List of Rhode Island School of Design people

This is a list of notable people from the Rhode Island School of Design.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Notable alumni

Academia

• Rebecca Allen (B.F.A 1975) – pioneer of early computer art, installation art, interface design, professor and chair for the UCLA Design Media Arts^[1]
• Ricky Allman (M.F.A 2007) – painter, professor
• Preston Scott Cohen (B.Arch 1983) – architect; Director of the Architecture degree program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design
• Nader Tehrani (B.F.A. 1985, B.Arch 1986) – professor and Head of the Department of Architecture at the Cooper Union
• Jonathan Thurston (M.F.A. 2002) – founding President at the International School of Art, Business, and Technology^[2]

Business

• Brian Chesky (B.F.A 2004) – entrepreneur, CEO of Airbnb^[3]
• Joe Gebbia (B.F.A 2004) – entrepreneur, CPO of Airbnb^[3]

Politics

• Samuel Azzinaro – member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives^[4]
• John Cebrowski – member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives^[5]

Artists

Multimedia, mixed media and installation

• Janine Antoni (M.F.A. 1989) – artist
• Nicole Bartelme (B.F.A. 1989) – artist, film festival creator
• Brian Bress (B.F.A. 1998) – artist
• Dan Colen (B.F.A. 2001) – artist
• Cheryl Donegan (B.F.A. painting) – contemporary artist
• Jim Drain (B.F.A. 1998, sculpture) – artist
• Benjamin Edwards (M.F.A. 1997) – artist
• Shepard Fairey (B.F.A. 1992) – street artist, graphic designer, activist and illustrator
• Lauren Geremia (B.F.A. 2004) – interior designer^[6]
• Jenny Holzer (M.F.A. 1977) – installation artist
• Roni Horn (B.F.A. 1975) – artist
• Elliott Hundley (B.F.A. 1997) – artist
• James Jaxxa (attended 199?) – multimedia artist
• David Kracov (B.F.A 1990) – sculptor, painter, and animator
• Mike Libby (B.F.A. 1999) – artist
• Julie Mehretu (M.F.A. 1997) – artist, densely layered prints and painting^[7]
• Marcus Reichert (B.F.A. 1970) – artist
• Mark Shasha (B.F.A. 1983) – artist
• Shahzia Sikander (M.F.A. 1995) – artist
• Do-Ho Suh (B.F.A. 1994) – artist
• Ryan Trecartin (B.F.A. 2004) – artist
• Katie Vida (B.F.A. 2004) – interdisciplinary artist and curator
• Kara Walker (M.F.A. 1994) – artist
• Andrea Zittel (M.F.A. 1990) – artist
• Kevin Zucker (B.F.A. 2000) – artist

Art dealers

• Mary Boone (B.F.A. 1973) – Mary Boone Gallery

Animation

• Romeo Alaeff (M.F.A. 1996) – artist, author, animation and film editor
• Michael Dante DiMartino (B.F.A. 1996) – animator, known for his work on Avatar: The Last Airbender and Family Guy
• Dan Golden (B.F.A. 1994) – filmmaker, composer of Oscar-nominated film Feral
• Bryan Konietzko (B.F.A. 1998) – animator, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Invader Zim, and Family Guy
• Seth MacFarlane (B.F.A. 1995) – animator, actor, filmmaker, comedian and singer; creator of Family Guy, American Dad!, The Cleveland Show and writer-director of Ted and its sequel Ted 2
• Leah Shore (B.F.A. 2009) – animator, film director, known for multiple award-winning short films Old Man and I Love You So Much
• Daniel Sousa (B.F.A. 1994) – animator, director of Oscar-nominated film Feral
• Lance Wilder (B.F.A. 1990) – animator, The Simpsons and The Critic

Architecture

• Preston Scott Cohen (B.Arch 1983) – Gerald M. McCue Professor in Architecture at Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD); Principal of Preston Scott Cohen, Inc.
• Michael Gabellini (B.Arch 1981) – architect and interior designer, teacher at the Parsons School of Design
• Glenn Gissler (B.Arch 1984) – architect
• Richard Levine (B.Arch 1962) – professor, green architect, and sustainability pioneer
• Michael Maltzan (B.Arch) – Principal and founder of Michael Maltzan Architecture
• Nader Tehrani (B.Arch 1986) – professor and head of the Department of Architecture, MIT; Principal and founder of NADAAA

Art collectives

• Forcefield
  • Jim Drain (B.F.A 1998) – artist
  • Matt Brinkman (B.F.A 1997) – artist

Art collectors

• Mary Boone (B.F.A. 1973) – gallery owner
• David Whitney (B.Int. Arch. 1963) – art collector and curator; longtime companion of architect Philip Johnson

Comics

• Jason Lutes (B.F.A. 1991) – cartoonist
• Paolo Rivera (B.F.A. 2003) – comic book artist

Fashion

• Diana Eng (B.F.A. 2005) – fashion designer; contestant on Project Runway
• Katie Gallagher (B.F.A. 2009) – fashion designer
• Robert Geller (B.F.A. 2001) – fashion designer; recipient of the GQ/CFDA Best New Menswear Designer Award 2009
• Mary Katrantzou – fashion designer
• Nicole Miller (B.F.A. 1973) – fashion designer
• Jill Stuart – fashion designer

Film and television

• Ben Coccio (B.F.A. 1997) – film director of Zero Day
• Martha Coolidge (B.F.A. 1968) – film director, Valley Girl (1983), Real Genius (1985), The Prince and Me (2004), Material Girls (2006)
• Michael Dante DiMartino (B.F.A. 1998) – co-creator and executive producer, Avatar: The Last Airbender
• James Franco (M.F.A. 2012) – actor, artist
• Jemima Kirke (B.F.A. 2008) – artist, actor, tv show Girls
• Bryan Konietzko (B.F.A. 1998) – co-creator and executive producer, Avatar: The Last Airbender
• Ellen Kuras – cinematographer
• Mary Lambert (B.F.A 1974) – film director, Pet Sematary (1989), The In Crowd (2000)
• Seth MacFarlane (B.F.A. 1995) – filmmaker, actor, animator, comedian and singer; creator of Family Guy, American Dad!, The Cleveland Show and writer-director of Ted and its sequel Ted 2
• Martin Mull (B.F.A. 1965, M.F.A. 1967) – actor, comedian, painter
• Ben Powers – actor
• Joanna Priestley (attended 1972-1973) – animator
• Robert Richardson (B.F.A. 1979) – Academy Award-winning cinematographer
• Charles Rocket (ca. 1967-1972) – former Saturday Night Live cast member; actor^[8]
• Mark Shasha (B.F.A. 1983) – artist, author, illustrator, actor
• Helen Stickler (B.F.A. 1991) – film director
• Charles Stone III (B.F.A. 1988) – film director, Drumline (2002); creator of "Whassup?" Anheuser-Busch Budweiser commercial campaign
• Gus Van Sant (B.F.A. 1975) – film director, My Own Private Idaho (1991), Good Will Hunting (1997), Finding Forrester (2000), Elephant (2003) Last Days (2006), Milk (2008)
• Todd Verow (B.F.A. 1989) – film director

Furniture design

• Amy Devers (M.F.A. FD 2001) – furniture designer; television personality^[9]
• Brodie Neill (M.F.A. FD 2004) – furniture designer^[10]
• Josh Owen (M.F.A. FD 1998) – furniture designer^[11]
• Matthias Pliessnig (B.F.A. FD 2003) – furniture designer^[12]
• Rosanne Somerson (B.F.A. ID 1976) – furniture designer; RISD professor, FD department head, provost, and President (2015–present)

Glass

• Martin Blank (B.F.A. 1984) – glass artist
• Dale Chihuly (M.F.A. 1968) – glass artist; founder of glass art program at the Rhode Island School of Design;^[13] co-founder of Pilchuck Glass School
• Paul Housberg (B.F.A. 1975, M.F.A 1979) – fused and kilnformed glass artist
• Therman Statom (B.F.A. 1974) – studio glass artist

Graphic design

• Tobias Frere-Jones (B.F.A. 1992) – type designer
• Tom Geismar (B.F.A.) – identity designer and corporate identity pioneer; designed marks for NBC, Mobil, Chase, Xerox, and MoMA
• Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland (Carl Philip Edmund Bertil) (2007-2008, no degree) – Graphic Design studies for one year^[14]
• Michael H. Riley - Emmy Award-nominated designer and founder of design company Shine
• Michael Rock (M.F.A. 1984) – founder and partner of 2x4; Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award recipient
• Jessica Walsh – partner at Sagmeister & Walsh studio; Art Directors Club "Young Gun"

Illustration

• Roz Chast (B.F.A. 1977) – cartoonist
• Christopher Denise (B.F.A. 1990) – illustrator of children's books, including many in the Redwall series
• Shepard Fairey (B.F.A. 1992) – street artist, graphic designer
• Jon Foster (1989) – illustrator
• Steven Kellogg (B.F.A 1963) – children's book illustrator
• Bryan Konietzko (B.F.A. 1998) – co-creator and executive producer, Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series
• Jarrett J. Krosoczka (B.F.A. 1999) – writer, illustrator
• Sonny Liew (B.F.A. 2001) – comic book writer, artist
• Grace Lin (B.F.A. 1996) – writer, illustrator
• David Macaulay (B.Arch. 1969) – writer, illustrator, 2006 MacArthur Fellow
• David Mazzucchelli – comic artist and author of Asterios Polyp
• Kelly Murphy (B.F.A. 1999) – writer, illustrator
• Ryan Jude Novelline (B.F.A. 2012) – contemporary artist; fashion designer
• Paolo Rivera (B.F.A. 2003) – comic book artist
• Brian Selznick (B.F.A. 1988) – writer, illustrator
• Mark Shasha (B.F.A Ill. 1983) – writer, illustrator
• Walt Simonson (B.F.A. 1972) – comic book writer, artist
• Chris Van Allsburg (B.F.A.) – children's book illustrator, Caldecott winner
• David Wiesner (B.F.A. 1977) – illustrator, Caldecott winner

Industrial design

• David Hanson (B.F.A. 1997) – robotics designer
• Stuart Karten (B.F.A. 1979) – industrial designer

Literature

• Charlotte Perkins Gilman (attended 1878) – author of The Yellow Wallpaper; feminist
• Kenneth Goldsmith (B.F.A. 1984) – poet, WFMU DJ, founding editor of UbuWeb
• Manjushree Thapa (B.F.A 1989) – writer, Forget Kathmandu, Tilled Earth, Tutor Of History

MacArthur Fellowships

• Janine Antoni (B.F.A. 1989) – artist, 1998 MacArthur Fellow
• James Carpenter (B.F.A. 1972) – glass sculptor, designer, 2004 MacArthur Fellow
• David Macaulay (B.F.A. 1969) – writer, illustrator, 2006 MacArthur Fellow
• Josiah McElheny (B.F.A. 1988) – artist, sculptor, 2006 MacArthur Fellow
• Julie Mehretu (M.F.A. 1997) – artist, 2005 MacArthur Fellow^[7]
• Anna Schuleit (B.F.A. 1998) – artist, 2006 MacArthur Fellow
• Shazia Sikander (M.F.A. 1995) – artist, MacArthur Fellow
• Kara Walker (M.F.A. 1994) – artist, 1997 MacArthur Fellow

Music

• Oliver Ackermann (B.F.A. Industrial Design) – musician, A Place to Bury Strangers
• Paul Curreri (B.F.A. 1998) – songwriter / guitarist / producer
• Chris Keating – musician, Yeasayer
• Justin Lo (B.F.A. 1999) – Hong Kong singer, composer and record producer
• Seth MacFarlane (B.F.A. 1995) – singer, actor, filmmaker, animator and comedian; creator of Family Guy, American Dad!, The Cleveland Show and writer-director of Ted and its sequel Ted 2
• Marissa Nadler (M.F.A. 2003. M.A.T. 2004) – singer/songwriter
• Heather Nova (B.F.A. 1989) – singer/songwriter
• Jesse Sykes (B.F.A. 1989) – singer/songwriter

Musical bands formed by students while attending the school:

• Black Dice – band formed in 1997
  • Hisham Bharoocha (B.F.A. 1998) – artist and musician, former member of Black Dice and Lightning Bolt
  • Sebastian Blanck (B.F.A. 1998) – artist and musician, former member of Black Dice
• Fang Island – band formed in 2005
• Les Savy Fav – band formed in 1995
• Lightning Bolt – band formed in 1994
  • Hisham Bharoocha (B.F.A. 1998) – artist and musician, former member of Black Dice and Lightning Bolt
  • Brian Chippendale (no degree) – artist, founded Fort Thunder
  • Brian Gibson (B.F.A. 1998) – artist
• Rubber Rodeo – band formed in 1980
• Talking Heads – band formed in 1974
  • David Byrne (no degree)
  • Chris Frantz (B.F.A. 1974)
  • Tina Weymouth (B.F.A. 1974)

Painting

• Daniel Arango (M.F.A. 2010) – painter, visual artist
• David Bowes (attended, late 1970s) – painter
• Arthur S. Douglas (enrolled 1878) – member of the inaugural class; student teacher^[15]
• Nicole Eisenman (B.F.A. 1987) – painter
• Herbert Cyrus Farnum – 19th- and early 20th-century painter in RI^[16]
• Aaron Gilbert (B.F.A. 2005) – painter^[17]
• Håvard Homstvedt (B.F.A. 2000) – painter
• Richard Merkin (M.F.A. 1963) – painter, New Yorker contributor, Prof. Emeritus RISD
• Sonya Sklaroff (B.F.A. 1992) – artist, painter
• Anne Morgan Spalter (M.F.A. 1992) – new media artist
• Andrew Stevovich (B.F.A. 1970) – artist
• Kurt Wenner – anamorphic street painter
• Mabel May Woodward (c. 1897) – impressionist

Photography

• David Akiba (M.F.A.) – photographer and teacher in the Boston area^[18]
• Linda Connor (B.F.A.) – large-format photographer, currently teaches at the San Francisco Art Institute
• Emmet Gowin (M.F.A. 1967) – photographer
• Jill Greenberg (B.F.A 1989) – photographer
• Kathy Grove (B.F.A. 1970) – photographer
• Henry Horenstein (B.F.A. 1971, M.F.A. 1973) – photographer, author, currently teaches at Rhode Island School of Design
• Deana Lawson (M.F.A. 2004) – photographer,^[19] currently teaches at Princeton
• David Benjamin Sherry (B.F.A. 2003) – landscape photographer^[20]
• Francesca Woodman (B.F.A. 1978) – photographer

Printmaking

• Brian Chippendale (no degree) – musician with Lightning Bolt (band), graphic artist, poster artist^[21]
• Julie Mehretu (M.F.A. 1997) – artist, densely layered prints and paintings^[7]
• Jane Kim (artist) (B.F.A. 2003) – scientific illustrations and murals promoting advocacy of the natural world.^[22]
• Sonia Romero (artist) (B.F.A. 2002) – printmaking, murals and public art in Los Angeles
• Pippi Zornoza (B.F.A. 2001) – poster artist and co-founder of the Dirt Palace feminist artist collective.^[23]

Sculpture

• Howard Ben Tré (M.F.A. 1980) – glass sculptor^[24]
• John Benson (artisan) – studied sculpture, known for stone carving and typeface design^[25]
• Huma Bhabha (B.F.A. 1985) – sculptor in New York^[26]

Notable current and past faculty

Fine arts department

The fine arts department includes the following academics; ceramics, film/animation/video, glass, illustration, jewelry and metalsmithing, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and textiles.

• Diane Arbus – photographer
• Harry Callahan – photographer, former Chair of the Department of Photography
• Henry Horenstein – photographer
• David Macaulay (B.Arch. 1969) – illustrator and author
• Richard Merkin (M.F.A. 1963) – Professor Emeritus, painter
• Barry Moser – illustrator
• Janet Perlman – animator, Oscar nominee for The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin^[27]
• John Prip – silver design
• Andrew Raftery – engraver; has taught in the printmaking and painting department since 1991^[28]
• Brian Shure – master printmaker, realist painter, teaching since 1996^[29]
• Aaron Siskind – abstract expressionist photographer who, with Callahan, founded the photography department at RISD
• Steven Subotnick – professor in animation
• Chris Van Allsburg – (M.F.A. Sculpture 1975) children's book author/illustrator, Caldecott winner for Jumanji and The Polar Express
• Carol Wax – printmaker, visiting artist and faculty in the printmaking department
• George William Whitaker – first instructor of oil painting^[30]
• Mabel May Woodward – painting faculty for over 20 years;^[31] during the early 20th century. introduced the "action class," in which students studied the human figure as a machine rather than as a stationary object^[32]

Design and architecture department

The design and architecture department includes the following academics; apparel design, architecture, furniture design, graphic design, industrial design, and landscape architecture.

• Thomas Bosworth – former Chair of Department of Architecture; Seattle architect; Professor Emeritus University of Washington
• Tage Frid – professor of woodworking and furniture design from 1962-1985^[33]
• Malcolm Grear – Professor Emeritus, graphic designer
• Norman Isham – Rhode Island historical architect
• Mihai Nadin – theorist, semiotics, computational design
• Ootje Oxenaar – Dutch graphic designer, designer of acclaimed but now vanished Dutch currency
• Karim Rashid – industrial designer, formerly of industrial design department in 1992
• Jens Risom – furniture design
• Michael Rock – graphic designer; writer; design professor at Yale University MFA graphic design program
• Nancy Skolos – graphic designer, co-founder of Skolos-Wedell studios, teaching at RISD since 1989
• Friedrich St. Florian – architect, designer of National World War II Memorial

Foundations department

• Mark Milloff – painter, foundations faculty

Liberal arts department

• Mairéad Byrne – poet
• Jhumpa Lahiri – creative writing, author of the novel The Namesake

References

1. "Rebecca Allen". Archive of Digital Art. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
2. http://isabt.org/board.html
3. https://www.airbnb.com/about/founders
4. "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Samuel A. Azzinaro". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
5. O'Connor, Ryan (August 30, 2012). "Candidate Profile: John Cebrowski - Government". Bedford, NH Patch. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
6. "Bright Lights, Bold Collaboration". RISD. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
7. "Julie Mehretu". ART21. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
8. "RIP, Charles Rocket Remembering a giant of the Providence underground". The Providence Phoenix. October 14, 2005. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
9. "Devers Makes Design Entertaining". Retrieved 8 August 2014.
10. "Brodie Neill homepage". Retrieved 23 September 2010.
11. "Josh Owen homepage". August 25, 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
12. "Matthias Pliessnig homepage". Retrieved 23 September 2010.
13. http://www.chihuly.com/learn
14. "Historical Museum Gets a New Identity". RISD. 2010-10-21. Retrieved 2015-12-18.
15. "Arthur Douglas Collection homepage". Retrieved 23 September 2010.
16. "Farnum". Bert Gallery. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
17. Jones, Mary. "Post Impressions: The Enlightenment". BOMB Magazine. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
18. "David Akiba Faculty Profiles". Babson College. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
19. "Alum’s Powerful Portraits Now at MoMA". RISD News. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
20. "In the Studio with David Benjamin Sherry". OPENING CEREMONY. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
21. "Printmaking". Our RISD. 2013-12-12. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
22. "News: Protecting Endangered Species". Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Retrieved 2015-12-28.
23. "Valentined". Our RISD. Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). 2012-02-09. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
24. "Artist: Howard Ben Tré". Habatat Galleries. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
25. "The Benson Craftsmen". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
26. "Huma Bhabha". American Academy in Berlin. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
27. Lenburg, Jeff (1 June 2006). Who's Who in Animated Cartoons: An International Guide to Film and Television's Award-Winning and Legendary Animators. Applause Books. pp. 283–284. ISBN 978-1-55783-671-7.
28. "Andrew Raftery" (PDF). RISD. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
29. "RI Art Archive Project: In The Studio: Brian Shure". Retrieved 2015-12-17.
30. "George William Whitaker". Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
31. Siclen, Bill (2 October 1992). "Woodward is back in the limelight". Providence, RI: The Providence Journal. p. D16. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
32. Taylor, Robert (10 October 1972). "Paintings of Mabel Woodward: Art: Providence impressionist". Boston, Mass: The Boston Globe. p. 18. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
33. "Tage Frid the Great Dane". Rainforest Restorations. 2014-02-16. Retrieved 2015-12-18.