List of Rhode Island School of Design people

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

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) – Dean, The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of the Cooper Union, founding principal of NADAAA

Business

• Brian Chesky (B.F.A 2004) – entrepreneur, CEO of Airbnb^[2]
• Joe Gebbia (B.F.A 2004) – entrepreneur, CPO of Airbnb^[2]

Politics

• Samuel Azzinaro – member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives^[3]
• John Cebrowski – member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives^[4]

Artists

Multimedia, mixed media and installation

• Romeo Alaeff (M.F.A. 1996) – artist, author, animation/film editor
• Janine Antoni (M.F.A. 1989) – artist
• Nicole Bartelme (B.F.A. 1989) – artist, film festival creator
• Ib Benoh (M.F.A. 1980) - artist
• 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^[5]
• 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
• 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

• 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^[6]
• Lauren Indovina and Lindsey Mayer-Beug (B.F.A. 2005) - directors of the award-winning animated short film Fish Heads Fugue and Other Tales for Twilight^[7]

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
• Ira Rakatansky (B.Arch 1942) – Providence-based architect^[8]
• 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
• Sam Hyde - Comedian

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
• Sam Hyde - actor, writer, comedian
• 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^[9]
• 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^[10]
• Brodie Neill (M.F.A. FD 2004) – furniture designer^[11]
• Josh Owen (M.F.A. FD 1998) – furniture designer^[12]
• Matthias Pliessnig (B.F.A. FD 2003) – furniture designer^[13]
• 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;^[14] 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^[15]
• 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
• Heiko von Drengenberg (B.F.A 1998) - director, story artist ^[16]
• 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^[17]
• 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^[18]
• Nicole Eisenman (B.F.A. 1987) – painter
• Herbert Cyrus Farnum – 19th- and early 20th-century painter in RI^[19]
• Aaron Gilbert (B.F.A. 2005) – painter^[20]
• Håvard Homstvedt (B.F.A. 2000) – painter
• Julie Mehretu (M.F.A. 1997) – artist, densely layered prints and paintings^[17]
• Richard Merkin (M.F.A. 1963) – painter, The New Yorker contributor, Prof. Emeritus RISD
• Laura Owens (B.F.A. 1992) – painter
• 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
• Taravat Talepasand (B.F.A, 2001) – Iranian American 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^[21]
• 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,^[22] currently teaches at Princeton
• David Benjamin Sherry (B.F.A. 2003) – landscape photographer^[23]
• Francesca Woodman (B.F.A. 1978) – photographer

Printmaking

• Val Britton (B.F.A. 1999) – artist, works on paper and installations^[24]
• Brian Chippendale (no degree) – musician with Lightning Bolt (band), graphic artist, poster artist^[25]
• Jane Kim (artist) (B.F.A. 2003) – scientific illustrations and murals promoting advocacy of the natural world.^[26]
• 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.^[27]

Sculpture

• T Barny (B.F.A. 1980) – stone carving and bronze casting artist^[28]
• Howard Ben Tré (M.F.A. 1980) – glass sculptor^[29]
• John Benson (artisan) – studied sculpture, known for stone carving and typeface design^[30]
• Huma Bhabha (B.F.A. 1985) – sculptor in New York^[31]

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.

• Otto and Vivika Heino – ceramics
• David Macaulay (B.Arch. 1969) – illustrator and author
• Barry Moser – illustrator
• Janet Perlman – animator, Oscar nominee for The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin^[32]
• John Prip – silver design
• Andrew Raftery – engraver; has taught in the printmaking and painting department since 1991^[33]
• Brian Shure – master printmaker, realist painter, teaching since 1996^[34]
• 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

Painting

• Richard Merkin (M.F.A. 1963) – Professor Emeritus, painter
• George William Whitaker – first instructor of oil painting^[35]
• Mabel May Woodward – painting faculty for over 20 years;^[36] 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^[37]

Photography

• Diane Arbus – photographer
• Harry Callahan – photographer, former Chair of the Department of Photography
• Henry Horenstein – photographer
• Aaron Siskind – abstract expressionist photographer who, with Callahan, founded the photography department at RISD

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^[38]
• Norman Isham – Rhode Island historical architect
• Karim Rashid – industrial designer, formerly of industrial design department in 1992
• Jens Risom – furniture design
• Friedrich St. Florian – architect, designer of National World War II Memorial

Graphic design

• Malcolm Grear – Professor Emeritus, graphic designer
• Mihai Nadin – theorist, semiotics, computational design, HCI^[39]
• Ootje Oxenaar – Dutch graphic designer, designer of acclaimed but now vanished Dutch currency
• 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

Foundations department

• Mark Milloff – painter, foundations faculty

Liberal arts department

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

References