Hello and welcome to my Vienna blog.
Last fall, I took a class called History of Design. The professor was William Tate, or just "Tate", as he is affectionately known by his students. To be quite honest, this was my second go at this particular class, as I had attempted it the previous fall but with limited success. After speaking to Tate about my status in the class at that time, he suggested that I was "not ready" for the class and should try again the next fall. Come September of the next year, I was ready.
Tate is known throughout the design programs at James Madison University to be somewhat esoteric, with his eccentric mannerisms, ambiguous queries, affinity for Army, and ability to make you squirm in your seat, wondering whether you should be meditating with him or laughing at what you aren't quite sure is a joke. However, whether you think the man is a genius, a phony, or a lunatic (or any combination thereof), one thing is for certain: he is fascinating. This is what initially led me to stay after class on occasion, to engage him in conversation, to find out what interesting things he had to say when the rest of the class wasn't there. I recall speaking to him, among other things, about J Mays, the former Audi designer now at Ford, famous for the "Mays curve" particularly noticeable on Volkswagen Jettas and Passats, and on Audi A- and S-class automobiles, and now responsible for the new Volkswagen Beetle, the new Ford Thunderbird, and the new Ford Mustang.
One day during class, Tate asked all who were interested in presenting to the class on good Web design, something he admitted to knowing little about, to stay after and speak with him. I jumped at the opportunity, along with a few other students. I remembered seeing the Web site for the film Donnie Darko and thinking how innovative and different and engaging it was. I tracked down the studio that created the site, Hi-ReS, and decided that this would be good material to present to the class. Later on, I was looking through a book of 100 pioneering design studios, Graphic Design for the 20th Century, and there was Hi-ReS, halfway through the book, with screen shots of the Donnie Darko site. Something clicked. I had seen and recognized something good. I think Tate picked up on this as well.
The semester ended. I came out of his class with an A-. If you know me, you probably have an idea of what an achievement this was for me (put simply, I'm not an A student, and I've never made dean's list). I felt like something in me had been stirred, a beast awakened, a fire ignited. I'd known for a few years that I wanted to do design; Tate was showing me why. After the Army/Navy game (somewhat of a religious experience for Tate, his Psalm being "BEAT NAVY"), he e-mailed the whole fall class pictures from the game. On a whim, I decided to respond, detailing my experience at the Corcoran's Frank Gehry exhibition. This was the first in a string of e-mail correspondence with Tate. From that point on, every time I found something that piqued my design curiosity, I would send an e-mail to Tate. When I got back to school, I began to meet up with him in his office when I had the opportunity. This continued until about mid-February, when I received a particularly interesting message.
Imagine my surprise.
It took a little bit of convincing my parents, since I'd studied the previous summer in Florence. However, the conclusion we came to was that this was an opportunity I shouldn't miss.
So, that's the background behind the trip, the namesake of the title, and the purpose of this blog. There are 14 students going; most are industrial design or interior design students. I am one of two graphic designers. There is one architecture student joining us from Tulane. Tate's wife and daughter are also joining us.
We will be staying in homestays. I'm sharing a room with a friend on Laudongasse. From the maps I've seen, it looks like it's near the Rathaus, the new town hall.
Aside from the daily studios we will be participating in, which I imagine will be intense, we will also be going on two weekend side trips; one is to Prague, Czech Republic, and the other is to Horn, in northern Austria, for a bike trip (which I will not be attending—my brother is getting married that weekend, so I will be flying to Ireland instead for the ceremony. What a summer, huh?).
From what I understand (and based on my previous experiences in Vienna last year), the Viennese are very well-educated, and for the most part speak English; however, I am trying very hard to learn German. I want to make the experience as authentic as possible. I want to take in Vienna as the inhabitants do.
At the end of the trip, we will be making a book. Possibly a Web site. I've gone through the books the previous years have made; they look very professional and well-done.
As for this blog, I've had a blog before, but it was just a livejournal where I would customarily make posts regarding my day-to-day life, without much thought or insight into the goings-on of the world around me. I hope to make this blog interesting and somewhat enlightening; if nothing else, you, the loyal reader, loved one, or friend I shamelessly coerced into visiting the blog, will at least be able to keep up with what I'm doing while I'm there.
For now, not much going on. Keep checking back, I leave July 3.
Last fall, I took a class called History of Design. The professor was William Tate, or just "Tate", as he is affectionately known by his students. To be quite honest, this was my second go at this particular class, as I had attempted it the previous fall but with limited success. After speaking to Tate about my status in the class at that time, he suggested that I was "not ready" for the class and should try again the next fall. Come September of the next year, I was ready.
Tate is known throughout the design programs at James Madison University to be somewhat esoteric, with his eccentric mannerisms, ambiguous queries, affinity for Army, and ability to make you squirm in your seat, wondering whether you should be meditating with him or laughing at what you aren't quite sure is a joke. However, whether you think the man is a genius, a phony, or a lunatic (or any combination thereof), one thing is for certain: he is fascinating. This is what initially led me to stay after class on occasion, to engage him in conversation, to find out what interesting things he had to say when the rest of the class wasn't there. I recall speaking to him, among other things, about J Mays, the former Audi designer now at Ford, famous for the "Mays curve" particularly noticeable on Volkswagen Jettas and Passats, and on Audi A- and S-class automobiles, and now responsible for the new Volkswagen Beetle, the new Ford Thunderbird, and the new Ford Mustang.
One day during class, Tate asked all who were interested in presenting to the class on good Web design, something he admitted to knowing little about, to stay after and speak with him. I jumped at the opportunity, along with a few other students. I remembered seeing the Web site for the film Donnie Darko and thinking how innovative and different and engaging it was. I tracked down the studio that created the site, Hi-ReS, and decided that this would be good material to present to the class. Later on, I was looking through a book of 100 pioneering design studios, Graphic Design for the 20th Century, and there was Hi-ReS, halfway through the book, with screen shots of the Donnie Darko site. Something clicked. I had seen and recognized something good. I think Tate picked up on this as well.
The semester ended. I came out of his class with an A-. If you know me, you probably have an idea of what an achievement this was for me (put simply, I'm not an A student, and I've never made dean's list). I felt like something in me had been stirred, a beast awakened, a fire ignited. I'd known for a few years that I wanted to do design; Tate was showing me why. After the Army/Navy game (somewhat of a religious experience for Tate, his Psalm being "BEAT NAVY"), he e-mailed the whole fall class pictures from the game. On a whim, I decided to respond, detailing my experience at the Corcoran's Frank Gehry exhibition. This was the first in a string of e-mail correspondence with Tate. From that point on, every time I found something that piqued my design curiosity, I would send an e-mail to Tate. When I got back to school, I began to meet up with him in his office when I had the opportunity. This continued until about mid-February, when I received a particularly interesting message.
charlie,
would you be the least bit interested in going to vienna this summer?
3 july - 6 august.
if so we should talk.
i am looking for a select crew.
it is the going price for these things.
what will come of it will shatter the earth.
tate
Imagine my surprise.
It took a little bit of convincing my parents, since I'd studied the previous summer in Florence. However, the conclusion we came to was that this was an opportunity I shouldn't miss.
So, that's the background behind the trip, the namesake of the title, and the purpose of this blog. There are 14 students going; most are industrial design or interior design students. I am one of two graphic designers. There is one architecture student joining us from Tulane. Tate's wife and daughter are also joining us.
We will be staying in homestays. I'm sharing a room with a friend on Laudongasse. From the maps I've seen, it looks like it's near the Rathaus, the new town hall.
Aside from the daily studios we will be participating in, which I imagine will be intense, we will also be going on two weekend side trips; one is to Prague, Czech Republic, and the other is to Horn, in northern Austria, for a bike trip (which I will not be attending—my brother is getting married that weekend, so I will be flying to Ireland instead for the ceremony. What a summer, huh?).
From what I understand (and based on my previous experiences in Vienna last year), the Viennese are very well-educated, and for the most part speak English; however, I am trying very hard to learn German. I want to make the experience as authentic as possible. I want to take in Vienna as the inhabitants do.
At the end of the trip, we will be making a book. Possibly a Web site. I've gone through the books the previous years have made; they look very professional and well-done.
As for this blog, I've had a blog before, but it was just a livejournal where I would customarily make posts regarding my day-to-day life, without much thought or insight into the goings-on of the world around me. I hope to make this blog interesting and somewhat enlightening; if nothing else, you, the loyal reader, loved one, or friend I shamelessly coerced into visiting the blog, will at least be able to keep up with what I'm doing while I'm there.
For now, not much going on. Keep checking back, I leave July 3.
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