Sepia Saturday 150 Carl and the Art Institute

To match the Sepia prompt of hurling men, this week, I scanned the photo of artists in the graduating class of February 25, 1950 from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh where my late Uncle Carl attended using his World War II GI benefits. I have shared many previous photos and stories about Carl here and on my blog.   I found his diploma with the group photo below, none of the folks are identified but I spotted him, standing in the back row, which sort of weaves, he is the 5th man from the left, between the man in overcoat with hat and black man with overcoat.  This is quite a large class for this specialty type of study, a nice mixture of women and men, though fewer women for 1950.  The sidewalk in front of them is crackling and the building behind is the multi level facility of the institute. Click on the photo to enlarge it.


1950 February 25  Graduates of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh

AIP  July 2008

The Art Institute founded in 1921, still exists with modern state of the art curriculum. Known as AIP it is the oldest of all The Art Institutes in North America. It occupies nine floors and maintains academic oversight of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online. It has had a history of producing all types of art and artists (such as watercolorist Frank Webb and the late science fiction illustrator Frank Kelly Freas), but specializing primarily in design disciplines, including graphic design, industrial design, advertising and game art and design. The Art Institute of Pittsburgh is the flagship school of the Art Institute System, and was the original model upon which the others were based. The Art Institutes comprise the largest collegiate art and design education system in the world."  

Carl  would have relished the graphic design capabilities of today with all the  computers facilitating the process.  While he never achieved his dream of full time artistic or illustration work, up until his late 80's he continued to engage in commercial artwork producing precisely lettered signs for politicians or businesses in his area, he was particularly interested in advertising and illustration and drafting, having a very sharp hand and eye for extreme detail. Some of the signs he painted are still in use today in the area.


This is one of his early sketches, her
slippered feet did not scan in this
but I show it here as evidence of
 the precise  attention he paid to detail,

 AIP,  known as the College for Creative Minds, has as its symbol the T-Rex dinosaur, which seems odd to me but perhaps it links antiquity of the ages to art..  "The main campus of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, located in downtown Pittsburgh has grown and relocated six times, expanding each time into larger facilities with a broader curriculum, resulting in one of the largest arts colleges in the United States. In 2000 the school's moved again from its previous facilities on Penn Avenue to the historic landmark building at 420 Boulevard of the Allies, the former Equitable Gas Company building. I find this interesting because Uncle Carl retired from Equitable Gas Company.  The school has some of the most extensive arts-oriented technology facilities of any school in the United States, including over one thousand computers equipping numerous general and specialized computer teaching laboratories. Among the specialized shops and laboratories are a 3D rapid prototyping laboratory, sound, video and digital film editing studios, theatrical makeup, wood, metal and ceramic shops, culinary kitchens, and television studios.  
 I kept many of his sketches, some are from his student days, some were too large to scan completely, most all are pen and ink or charcoal..They are so good that they look like photographs, but they are original works.  I am  still sorting to determine which to frame.  .

Chair by Carl

Dining in Style  by Carl
The man at the table has no face, so this was likely not complete



Lady in Plaid by Carl
Dated 1947 on  the back

This sketch of a family enjoying  the TV is iconic,  the miniature size of the old black and whites when TV's first became an important part of home entertainment.  Today we have massive flat screens. 

This is one of my favorites, a postcard size sketch
Everyone who sees it thinks it is a photograph

TV Watching by Carl

This is my contribution to this week's Sepia,  click on the link to the Sepia Saturday site and enjoy postings from others in the world wide community 
http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com/2012/10/sepia-saturday-150-3-november-2012.html