A roundup of ideas and projects from around the Institute
Jimmy & The Demons, a new feature-length documentary about Pratt alumnus and former Pratt faculty James Grashow, BFA ’63; MFA ’65, is premiering at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, with a final screening on Sunday, June 15. The film follows Grashow, who taught art at Pratt from 1969 to 1982, on a multiyear journey to complete a large and detailed wood sculpture titled The Cathedral. The film was recently reviewed in The New York Times.
Professor of History of Art and Design Eva Díaz’s new book After Spaceship Earth was included in Art Review.
Rachel Genito and Jimmy Li, both BFA Communications Design ’26, were selected as finalists for scholarships from the Society of Illustrators. Genito was selected as a Zankel Scholarship finalist, while Li was selected as a Will Eisner Scholarship finalist.
Dashiell Schaeffer, BID ’28, is profiled in Core77 for his project “Curvesse Rocker,” a rocking chair he designed and built out of a single sheet of plywood.
The New York City Department of Transportation cites the Pratt Center for Community Development’s report Better Buses for Flatbush Avenue: Participatory Action Research with Riders Alliance in a proposal for new bus lanes along Flatbush Avenue.
Adjunct Professor of Undergraduate Communications Design Tim O’Brien was included in American Illustration 44 for his illustrations Reality and He’s Back.
Zhiwei (Johnny Xie), BID ’25, won the ICFF Best of Students 2025 Award, sponsored by Haworth, for his Flat Pack Chair. Image courtesy of ICFF (Jenna Bascom Photography).
Insectopolis: A Natural History, a new graphic novel by Fine Arts alumnus Peter Kuper, was featured in PRINT magazine, Comics Beat, and The Nation. “One of the things I hope to accomplish with Insectopolis is for readers who are not big enthusiasts of insects to recognize how hugely important they are in our day-to-day life and for the sustenance of our planet,” Kuper told The Nation. “Without pollinators, we wouldn’t have chocolate or coffee, and grocery store shelves would be mostly empty.”
Mark Fingerhut, BFA Digital Arts ’15, is featured in Artnet in a review of his “4D software poem,” Halcyon.exe: The Ride. “Most of the work’s recurring imagery—birds in the sky, boats at sea, storm-swept streets, and walks on sunny days—could be different symbols for the idea of “touching grass,” getting offline and into the world, even as the work captures the feeling of being pulled deeper and deeper into a digital wonderland, as one fascinating oddity clicks on to the next.”
Genevieve Garlock, MArch ’25, is featured in Archinect for her research into fire mitigation strategies following the increasing fire risk in Sea Ranch, California. Garlock “was inspired to resolve a challenge inherent in subdivision design that results when property lines overlap with fire hardening zones. In doing so, her work also forges the possibility for [a] new understanding [of] shared responsibilities and resources, and whether it is best to care for property in a collective or as private individuals.”
From Pratt Institute News
From Pratt Institute News
