Scope and Contents In this audio monologue, Martica Sawin recounts the details of restarting a Paris-based program for Parsons School of Design in 1981. Sawin relates the history of Parsons' original Paris school, the Paris Ateliers, during the 1920s and 1930s, and how Martin Canin approached her with the idea of re-establishing it around 1977. Following an investigative trip to Paris with Leland Bell, Sawin began to draw up a plan, including recruiting professors like Paul LeClerc, Ilan Alter, Allen Barber,...

Scope and Contents In this audio monologue, Martica Sawin explains how she was hired to teach art history at Parsons School of Design in 1967. She details efforts to expand art history instruction both before and after Parsons began issuing bachelor's degrees, an ability made possible by Parsons' affiliation with the New School in 1970. While recollecting details about students and faculty during the 1960s, Sawin describes the counter-cultural atmosphere in the United States and how it influenced Parsons,...

Scope and Contents In this audio interview with Martica Sawin, Stuart Shedletsky relates his blossoming as an artist under the guidance of faculty members such as Marvin Israel, John Kacere and Paul Brach at Parsons School of Design in the 1960s. Much of the interview dwells on Shedletsky's approach to teaching and his desire to be an advocate for students. He also discusses Dean David C. Levy's administrative style, the importance of studying with practicing artists, and the project, "Still Working:...

Scope and Contents This audio interview with Allen Tate, conducted by Martica Sawin, primarily concerns the evolution of the Interior Design Department of Parsons School of Design into the Environmental Design Department. Tate discusses his recruitment by William Katavolos, how he became department chair in 1969, the personalities involved in the contentious debates surrounding the department's direction, and his eventual termination in 1981. Tate's animosity toward faculty member Stanley Barrows (also...

Scope and Contents In this audio interview with Martica Sawin, Irwin Touster discusses his tenure as Chair of Fine Arts (BFA) at Parsons School of Design, beginning in 1974. Touster relates the details of his joining the faculty at the behest of Dean David C. Levy and the hiring of many of the department's staff under his purview, including Larry Rivers, Elaine De Kooning, Jane Wilson, Stuart Shedletsky (also interviewed for this project), Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe, and Eric Gibson. Touster and Sawin also discuss...

Scope and Contents In this audio interview, Martica Sawin and Stanley Barrows examine drawings, photographs and old Parsons School of Design catalogs, using them as a prompt to discuss the Paris Ateliers and the type of work expected of interior design students in the mid-twentieth century. Barrows reminisces about Parsons School of Design presidents William M. Odom and Van Day Truex, as well as interior designers Billy Baldwin and Millicent Rogers. Barrows talks about his own career, primarily as a historian...

Scope and Contents In this audio interview with Martica Sawin, Stanley Barrows recalls his experiences teaching at Parsons School of Design, particularly his role in leading summer trips to Europe in the 1950s and into the 1960s. He identifies and tells stories about memorable students and faculty, including Robert Castle, Glenn Boyles, Grace Fakes, Elsie Brown Barnes, Betty Carter, and Leo Steinberg. Barrows discusses the upheaval within the Interior Design Department during the late 1960s, the destruction of...

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In this audio interview with Martica Sawin, Suzanne Cole, an instructor and later Chair of the Illustration Department at Parsons School of Design, discusses transitioning the department from a fashion illustration focus to a more general illustration focus during her tenure. Cole describes faculty members she and co-chair Murray Tinkelman hired, including J.C. Suarez, Randy Enos, and Maurice Sendak, and recounts her teaching strategies and those of her colleagues.

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In this audio interview with Martica Sawin, Mildred Constantine discusses joining the Graphic Design Department as an art and design history instructor at Parsons School of Design while also serving as a curator at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). She also describes her teaching methodologies and pedagogical philosophies during her time as an instructor of first-year students.

Scope and Contents In this audio interview with Martica Sawin, Benedict J. Fernandez recounts joining the staff of Parsons School of Design, initially as a darkroom technician in the Graphic Design Department under the leadership of James Frangides, and subsequently establishing the Photography Department in 1978. He mentions recruiting Richard Avedon to teach Alexey Brodovitch’s “Design Laboratory” course. Fernandez discusses photographing Martin Luther King, Jr. in the early 1960s and later anti-war protest...