On the Subject of Portfolios and the Parsons Paradigm

The portfolio evaluation on Saturday was an inspiration. Representatives from more than a dozen art schools converged on Parsons with the goal of advising potential graduate students on the best way to prepare a portfolio for the admissions process. For art school the portfolio is the focus of any application, so everyone there looked strained to say the least.

As a complete outsider, totally unversed in the protocol of art school undergrad programs and portfolio preparation, I was just there to get an insider’s opinion. If they laughed and sent me on my way with a pat on the head, then at least I would know I was way off base. And I could always scream, “I don’t wanna go to your stupid school anyway, least not ‘til 2008, fartface,” and then run for the nearest exit. I was able to avoid the dirty business of scene-causing b’c the response I got was extremely positive, across the board.

I was able to meet with Department Chair and Co-chair of the Design+Technology program at Parsons. I requested a brochure and course catalog from the New School a while back and when I read the section on the Design+Technology program, the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. It’s the cream dream of graduate degrees as far as I’m concerned. It would be the perfect place to finally synthesize my disparate interests (design, graffiti, social justice, new media, digital filmmaking, comedy) into a larger body of work and learning. From the Parsons’ website:

Innovation, exploration, collaboration and social activism drive the BFA and MFA Design and Technology programs at Parsons. Situated in the heart of New York City’s vibrant art and design scene, Design and Technology students take their work to the streets, directly engaging the communities and people that inform them. In both programs, students explore areas such as Game Design, Physical Computing, Animation, Digital Filmmaking, Interaction Design, the Web, and more. From bicycles that create Wi-Fi hotspots at neighborhood parks, to walking tours mediated through PDAs and cell phones, to animations projected on the side of buildings, the work created Design and Technology students is part of the city’s constant dialogue with its citizens.

The Department Chair told me students come into the program with humble backgrounds in graphic design and other disciplines and leave completely transformed. She told me that my background in computer science, anthropology, improv, stand-up, design and new media all made perfect sense to her and that I was the kind of schizo the program needed. Phew. Let the application process…BEGIN!