Pratt Center Study: New York City Food Makers Showing More Demand for Local Ingredients

Growing number of New York City food manufacturers want local ingredients 

L-R: Farmer Jack Hoeffner of Hoeffner Farms with local food manufacturer Lauyrn Chun of Mother-In-Law Kimchi

An 18-month study conducted by the Pratt Center for Community Development and the New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets (NYSDAM) found that New York City food manufacturers are increasing their demands for locally sourced ingredients, and may even be willing to pay a premium to make their foods from local produce, honey, flour, and other ingredients.

Published in April of this year, the study analyzed data from a pilot project conducted between October 2009 to February 2011 that explored the links between upstate farmers and downstate food processors. Pratt Center researchers surveyed food manufacturers throughout the five boroughs, and discovered a correlation between ingredients commonly used in locally manufactured products and the produce grown in New York State. Among the items were flour, honey, apples, carrots, grains, and onions.

According to the Pratt Center’s report, "Farm to Factory: Linking New York State Producers with New York City Food Processors," demand among the City’s food manufacturers for locally grown ingredients is strong and growing. Results demonstrate that food manufacturers may be willing to pay a premium for New York produce if the concept of "local" adds value to their product.

"Within New York City, there are just under 1,000 food manufacturing establishments, employing more than 14,000 people.  These companies are vital to New York City’s current food system and stand to play a major role in meeting the demand for regionally grown foods as well as becoming a market opportunity for New York farmers," said Pratt Center Director Adam Friedman.

The "Farm to Factory" project also identified a number of challenges that may require public and private interventions in order to foster a more localized food system and realize related economic development opportunities.

These challenges involve the difficulty in distributing ingredients to small processors; the limited availability of organic produce and processing capabilities on farms, inconsistent pricing scales, and difficulties getting commitments from manufacturers to buy what is planted. Despite this, there is a tremendous opportunity to foster greater intrastate economic linkages, lower consumers’ carbon footprint, and create jobs by connecting local farmers and food manufacturers.

The Pratt Center provides ongoing sourcing assistance to food manufacturers who are interested in expanding their ingredient profile to include New York State produce.

Text: Amy Aronoff and Adrienne Gyongy
Photo: Courtesy of the Pratt Center for Community Development

Class Notes

Class Notes provides a way to update fellow alumni on what you have been up to lately. Whether you have found a new job or revived an old passion, received a promotion or recently retired, changed galleries or published a book, let the Pratt community share in your excitement. We welcome your latest Class Notes news at classnotes@pratt.edu. Be sure to include your name, degree, year of graduation, major, and any relevant images with caption and credit information. Please note that your submission may be edited for length and clarity.

1940s

Jay P. Stewart (Cert. Graphic Arts/Illustration ’41) reports that he is “still partying and selling occasionally” at the age of 95.  Stewart paints landscapes in the studio of his home in New Hartford, New York, or in his chalet in the Adirondacks. His work is in the collections of Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, General Electric, the New York State Power Authority, and the Partlow Corporation—where he served as art and production manager for communications before retiring—as well as in numerous private collections.

Ellsworth Kelly (Cert. Painting ’44), best known for his rigorous abstract painting, is having a major exhibition dedicated exclusively to his plant drawings; “Ellsworth Kelly Plant Drawings” is on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art through September 30, 2012. The selection of approximately 80 drawings begins in 1948 during Kelly's early sojourn in Paris and continues to his most recent work made in upstate New York. 

1950s

Jim Starrett (Industrial Design ’55–’60), a student intern at General Motors in his Pratt days, has had a long career as a fine artist and educator, culminating at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, where he is a faculty member. For the last 32 years he has been producing drawings related to the Holocaust. The work was featured this year in “Fragments of Terror: Drawings by Jim Starrett,” a solo exhibition of 27 paintings and drawings on view at the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Utah State University. Starrett’s work is held in many private and public collections, including the Whitney Museum of American Art.

1960s

(David) Lance Wyman (B.I.D. ’60), the legendary American graphic designer, was the subject of a exhibition, titled “You Are Here” at The Gallery of Norwich University College of the Arts in the U.K., from May 1 through June 9, 2012. Among his recent works on view were designs for the Barack Obama presidential campaign and elements from the renowned way-finding system for the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

David Easton (B. Arch. ’63), the renowned architect and interior designer, is featured in Elle Décor (June 2012) in an article, titled “David Easton on Evolving Taste,” in which he talks about how style has changed—and what’s ahead.

John Huszar (B.F.A. Advertising Design ’63) is founder of FilmAmerica, Inc.  The nonprofit corporation projected scenes from one of its documentaries on the gallery walls during the international exhibition “The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant-Garde,” on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art earlier this year.  Huszar and FilmAmerica also participated in a companion exhibition, “Seeing Gertrude Stein: Five Stories,” shown at the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C., and the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco.

Ed Koren (M.S. Art Education ’65), the famed illustrator, is featured in a Culture Desk article in The New Yorker (June 1, 2012), titled “Ed Koren Arrives," which celebrates the first appearance of his cartoons in the magazine 50 years ago.  

Lloyd Ziff (B.F.A. Graphic Art and Design ’67) had his photograph, Private Home, Laurel Canyon, West Hollywood, Calif., selected for the exhibition, “Backyard Oasis: The Swimming Pool in Southern California Photography, 1945–1982,” at the Palm Springs Art Museum from January 21 through May 27 as part of the J. Paul Getty Initiative “Pacific Standard Time: Art in Los Angeles, 1945–1980.”

Margaret Cusack (B.F.A. Graphic Design ’68), detail of Rush Hour, 2012, appliquéd artwork, 60 x 60 inches Margaret Cusack (B.F.A. Graphic Design ’68), a renowned fabric artist, received a commission from a private collector who runs a water filtration company to create a stitched artwork on the theme of water. Cusack’s creation, Rush Hour, is a machine-stitched, appliquéd hanging that includes more than 400 fish, swimming in swirling patterns.

Louise Lieber (M.F.A. Sculpture ’68) is currently showing in a three-person exhibition, “Architectural Counterpoints,” at the Museum of Florida Art in DeLand, Florida, through July 15. Lieber teaches classes at the Artists Workshop Studios, New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Her work is included in Steven Aimone’s book, Expressive Drawing: A Practical Guide to Freeing the Artist Within (Lark Crafts, 2009).

Claire Jeanine Satin (M.F.A. Sculpture ’68), an award-winning multimedia artist, was honored with an exhibition of eight collages and eight unique book works, titled  “Indeterminacy,” which was on view at Galleria 3D in Venice, Italy, from May 17 through June 2. Satin is completing her second Emily Harvey Foundation Artist Residency in Venice this summer.

Claire Jeanine Satin (M.F.A. Sculpture ’68), Chassis #7, 2012, collage, 10 x10 inches

1970s

Doug Campbell (M.F.A. Printmaking ’72), painter, printmaker, and professor of art at George Fox University (GFU) in Newberg, Oregon, was recently named one of two faculty recipients of GFU’s undergraduate teaching and research awards in recognition of his ongoing scholarly contributions to the art community. Campbell’s work has been shown in more than 170 juried and invitational exhibitions.

Jeff Kapec (B.I.D. ’72) is a visiting associate professor in the Department of Industrial Design at Pratt Institute and principal of Tanaka Kapec Design Group in Norwalk, Connecticut. His consulting firm was recently honored for its design of the TissuGlu Surgical Adhesive and designated a finalist in the general hospital devices and therapeutic products category of the 2012 Medical Design Excellence Awards (MDEA) competition, the premier awards program for the medical technology community.

Lynn Saville (M.F.A. Photography ’76), who specializes in photographing cities and rural settings between twilight and dawn, was among the seven artists whose work was selected for inclusion in “Curator's Choice,” an exhibition organized by Pro Arts Jersey City in cooperation with Studio 371, a collective space located in the heart of the Powerhouse Arts District in Jersey City. The show ran from April 13 through April 29.

David Wander (B.F.A. Printmaking ’78), a Jewish American artist, is exhibiting “David Wander: Drawings from the Biblical Texts” at the 
Fort Collins Museum of Art in Colorado, from May 3 through July 5. His show aptly runs concurrently with “Marc Chagall and the Bible: Etchings and Lithographs.”

1980s

Isabella Bannerman (B.F.A. Printmaking ’83) showed landscapes in gouache, portraits, and cartoons at Hastings Station Café from April 28 through May 31, as part of the River Arts Studio Tour 2012 in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. A prize-winning cartoonist, Bannerman has been an artist for Six Chix, a comic strip syndicated by King Features, since 2000. 

Andrew Reach (B. Arch. ’86), who became disabled from a bone disease in 2005 and could no longer continue in his successful practice of architecture, is now a self-employed artist using digital art. Since 2005, he has participated in six solo and nine group exhibitions. Currently, Reach’s work is included in “Let’s Get Digital,” an exhibition of the work of 15 artists in Ohio for whom digital technology serves as an avenue for exploring new ideas and relationships that are not possible with traditional media. The show is currently on view at The Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery in Columbus, Ohio, through July 8.

Andrew Reach (B. Arch. ’86), A Fisherman’s Net Strung by the Constellations, 2011, digital print on canvas, 54 x 93.75 inches. Courtesy of The Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery.

Amanda Bach (B.F.A. Comm-D ’89) is senior package design manager for Nestlé USA’s Prepared Foods Brands. In this capacity, she serves as the creative liaison between Nestlé and its strategically aligned packaging design agencies.

Anthony Prozzi (Grad Fine Arts ’89–’90) is senior interior designer for the Ford Motor Company, responsible for the interior of many Ford and Lincoln vehicles including the new Ford Fusion. Prozzi was a big hit at the Stylecaster State of Style Summit during New York Fashion Week held at 92YTribeca in March 2012. Prozzi served on the “Anatomy of Fashion” panel and gave the keynote dialogue along with Stacy London from TLC’s What Not To Wear. 

1990s

Peter Wachtel (M.I.D. ’92) has invented an all-in-one barbeque tool, called Stake, which is available in Target stores nationwide. Stake functions as tongs, a spatula, or a fork, and also features a smooth leaf-spring mechanism that makes it easy to use. The sturdy item is made of stainless steel and has a wooden handle.

Johan Falkman (B.F.A. Painting ’94) is showing 94 of his psychological portrait paintings in a solo exhibition, titled "La alteridad en el espejo; Retratos expresionistas de Johan Falkman" (The alter-ego in the mirror; the expressionistic portraits of Johan Falkman), at Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso Museum in Mexico City’s historic center, through July 15. Mexico’s famed muralists have influenced Falkman’s vivid style, yet the subjects of his paintings are other Swedes and occasionally himself.

Ruth Marshall (M.F.A. Sculpture ’95) hosted her first solo museum exhibition, titled “Vanished into Stitches,” at the University of Maine Museum of Art from April 5 through June 9. Her lifelike and full-scale knitted pelts of tigers, ocelots, and a jaguar highlighted their beauty as well as the dilemmas surrounding these endangered animals. Each of the 14 fiber compositions was based on Marshall’s research in the mammal collection of the American Museum of Natural History and took over three months to complete. Marshall is represented by Dam Stuhltrager Gallery in Berlin, Germany.

Ruth Marshall (M.F.A. Sculpture ’95), Renee, 2010, hand-knitted yarn, string, and bamboo, 105 x 68 inches. Photo: Maja Kihlstedt

Jason A. Karolak (B.F.A. Painting ’97) is showing new paintings in a two-person exhibition, titled “Jason Karolak and Leah Patgorski: Recent Works," at Gahlberg Gallery at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, on view from May 31 through August 4. Karolak's paintings depict singular abstract structures sitting in space, and use color, mark, and geometry to record the activity of constructing and arriving at a built form.

Dylan Farrell (B.I.D. ’98) is creative director for Thomas Hamel & Associates, a prominent interior design firm in Sydney, Australia.  An article about Farrell and his furniture designs, titled "New York State of Mind: Dylan Farrell's 'Transitional' Furniture Collection Seeks to Connect the Modern with Old-World Traditions," recently appeared in Australian Vogue Living (March/April 2012).

Jessica D'Amico (B.F.A. Sculpture ’99) is one of three Brooklyn artists and designers to participate in the opening of the first Brooklyn-designers-only boutique, Lady J +1, located at 679 Classon Avenue. The boutique carries her distinctive line of handcrafted jewelry designs.

Lara Knutson (B. Arch. ’99, M.I.D. ’11) showed new vases and jewelry in  “The Weather in Milano,” an exhibition held at Studio Zeta in Milan, Italy, from April 17 through April 22.  Knutson’s Soft Glass Basket will be part of an exhibition, titled "Craft Futures: 40 under 40," on view at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. from July 20, 2012, through February 3, 2013.

2000s

Bradley Carney (B.I.D. ’02) is the creative director of a Manhattan-based interdisciplinary design firm that recently won four prizes from the Graphic Design USA: 2012 American Package Design Awards—two in the category of “poster display and signs,” one in “giftwrap and shopping bags,” and one in “private label packaging.”Bradley Carney (B.I.D. ’02), 2012 American Package Design Award-winning work

Leon Reid IV's (B.F.A. Painting ’02) public art project, A Spider Lurks in Brooklyn, is the artist’s most ambitious endeavor to date: He wants to install a giant vinyl helium balloon spider on the cables of the Brooklyn Bridge for two weeks in October 2014, a model for which was built at Pratt Manhattan during the 2009 exhibition “Design Jazz.” Fiscally sponsored by Artspire, the project intends to boost downtown economic activity, enhance tourism, and provide spectacle for onlookers. 

Ryan Mrozowski (M.F.A. ’05) had his third solo exhibition, titled “A Mouth that Might Sing,” on view from April 27 through May 27 at Pierogi, a gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which features the work of emerging and mid-career artists in an eclectic range of mediums. Mrozowski showed recent paintings, drawings, video, and several found-image light sculptures.  

Jeremy H. Polk (M.A. Art and Design Education ’06), who is currently acting as student affairs officer at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in Manhattan, gave a presentation at this year’s Region II NASPA Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education Conference in Buffalo, June 10–12. The program considered the challenges of smaller institutions in meeting the needs of students who self-identify as requiring disability or health/counseling services.

Thea Bloch-Neal (B.F.A. Fashion Design ’07), manager of the bridal store, Saja Wedding Boutique in SoHo, New York, has recently started her own line of bridal accessories, Hushed Commotion. Her handcrafted belts, headpieces, veils, and shoe clips are available online and at stores in Chicago, New York, and Milwaukee.

Chantell L. McDowell (M.S.L.I.S. ’08) is now living in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she works for Charlotte Mecklenburg Libraries. She has co-authored a non-fiction book, Serving At-Risk Teens, Proven Strategies and Programs for Bridging the Gap, which will be published by Neal Schuman in November 2012. McDowell plans to defend her doctoral dissertation by December 2012.

Beth Giacummo (M.F.A. New Forms ’09), a mixed media and installation hot glass artist, was profiled in a Long Island Pulse magazine article, titled “Beth Giacummo’s Many Hats” (March 23, 2012), which covered her roles as administrator/curator of the Islip Art Museum, chief curator at Briarcliffe College (where she is also a full-time professor), and president of the Patchogue Arts Council. Later this year, Giacummo will again participate in the D. Fleiss & East West Residency in Romania as an international resident artist.

Joshua H. Stulman (M.F.A. Painting ’10) curator and manager of Hadas Gallery in Brooklyn, was a participating artist in “Super Jew Comics,” an exhibition of original production artwork created for the Jewish comic book series, Shaloman and Israeli Defense Comics. The exhibition was on view at the gallery from April 15 through June 17.    

Delano Louis Dunn (B.F.A. Comm-D/Illustration ’11) manages the Facilities Department at the Whitney Museum of American Art in Manhattan. He is also a painter and printmaker who showed one of his print works in an exhibition last August, titled “Can’t Hear the Revolution” at Kunsthalle Galapagos Gallery in DUMBO, Brooklyn.

Aeneas Middleton (A.O.S. Digital Design ’12) received a personal note from Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge congratulating him on the success of his Welsh-based novels, Tim Hartwell and the Magical Galon of Wales and Tim Hartwell and The Brutus of Troy (Royal Middleton Publishing, 2011/Burnin’ Rubber Music Publishing, 2012, respectively).

Text: Compiled by Adrienne Gyongy
Images: Courtesy of the artists, unless otherwise indicated

Pratt Students Design Green Pavilion for Great GoogaMooga Brooklyn Food Extravaganza

L-R: Signage featuring Pratt at the UrBARN Experience; the UrBARN structure was a central part of the Great GoogaMooga.

A group of seven Pratt undergraduate and graduate students, under the guidance of Mark Parsons, production director and adjunct assistant professor in the undergraduate architecture program, collaborated to design one of the showpiece exhibition spaces for last month’s Great GoogaMooga food festival, which featured about 150 food and drink vendors and drew tens of thousands of people.

The students were engaged by the exhibition-design firm The Rockwell Group to design the concept for UrBARN, a green pavilion featured at the two-day event in Brooklyn's Prospect Park.  Constructed in the center of the festival, the UrBARN hosted cooking demonstrations, as well as workshops and exhibitions on nutrition, sustainability, and local eating.

To come up with initial ideas, Debera Johnson, executive director of the Center for Sustainable Design Studies, facilitated a day-long design jam attended by 40 people. The students listened to the sponsor’s and client’s needs, as well as potential limitations; for instance, they wanted not only an eye-catching structure, but one that would be easy to transport, build in two days, then reconstruct at future sites.

The Pratt team had a week to come up with four ideas, which they presented to The Rockwell Group, as well as to the festival’s organizer, Superfly Presents, and non-profit sponsor Just Food.

“The students had to be articulate and clear about their direction,” said Johnson. “They had only five minutes to make each presentation. The idea was to get the client visually interested in their ideas and then answer questions about how each one could be constructed,” said Johnson.

UrBARN’s design, which Johnson describes as a “line drawing made from timber” was intended to have the shape and color of a traditional red barn—but was crowned with the shape of the urban skyline.

“The UrBARN showed the clear connection between farming and the locally made food we eat,” said Parsons, who also called the experience "unparalleled."

“This kind of experience is an incredible opportunity for students to test what they are learning in school in a real-world setting—from working directly with highly respected clients, to working within the parameters of a budget and time frame, to gaining insight into the values that influence how the client selects and responds to the strongest ideas,” he said. “Only three months after the design jam, the student team's design was constructed in full scale—and enjoyed by thousands of people. It was incredibly satisfying for everyone who took part in this project.”

Text: Abigail Beshkin
Photos: Abigail Beshkin

Flowering of Pratt Rose Garden Heightens Beauty of Brooklyn Campus

Expert supervision yields spectacular bushes 

L-R: Pratt's Rose Garden frames the path to Main Building; Rose expert Anne O'Neill

Just in time for summer, the Pratt Rose Garden on the Institute's Brooklyn campus is thriving like never before. Since 2002, the garden has benefited from the expert advice of rosarian Anne O'Neill, who formerly curated the Cranford Rose Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.  At President Schutte’s behest she examined the Pratt Rose Garden and, seeing its potential, volunteered in 2007 to take on the replanting and removal of overgrowth, pruning away spent flower stems, and adding organic fertilizer, bone meal, and mulch to immediately improve the flowerbeds.

O’Neill’s aim was to achieve consistency in the roses' size and color as well as a "greater elegance" in the garden’s design. “The Rose Garden is phenomenal,” she says, adding that her plans in the next few months include balancing some of the pink roses with blossoms of other colors.  

O’Neill looks forward to her next visit in the fall.  “It’s always an honor to work with Pratt,” she adds, “particularly thanks to the commitment of the ground staff who are wonderful and Dr. Schutte who supports our every endeavor.”

For the last two years, the day-to-day care of the Rose Garden has been the duty of Martin Macreno, senior groundsman in the Facilities Office, and his two assistants, who water and weed the garden twice a week.

“Anne O’Neill proffers expert advice,” says Glenn Gordon, executive director of Planning, Design, Construction and Physical Plant, “and Martin Macreno really manages the Rose Garden and he’s doing a fantastic job.”

O’Neill’s keen oversight coupled with the dedication of Pratt’s caretakers has produced a flowering landscape that is an inspiration to Pratt artists, faculty, staff, and the community.

O’Neill says “I really do love the Pratt Rose Garden—it has kept changing for the better, and I’m glad to have been helpful on some levels. The grounds are among the most beautiful on college campuses in New York City.”

Text: Adrienne Gyongy
Photos: Jonathan Weitz, Diana Pau