|
Students
Within the graphic art studio, there was a great deal of interaction
between undergraduate and graduate students. Combining undergraduate
with graduate students and holding critiques in the studio
opened up all critiques and discussions to all students. Admission
policies permitted individuals to be accepted into the program
who had not previously taken art or design. The main criteria
was that they were bright, motivated and knowledgeable in
their field. Albers’ correspondence with Lustig during
the first year suggests that at the time, most if not all
the students were from fine arts. I recall that my class for
fall of 1953 included four students who came from unaccredited
art schools (three advertising design majors and one printmaker),
one from a technical school (photography), one was a pre-med
student at Amherst who took the Yale summer program and changed
school and major, one had a journalism background with no
art or design experience, the others I do not remember. According
to Dean Sawyer, upper administration at Yale was never enthusiastic
about his admissions policies for graduate students in the
Division of the Arts. Administration continually questioned
the academic credibility of students accepted into
professional programs.
During the early years, Dean Sawyer on several occasions accepted
students directly into art programs. While serving as an Examiner
for the Honors College at Wesleyan in Middletown, Connecticut
during 1949, Sawyer was so impressed with Norman Ives that
he immediately invited him into the Yale program. Sawyer accepted
me from the Minneapolis School of Art while on a lecture tour
through the Midwest during 1953.
Dean
Sawyer was a close friend of Dana Vaughn, Dean, and Ray Dowdin,
Chairman of Art at Cooper Union. The three men believed an
alliance to be in their common interest. Particularly so because
Cooper Union enrolled many talented students from the New
York High School of Music and the Arts. At a later date, Ray
Dowdin was to direct the Yale Summer Program.
It
was the mid to late 1960s before graduates from graphic design
programs regularly applied at Yale. It is my impression that
as time went on, policies for acceptance into Graphic Design
changed. More minority and foreign students were accepted,
and almost without exception, each applicant had an undergraduate
degree in Graphic Design. The earlier strategy for admissions
into Graphic Arts at Yale had been to create an environment
that would nurture Graphic Designers without predicting which
students would eventually develop into designers. I think
the policy of accepting talented students from a variety of
disciplines was lost over a period of years, and in my opinion,
it took something very vital away from the overall program.
As
the reputation of the Graphic Arts program grew, so did the
number of applicants. By the mid sixties and afterwards, this
number swelled to several hundred each year. It is a credit
to the program and Yale University that no matter how many
applicants, the number of students accepted did not change,
and the evaluation and interview of applicants remained scrupulous.
The
prestige and resources of Yale University itself were powerful
forces in shaping and enriching the design program. Yale University
attracted the best teachers, critics and students. The reputation
of Yale added considerable luster to the credentials of graduates
when they sought employment. The prestige of Yale University
induced industry to provide corporate support and become involved
with its Graphic Design program.
The
success of the program also reflects the strength of leadership
and vision in the Dean’s office at the time that art
at Yale University was being redefined and new programs adopted.
It is my impression that support for Dean Sawyer by higher
administration cooled within the space of just a few years.
Dean Sawyer was soon replaced by Boyd Smith from drama as
an Interim or Acting Dean. He remained in office until 1958
when Gibson Danes was hired as Dean. However, momentum from
the first few years of the new programs conceived by Dean
Sawyer continued for a decade and more.
|
