Exhibit Entry
One of Boston’s premier fashion designers was Alfred Fiandaca, class of 1958 (Painting and Illustration). He returned to the College in the 1960s to teach in the Fashion Design Department, soon after establishing his Newbury Street atelier. He hosted MassArt interns at his workrooms in Boston, New York and Palm Beach. His designs were worn by celebrities and public figures to the Academy Awards, the Boston Ballet, on screen, and everywhere in between. Notable customers included Audrey Hepburn, Julie Andrews, Louise Fletcher, Joan Kennedy, Nancy Reagan, and Ann Romney. The piece displayed is a silk chiffon dress and shawl created by Fiandaca in the 1990s.
Calvin Burnett, class of 1942 (Drawing and Painting) and 1951 (Teacher Education), became the first African-American faculty member of Massachusetts School of Art in 1957, where he taught for 33 years. A painter, illustrator, graphic artist, and designer, his work was exhibited at renowned institutions such as the Institute of Contemporary Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, Harvard University, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and America House Gallery in Germany. In 1980, Mr. Burnett participated in a Smithsonian Institution Archives of American History oral history project documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. His interview may be found here.
Shirley Willett, class of 1955 (Fashion Design and Illustration), is known for producing affordable, high-quality pieces through rigorous pattern engineering. Willett returned to MassArt as a faculty member, and served as Chair of the Fashion Design Department from 1966 to 1968. In 2018, she wrote Past, Present, Future: Fashion Memoir, 70 Years of Design, Education, Engineering, Manufacturing and Technology. Displayed on the mannequin is Willett’s 1968 ball coat, helmet hat, and boot-tops.
Albert Munsell, class of 1881, earned his certifications at the Massachusetts Normal Art School (MNAS). They were in Elementary Drawing; Form, Color, and Industrial Design; the Constructive Arts; and Sculpture and Design in the Round-Modeling and Casting. He was a painter, longtime faculty member of MNAS, author, and innovator. His inventions included an artist’s easel, photometer, Munsell crayons, and the Color-Sphere and mount.
Munsell developed this 3-dimensional model for organizing and describing color. Because he developed it on the basis of perception, not physics or chemistry, Munsell’s Color System became arguably the most effective system for organizing color ever invented. His work would influence the “Color Standard for Frozen French Fried Potatoes” in 1966, to ensure optimal enjoyment by customers. That is just one example. Users of his olor System have included NASA, the U.S. Bureau of Standards, Microsoft, Apple, Hershey, Coors Brewery, Toro, and the government of Japan, to name only a few.
Munsell developed this 3-dimensional model for organizing and describing color. Because he developed it on the basis of perception, not physics or chemistry, Munsell’s Color System became arguably the most effective system for organizing color ever invented. His work would influence the “Color Standard for Frozen French Fried Potatoes” in 1966, to ensure optimal enjoyment by customers. That is just one example. Users of his olor System have included NASA, the U.S. Bureau of Standards, Microsoft, Apple, Hershey, Coors Brewery, Toro, and the government of Japan, to name only a few.