DOMESTIC QUEEN MARTHA STEWART will speak as part of the fifteenth annual Pratt Institute President’s Lecture Series at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 27. Tickets are free for her lecture “Artistic Inspiration as a Basis for Business,” but seating is limited.
In more Pratt news: Associate Professor of Chemistry ELEONORA DEL FEDERICO received a $99,575 grant to support her science-related project, “Expanding Pratt’s Mobile Laboratory for Studying Artists’ Materials and Artifacts: Capturing Students’ Interest in Chemistry at an Art and Design College.”
Reflecting the foundation’s mission of advancing the chemical sciences, the funding will be used to purchase hand-held X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers for Pratt’s mobile laboratory. XRF and FTIR provide non-invasive means of gathering information on the elemental and molecular compositions of materials in artwork, photographs, textiles and prints.
The grant was the first from The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation awarded to a School of Art and Design.
“We will be able to conduct more in-depth studies on the degradation process of artists’ materials, which will help advance the field of art and antiquities conservation,” said Del Federico. TONI OLIVIERO, dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, also expressed thanks.
More on science: On April 20 and 21, Pratt will present its third symposium on science and art, called “Science at the Art/Archeology Interface,” organized by the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Department of Mathematics and Science. The program is organized by Del Federico.
On April 20, in Room E2 of the ARC Building, a variety of speakers will present on the topic of X-ray fluorescence and mobile Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) applied to the study of works of art. Del Federico will introduce the symposium with research results from research conducted using Pratt’s mobile technology in Volterra, Italy last summer. Speakers include AGNES HARBER, physics Ph.D candidate from RWTH Aachen University, Germany; LAURA CIAMPINI, professor of textile and costume conservation from the University of Florence, Italy; and DIANA GISOLFI, Pratt professor of art history and director of Pratt in Venice.
In the evening, CINDIE KEHLET, assistant professor of chemistry at Pratt, will provide updates on collaborative research projects between The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Pratt Institute and New York University using NMR technology.
On April 21, Pratt Professor LICIO IOLANI and his students will demonstrate bronze-casting techniques in Pratt’s Metal Shop, located in the Chemistry Building. For more events, contact the school. All symposium events are free and open to the public.
Pratt Communications Design student FRANCISCO CONTRERAS and graduate students MARIA SOTIROPOULOU and GREG YAGODA were awarded the top three prizes at this year’s premiere Artist as Citizen (AAC) postcard competition on March 19. Sotiropoulou placed first, Contreras placed second and Yagoda placed third in the competition (although two St. Johns University students tied Contreras and Yagoda for second and third place.)
Sotiropoulou’s AAC postcard featured an artist’s hand clutching a paintbrush and pencil, wearing a shirt with the label AAC. Her inspiration for this work came directly from the name of the organization: artists as citizens who have the right to express themselves freely within society by using the tools of their craft. This AAC contest was open to students from four schools — Pratt Institute, Rhode Island School of Design, SVA and St. Johns University.
Graduate Communications Design students JOUNG WON CHA and ALEXANDRA KALOUTA received honorable mention for their sustainability poster designs at Princeton University’s second annual Better Design for Social Causes conference on February 28. The theme of this year’s design contest was “environmental sustainability.”
Cha was recognized for her design of trees as a visual metaphor for human lungs, and Kalouta for her design of a flat-lining heart monitor as a representation of the deteriorating health of forests. Kalouta is from Greece, and Cha is a native of South Korea; they were among 10 Graduate Communications Design students from Pratt who attended the conference this year.
