Bill Katavolos Receives 2012 RRK Award

The Rowena Award Ceremony last night was a huge success! President Tom Schutte welcomed the crowd of over 250, comprised of Pratt alumni and students from both the Industrial Design and Architecture departments. Steve Diskin, Louis Nelson, and Bruce Hannah made speeches. Tucker read a message from Gerry Gulotta. Pamela Waters was given the honor of presenting Bill the RRK award. Bill’s remarks included a demonstration using wooden blocks to create Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water! Coincidentally, the event fell on Bill's birthday and Karen Stone presented a birthday cake.

We just got a copy of the video April Maxey shot and edited, capturing the great spirit of the event at the Knoll showroom. Thank you, April!

And here are some of the words spoken at the event:

Gerry Gulotta:
"As a senior in the Industrial Design Department at Pratt Institute, Bill Katavolos formed a student design team with Ross Littell and Douglas Kelley. The three of them continued working as a team after graduation. I met them when I entered Pratt as a freshman, in 1947. On occasion, we would visit Eva Zeisel at her country house and gather around the fireplace with her friends. It was here, and later at other gatherings with friends, and especially with his students, that Bill would talk at length about his original concepts for plans and experimental inventions for useful purposes. His ideas are often philosophical theories of the unlimited possibilities for design in the search for form. Bill has a feeling for the rightness of combinations, especially among the students in his classes where his kindness and generosity of spirit are freely and affectionately expressed."

Pamela Waters:
"I am Pamela Waters, a Pratt Industrial Design graduate. It is no small task, introducing this amazing man, William Katavolos. In 1961, at the same time that his Manifesto "Organics", was being published, he was so inspirational to our class that I have enlisted their involvement. Michael Rossman notes that Bill approaches the media and methods of mass manufacture as a sculptor would approach clay and the painter her pigments. Bill, himself, has said that he wants to build houses by mixing preprogrammed chemical components as if they were cups of instant soup.

Most mentioned that Bill gave us the gift of XYZ as a design tool, and with it, he sent us to Japan,
Akira Kurosawa, Toshiro Mifune, via the Little Carnegie Playhouse, where we watched Yojimbo and the Samurai Warrior wield his weapon, in a perfect XYZ movement. Then off to Rome, as Bill said, “If you really want to see Rome, pick one cat and follow it everywhere."

As a Visionary, Bill has created his own language. Each of his words evoke a complete concept and an elaborate visual image, at the same time.

Algeary Studies

Aquatecture

Liquification of mass

Gassification of space

Solidification of surface

Communicational clothing

Poesis versus Noesis

Hermaphromorphic columns

And, of course, he also used Dominant, Subdominant and Subordinant.

As an Industrial Design student in the late forties, Bill said that when he met Rowena, he knew exactly what he was going to do for the rest of his life. In his words: "Form experience is Pratt's greatest strength. If it isn't beautiful, I'm not interested in it." Rowena said to me of her husband, Alexander, "When you live with a genius, you know it." We, as students of Bill, were taught by his genius, and we know it!

Bill, thank you for your years of friendship with Rowena and your continued support of her teachings. Your work is all over the planet, in galleries and museums. You have influenced students of all disciplines. But the most permanent collection of your work is in this room tonight. We are surrounding you and we are so grateful."

William Katavolos to Receive Rowena Reed Kostellow Award.

Genius designer, architect, visionary and inspirational professor, Bill Katavolos, will be honored with the Rowena Reed Kostellow Award for his dedication to three dimensional design. The ceremony will take place the Knoll Showroom, 76 9th Avenue, NYC, on March 8, 2012.

The Award recognizes people who advance the principals of design that Rowena Reed Kostellow developed. Katavolos said that Rowena's teachings “are as important as physics!” I heard about his 48 hour marathon charettes when I was a boy! The design process could really be fun! The committee selected Bill “because of his long dedication to multidisciplinary exploration, the beauty of his work, and because he is truly an amazing man,” says Tucker Viemeister, Rowena Fund Chair.

Until the late 1940s, Bill Katavolos was a painter; then he and fellow Pratt students Ross Littell and Douglas Kelley produced a furniture line including the “T” chair, which is now in the collection of MoMA and the Louvre. He designed furniture collections for Laverne International, partition systems for Time-Life and Owens Corning, and a suspension ring system for the [US Pavilion at the World’s Fair in Moscow]. His manifesto, Organics, published in Holland in 1961 became the basis for chemical architecture. His theory of the fundamental structure of nature is being prepared for publication.

In one of his stimulating moments, Bill said that “If you really want to see Rome, pick one cat and follow it everywhere!”

Bill joins the other champions of the abstract principals of visual relationships who have received the award, including: Gina Caspi, Ivan Rigby, Eva Zeisel, Gerald Gulotta, William Fogler, Eugene Grossman, Ralph Appelbaum, James Fulton, Louis Nelson, Judy Collins, Bruce Hannah, Ted Muehling, Lucia N. DeRespinis, Tom Patti, and Leonard Bacich. These teachers, entrepreneurs and designers embody the mission of the fund: to encourage and guide a systematic educational approach to all forms of visual expression, which is inspired by Rowena’s teaching. www.rowenafund.org

The Rowena Reed Kostellow Fund at Pratt Institute was organized after her death in 1988 to help continue her teachings by supporting scholarships, publishing and programs. Rowena, with her husband Alexander Kostellow and Donald Dohner, created Pratt Institute’s Industrial Design program based on abstract design applied to form, function, and industry. Their objective was to develop an educational system through analysis of abstract visual relationships that would be valid for all forms of expression: architecture, graphic design, and art. The program has become the foundation of many courses around the world. For over 50 years, she taught three-dimensional design at Pratt Institute where she told her students: “If you can’t make it more beautiful, what’s the point?” Read more her and the program in Gail Hannah’s book, Elements of Design, published by Princeton Architectural Press

For more information, contact:

Tucker Viemeister, RockwellGroup, 5 Union Square West, NYC 10013
(212) 463-0334

An RRK First: Three Student Award Winners

Today we are happy to announce three new RRK student award winners. In past years only seniors were eligible. This year we experimented with the concept of selecting a sophomore, junior and a senior. It worked great!

Kathryn and Scott did a great job of organizing the presentations to the jury: Pamela, Lisa, Sun Hee, Silas, and me (Tucker). We were very happy with the quality of all the nominees and very happy with seeing the three years together. Congratulations!

Alvaro Ubribe (senior) $2,000

Selim Benhabib (junior) $1,500

Hailey O'Connor (sophomore) $1,000

Pratt Mourns the Loss of Longtime Industrial Design Professor Leonard "Lenny" Bacich

The Institute mourns the loss of Leonard "Lenny" Bacich, a longtime professor of industrial design who died on February 3 at age 67. Lenny was popular among generations of students he taught in 3-D design courses and graduated from the Institute with a bachelor's degree in industrial design in 1963 and a master's degree in industrial design in 1971. He was also a former faculty trustee.

Lenny was among the most admired industrial design educators in the country in 2006, according to monthly architecture and design journal DesignIntelligence. A student of influential design educator Rowena Reed Kostellow, Lenny continued teaching her design principles as coordinator of the 3-D design curriculum. His 3-D design courses introduced first, second, and third year students to the materials, techniques, and ideas that comprise the three-dimensional world of "made" objects and natural forms through the exploration of basic abstract components such as plane, mass, and space.

Lenny initiated Pratt's exchange program with Bauhaus University in Wiemar, Germany in 2004, which offers students from communications design, fine arts, industrial design, and digital arts disciplines the chance to study abroad in the spring. As part of the program, Pratt welcomes exchange students from Bauhaus each fall. Lenny was on sabbatical in spring 2009 to teach at Bauhaus and participate in the school's commemoration of its 90th anniversary celebration.

Lenny epitomized the rigor and magic of great teaching. He taught our most esoteric abstract courses and simultaneously created an understanding in his students of the value their individual creative life.

A memorial service is planned, with details to follow at a later time. Those wishing to make contributions in Bacich's name can send them to the attention of Lenora Hallums in North Hall 219 and designate them for Pratt's Rowena Reed Kostellow (RRK) Fund. For more information on the RRK Fund, please call 718.399.4296.

Tom Patti to receive 2010 Rowena Reed Kostellow Award.

Tom Patti, industrial designer and glass artists, will be awarded the Rowena Reed Kostellow Award for his dedication to 3 dimensional design. The ceremony will take place the Knoll Showroom, 76 9th Avenue, NYC, on January 28, 2009.

The Award recognizes people who advance the principals of design that Rowena Reed Kostellow developed and rewards those who have excelled with the application of those ideas. “The committee selected Tom because of his multidisciplinary innovations and the beauty of his work. I knew him when we were students and he embodied Miss Reedness” says Tucker Viemeister, Rowena Fund Chair.

Tom’s body of work includes small scale sculptural works, visionary architectural systems, product designs and large architectural art commissions. Published and exhibited throughout the world, his work is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum of American Art in Washington D.C., the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Louvre in Paris and numerous others. While at Pratt, Tom experimented with inflatable plastics, embracing the relationships between art, engineering and architecture, seeking and developing solutions for global housing issues. Patti became interested in glass for its form potential. His art reveals itself in transparent cross-sections that encapsulate veils and patterns within the borders of simple, sophisticated forms. His work reflects a multidisciplinary spirit - encompassing an interest in architecture, design education, engineering, science, and the power of creativity.

Tom Patti joins the other champions of the abstract principals of visual relationships who have received the award, including: Gina Caspi, Ivan Rigby, Eva Zeisel, Gerald Gulotta, William Fogler, Eugene Grossman, Ralph Appelbaum, James Fulton, Louis Nelson, Judy Collins, Bruce Hannah, Ted Muehling, and Lucia N. DeRespinis. These teachers, entrepreneurs and designers embody the mission of the fund: to encourage and guide a systematic educational approach to all forms of visual expression, which is inspired by Rowena’s teaching.

The Rowena Reed Kostellow Fund at Pratt Institute was organized after her death in 1988 to help continue her teachings by supporting scholarships, publishing and programs. Rowena, with her husband Alexander Kostellow and Donald Dohner, created Pratt Institute’s Industrial Design program based on abstract design applied to form, function, and industry. Their objective was to develop an educational system through analysis of abstract visual relationships that would be valid for all forms of expression: architecture, graphic design, and art. The program has become the foundation of many courses around the world. For over 50 years, she taught three-dimensional design at Pratt Institute where she told her students: “If you can’t make it more beautiful, what’s the point?” Read more her and the program in Gail Hannah’s book, Elements of Design, published by Princeton Architectural Press

For more information, contact:

Tucker Viemeister, RockwellGroup, 5 Union Square West, NYC 10013
(212) 463-0334

Charlotte Kreitmann Wins 2009 RRK Student Award

On May 20th six students presented their work to the RRK jury — Louis Nelson, Sunhee Kim, Pamela Waters, Silas Warren, RitaSue Siegel, Tarik Currimbhoy, and RRK Chair Tucker Viemeister — which selected this year's Rowena student winner: Charlotte Kreitmann. She received a grant of $2,500.

Ian Collings Selected Winner of the 2008 RRK Student Award

Ian Collings (above) was selected as the recipient of the 2008 Rowena Reed Kostellow Student Award. "Of the eight senior Pratt ID nominees, the jury saw the most integration of abstract 3-D design in his work," said Tucker Viemeiser, RRK Fund Chair. "The jury was RitaSue Siegel, Sun Hee Kim, Gerry Gulotta, Silas Warren, Louis Nelson, Pamela Waters, Lisa Smith, and me. We'd like to thank all the nominees for their fine presentations and Pratt's faculty helping to prepare their presentations. I think that this year there was the highest awareness in some years of Rowena and the principals of visual relationships."

Another ID student presenting her work.

(from left to right) Gerald Gulotta, Lisa Smith and Louis Nelson.

Gerald Gulotta and Sun Hee Kim peruse one student's portfolio.