When I arrived at the ID, Institute of Design, in 1976, very little of László Moholy-Nagy’s legacy remained. Jay Doblin, the next leading director of the school, as it is told, had rubbish trucks come to remove the emptied-out legacies of the Chicago Bauhaus and its traditions. There was a faculty revolt, and a great portion resigned and became part of the now University of Illinois campus in Chicago. Nevertheless, the Moholy-Nagy years were gone, ignored, and over.

I was very disappointed, because Moholy-Nagy’s book Vision in Motion had provided the initial glance for developing a wide-ranging plan for a hands-on studio experience, connecting with all other university disciplines—especially the communication and information sciences. I had misread, even in the obligatory interviews, that the philosophy of visual aesthetics had been exchanged for the beginnings of dominance of marketing strategies; even though I believe that, in itself, it is one of the smartest disciplines and is a very important tool for providing understanding of the symbiosis between commerce and design, only if it is not manipulative and conniving; only when it considers the cultural and social ramifications and outcomes.

At that time, most names of former faculty members like László Moholy-Nagy were only whispered. Even today, with all my understanding of the new directions that have impacted design, it is my belief, that a tool, technique, and material-related experience is vital for any beginning designer and artist. Observation is everything. Removing the exploration discipline of visual and tactile phenomena and principles from the studio, especially since all design is connected with a commercial hinterland, will make a school into an institution to promote management and business. That territory belongs to the business schools. For me, first and foremost, two-, three-, and four-dimensional design is not just related to commerce, but primarily to aspects of anthropology, human existence, communication, and interaction on all social and cultural levels. 

Still, there was Ray Pearson, the last person who understood László Moholy-Nagy’s educational strategies and refused to ignore their values. For that, he was ignored, put on ice, banned to the basement, assigned to teach only on foundational levels, and, in general, maligned. Students loved Ray Pearson. Many were from the region in which Moholy-Nagy had developed through art education some sophisticated high school programs. Pearson taught them to work with mechanical machinery like saws, drills, lathes, and welding equipment. Students achieved a direct experience with diverse materials, having to apply the results of human factor studies to the integration of materials, hands on, not like now, with a push of an effect in the computer application. I have always believed that the principles of visual literacy will never disappear—it is one of the few territories we own—nor that a theoretical discussion can substitute for a full sense-related physical exploration, as I still believe in the precarious interrelationship between eye, muscle, and brain. 

Looking at the newest design farce: emotional design. I don’t believe that one can support emotional design, unless one owns a PhD in Psychology, and I mistrust faculty who have read the three latest texts, written by designers.

I thought that Pearson, although greatly ignored, and considered a curmudgeon was one of the most important faculty there. I enjoyed talking to him, because he was steeped in the history of the school of earlier times.

 

Ray Pearson 

Elmer Ray Pearson (1921–1986), known professionally as Ray Pearson, was a professor at the Institute of Design from 1950 until the early 1980s. Born in January of 1921 in Michigan, Pearson moved to Chicago early in his life. He graduated from Lane Technical High School in Chicago and received his bachelor’s of science in architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology studying under Mies Van Der Rohe and Ludwig Hilberseimer. Pearson also served four years in the United States Army, and worked as an architect for multiple firms in Chicago.

Pearson was a photographer, designer, and craftsmen. After working for architectural firms in Chicago, Pearson changed careers and became an associate professor at the ID. Pearson began teaching in 1950, and he taught courses at the ID on both two-dimensional and three-dimensional design. He also taught and organized the Basic Workshop in Art Education and Design for the majority of his time at the school. Pearson was a faculty member at the ID for over three decades, and had many connections and influence through his many years there. Connections include Moholy-Nagy, Walter Gropius, Cosmo Campoli, and countless others who were key players in Chicago Design. He was also a lecturer in art at what is now known as the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The Institute of Design, formerly known as both The New Bauhaus and The School of Design, was founded in Chicago in 1937 by László Moholy-Nagy. Being a former member of the Bauhaus, the German school of architecture and design, Moholy-Nagy brought many of the Bauhaus’s ideals to the Institute of Design, creating a program that provided a “total education.” This meant that students worked with a variety of subjects and mediums rather than specializing in just one area. Students would first take the Foundation Course at the institute, which generally took up the first two semesters of their study. Foundations were crucial to Bauhaus thought, so the Basic Workshop, taught by Pearson, was very important as the first step towards further education. The school was officially renamed the Institute of Design in 1944 and officially became part of the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1949, where it remains today.