Gestures W'06_07 FINAL 2.indd - Temple University

director of development’s message
DEAR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF TYLER,
I hope you are enjoying the newly designed
newsletter. It’s just one of the changes from
the offi ce of development and alumni affairs.
Please let us know how you feel about the
new format.
Another change is the establishment of the alumni exhibition
as a bi-annual event. You have just recently received a call for
entries brochure requesting your submission. I’m personally
looking forward to seeing all the submissions that will come
in for Victory for Tyler.
The other news is that we have had our best fundraising year
ever, with more than $1.5 million added to the scholarship
endowment alone. Thank you all for your support over the years.
So many alumni and friends send a check with their alumni
news. It is greatly appreciated. One factor in the ranking of any
college is the level of alumni participation in the annual fund.
Your donation, of any amount, contributes to this important
number. Tyler’s new rankings will be unveiled next year and as
always we expect our programs to be near the top.
However, our biggest opportunities for private support are in
the future, as Tyler goes through a period of great change and
growth. Dean Keith Morrison will be an agent of change as
Tyler moves from an obsolescent campus to a new building on
Temple University’s main campus. His vision for Tyler includes a
focus on urbanism, a much wider international scope, a deeper
commitment to community arts and a greater connection to
the great urban art centers.
The dean’s new vision and the vibrant new building will combine
to attract the best students and faculty to Tyler. As Tyler makes
this transformation there will be much private support from
alumni, art lovers in Philadelphia, private foundations and
corporations.
Sincerely,
Gregory Murphy
Director of Development and Alumni Affairs
Tyler School of Art
24 TYLER GESTURES WINTER 2006
G A L L E R Y O F S U CC E S S
Two Tyler alumni were inducted into the Gallery
of Success this October during Homecoming
weekend. Congratulations to Helen Williams
Drutt English, BFA ’52 and Laurie Simmons,
BFA ’71, who have achieved success as artists
and continue to serve as inspirations for Tyler’s
student body.
HELEN WILLIAMS
DRUTT ENGLISH, BFA
’52, is world renowned
for her signifi cant
contributions and
continual commitment
to the advancement
and awareness of
the Modern and
PHOTO CREDIT: MICHAEL AHEARN
Contemporary Craft
Movement. Drutt
English’s earliest achievements in the fi eld include
her appointment as volunteer executive director and
a founding member of the Philadelphia Council of
Professional Craftsmen (1967 – 1974), author of the
fi rst college level syllabus on the history of modern
craft (1973), and the establishment of Helen Drutt:
Philadelphia, one of the fi rst galleries in the United
States committed to modern and contemporary
crafts (1973).
LAURIE SIMMONS,
BFA ’71, is a
photographer, painter,
and sculptor, who
describes herself as
“an artist who uses
photography.” Her
work takes the form of
designing dollhouses,
PHOTO CREDIT: SARAH CHARLESWORTH, 2004
which are clever
creations that mirror
society from the post-World War II years through
recent decades. Simmons’ creations are hand-made
collages depicting men and women who, according
to Art in America, “hold up to ridicule and contempt
the furnishings of consumer culture and desire.”
Moreover, her art has been shown nationally in such
major venues as the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
the Museum of Modern Art, and the Philadelphia
Museum of Art.