle, and Shira Shoval
Librarians/managers representing existing materials collections discuss issues of acquisition, curation, organization, and digitization.
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Sites for Integrative Arts Education: A Study of the Undergraduate Critique
Sara Raffo
Sara Raffo, RISD post-grad (MFA GD 2011), received an ACP grant to study the diverse practices of critique at RISD, focusing in particular on its potential for enacting and supporting integrative learning. She observed ten undergraduate critiques in various departments and documented their methods and content. Sara’s ACP project followed on a 2011 Independent Study Project focusing on critique in the Graphic Design department, and allowed her to expand, deepen, and now share, her research.
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Veronese’s Goblets: Glass Design and the Civilizing Process
Pascale Rihouet and Theory & History of Art & Design Department
Taking its cue from Veronese’s lavish Wedding at Cana (1563), this article explores the meanings of fine and ordinary glassware, focusing on the performative value of Renaissance goblets. Drinking vessels are analyzed here as tools for the gradual transformation of human behavior, or the ‘Civilizing Process’ that sociologist Norbert Elias expounded. In the mid-sixteenth century, new designs for fine glasses supported and shaped the proper conduct expected of guests and servants in banquets. Iconographic sources such as the exquisite wine cups depicted by Veronese, didactic literature and the objects themselves document the kind of challenges and expectations that handling glass in public induced. By the end of the sixteenth century, the affordability of simple but elegant goblets allowed common people to adopt the drinking manners of the elite, thus furthering the association between glassware and the concept of civility.
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The Creation of Tate Modern has been as Important to British Life as the National Health Service
RISD Museum and Bob + Roberta Smith
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In Praise of Ambiguity: Musical Subtlety and Merleau-Ponty
Tiger C. Roholt
When a jazz, rock, or hip-hop drummer strikes certain notes in each measure slightly late, instead of hearing the degree to which those notes are late, we typically hear the effects of those variations; namely, a groove, the "feel" of a rhythm. Slight variations of pitch function similarly. In this essay, I argue that certain analytic theorists go astray due to their preoccupation with the variations themselves. By invoking Maurice Merleau-Ponty's insights into subtle visual perceptions, and his notion of perceptual indeterminacy, I avoid an account of musical subtlety suggested by Daniel Dennett that is too coarse-grained, as well as the bleak conclusion that certain musical subtleties are ineffable, Diana Raffman's view. I conclude that elements of music that are perceived ambiguously can perform a positive function in such aesthetic experiences: they can mediate or foster emergent qualities; moreover, they must be perceived in this way to do so.
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The Propaganda Power of Protest Songs: the Case of Madison's Solidarity Sing-Along
Sheryl Tuttle Ross
The aim of this paper is to examine the propaganda power of Madison’s Solidarity Sing-Along. To do so, I will modify the Epistemic Merit Model of propaganda so that it can account for a broader spectrum of propaganda. I will show how this is consistent with other accounts of musical pragmatics and the potential political function of songs and music. This will provide the ground for a robust interpretation of the political meanings of the Solidarity Sing-Along. I will assume the Madison protests and the Solidarity Sing-Along can be considered a paradigm case of peaceful protest as it has been claimed that the Madison protest and the role of art within those protests set the stage for the Occupy Movement protests later in the same year.
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Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries - Session 2. Educators
Pradeep Sharma, Peter Yeadon, Martin Bechthold, Patrick Mather, Billie Faircloth, and Liat Margolis
Educators representing interactions with materials speak to critical approaches, life-cycle concerns, critical thinking of composition/process/properties.
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Wandergesellen Waltz On
Liisa Silander and RISD XYZ
[Wandergesellen] is a way of life that points to the distant past – to medieval artisans travelling from village to village to practice and perfect their craft, bringing their skills where they were needed most. But for Eugene (Yevgent) Gladun 00 GD, the world of wandergesellen – or German journeymen – is more relevant than ever.
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Rosanne Somerson
Rosanne Somerson and Richard Goulis
Rosanne Somerson, president at the Rhode Island School of Design 2015-21, came to the institution as a freshman photography major but quickly discovered the joys and challenges of woodworking and furniture design. Studying with Tage Frid, she received a BFA in Industrial Design in 1976, eventually teaching in the program and helping to found the world-renowned furniture design department at RISD. Somerson’s studio work covers a broad range, from very personal pieces to commissions for museums, corporations, and individuals. She views furniture in relation to the interactive needs of people, from utilitarian and emotional perspectives. Her furniture is in the collections of the Smithsonian, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Smith College Museum, The Huntsville Museum, and the RISD Museum, among others. Somerson has lectured and exhibited throughout the globe, and has won numerous awards for her work.
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Honey B Hive
Jessica Spring, Special Collections, and Fleet Library
6 leaves : illustrations. Author statement from inside front cover. Limited edition of 66 copies, signed and numbered by the artist. "Honey B Hive is a sweet B specimen, displaying a hive full of Bs from the collection of vintage wood and metal type at Springtide Press. The book is handset, letterpress printed and bound between velour foil-stamped covers, all inspired by one very painful, then itchy, sting between the toes."--Colophon. Book consists of six leaves interleaved so when the book covers are spread open a honeycomb is formed. Letter "B" type specimens printed on yellow paper. "(in several computer languages, including Unicode, B=66)."--colophon.
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A Feeling of Freedom Elements inspirations Components Flag 11 (description), Trend Spring / Summer 2013
Swarovski, Visual + Material Resources, and Fleet Library
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A Feeling of Freedom Elements inspirations Components Flag 11 (detail), Trend Spring / Summer 2013
Swarovski, Visual + Material Resources, and Fleet Library
