DAE student Adrian Madlener of the department Man & Leisure has his internship with Christian Wassmann, an architect and designer based in New York.
Adrien Madlener:
New York, the Theatrical Production of Design
On location in New York City, Interning within this fast pace and demanding urban landscape, I am maintaining my connection to Eindhoven by periodically bloging about my professional and personal experiences. While working with an architect/designer, spending time writing provides for ample contrast. Hopefully my personal divulgences can act as some sort of advice for future interns or those interested in working or living in New York.
The New School’s student run Free Press reads “Parsons Fashion, New Curriculum Causes Conflict,” the question of how practical skills are required when entering the job market is ubiquitous for students coming out of the ‘teaching to style’ schools. When reading this exposé further, it becomes clear that this prestigious fashion department is going through a shift much like the Design Academy Eindhoven embarked on ten to fifteen years ago. Instead of tailoring, they are sculpting and skills need to be found elsewhere. What is important to remember, when starting an internship or job, is that proving oneself becomes much more of a challenge without possessing standard technical abilities. Knowing ones own ideas is crucial but being able to quickly communicating them is just as essential.
New York, coming out of a four year slump, is picking up speed again, just like the express A train that takes me from my apartment on 110th street in Harlem across much of Manhattan to my internship right on the fringe of Soho, Chinatown, and Tribeca. Along the way I pass millions of people above attempting the same thing I am, perhaps its not so much ‘getting ahead’ as it is ‘getting by.’ Not as drastic as it might sound, it works for many. Hard work is match by another, if not the most, vital skill; knowing people who know people and then getting to know who they know. ‘Networking’ is by far the human characteristic that defines this city best. It’s not rude to hand out business cards or to tactfully approach anyone in ones domain. Throwing names or obscure historical references around is acceptable. For Parson’s fashion students this is something picked up on the ‘streets,’ but not in their ateliers.
Be it Fashion, Armory, or Gallery Week, each passing moment in this town provides for another project and another community to engage with. Since I began my internship with Christian Wassmann, who in New York is called an ‘Architect/Designer’ the sketches, models, vector work drawings, quick mock ups, and build ups in that order were focused around one big and three short to medium long projects. Not your standard architecture firm. On any given day, we move from creating a Lounge for the Swarovski Crystal flagship store, to editing an installation for Documenta in Kassel, and then the larger spatial design project for the Independent Art Fair. Skills that I didn’t have before, especially computer programs, I learned quickly in the first few weeks. Though these crucial tools are not properly provided for at the Design Academy, the work ethic and presentation skills we are taught sets us apart. When ‘getting ahead’ this can only be an advantage.
The Art world descends, more then it regularly does, on the west side of Manhattan each March for the “Armory Show”. Galleries from everywhere not only cover the renovated docks pushing out into the Hudson but also have since the past few years filled more ‘off shoot’ fairs, including the “Independent.” Our design process began much earlier. Three ‘white-cube’ floors of an old Dia foundation building were laid out with different represented galleries while on the top floor, a clear lounge tent needed to be designed. This “21º Observatory” ended up playing host to many geographic and astrological references. Both canvassed ceilings/carpets and condensed paper furniture referenced a non-waste principle. The shape of each of these components where cutouts based on “Fibonacci” circles stemming out of constellation patterns with each star acting as a radius. Just like a stage set, the result went from model and drawing to exact reality within a week. The New York Times called it the best-designed exhibition of all the fairs in town that week.
As for Parsons students not learning the basic skills they need, they can rest assured that this city will throw them into the direction they want or more realistically, they fall into. Self-motivation as much as confidents makes a difference here. This is the ‘real world’ like no other ‘real world’ but the learning curve is surmountable. Like Don Norman said at the Design Academy back in the fall, “you either need to bring the real world in or be pushed out into it”