Upheaval and revolution dominated the 1960s. The Civil Rights movement bubbled over into riots and assassinations; feminism pushed for equal rights at home, the office, and the world; and anti-Vietnam protests and the Hippie counterculture challenged and changed the previous lifestyle of a majority of Americans.
But less known to historians, the 1960s was a time when a small group of American graphic design students were taught how to think, design, and give back to their community in a revolutionary way in Kansas City, Missouri — probably not the first city that comes to mind when you think of revolutionary design.
Rob Roy Kelly graduated from the Minneapolis School of Art in 1952 and moved onto the burgeoning Yale graduate program. There, he fell for the teachings of Josef Albers and began to develop his own views on design education. He returned to MSA, where he established the first undergraduate program titled “Graphic Design” and then moved onto KCAI, where he had more control to develop a new kind of design program. He invited graduates from Basel’s Kunst Gewerbeschule (where Armin Hoffmann was developing his own educational revolution) to join his faculty and develop a hybrid program of American and Swiss foundations. He was a catalyst for change, employing team teaching techniques, designing for Kansas City community programs, and developing close student/teacher interaction (faculty studios were located next to the student studios, and there are many accounts of both spending late nights side by side). He encouraged faculty transitions into other schools, causing this hybrid form of American and Swiss design ideas to disperse throughout the US.
On March 10th, the Kansas City Art Institute held Another 60s Revolution: The Rob Roy Kelly Years at KCAI . What began as an article in Print magazine had developed into a day of celebration, reflection, and another education lesson for current students (this time, history replacing type and image). Katherine McCoy, quite the design educator herself, asked prominent faculty during that period, former students, and a few special guests to discuss the RRK years at KCAI: what the world was like at the time, how design education developed, and where they hope to see it go in the future.
Katherine McCoy opened the event with a summary of her research into the RRK years at KCAI. Though only midway through her research, she had amassed a substantial amount of information through personal interviews and a previous panel discussion at a Philadelphia AIGA event. The research ran from the pedagogical to the personal, weaving both personal stories and class objectives into a rich picture of the time in American design education.
Gordon Salchow, a student under Kelly at MSA and at Yale’s graduate program after Kelly, was one of his first hires at KCAI in 1965. He recounted personal moments with Kelly, a few humorous stories, and a description of his own education. Only a few years after beginning to teach at KCAI, he left to begin the Graphic Design program at the University of Cincinnati. There he combined Basel-trained personnel, Kelly’s methodology, and his own to create a program that remains well regarded. (Interestingly enough, his daughter Kelly — the name is of no coincidence — now teaches at KCAI, following her father’s and namesake’s footsteps.)
Inge Druckrey, the first faculty member arriving from Basel, discussed how RRK’s open approach gave her free reign to develop her own projects and �create lesson plans. that mirrored Swiss methodology while meeting the needs of a new American student culture. Druckrey’s interest with letterforms is evident (she mentioned she is researching its history in education — dating back to the early 1900’s in Switzerland — in the preparation of a book). From her initial work at Basel to her classes in Philadelphia, her work showed her evolution from naive student to capable professor. Her subsequent teaching at RISD, Yale, and University of the Arts show how her simple forms and typography classes begun at Basel have developed into something distinctly different with American students.
Hans Allemann, another Basel graduate, arrived in Kansas City in 1967. His joke about landing on the moon was pretty spot on — Kansas (and America) was very different than his native Switzerland. A few weeks into one of his first courses at KCAI, the students asked to do something completely different from his instruction. He relinquished control, but eventually faculty and students compromised on a new assignment — a real hybridization in learning. Now teaching at University of the Arts in Philadelphia and designing professionally at Allemann, Almquist, and Jones, his teachings show how the American and Swiss blend has made something completely new, both in learning process and finished work.
Roger Remington, Rochester Institute of Technology professor and friend of Kelly’s, showed a brief collection of his work (Unfortunately, perhaps Kelly’s most known influence in design today is his seminal book on wood type, 100 Wood Type Alphabets in which Remington was involved). Remington, along with RIT students, recently developed a website of Kelly’s writings. Kelly, a faculty member at RIT a few years after his departure from KCAI, left his writings to the school because he believed young educators should have instant access to the writings so that they can continue a curriculum of progressive graphic design.
A short panel discussion followed, led by McCoy. Rob Roy Kelly’s legacy as an educator and friend above all else became apparent. A few alumnifrom the program shared their own stories. Remington acknowledged that many current students of design were in the audience and a short discussion on current education topics ensued. It should be of no surprise that all the schools influenced or developed by Kelly and his KCAI faculty (of which RIT, University of Cincinnati, and the University of the Arts are to name a few) have become highly regarded programs. What began at KCAI was just the beginning of a lifetime of design education for the people at Another 60s Revolution symposium; and their subsequent programs gained from their earlier experiences.
To many not in attendance, this symposium may have seemed like a fitting close to the end of an era. All of those involved in RRK’s program, however, saw this as a fittingtribute to the man and a steady progression of design education. While a few moments were emotionally charged, even the few tears from friends, family, and colleagues were in thanks for Rob Roy Kelly’s undying support for design and its future. Of the hundreds (possibly even a thousand) design programs in the country, it is hard to imagine that it may not have been the same without one school in Kansas City. He may not be as world-changing as Martin Luther King or Betty Friedan, but Rob Roy Kelly may have created graphic design’s Woodstock — and we’re just now beginning to see its full effect.
Katie and Derrick are both Juniors at the University of Cincinnati, majoring in Graphic Design.
i keep hearing and reading about the revolutionary design schools from the bauhaus to the bauhaus of chicago, to the school of basel under hofmann to the black mountain college, from herbert bayer to paul rand, from moholy-nagy to albers. Where the hell is the revolutionary design school today?
I hearded of cooper union but it seams so academic and really elitist, MICA seams quite good too, but nothing appears to go higher than those previsous schoosls' ankles. So where are the progressive, open-minded, highly pedagogical schools that teach graphic design nowadays?
I keep dreaming that some unknown revolutionary schools exists or will exist soon, am i wrong?
On Mar.25.2006 at 12:45 PM